Cascadia today: Cascadia has spent $380 million on fires + Spokane bans data centers + dark history of the Klan in OR
Lawsuit in OR challenges feds expanding grazing
Oregon Capital Chronicle reports that the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Oregon opposing the Trump regime's plan to vastly expand cattle grazing on 24 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and forest service lands – much of it in Oregon. Grazing damages and reduces habitat for endangered and threatened species, including salmon, grizzlies, and wolves. OPB has more on the lawsuit. The move comes as the feds acted to eliminate protections for 45 million acres of protected roadless areas – most of it in forest service land in the west.
It's time for Cascadia to take control of all federal lands in our region:
Andrew Engelson
Cascadia has already spent $380 million fighting wildfires
Washington State Standard reports that Washington state has already spend $200 million fighting 20 wildfires across the state, while Oregon has spent $150 million, Oregon Live reports. Add to that Idaho, which has spent $30 million, and three states in the Cascadia bioregion have spent $380 million. There are no accurate estimates from British Columbia for this year, but the Vancouver Sun reports that costs have more than doubled, and BC now spends $525 million per year on wildfire suppression.
Add to that the fact the Trump regime denied two FEMA wildfire fighting grants to Oregon recently, and don't forget that Oregon and Washington together paid $51 billion more in federal taxes than we received back in funding in 2025. Much of your hard earned wages go to support a bloated, secretive US military budget of more than $1 trillion. It's time for Cascadia to seriously consider independence.
Activists question Seattle police surveillance network
Through the Static reports on a tour that privacy activists were given of the Seattle Police Department's "Real Time Crime Center," a nexus of data gathering and surveillance cameras. They were not impressed with supposed safeguards to keep data out of the hands of ICE and other federal officials. Much of the gathered data is stored with private company Axon, which like its competitor Flock, is not subject to Washington state privacy laws.
“We must ask the unfathomable question: who exactly is made more safe by these surveillance systems, because it is not immigrants being terrorized by ICE,” – AJ Randall, an activist and cyber security engineer
Meanwhile, the socialist bastion of Cheney, Washington outside Spokane, decided to remove its Flock cameras, as did the People's Republic of Renton, which voted to cover all 24 of its Flock cameras. Want to find Flock cameras near you? There's a map! We certainly don't advocate removing Flock cameras on your own as has happened across Oregon, and in Eugene. And we definitely don't want you to read this Gizmodo article about techniques to physically disable security cameras.
Spokane reverses itself, issues 4-month ban on data centers
RANGE Media notes that the city of Spokane will backtrack on plans to build new data centers in the city and has issued a four-month ban on the climate killing centers. In related news the environmental justice organization Front and Centered has called for a moratorium on new data centers in Washington state. Its recent report finds that these data centers disproportionately impact communities of color, Indigenous communities, and low income residents.
Democrat Peltola leads in AK senate race
In a ranked-choice primary in Alaska, Democratic candidate Mary Peltola is leading incumbent Dan Sullivan 48 to 43%, Alaska Beacon reports. Both candidates advance to the November ballot, while Republican Nick Begich III will face independent Bill Hill for Alaska's sole seat in the House of Representatives.
The dark history of the Klan in OR
Oregon Arts Watch has a detailed interview with longtime Portland journalist Steven Law, who has a new book out: Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920s Oregon. The book explores the history of the racist hate organization in OR, how it came to have the the second-highest rate of membership in the US, successfully elected its preferred candidate for governor, and sowed hatred and fear across the state.
Thanks for reading. Keep fighting. --Andy
