Editor's Take: September 05, 2008
otavio pereira, flickr
A Tribe Unrecognized
In the late hours of the Clinton administration, the Duwamish tribe was officially recognized. But shortly after the Bush Whitehouse took office, they were de-listed. Eight years later, the Duwamish are again fighting to be recognized.
Meanwhile, a writer for the Vancouver Sun takes a look at Seattle’s “entrepreneurial zeal” for transportation options, and Washington and Oregon’s Amtrak ridership hits an all time high.
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Duwamish Tribe Fights for Recognition
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
09/05/2008
The Duwamish Tribe of Seattle -- declared extinct by the Bush administration seven years ago -- refuses to die. The tribe of almost 600 is suing in an attempt to gain federal recognition that would give it government aid, a shot at regaining treaty fishing rights and the possibility of opening a casino in the middle of the city named for its chief.
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American Business Driving a 'New Car Culture'
Vancouver Sun
09/05/2008
Americans invented the car culture and the auto-driven economy. But if you had followed me Thursday morning on my "shortcut" down Interstate 405, you wouldn't have to be a saucy columnist to observe that they are in danger of losing it if they don't smarten up. There's gold in them there alternative technologies. And a lot of the people here are panning like mad to get their share.
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WA, OR Amtrak Ridership Hits Record High
Seattle Times
09/04/2008
The high price of gas has increased ridership on Amtrak to record levels, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Ridership on Amtrak Cascades increased 12 percent this year over 2007, and in July alone, ridership hit an all-time record of nearly 80,000 passengers.
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BC Trees Worth More Living than Dead
Toronto Globe and Mail
09/04/2008
Leaving British Columbia's old-growth forests standing may make more economic sense than cutting them down for timber, a new B.C. study suggests. The report from Simon shows that conservation wins out over logging when forests are valued for their role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere, protecting endangered species and providing opportunities for recreation.
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Ahead of Games, Vancouver Reaches out to Homeless
Toronto Globe and Mail
09/05/2008
As many as 300 homeless people, largely from the Downtown Eastside, are to be moved off the streets and into housing next summer as part of a project by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that will have the side effect of helping clear the poverty stricken area before the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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DOT Brushes Off Eyman's I-985 Taunts
Olympian
09/05/2008
Tim Eyman was feeling his oats this morning, sending out an email that taunts state officials over their readiness to convert highway carpool lanes to all-purpose traffic during non-peak hours. He told them they need to get signs ready and other steps ready to go. The government's asphalt-coated boots, so to speak, are not shaking over Eyman's Dec. 4 deadline.
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Survey: Washington Foster Kids Doing Well
Oregon Public Broadcasting
09/05/2008
Nearly 9 in 10 Washington State foster kids say the system treats them "somewhat or very well."
That's a key finding in a first-of-its-kind survey of foster children in the state. But the news is not all good.
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Giant Sequoias Won't Warm up to Climate Change
San Francisco Chronicle
09/05/2008
Warming temperatures could soon cause California's giant sequoia trees to die off more quickly unless forest managers plan with an eye toward climate change and the impacts of a longer, harsher wildfire season, federal researchers warned Thursday.
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Views: A Cure is Coming for Health-Care Ills
Seattle Times
09/05/2008
The public is way ahead of politicians on the need for change. Polls consistently show Americans favor expanded health-insurance coverage for all - by huge margins. The punch line has always been that their genuine enthusiasm for change is diminished by expectations of higher costs and reduced benefits for themselves. Turns out higher costs and degraded benefits are precisely what they are getting now.
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How Big Oil Went From Friend to Foe in Alaska
Toronto Globe and Mail
09/05/2008
By her words, Sarah Palin is a proponent of drilling. But by her actions, she's no great friend of the drillers. In her rousing speech Wednesday night, the Alaska governor talked passionately about the need to drill for new oil and natural gas sources on American soil. Yet in her oil-rich home state, Ms. Palin has set herself up as an enemy of the very companies who would lead the drill-bit charge.
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