Cascadia today: fed shutdown continues + Portland cops profit from protests + Vancouver art gallery seeks reboot
Cascadia Dems demand changes in shutdown
As the federal government shutdown continued, Democrats in Oregon's congressional delegation demanded that Republicans reverse Medicaid cuts, restore appropriated funds to Oregon, and renew Obamacare subsidies before they'll vote to reopen. The GOP responded with silence.
“House Democrats are ready, willing and able to work with our colleagues to keep the government open with a bipartisan proposal that will stop the harmful health care cuts, but House Republicans didn’t even show up to work." --Oregon Rep. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
WA minimum wage highest in US
Washington State Standard reports that Washington's minimum wage will hit $17.13 per hour in 2026, making the state with the highest rate in the US. Cascadia has been and will continue to be a place that supports its workers (the national minimum wage is a ludicrous $7.25). Meanwhile, Cascade PBS reported that a campaign in Lynnwood, north of Seattle, is working on a measure that would boost the minimum wage above $20, in a movement to similar successful efforts in Renton, Tukwila and Burien south of Seattle. You know who helped lead those efforts? Katie Wilson, running for Seattle mayor, who I interviewed in 2022 about the minimum wage campaign for The Urbanist.
Portland cops make bank at ICE protests
The Portland Mercury looks at nearly $1 million in overtime pay that Portland police officers received monitoring and responding to protests at the feds' ICE facility. But after limits on overtime kicked in, PPB pulled back and has not been responding at the facility for months. US president Donald J. Trump says he needs to deploy the National Guard to protect the facility, which will be fined by the city of Portland for breaking agreements on how long detainees can be held there, Street Roots reports. More than 18,000 people have signed a petition urging the Portland to revoke land use permits for the ICE facility. Maybe you should join them:
Vancouver mayor vows smaller tax increases
CBC reports that Vancouver mayor Ken Sim, who won election campaigning on promises to slow the growth of property taxes in British Columbia's largest city, is trying to offer a small increase this year (last year he put forward a 10 percent boost). But critics say that will require cuts to the city's $2.3 billion budget.
Cascadia needs to fix its foster care system
KUOW reports on how Ashley Miller won a $9 million lawsuit against Washington's Department of Health and Human Services for failing to prevent sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in the state's foster care system as a child. The case is part of a much larger systemic problem across the region, which is not only leaving severe trauma in its wake but also massive costs: Washington state is paying out record numbers of lawsuit and settlement claims, many because of poor jail conditions and a flawed child welfare system, and it's creating a deficit in the state's insurance reserve fund, which could get as high as more than $3 billion by 2029, KUOW reports. In related news, Investigate West found that youth treatment centers in Idaho where abuse has occurred have not faced penalties or closed.
Vancouver Art Gallery looks for a reboot
The Georgia Straight reports that the Vancouver Art Gallery has selected the Vancouver-based architecture firm Formline Architecture and Urbanism + KPMB Architects to design a new museum, which will be built on land it has already acquired several blocks away from the existing VAG. The museum had previously hired a Swiss firm but projected costs ballooned to $600 million and the project was shelved. The financially troubled museum laid off around 30 employees in June in an attempt to maintain VAG's "long term sustainability."
--Andrew Engelson
