Editor's Take: January 12, 2009
credit: slightlynorth, flickr
A Viaduct Decision Is Made
Washington officials have settled on a decision over the fate of Seattle’s waterfront viaduct: a tunnel. The verdict will still have to get the support of the legislature, and the question of funding remains unanswered. Meanwhile, Oregon Governor Kulongoski said some powerful words in his State of the State address: “There is a green revolution stirring in America, and Oregon is the beating heart of that revolution.”
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Viaduct Choice: It's a Tunnel
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
01/13/2009
The elected leaders of the city of Seattle, King County and the state finally agree about how to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct -- they want a deep-bore tunnel. Whether they can get the Legislature -- specifically, House Speaker Frank Chopp -- to endorse the most expensive option for replacing the vital Seattle arterial remains to be seen.
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Kulongoski: "A Green Revolution is Stirring"
Portland Tribune
01/12/2009
Gov. Ted Kulongoski helped kick start the 2009 Legislative Session Monday morning, telling lawmakers in Salem that they needed to put aside partisan bickering and come up with some "winning ideas" to help dig the state out of its economic hole.
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Earl Blumenauer, a Bicycle Evangelist With the Wind Now at His Back
New York Times
01/12/2009
For years, Earl Blumenauer has been on a mission, and now his work is paying off. He can tell by the way some things are deteriorating around here. Mr. Blumenauer, a passionate advocate of cycling as a remedy for everything from climate change to obesity, represents most of Portland in Congress, where he is the founder and proprietor of the 180 (plus or minus)-member Congressional Bicycle Caucus.
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WA Environmental Groups Lay Out Green Agenda
Vancouver Columbian
01/13/2009
Washington's environmental groups will lobby to impose a "polluter pays" levy on oil companies. The money would help pay the cost of reducing contaminated runoff into the state's waters. The Washington Environmental Council also will urge lawmakers to move ahead with adopting a "cap and invest" system for carbon emissions. The revenue would be used to create green energy jobs, spur innovation, and provide assistance to people who are struggling with high energy costs.
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Loggers Say They Need Help Getting Credit, Not a Financial Bailout
Vancouver Sun
01/13/2009
In the face of a downturn that has put two-thirds of coastal logging contractors out of work and a credit crunch that has dried up access to capital, loggers say they need to be part of the proposed federal economic stimulation package.
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Bush Gets in a Few Last Whacks at Northwest Forests
Crosscut
01/13/2009
A last minute change in the rules for Oregon forests will be hard to undo, though the environmental lawsuits have already begun.
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AK Mine Wants Court OK to Dump Waste in Lake
Anchorage Daily News
01/12/2009
A lawyer representing an Alaska gold mine urged the Supreme Court today to uphold the mine owner's permit even though he acknowledged that the company's plan to dump metal waste into a nearby lake would kill all aquatic life.
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Big Harvest, Weak Demand Bring Down Crop Prices
San Francisco Chronicle
01/12/2009
U.S. farmers delivered a bumper crop in 2008, according to a government report released Monday that eased fears of a looming food shortage but caused commodity prices to drop.
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Views: Light Breaks Over a New Wilderness in Oregon
Oregonian
01/13/2009
Dawn has finally arrived on new wilderness in this state after a long, long darkness. The United States Senate voted in a rare Sunday session for legislation that will protect forever more than 200,000 acres in Oregon, and another 2 million acres in eight other states. Sixty-six senators, led by Oregon's Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, broke Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn's hold on new wilderness.
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Views: Gender and Society: Paycheck Fairness
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
01/12/2009
The U.S. Supreme Court kicked female workers in the teeth with a 2007 ruling that made it impossible for them to sue over employment discrimination that, as often happens, they don't learn about until much later. Now comes President-elect Barack Obama and a new Congress with plans to make legal changes clarifying the right to bring legal actions.
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