Cascadia today: Cascadia resists war on voting + Sound Transit neglects diverse neighborhood + Alaska cruises poison Salish Sea

Cascadia sues Trump over voting restrictions

Donald Trump this week stepped up his war on voting by issuing an executive order that would place extreme limits on vote-by-mail, including creating a giant registry of voters that the US Postal Service would need to vet before allowing votes to be counted. Oregon election officials are trying to sort out what the order means for Oregon's voting system, OPB reports, in a state that has some of the highest turnout in the nation.

The order is clearly unconstitutional – the US constitution specifically says that only the states and Congress can set rules on elections. Several voting rights groups have already filed lawsuits. Trump's continued assault on democracy, if it continues, is forcing residents of Oregon and Washington to consider options for leaving the US. I wrote about this in last week's newsletter:

Another reason for Cascadia to leave: Trump’s war on voting

On Monday, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a Mississippi case that could end the practice of counting ballots postmarked on election day but which arrive after that date. This would upend the long-established and popular system of vote-by-mail in Washington and Oregon. The authoritarian wing of the Supreme

Cascadia JournalAndrew Engelson

BC premier on wrong path with DRIPA

At the Tyee, former Green party MLA and Tsartlip First Nation member Adam Olsen writes about British Columbia premier David Eby's approach amending the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Olsen says Eby failed to negotiate with First Nations and now finds the NDP party caught between conservatives who want to repeal that act and Indigenous nations, which oppose all amendments. In related news, Canada's national NDP selected Avi Lewis, a social democrat very to the left of BC's centrist-leaning NDP to lead the party.

Sound Transit neglects diverse neighborhoods in expansion

As Sound Transit grapples with a $34 billion deficit in its expansion plans, one station on the cutting board is Graham Street, an infill station in one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. Another infill station in the north end, which is predominantly white, is moving forward. Read more about the long fight to bring a station to this neglected neighborhood. There's an online campaign to pressure Sound Transit to move forward on Graham Street: you can sign on here.

"As an area that has suffered from historical under-investments in our community and one with many low-income residents and households with limited car access, we need affordable, reliable and convenient transit. " --Save the Graham Street Station

Save the Graham Street Station

The Graham Street Light Rail Station is scheduled to open in 2031 and add a new street level light rail station near MLK & South Graham Street, between Columbia City and Othello stations, porviding service every six minutes at peak hours. After decades of community organizing and planning, the Graham Street Station was included in the Sound Transit 3 Plan (ST3). The people unanimously approved ST3 that extended the routes and all of the new stations. Graham Station is one of them and long overdue. Now Sound Transit Board is threatening to delay the station once again. As an area that has suffered from historical underinvestments in our community and one with many low-income residents and households with limited car access, we need affordable, reliable and convenient transit. The Hillman City/Brighton communities have waited too long already. Let’s deliver a strong message to the Sound Transit Board not to cut Graham Street Station. They should not pit communities against one another. We need to remind them that the people voted and approved the ST3 Plan and Sound Transit must deliver the full ST3 Plan as proposed. Anything less than that is not an option.

Action NetworkAction Network

Alaska cruise ships combat air pollution by poisoning the sea

KUOW reporter Tom Banse talks about his reporting on cruise ship scrubbers, devices that pull pollutants out of emissions created by burning high-sulfur diesel that dump those pollutants into the Salish Sea on their journey from Seattle to Alaska. The Washington legislature failed to limit scrubbers this session.

The evidence is clear: Seattle's cruise ship fleet is bad for the environment in many ways. Tell the Port of Seattle to place strict limits on these behemoths by attending a protest on the Seattle waterfront at 11 am Wed. April 15.

Protect People & Planet: Opening Day of Seattle’s Cruise Season Action!

Help protect people and the planet from the polluting and exploitative cruise industry! Seattle’s 2026 cruise season opens on Wednesday 4/15. Join Seattle Cruise Control, Climate Action Families, and Washington Physicians For Social Responsibility to hand out fliers and display art at the Pier 66 Cruise Terminal from 11am - 1pm. Volunteer for a role here! Learn more about how the cruise industry pollutes our air, water, and climate while exploiting workers and destination communities at SeattleCruiseControl.org

Action NetworkAction Network

Renée Watson, Newbery medal-winning author

OPB profiles Renée Watson, an Oregon-based author who won the 2026 Newbery medal for children's literature for her novel All the Blues in the Sky. The novel is about grief and a girl's journey toward healing. Watson, in advocating for her novels in the book industry, pushed back on the notion that books about Black girls don't sell, she told OPB:

“I’ve had to advocate — not just for the stories, but for the images,” she said. “I want girls to see a reflection of themselves.”

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