Editor's Take: April 03, 2008
Kensington mine in Alaska
It's Mines, All Mines for the NW
The headlines, mostly straight-up business stories, appear almost daily. The mining industry is booming to the tune of eight figures in Cascadia. New mines – really big ones – are proposed for rural BC and Alaska. Today, the New York Times visits one resort town in Idaho, where folks are suddenly betting on silver, not tourism, to shuttle them though a recession.
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Moribund Mines Find a Silver Bullet In Idaho
New York Times
04/03/2008
Since the 1980s, an entire generation of Silver Valley workers had left to find jobs elsewhere. Shoshone County, previously one of Idaho's three most prosperous counties, had become one of its three poorest.
Now silver is around $17 an ounce, there is talk of reopening a local mining training site (it is a mine-it-yourself tourist attraction now), and an industry that declares itself cleaner and safer than ever is reaching out across the West to find workers.
Go to article.
Victorians No. 1 in Commuting by Foot or Bike
Victoria Times Colonist
04/03/2008
Muscle power rather than horsepower is increasingly getting people to work in Greater Victoria, which is No. 1 among Canadian cities for residents walking and cycling to work.
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B.C. is Canada's Most Ethnically Diverse Province
CBC BC
04/03/2008
The face of Canada is changing and B.C. continues to lead the way, according to the latest census figures released by Statistics Canada.
Overall, there are more than five million visible minorities in the country, making up more than 16 per cent of the total population.
Go to article.
Paper or Plastic? Seattle Says Bring Your Own
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
04/03/2008
Seattle could trump even the greenest of American cities with fines on foam and taxes on bags -- both paper and plastic, city politicians say.
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Funds Help Sustain Affordable Housing in Oregon
Ashland Daily Tidings
04/03/2008
A total of $7 million in public and private funds will help keep affordable housing in Oregon -- including 667 apartment units in Jackson County -- from being sold at market rates.
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Californians Say Gas Guzzlers Should Pay
San Francisco Chronicle
04/03/2008
Californians support the idea of charging "green" vehicle fees that would make drivers of gas guzzlers pay higher taxes and offer discounts for those driving less-polluting vehicles, according to a survey by a transportation researcher at San Jose State University.
Go to article.
House Panel Backs Oregon Coastal Wilderness
AP
04/03/2008
A bill to create federal wilderness protection for 13,000 acres of national forest along Oregon's southern coast is on its way to the House floor.
The House Natural Resources Committee approved a new Copper Salmon Wilderness.
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B.C. Grocery Prices Set to Soar
Vancouver Sun
04/03/2008
Food-price inflation is about to hit one of the main staples for local shoppers at Asian supermarkets: rice.
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Washington State Begs for Health Funding
Olympian
04/03/2008
The state's health care program for the poor again is clashing with the Bush administration, this time over rules that would force major changes in managing Medicaid services to seniors and the elderly in their homes.
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Green News a President Should Use
Slate
04/03/2008
With President Bush's approval rating hovering in the 30s, just about everyone has an opinion on what George W. has done wrong in the past seven years. But not everyone can explain what the next president must do to fix it. So we've called in some experts to tell us. Fixing It is a 10-part series to be published over the course of the week by some of our favorite writers, offering detailed policy prescriptions for the next president, whoever that may be, on how to quickly undo some of the damage that's been wrought.
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