Cascadia Report

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  • Toxic shipments seized at Vancouver port

    Officials in Vancouver seized 50 containers of hazardous garbage bound for China, a portion a what they called a “very large” toxic industry doing business through the port.

    The waste from 27 companies across Canada reportedly includes computer monitors containing lead, lead-acid batteries, fluorescent lamps with PCBs and toxic scrap metal. An international treaty bans shipment of toxics to developing countries, which can be cheaper than recycling in Canada.

    A Seattle-based activist trying to curb toxic exports told the CBC that Canadians could still ship the materials through ports in the U.S. because it hasn’t signed the treaty. A new American law requires exporters to notify the government before shipping hazardous materials but there is little enforcement, according to this recent report.

  • Another verdict on the Christmas tree fiasco

    From the better-late-than-never category: one of the the sharpest summaries of what went wrong at the Port of Seattle this Christmas season.

    Peter Callaghan of the News Tribune says the port commissioners “received bad staff work, got bad legal advice and used a bad process” to deal with questions over Christmas trees in the Sea-Tac terminal. “The number of unintended — and bad — consequences just might set a record for a single public-policy decision by an elected body in the state of Washington,” he writes.

    The uproar distracted attention from questions of whether the port is effectively doing its job with Sea-Tac.

  • Environmental review delays Puget Sound port

    In a setback for expansion of port capacity in Puget Sound, an environmental review has temporarily blocked Weyerhaeuser’s plans to export logs from the Port of Olympia.

    The small port signed a five-year lease with the timber company last year and was expecting $1.5 million in new revenue and 36 new jobs. The operation is delayed until late 2007 the delays have cost $750,000 in missed revenue.

    The delay has an impact on shipping capacity in Puget Sound overall. Shifting from the log business would allow more space for containerships in Tacoma and would boost the growing port business in Olympia. Critics say the project is unnecessary since the area has few industrial producers, fault the port’s decision-making and opposed plans to dredge the inlet.

  • Border hassles help cut Canada visits to new low

    Travel from the U.S. to Canada slumped in October to the lowest level since records have been kept, likely thanks to border hassles, confusion about passport requirements and a stronger Canadian dollar.

    According to Statistics Canada, there were 2.3 million trips from the U.S. in October, down 12.1 percent from a year earlier. That’s the least travel since 1972. The number of same-day car trips fell 18 percent while the number of overnight trips fell 2.1 percent.

    The dropoff hurts tourism and trade across Cascadia and could hinder attempts by Washington to take advantage of the surge in visitors around the 2010 Olympics. Delays at the border highlight the need for Washington and B.C. to convince the federal governments to fund better infrastructure and use much clearer standards to screen travelers.

    Strength in the Canadian currency also discouraged travel in October, as the dollar rose to 88 cents against the U.S. dollar. Still, travel from seven of Canada’s top 12 overseas markets was up, though the total number of visits from countries other than the U.S. was off 1.9 percent to about 370,000.

  • “Husband of the Year” represents King County

    King County Executive Ron Sims was named “husband of the year” by Seattle Magazine and apparently is proud enough of the distinction to post it on his official Web site. The Seattle area’s top elected official drew attention by skipping a dinner with the president of China at Bill Gates’ home:

    ron sims and wife; photo courtesy of seattlepi.com

    Was his absence caused by some sort of county-wide emergency or pressing issue? Well, if you consider “date night” a pressing isue, as Sims does, yes. Instead of eating halibut with the richest man in the universe and the president of the most populated country on earth, the King County executve enjoyed the evening with his wife of 19 years, Cayan.

    The approach is a contrast to Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, who reportedly has made hospitality toward official Chinese visitors a priority. The city appointed a person to handle protocol because such niceties can influence the direction of any future business relationship.

  • First glimpse of Seattle light rail trains

    Ten years after Seattle-area voters agreed to fund light rail, the first trains appeared in public this week.

    The train cars are supposed to begin running in 2009 on a 16-mile line from downtown Seattle to Sea-Tac airport. Further extensions of the system aren’t scheduled to go into service until at least 2016.

    Also on Seattle’s long list of transit projects is a network of streetcars. Need an example? Paris inaugurated a streetcar line this week, beginning service amid the protest over its cost. Several French cities have larger streetcar systems.

  • Holidays reveal hidden forestry business

    The business of supplying wreaths and garlands is one of Cascadia’s largest underground industries, a capitalistic frenzy complete with undocumented workers and violence.

    That’s the picture, according to Marketplace, of the wholesale market for wild forest greens, a business about a fourth the size of Washington’s apple industry. A Washington State University professor says it’s like a gold rush, with 175 different forest materials that can be sold, from yew bark for the cancer drug Taxol to decorative moss.

    Unlike with apples, labor practices and environmental impacts in the woods go largely unchecked. To curb violations of forest permits and abuses of workers, the Washington department of labor wants to regulate the supply chain. Warehouse owners who would have to pay more predictably say that would crush their industry.

  • B.C.’s sports projects may be on chopping block

    Federal pork in the form of sports facilities in British Columbia may be cut as Canada’s ruling party tries to roll back some political favors.

    The C$70 million cuts threaten at least four major sports complexes now planned or under construction, plus several smaller ones, that were kicked off by Premier Gordon Campbell’s 2005 election pledges to ensure a legacy after the 2010 Olympics, according to the Vancouver Sun. The projects received funding but are under scrutiny after a change in ruling party earlier this year.

    Projects include a speed-skating track in Fort St. John, an indoor-outdoor track and field complex in Prince George and projects at universities in Vancouver and Victoria. Defenders say the projects will help enrollment at the schools and boost sports-related visits to the region.

  • Northern Cascadia wants its say on finances

    The interior and northern sections of British Columbia need more control over the billions of dollars they generate for the province in order to build more sustainable communities, according to an editorial today in Opinion 250.

    Unlike rural Oregon and Washington, which get more state funding than they contribute in taxes, the B.C. regions have little sway over the revenue they generate, which keeps the province afloat, according to the article. The forestry industry alone contributes C$5.4 billion a year to the provincial government, it says. The province has funds for the 2010 Olympics, new ferries and other programs but needed to privatitze the extensive B.C. Rail operation and hasn’t paid enough attention to stabilizing rural communities.

  • The connection between transit and wealth

    In a season when the gulf between the haves and have-nots is more noticed than usual, the News Tribune has a report showing rising inequality in one of Pierce County’s most desirable areas. It highlights the role of sprawl and ineffective transit.

    The paper found the percentage of Gig Harbor-area households earning less than $25,000 remained flat at 10 to 14 percent during the last 15 years, while the percentage earning more than $100,000 has risen to 28 percent from 16 percent. Meanwhile the middle has shrunk to 60 percent, a trend it says is similar across the county and state.

    The have-nots stay in Gig Harbor area for many reasons, including for quality schools. The story notes that housing is expensive and a toll on the new Narrows bridge will hit poor residents especially hard. It also notes that there are few social services in the area and cars are necessary to get to jobs or appointments across the water in Tacoma.