Cascadia today: ICE had quotas in Oregon + new orcas spotted in Salish Sea + essays by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

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ICE had quota of eight arrests per day in Portland

The Guardian reveals details from a lawsuit challenging warrant-less ICE arrests in Oregon – including the fact ICE officers used a custom app to target people for seizure and that the officers had a daily quota of eight kidnappings per day. In related news, the Urbanist looks at local efforts to restrict or prohibit new detention centers: Pierce County's council will vote March 24 on a proposal to ban new detention centers after King County and Seattle recently passed similar measures. You can send a message in support of the bill at the Pierce county council website.

Spokane Christian supremacist spreads hatred of Islam

RANGE Media looks at a new campaign from Christian white nationalist and former Spokane-area legislator Matt Shea spreading Islamophobia and stirring up fears of imaginary sleeper cells of communists and Antifa™. Southern Poverty Law Center has more on Shea, who's promoted anti-trans rallies, pushed Christian nationalism, and advocated for a right-wing armed insurgency.

Sound Transit offers new plan for West Seattle line

The Urbanist reports that Sound Transit planners have come up with a revised plan for a new line to West Seattle that saves several billion dollars, which would make it more likely to meet its planned opening in 2032. Meanwhile, according to OPB, Portland transportation planners are studying how Hoboken, New Jersey lowered speed limits and made intersections safer for pedestrians, and hasn't had a pedestrian fatality in nine years. Other Cascadia cities should take note!

New orca visitors spotted in Salish Sea

A trio of previously unknown orcas is wandering and hunting seals across the Salish Sea, having been spotted in Vancouver, Seattle, and Olympia, KUOW reports. The three orcas are likely from Alaska, KING-5 reports, noting that 99.5% of all orcas usually seen in the Salish Sea are identified and documented.

KUOW book club reads Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

KUOW's latest book club reading is Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe's collection of essays, Thunder Song. The self-described Coast Salish punk writer looks at Indigenous community and recovery from trauma in the collection. LaPointe, who's a member of the Upper Skagit and Nooksack tribes, will do a live interview with KUOW at Seattle's central library at 6:30 pm March 23.

Thanks for reading! Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andrew