Cascadia today: 86 wildfires burn in BC + is Rip City getting ripped off in Moda Center deal? + remembering a Cascadia mapmaker & bioregionalist

Good morning. Hope you're taking care of yourself in the heat and wildfire smoke spreading across the Cascadia bioregion today. For those who live without shelter, these can be challenging days. That's why the organization I helped found, Cascadia Democratic Action, is organizing a water bottle and N-95 mask drive Saturday, August 1 from noon to 4 pm at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle. Please consider either a physical donation or contributing to CDA's Ko-fi fund. More details here.

86 wildfires burning in BC, one jumps the border

The BC Wildfire Service reports that 86 wildfires are currently burning in British Columbia, with new evacuations ordered for the Squamish-Lillooet region north of Vancouver, CBC reports. The entire town of Kimberly in southeast BC remains under evacuation orders, and the Anderson Creek fire near Boston Bar in south central BC has quadrupled in size. The Tyee has an intense first-person journal by Boston Bar resident Attila Banhegyi, who has been documenting the fight to save his community. In related news, Cascadia Daily News reports that a 300-acre fire in British Columbia has crossed over the 49th parallel into North Cascades Park near Mount Hozomeen.

I can think of no better metaphor that demonstrates the need for bioregionalism than a wildfire ignoring the arbitrary border between Washington and British Columbia.

Seattle city council rolls back free school lunches

PubliCola reports that in a 6-3 vote to save a measly $3 million in the Seattle city budget, the Seattle city council in its immense wisdom rolled back mayor Katie Wilson's plan for universal free school lunches in favor of a plan that requires students to prove they're low income enough to deserve free lunch. Why are we even having this debate, when the city is paying $80 million in retroactive pay and raised to Seattle cops thanks to a sweet deal the city council gifted SPD in its bloated contract late last year? More people are going hungry in the US since the pandemic thanks to federal cuts to SNAP benefits, and the council decided this is the time for austerity? Shame on this "progressive" council.

ICE releases detainee who claims sexual assault

Through the Static reports that US Army veteran Garnet Smith, who was held at the Tacoma Detention Center for nine months, was released after a successful habeas corpus petition. Smith is originally from Jamaica and was never granted citizenship. He's accused guards at the GEO-owned facility of sexually assaulting him during a search. It's time to shut down the Tacoma facility and stop ICE's illegal actions in Washington.

Upset that ICE is breaking King County airport rules by refueling planes while passengers on board are in shackles? Email King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and tell him to enforce the rules. Want to see for yourself? King County operates a live stream of ICE deportation flights from Boeing Field here.

Is Rip City get ripped off in Moda Center renovation?

The Portland Mercury has a guest article by Portland city council member Tiffany Koyma Lane on the backdoor negotiations over renovating Moda Center, the venue where the Portland Trailblazers NBA team plays. The state of Oregon has already agreed to pony up $365 million and Lane is concerned that Portland is also going to be on the hook lest the Blazers take their team to Peoria Illinois or some other podunk city willing to lavish it with a new stadium. She notes that Portland is facing a $160 million budget shortfall plus impacts of federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

It's time to stop being held hostage by these profitable sports franchises: private sports teams should fund their own private sports venues without massive waste of public funds.

Remembering bioregional advocate David McCloskey

Oregon cartographer and bioregional advocate David McCloskey passed away on July 3, Paul Nelson reported on his blog at the Cascadia Poetry Festival website. McCloskey was an early proponent of the idea of a Cascadia bioregion spanning from southeast Alaska to northern California. He was the creator of a definitive map of the Cascadia bioregion, which is an astonishing work scholarship and artistry that has never been matched. In tribute, Paul has re-published an interview he did with McCloskey in 2013.

"So when I think of Cascadia, I think of the waters pouring down our mountains. And so Cascadia is not first an idea or a political entity in any traditional sense. It is a verb, a phenomenon. It is a standing forth of energies." --David McCloskey

Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. -Andy