Cascadia today: Floods continue across region + suing feds for massive visa fees + Idaho ICE disappearing immigrants
Major flooding continues across Cascadia
As levees broke in areas of south King county and officials ordered evacuations, rains and flooding continued across Cascadia. Workers were able to fix the levee damage near Tukwila, and prevent major flooding there, the Associated Press reports. The US Army Corp of Engineers temporarily took over Seattle City Light dams on the Skagit River to reduce flood threats, KUOW reported. A levee break near the town of Pacific also prompted evacuations, KING 5 notes. Heavy rain is also expected in British Columbia's Fraser River Valley, CBC reports. One man drowned in Snohomish county after trying to drive a flooded road. Please follow all evacuation orders and stay out of closed areas.
Many tribal nations have been affected by the floods: the Lummi Nation declared a state of emergency Q-13 FOX reports, and received help from the Corps of Engineers to assess the safety of levees on the Nooksack River. Meanwhile, the Snoqualmie and Nooksack nations have also declared emergencies, ICT reports.
Before driving, consult WSDOT's closure map. Washington state has a good information site dedicated to resources for those impacted by floods.
To donate money or volunteer to assist those affected by floods in north Puget Sound, visit Cascadia Daily News' excellent list of organizations to support. The American Red Cross recently reported on the work it's doing to assist flood victims in Western Washington.
Cocoa Laney
OR sues feds for $100K visa fees
Oregon Capital Chronicle reports that Oregon is joining a lawsuit with 18 other states challenging the Trump administration's massive fee increase for H1-B visas issued to skilled workers, including medical and tech professionals. The $100,000 fee is a massive increase and will likely have a huge impact on companies across Cascadia. Geek Wire reports that Washington state has also joined the lawsuit, noting that Amazon has more than 19,000 employees on H1-B visas, while Microsoft has more than 6,000.
No cost estimates on Columbia River freeway bridge
According to Washington State Standard, an expected new cost estimate on the replacement bridge for I-5 over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon was not delivered as expected on Monday. Costs for the replacement have been projected between $5 billion and $7.5 billion.
It's time to start over. Cascadia needs to shift its transportation priorities to high speed rail and transit, and either plan for a much smaller I-5 bridge replacement or give the bridge to a private contractor to run independently and charge whatever they need to operate it when complete. To support the cross-state effort opposing this massive boondoggle, visit No More Freeways.
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Idaho abducting immigrants sending them far away
Investigate West has a detailed report on how ICE is abducting and detaining immigrants in Idaho and sending them far from family and their attorneys – often to NWIPC in Tacoma – but also as far away as Louisiana and Texas.
“They tell them, ‘You guys don’t have rights, you don’t have access to attorneys, just sign the papers.’ --Rachel Vasquez, whose relative was detained in Idaho and sent to Las Vegas
Thanks for reading! -Andrew
