Daily Digest: Cascadia eyes ICE protests, & tribe buys Uncle Sam billboard
Good morning, Cascadia! A quick request. I've decided to make Cascadia Journal free, without a paywall so you'll have access to news from around the region and my weekly essays about issues important to the Cascadia bioregion. If you appreciate this newsletter, please help with $5 a month (or $50 annual) subscription so I can continue. Thanks! --Andrew
As Trumps sends Marines to California, Cascadia on edge
This morning Trump is sending 700 Marines to Los Angeles to protect federal buildings during ongoing protests against ICE seizures. OPB reports that leaders in Portland and Oregon are eyeing the California escalation with concern, with memories of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 still fresh. Portland mayor Keith Wilson said that if there's federal overreach, “we will take appropriate legal action to protect our community.” (Which could be interpreted as either defending protesters or arresting them, I suppose.). Meanwhile in Seattle, mayor Bruce Harrell has been notably silent about what's happening in Los Angeles, instead choosing at this critical moment to push legislation holding nightclubs responsible for the actions of their patrons.
Alaska cruise passengers down 26 percent
The Alaska cruise industry, an ecologically disastrous form of tourism that the economies of SE Alaska have bet big on – is seeing a decline as Alaska towns are bracing for the impact, Alaska Public Media reports. According to the Port of Seattle's dashboard, the number of passengers this season is down 26 percent over last season, [correction, June 10: the Port dashboard shows a figure from October 2024. The Port of Seattle dashboard is not current for 2025, and 2024 showed a 6 percent decline over the previous year, I apologize for the error]. The Port of Seattle dashboard shows pa possibly because of economic uncertainty and a huge drop in Canadian and international tourism to the US. Clearly, Cascadia should be doing more to boost eco-friendly tourism and high speed rail. In other boat related news, the Tyee reports that 4,500 workers for BC Ferries are in the midst of labor negotiations that could result in a strike.
WA court orders public defender caseloads lowered
As Washington and Oregon confront a shortage of public defenders and a huge backlog of cases that sometimes leaves defendants without legal representation, the Washington State Supreme Court ordered that the caseload limits for defenders be dramatically lowered, Washington State Standard reports. The court order would lower the limit from 150 felonies or 400 misdemeanors (which are ridiculous for a single attorney!) to 47 felonies or 200 misdemeanors. Without major increases in state funding for public defense, most local jurisdictions won't meet those targets. In related news, Oregon hired a new state director of public defense and has announced in a year-long effort to reform its public defender system, where more than 4,000 people charged currently have no attorney.
Rightwing billboard bought by Chehalis tribe
If you've ever driven I-5 between Portland and Seattle, you've likely seen it: the billboard near Chehalis with an illustration of Uncle Sam and all sorts of rightwing message ranging from attacks on Barack Obama to anti-tax screeds. After the owner of the billboard passed away, the property went up for sale and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation bought it. Yay! According to the Seattle Times, the tribe hasn't said if it will post messages or keep the billboard up. But a satire site has emerged with suggestions for what the tribe could post, including
“Land Back, Billboard Too.”
--Andrew Engelson
