Cascadia today: Battle over US attorney in Seattle + initiative would repeal ID abortion ban + 8 new books by BC authors
Trump fires US attorney one hour after judges appoint him
Just one hour after US judges appointed King County Superior Court judge and federal prosecutor Roger Rogoff to the disputed position of US attorney for Western Washington, Donald Trump fired him, the Seattle Times reports.
The Senate has refused to confirm the nomination of Charles Neil Floyd under intense opposition from Washington's senate delegation and so the court followed through on its constitutional obligation to appoint a new lead federal prosecutor. This sets up a similar situation to the US attorney's office for eastern Washington, where Pete Serrano is serving despite no confirmation by the Senate. Serrano was appointed by Trump after former acting US attorney Richard Barker resigned rather than bring federal conspiracy charges against protesters in Spokane, three of whom were later convicted and could face up to six years in prison for exercising their first amendment rights.
Initiative to end Idaho's abortion ban heads to ballot
Idaho Capital Sun reports that an initiative to repeal Idaho's extreme abortion ban has gathered 110,000 signatures and qualified to be on the November ballot. The measure would restore the right to abortion in Idaho and also declares the right to contraception and IVF. Of those signing to put the measure on the ballot, 28% were Republican.
Data centers south of Seattle suck up power
The South Seattle Emerald reports on 18 new data centers operating in Tukwila, a city just south of Seattle. The report found that the centers in total use the equivalent power used by up to 133,000 Seattle homes – about one third of all the homes in the city! The city of Seattle recently passed a one year moratorium on new data centers. The city council of Tukwila has no plans for similar legislation.
Glacier melting in SE Alaska causing dangerous tsunamis
High Country News has a great article about a bonkers natural phenomenon that we're lucky hasn't killed anyone yet: landslides caused by melting glaciers are causing massive tsunamis in Tracy Arm fjord south of Juneau. These massive tsunamis ripping through waterways frequented by cruise ships have somehow not killed tourists or damaged cruise ships, simply because of lucky timing.equivalent power used by up to 133,000 Seattle homes One giant wave caused by a mountainside collapse reached as high as 1,580 feet high on mountains nearby. That's not something you hear about in the Holland America brochure.
Eight summer reading books by BC authors
Hey, are you reading books for the Cascadia Summer Book Bingo challenge? One of the squares is a British Columbia author, and the Tyee has you covered on that square, recommending eight new books by BC writers, including a biography of Greenpeace co-founder David Garrick, a travel memoir by George Bowering, and a guide to plants around Victoria.
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy
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