Cascadia today: ICE may expand in Tukwila + snowpack at record lows + tribes sue feds over Columbia & Snake dams
Good morning! I was honored to be a guest on the City Cast Seattle podcast this week, chatting with host Jane Hu and my friend Marcus Harrison Green, founder of the South Seattle Emerald. We chatted about bills in the Oregon and Washington legislatures that would hold back funds from the federal government, plus Cascadia and soft secession, and plans for Valentine's Day. Have a listen!
ICE plans new facility in Tukwila
KUOW reports that ICE is eyeing expanding in the Seattle area by renting space in an office park in Tukwila not far from Boeing field – which has become a local hub for deportation flights. The local activist group La Resistencia has been monitoring and leading protests against those flights, find out more here. In related news, King County executive Girmay Zahilay has announced that ICE will be banned from all non-public King County properties. Meanwhile, Diana Crespo, the 7-year-old Oregon resident held with her family in a detention facility in Texas was a guest of the Oregon legislature yesterday. And the feds announced they were surrendering in Minneapolis and taking their ICE goons out.
When we fight, we win.
Cascadia snowpack at record low levels
It's now official – Oregon's snowpack is the lowest ever recorded and even if the situation changes, conditions will be dire, OPB reports. The average snowpack in Oregon's mountains is just 2.9 inches, 30% lower than the previous record, set in 2015. In Washington, many areas of the Cascades are at 30% of normal levels, KUOW reports. This means drought and low stream flows this summer across Cascadia – all thanks to climate change. Meanwhile, in Washington, storm-damaged highway 2 near Stevens Pass in the Cascades has been repaired a month ahead of schedule.
Seattle's social housing fund better than expected
Seattle's social housing fund – dedicated to creating affordable workforce apartments, beat revenue expectations and brought in $115 million in revenue to build or purchase apartments, PubliCola reports. In other housing news, a 95-unit permanent supportive housing complex – designed to provide affordable housing and services for those exiting homelessnees – opened in north Seattle, the Urbanist reports.
Tribes sue feds over Columbia & Snake dams
OPB reports that a coalition of tribes and environmentalists is suing the federal government for backing out of an agreement to restore salmon and support tribal energy projects in the Columbia River drainage. Trump threw the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement in the trash, jettisoning a hard-won agreement to limit water flows through dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers and spend $1 billion to restore endangered salmon runs. In related news, a bill in the Washington legislature would add two seats from tribal nations to the state's Board of Natural Resources, which manages logging on state lands.
Portland chamber orchestra quits after 79 seasons
Oregon Arts Watch reports that the Portland Chamber Orchestra – one of the oldest existing small orchestras in the US – will shut down after its season this year, its 79th since its founding in 1946. Meanwhile, Vancouver Opera announced its lineup for the 2026-2027 season. And KNKX speaks with Italian-born pianist Francesco Crosara, who's based in Bremerton, Washington, and is a prominent figure in the local jazz and music education scene. Please support the local arts organizations you appreciate by buying tickets to concerts and performances!
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting! --Andrew
