Cascadia today: Seattle city council member returns + again with the dumb Blue Angels + badgers endangered in BC
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Former Seattle city council member Juarez returns to fill seat
The Urbanist reports that former Seattle city council member Deborah Juarez, who served on the council from 2016 to 2023, has been appointed to fill the seat of Cathy Moore, who left the council after serving just 18 months. Meanwhile, Seattle is in the midst of a primary election for the council, including District 8, held by the council's last dependable progressive, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, District 2 in the city's south end, where four candidates are vying for the seat left by progressive Tammy Morales, and a city-wide election for Seat 9, which is held by pro-cop, pro-sweeps business owner Sara Nelson. Meanwhile there's a three-way race for a Spokane city council seat, and RANGE Media asked each of the candidates twenty questions relevant to city politics.
BC housing experts say boosting supply isn't enough
The Tyee has an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney from a dozen British Columbia urbanists, architects and city planners urging the Canadian government to focus on creating affordable housing units in addition to increasing supply. The letter urges preservation of existing affordable rentals, more public funding for co-ops and non-profit land trusts, and other reforms necessary to lower housing costs. In related news, Oregon governor Tina Kotek signed a bill this week that reduces regulations and encourages more construction of duplexes, triplexes and townhomes across the state. Sightline Institute has more on two other zoning bills passed into law in Oregon this session that allow the state to override local zoning laws with pre-approved plans, and one that allows owners to split lots.
Keep the Blue Angels in Seattle??!?
Two contrarian essays claim Seattle should keep the noisy, polluting, military propaganda show the US Navy Blue Angels perform over the skies of Seattle each year. Bizarrely, Charles Mudede at the Stranger writes that even though he hates the airshow like most of us, he insists we keep it as a reminder of the US military empire we live under. OK, whatever. And over at the South Seattle Emerald, Mike Davis says that even though he agrees with critics who say the Blue Angels are polluting and noisy, he's firmly in the nostalgia club for keeping the shrieking jets.
I see Seafair as a nostalgic slice of my childhood, with hydroplane races, a nighttime parade, a place where pirates and clowns dazzle crowds.
Fine, I'll just take my Seafair without US invading warplanes strafing our city every August, thanks. And yeah, when Cascadia is independent you can take those nuclear subs with you too, while you're at it.
Protecting badgers in eastern BC
CBC profiles efforts to protect populations of badgers in the Cariboo, Thompson, Okanagan and Kootenay regions. Just 400 badgers, considered endangered, now live in this region – many have been killed by cars on highways. The nonprofit Badgers in BC is trying to better track populations – if you see a badger, you can report the sighting at their website.
Portland hosts another World Naked Bike Ride
Willamette Week reports in a fun photo essay that Portland is again keeping things weird with its annual World Naked Bike Ride. After a one-year hiatus, the ride returned and hundreds of nude cyclists turned out in costumes, body paint, and well, nothing but their birthday suits.
