Cascadia today: Will ICE expand in OR? Seattle to blast roads to help salmon get past dams + free summer arts in Cascadia
Good morning to everyone except ICE.
Just days after ICE killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, CNN reports that ICE has shot and killed another person in Maine today. Meanwhile, ICE finally and quietly turned over evidence to Minnesota investigators looking into the murders of Alex Pretti and Rene Good in Minneapolis.
ICE is out of control. And as its cruel, illegal mass deportation campaign ramps up to meet a 2,000-kidnapping quota ever day, what the feds are really doing is constructing a massive national secret police force and incarceration system that operates outside the law and seeks to intimidate anyone they want to.
How can you show your support for abolishing ICE? In Seattle, there's a memorial and march for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Seattle at New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave S.) this evening, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Monday July 13.
Advocacy org sues feds seeking plans for ICE prison in OR
Portland based Innovation Law Lab is suing the federal government to make public any plans ICE has to open an overnight detention facility in Oregon. Controversy erupted in Newport as ICE tried to quietly open a facility at a Coast Guard base in the coastal town earlier this year. After huge outpouring of local opposition, ICE backed off plans for the Newport detention center in March.
As fires threaten Gorge, feds seek prevention cuts
As wildfires burned 200+ acres on the Washington side of the Columbia gorge, and at several locations in eastern Oregon, Columbia Insight reports that the Trump regime is still fighting to revoke wildfire-prevention effort grants to the in Oregon and Washington, despite courts ordering those funds be restored. The reason? The feds want states to eliminate "gender ideology" from their wildfire prevention programs to receive the grants. What the fuck does that have to do with preventing devastating fires?
Cascadia needs to say no to this nonsense and build local resiliency without federal interference. Transfer federal lands in Cascadia to state and tribal control. Tax our region's wealth and adequately fund wildland firefighting and prevention efforts. And withhold money owed to the federal government until it returns congressionally approved funds to Oregon and Washington.
Trump hates helping improve student mental health
According to Oregon Capital Chronicle, Oregon and 14 other states are suing the Trump regime for trying to eliminate a $1 billion fund to provide mental health counseling in schools across the US. These efforts have been critical in helping students impacted by school shootings in Texas, Florida, and at Garfield High School in Seattle. It's simple cruelty at this point. The feds care about nothing but a bloated military that bombs girls' schools and a secret police and jail network to keep these geriatric fascists in power.
Should Seattle blast roads near dams to provide fish passage?
Nearly all of Seattle's electric power comes from dams on the Skagit river in north Washington, and Cascadia Daily reports on a new plan by Seattle City Light to blast new roads connecting the river and reservoirs behind Gorge, Diablo and Ross dams. It's part of a nearly $1 billion project to restore fish passage on the Skagit River in an agreement with tribes and environmentalists. But the damaging roads, which will carry truckloads of migrating salmon, seem the only option Seattle is considering, despite opposition. In related news, only 80,000 sockeye salmon are expected to return to the upper Columbia River this season, down from a predicted run of 270,000.
If we had forward thinking city governments, legislature, and governor, there would be a plan to replace these dams with wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power and then remove the dams. The Yakama Nation agrees.
Free outdoor movies, theater, and opera across Cascadia
Summer in Cascadia is the best. The weather is warm and generally mild, and it's a fabulous opportunity for outdoor arts and entertainment. The Georgia Straight reports that the Vancouver Opera's popular free outdoor performance resumes this year on July 19 in Deer Park, Burnaby. They'll offer selections from the upcoming season, including Tosca, The Barber of Seville, and La Traviata. In Seattle, get your aestival does of Shakespeare with Green Stage outdoor performances of The Winter's Tale, Coriolanus, The Tempest, and The Two Noble Kinsman through Aug 15. And in Portland, check out the Summer Free For All, an extensive series of free outdoor performances of movies, music, dance, theater, and comedy at locations throughout the City of Roses.
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy
