Editor's Take: October 01, 2008
Credit: DavidDMuir, Flickr.
Cascadia Feels Nation's Economic Trembles
While the US
is focused on a federal financial bailout, local economies are getting worried.
In Puget
Sound, community organizations fear the impact the nation's economic crisis
will have on local projects. In Bend,
Oregon, the "hard times" are catching up too. The
Oregonian reports that "Oregon
has felt the sting of rising energy and food prices, job losses and real estate
foreclosures."
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Your editor today is Christina Claassen | View All Today's News
Puget Sound on Economic Pins and Needles
KPLU
10/01/2008
The sudden takeover of Washington Mutual has left thousands of employees on pins and needles. There are also fears about the broader economic impact the takeover and any layoffs it causes might have in communities throughout the Puget Sound region.
Go to article.
Hard Times Catch Up to Bend
Oregonian
10/01/2008
As the nation's leaders met behind closed doors hammering out a plan to save Wall Street, a crowd filled the lobby at 1300 N.W. Wall St. in Bend. This is one of the places where Oregonians come to ask the state for help.
The irony connecting the two Wall Streets couldn't be any greater.
Go to article.
California Greenhouse Gas Bill Signed
San Francisco Chronicle
10/01/2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, facing a midnight deadline to deal with 300 bills, signed legislation Tuesday aimed at helping the state fight global warming by better coordinating local planning efforts to curb suburban sprawl.
Go to article.
Vancouver Hails Return of Trams, 50 Years On
Toronto Globe and Mail
10/01/2008
No longer is the good old electric tram a "streetcar named retire" in Canada's third-largest city.
Fifty years after it disappeared from city streets into the great trolley barn in the sky, the streetcar is coming back to Vancouver.
Go to article.
Oregonians Taking Home the Food Pantry Box
Oregonian
10/01/2008
Oregon might brim with the most delicious Dungeness crab, strawberries, pears, hazelnuts and restaurants, yet residents increasingly go hungry, statistics released Tuesday show.
Demand for emergency food boxes climbed about 5 percent from the past year in the 37 Oregon and southwest Washington counties that the Oregon Food Bank serves.
Go to article.
Washington's Minimum Wage Going Up In January
Seattle Times
10/01/2008
Washington's minimum wage will increase 48 cents to $8.55 per hour in 2009.
The wage increase, which takes effect Jan. 1, is the result of a voter initiative 10 years ago requiring the Department of Labor and Industries to adjust the state minimum wage each year according to changes in a national cost-of-living index.
Go to article.
Views: Following Some Cap-and-Trade Rules
Los Angeles Times
10/01/2008
Lobbyists for utilities, oil companies and other polluters are working feverishly behind the scenes to maximize free carbon credits and offsets. If they succeed, California's fight against global warming will be less effective and more expensive for consumers. State air regulators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must make sure that doesn't happen.
Go to article.
Electric Cars Coming Soon to Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Sun
10/01/2008
City council paved the way Tuesday to allow electric cars on city streets.
The council voted to amend traffic bylaws to allow "neighbourhood zero emission vehicles," or slow-moving electric cars, to travel on Vancouver streets with speed limits of 50 km/h or less.
Go to article.
Nonprofits May Feel the Economic Pinch
NPR
10/01/2008
The financial crisis is going to have an effect on many organizations that are not interested in making any money. Nonprofits rely on corporate donations and interest income from their endowments for special programs, operational support and long-term sustainability.
Go to article.
Views: One Species Versus 1.8 Million Others
High Country News
09/29/2008
Let's acknowledge our overpopulation, and do something about it, before it gets worse. The frogs and caddisflies and deer and the ecosystems they participate in will thank us.
Go to article.
