Current Stories
Editor's Top Picks
Groups push for a less expensive I-5 bridge
Portland Tribune
11/06/2009
Groups are urging WA and OR leaders to toss out the proposed massive $4 billion, 12-lane Columbia River Crossing bridge project and start over, using a new approach that starts with region's shared values of economic vitality, affordable transportation, safe and healthy neighborhoods and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
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Anxiety ebbs over Green River flooding
Seattle Times
11/06/2009
The odds of severe flooding in the Green River Valley have dropped substantially due to repairs on the Howard Hanson Dam. But that relief was followed by barely contained frustration that months of high anxiety have come at great psychic and financial expense - and that the wait for a permanent fix could sap the region further even if a flood never comes.
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Views: Energy initiative should spark broader dialogue
Tri-City Herald
11/06/2009
Promoting clean energy development in the Mid-Columbia region is a natural fit, but we need a broader conversation about our economic future. That includes serious talks about potential uses of those parts of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation that are cleaned up and no longer are needed by the federal government.
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Deadly foam gone, more than 10,000 seabirds die
Oregonian
11/04/2009
The deadly foam that clobbered seabirds in the Pacific Northwest has subsided and several hundred birds rescued from the slime are being released. But the death toll worries conservationists.
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Storm drains seek adoption
Seattle Weekly
11/04/2009
Government entities are cutting services, and the city of Seattle is applying that ethos to storm drains and sewers, just as they're becoming leaf-clogged and prone to flooding in our typically damp autumn weather.
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Federal grant supports power, fish project
Kitsap Sun
11/04/2009
Tacoma Power will receive $4.7 million in federal stimulus money to build a new power plant at the lower Cushman Dam on the North Fork of the Skokomish River.
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Valley in Washington prepares for flood
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
On a sunny fall Saturday, friends and neighbors gathered at Bobby Kendall's place to help him build a 2-foot barrier of sandbags around his suburban Seattle home. Such get-togethers have become a familiar ritual on the block in recent weeks as people lend a hand to neighbors to barricade homes.
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'Everything but marriage' backers smell victory
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Supporters of gay rights were buoyed by first-day returns that showed Referendum 71 leading by a narrow margin Tuesday evening. The trends looked positive for the measure, which would expand Washington's domestic-partnership law.
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McGinn leads tight Seattle mayor race
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle's mayoral race was too close to call Tuesday night, with environmentalist attorney Mike McGinn holding a narrow lead over T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan. McGinn's insurgent campaign was outspent 3-to-1 and threw a Hail Mary pass by backing away somewhat from his signature campaign issue: opposition to the deep-bore tunnel planned for Seattle's waterfront.
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Constantine wins King County exec
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Riding a late-breaking wave of liberal support, Dow Constantine - a pro-abortion-rights, pro-labor, pro-transit Democrat - handily defeated Susan Hutchison on Tuesday in a rancorous race for King County executive. Now he has to clean up the county's budget, which is projected to face a $110 million shortfall over the next two years.
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Views: Initiative 1033's fatal flaw
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Tim Eyman's latest effort to mess with government, Initiative 1033, seems to have gone down in flames. Eyman's initiative reached beyond state government and deep into local courthouses and city halls, close enough for many people in small towns to see very clearly that Eyman's usual one-size-fits-all approach was not going to fit their communities, not at all.
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Beauty of a bioswale
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
A few months ago, a good-lookin' bioswale was a tangled forest of blackberries and scrubby trees gone out of control. Subdivision owners didn't realize that maintaining the stormwater facility - vital to filtering the dirty water draining off their streets into streams and groundwater - was their responsibility until a sternly worded letter arrived in their mailboxes.
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Settling the 'which Vancouver?' question
Crosscut
11/03/2009
Cascadia has two Vancouvers, which causes confusion. That's why residents of Vancouver, WA are interested in re-branding their city, distinguishing it from their better-known neighbor to the north.
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Seattle supports affordalbe housing levy
Seattle Times
11/04/2009
Seattle voters approved Proposition 1, continuing a pattern of generosity toward affordable-housing measures despite an ongoing economic crunch.
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WA, OR on cutting edge for green jobs
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
The green research firm, Clean Edge, has released a study of "clean-tech" jobs, identifying the top 15 metro areas in the US for jobs in fields such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Puget Sound region (Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton) and the Portland-Salem area in Oregon, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.
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Backyard cottages OK'd in Seattle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Backyard cottages will be allowed in single-family zones throughout Seattle under an ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council. City Councilman Tim Burgess said it would help people provide housing for family members or to offer low-cost rental units. "That's a positive way to create affordable housing in our city."
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Seattle could lead electric car "revolution"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/02/2009
Seattle could be a leader in the electric car "revolution" when next year it becomes one of five cities to get 2,500 charging stations under a $100 million federal grant.
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Recycled paper business booming
Seattle Times
11/02/2009
For retailers, the "100 percent recycled" label on a product is a badge of honor declaring civic responsibility. For consumers, it's a status symbol showing environmental awareness. For manufacturers, such as Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, the label can be a gold mine.
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In eastern WA, big plans for solar power
Seattle Times
11/01/2009
Coal was once king in the town of Cle Elum. Now the vision is cleaner and greener because of a massive solar installation proposed for 580 acres of logged timberland outside the city limits.
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Local waters may become "Salish Sea"
KPLU
10/30/2009
The Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Georgia Strait are parts of a connected marine ecosystem. Now, a Washington board is likely to approve a new name for these inland waterways: The Salish Sea.
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Gates Foundation grants to aid Washington state
Seattle Times
10/29/2009
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is giving out $4 million in grants to help community foundations, libraries, and legal aid services in Washington cope with the effects of recession.
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Federal dollars for Puget Sound, national forests
Kitsap Sun
10/29/2009
Congress will provide $50 million next year for the cleanup and restoration of Puget Sound, an increase from $20 million in the current year's budget.
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Paving the way to a bike-friendly future
Seattle Times
10/29/2009
The small Washington city of Burien is a few strides in front of its neighbors, by proposing to build sidewalks and bike lanes using a $25 car-tab fee.
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Western Washington could see water refugees
Kitsap Sun
10/28/2009
Given available water supplies, people will one day flock to Western Washington from other regions. And, if carefully managed, water could fuel an economic engine involving clean industries that wish to relocate here.
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Killer foam: A freak event or a warning?
Oregonian
10/28/2009
A simple organism that killed thousands of seabirds in Oregon and Washington has stunned scientists who are combing through clues in hopes of unraveling its mystery.
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