Cascadia Report

Category: Politics

  • New push for alternative energy in Oregon

    Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski called for a cap on carbon dioxide emissions and creation of a trading system designed to reduce the state’s output. He said the proposals would stimulate business in the state:

    “You know we’ve turned a corner when Wall Street banks are telling you that investments in renewable energy and other technologies to combat global warming are among the largest economic opportunities now and in the coming decades,” he said.

    Electricity production reportedly accounts for 42 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Kulongoski would have a task force propose details of a cap-and-trade system while he advances bills to promote biofuels and require a quarter of Oregon’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2025.

  • Ports oppose plan to tax shipping

    Washington state ports are opposing an influential legislator’s plan to tax containers to pay for transportation projects that would help move freight. The ports should offer an alternative way to pay for the improvements.

    An extra per-container charge would steer more traffic to rivals in Vancouver or California, which are already competing effectively because of superior transportation links to larger markets. Yet, with rising construction costs making the regional to-do list more daunting, it’s not enough to expect voters to pay entirely through up-front taxes. Why not advocate congestion pricing across the region, which would alleviate crowding on roads and provide incentives to use alternate transportation.

  • With Dems now in charge, compromise no virtue

    President Bush likely will continue his with-us-or-against-us approach tonight in the State of the Union speech. So why do media reports suddenly suggest that compromise is a virture?

    Now that Democrats control Congress and statewide government in Washington state, media seem fixated on the need to find common ground. One example: NPR’s series on how the parties work together.

    It’s local too. KPLU reports that Republicans have named three of their strongest to the Senate Education Committee in order to thwart spending on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s top legislative priority. But they’re not obstructionists standing in the way of better schools; they’re portrayed as loyal opposition to spendthrift Democrats.

    Democrats need accomplishments in order to hold their lead, so it’s worrisome when “compromise” is touted as the new goal. Voters want concrete action and elections should stand for something. One Republican got it right in an NPR report about California’s politics: “Voters didn’t elect me to compromise. They elected me to stand for something.”

  • Portland wants more flexible growth rules

    The Portland-area’s regional government is asking the state for more flexibility in growth rules in order to cope with the continuing increase in population. It’s tempting to think that more flexibility sooner may have helped prevent the backlash against growth-management rules.

    Here’s what Metro wants:

    More time to choose the next batch of communities. New ways to raise money for roads, sewers, schools and other essentials. And the ability to line up land for future development while permanently protecting the best farming areas.

  • Urge to speak shows the politics of Cascadia

    It’s speech-giving season — Cascadia’s city politicians included. The way they handle themselves shows differences in the region’s politics.

    podium; by miwoodproducts.comPresident Bush gives his State of the Union next week and Canada has its throne speeches. Now Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, capitalizing on a centralized local government, has adopted the tradition by giving the first such speech by the city’s mayor that anyone can remember.

    Portland Mayor Tom Potter used his address to outline a long-term vision for the city. The speech was well received so Willamette Week added a small bit of controversy by asking popular former mayor Vera Katz what she would say. The result? A call for more specifics and support for charter revisions that would streamline city government and make planning decisions easier.

    Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels hasn’t scheduled his speech yet. But it’s already been upstaged by members of the city council, who are elected citywide and consider themselves mini-mayors — a structure that hamstrings decision making. This year they even decided to make mini “State of the City” speeches highlighting their goals for 2007.

  • B.C. fish-farming industry hits controversy

    It’s been a rough week for British Columbia molluscks.

    The province okayed a 63-acre geoduck farm with an eye to supplying the Chinese seafood market. The plan was criticized by environmentalists and the opposition party for overlooking ecological impacts. Then another proposal for a 925-acre scallop farm ran into increasing opposition from fishing and community groups. A retired federal fisheries official said:

    “If we wanted to put a Wal-Mart in Qualicum Beach, how many council meetings and public meetings would there be? This is like putting 100 Wal-Marts in Georgia Strait and the implications biologically, for the fish and the birds, are far more significant than a Wal-Mart in Qualicum Beach,” he said

  • Options narrow for replacing Seattle viaduct

    The idea of a tunnel to replace Seattle’s waterfront freeway appears dead after the governor and key legislators rejected the latest proposal. So now what?

    Seattle without a viaduct; courtesy seattle.govThe state says it demands action because the existing viaduct — a state highway — could collapse. If that’s true, then it should immediately begin working on ways to handle the existing traffic and begin closing the road.

    Unfortunately the only apparent action is more debate. Why not invest existing funds in improved roads and transit? Don’t waste time and money on advisory votes or a protracted fight between Seattle and the state over a new viaduct.

  • Amtrak matching funds could boost regional trains

    Passenger rail service could be expanded under legislation to make federal matching funds available to states that invest in Amtrak service.

    Washington and Oregon should continue to invest, with incremental infrastructure improvements to make trains an alternative to driving or flying. A similar bill was bottled up in Congress last fall but apparently has a better chance with Democrats in control.

    Several trains daily between Portland and Vancouver are currently funded by the states, a subsidy that works out to less than for buses and other forms of transit, according to The Columbian. The matching funds could be used for infrastructure, while leveling the transportation playing field by charging more for use of airports and highways.

  • Dispute over proposed B.C. mine widens

    A proposal for a new coal mine north of Glacier National Park is becoming the latest transborder dispute over Cascadia water.

    Flathead River North Fork; photo by whitewatercampsites.comMontana officials are worried that a new mine in British Columbia would pollute the headwaters of the Flathead River, which is key to the state’s recreation-based industry. B.C. would get the economic benefit of the mine.

    Gov. Brian Schweitzer reportedly wants to publicize the potential environmental impacts in Vancouver and get Washington, D.C., involved. Sen. Max Baucus plans to ask the U.S. General Accountability Office to investigate whether B.C.’s government has been following its own environmental laws. He’s also looking into a lawsuit under NAFTA and threatened to take the issue to the mine operator’s investors in Germany and Japan. “There’s a lot of ways to skin a cat,” he told the Missoulian.

  • What traffic could become

    People who won’t go to dinner more than two miles from home or who give up on vast swaths of the city for long stretches of every week. Those are among the traffic horror stories in Steve Lopez’s latest Los Angeles Times columns.

    The cause is a disconnect between urban development and transportation infrastructure. Jobs are downtown or on the Westside and workers who can’t afford to live there are forced to jam the highways. Unless Cascadia cities build housing where people work they’re likely bound to the same fate. For the latest example, consider that Vancouver-area police officers can’t afford to live in the city they serve.