Cascadia today: Fake opposition to millionaires' tax + BC could weaken Indigenous consultation + Black arts in Hood River
Fake "con" comments flood WA millionaires tax testimony
According to KUOW, many of the comments registered online with the Washington legislature in opposition to SB 6346, the tax on incomes over $1 million were fraudulently posted. According to a statement from Invest in Washington, a nonprofit supporting the tax, more than 100 comments were confirmed fraudulent, including ones claiming to be from Sen. Victoria Hunt, who sponsored the legislation, former congressional rep Derek Kilmer, SEIU 775 union official Adam Glickman, and WEA President Larry Delaney. Investing in Washington is calling on attorney general Nick Brown to investigate.
If you live in Washington, you can tell your legislators you support SB 6346 here.
OR bill withholding funds from feds gets hearing today
In Oregon, HB 4143, which would authorize the governor to withhold payment of money owed to the US Treasury if the feds refuse to pay congressionally appropriated funds to the state, has a hearing in the Oregon senate judiciary committee at 12:45 pm today, Wed. Feb 25. You can submit written testimony online for 48 hours after the meeting. The bill is an important step toward Cascadia fiscal autonomy.
Andrew Engelson
BC plans to distribute free naloxone but funding uncertain
CBC reports that British Columbia's health ministry distributed 40,000 nasal units of the overdose reversal drug naloxone in 2024 and plans to distribute as many as 290,000 units by the April 2027, but activists point out that funding for the program is uncertain. Public health research shows distribution of naloxone and increased access to treatment are behind recent declines in fatal overdose, I reported for PubliCola last year.
BC moves quickly to weaken Indigenous consultation
The Narwhal reports that British Columbia premier David Eby is hoping to pass legislation that would weaken the province's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), which requires meaningful consultation with First Nations on large-scale infrastructure and resource extraction projects. The B.C. Assembly of First Nations, Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May, environmental activist David Suzuki, Emily Lowan, leader of the BC Greens, and many other are opposed, according to a joint letter sent to Eby and NDP leadership.
"Indigenous Peoples' Human Rights exist independent of provincial legislation." --join letter opposed to revision of DRIPA
Interactive Black arts exhibit in Hood River
In honor of Black History Month, the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, Oregon has an interactive exhibit of thirty Black artists from across Oregon called "Black Infinity House," according to OPB. The exhibit includes living-room-style spaces for visitors to sit, relax, read, and converse among paintings, photography, textile art, and poetry. The exhibit runs through March 29.
Thanks for reading! --Andrew
