Cascadia today: DHS lied about Portland shooting + OR & WA push tax increases + stories imagine Tahoma eruption
DHS lied about Venezuelans shot by officers in Portland
An investigative story today at the Guardian today reports that although the Department of Homeland Security initially tried to characterize two Venezuelans DHS officers shot in Portland – the day after the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis – as "vicious" gang members, documents show DHS walked back those comments in court, admitting the two were not gang members and had no previous criminal records. Meanwhile, OPB has acquired security video footage from Fora Health of the shooting. Though blurry and without audio, it appears the two tried to drive away but it seems unlikely the vehicle was used "as a weapon" as ICE regularly claims of drivers it tries to kill. Attorneys for the two shooting victims say that DHS engaged in a "smear campaign" against the immigrants.
“The federal government cannot be trusted. Our default position should be skepticism and understanding they lie very regularly,” – Sameer Kanal, Portland city councilor
Firsthand accounts of ICE tear gassing Portland children
After ICE fired tear gas rounds at a peaceful march in front of a Portland ICE facility last weekend, firsthand accounts of toddlers in onesies and elderly residents being treated for injuries are starting to emerge. Willamette Week interviews a number of parents who were part of the peaceful, "No Kings"-style march and Marisa Kabas at the national independent news site the Handbasket also collects accounts of kids screaming in fear and pain after ICE used flashbang grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets on the family-friendly protest.
ICE is not an agency that can be reformed improved with better training. It needs to be abolished, and if not, at the very least, kicked out of Cascadia.
Andrew Engelson
WA Dems push millionaires' tax, payroll tax faces steep odds
Democrats in the Washington legislature filed legislation yesterday (SB 6346) establishing a tax on incomes above $1 million, but governor Bob Ferguson told KUOW he won't support the bill in its current form though he is generally supportive of the tax (no text of the bill is publicly available yet). Meanwhile, Washington State Standard reports that state senate majority leader Jamie Pedersen is lukewarm in support for a proposed payroll tax on those making over $125,000, citing opposition from state businesses.
If you live in Washington, please call your legislators at 800-562-6000 and leave a brief message in support of the millionaires' tax (SB 6346) and the Well Washington Fund payroll tax (HB 2100).
OR proposes unlinking state income tax from federal code
Meanwhile, Oregon Democrats introduced legislation that would temporarily disconnect Oregon's income tax from the federal code, a move that would increase revenue for the state by $291 million for a year and a half, Oregon Capital Chronicle reports. I'll be in Salem at noon on Thursday February 5 for the Fight for Our Future rally calling for more progressive revenue in Oregon and an end to austerity budgets. Find out more at Cascadia Democratic Action. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to cascadiademocratic@protonmail.com.
BC pauses plan to make polluters pay for cleanups
The Tyee reports that the British Columbia government has halted a plan that would have ensured that mining companies and other polluting industrial sites pay for environmental clean-ups rather than taxpayers. Though some businesses are currently forced to pay, there are huge gaps in the law that don't apply to pulp mills, gas stations, or LNG terminals. In related news, the Narwhal looks at whether BC needs another oil pipeline across the province (spoiler: it doesn't).
Fiction imagines eruption of Tahoma
The Tacoma-based publication Grit City has a collection of short stories that imagine what would happen during a catastrophic 2035 eruption of the state's highest volcano, Tahoma (known to colonists as Mount Rainier).
"By August, downtown Tacoma felt gutted. Favorite bars shut their doors. Old friends moved north. Yet down on Ruston Way, people still grilled salmon. Kids still tore down Stadium’s hills on bikes. Life didn’t stop; it just felt thinner, stretched. Some nights I sat with my kids by the Narrows, watching the tide. It was comforting in a way—the tide didn’t care what Rainier had planned." --Scott Roberts
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andrew
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