Daily digest: New hybrid electric ferry, salmon hatcheries at risk & surfing the Boise river
First hybrid electric ferry enters service
With governor Bob Ferguson and former governor Jay Inslee on board, the Washington state ferry system debuted its first conversion of a ferry to hybrid electric power, Washington State Standard reports. Earlier this month, Ferguson announced it would contract with a Florida company to complete three more conversions, which won't be delivered until 2029.
Portland weighs preserving equity programs
The Portland Mercury reports that the city of Portland is weighing whether to keep its programs encouraging diversity and equity in response to threats from the Trump administration to cut federal funding if the city doesn't eliminate programs that promote the hiring of women, minorities, and LGBTQ people. The situation is frankly monstrous, and Portland should resist and stick to its values. John Burbank at the Urbanist has laid out steps Washington (and Oregon) can take to increase taxes on wealth in the next legislative session to begin building resiliency in our region's systems of health care, education, and transportation. It's a first step toward true autonomy and freedom from threats of cuts by the feds.
Andrew Engelson
Tourism between BC and WA plummets
Thanks to Donald Trump's dumb trade war and jokes about making Canada the 51st state, tourism to Washington by folks from British Columbia continues to decline severely, Daily Hive reports. In-person spending in WA by BC residents has dropped 47 percent in the first half of 2025, and southbound vehicle trips from BC to Washington have dropped 43 percent. In an independent Cascadia bioregion that includes our friends to the north, that border will no longer exist. Just sayin'.
Region's salmon hatcheries at risk
Columbia Insight reports that Cascadia's salmon hatcheries – a controversial and ecologically questionable strategy to boost declining fish populations – face a variety of threats, including a backlog of maintenance, flat budgets, and loss of staff. Better solutions exist, though they aren't cheap: this year, the Washington legislature approved more than $1 billion in funds for a court-ordered project to remove road culverts that block migrating salmon across Washington.
Surfing – In Boise??
Boise Weekly has a great feature on something I didn't know was a thing: river surfing. Boise's Whitewater Park by using gates and inflatable bladders, the city has transformed a section of the Boise River into a place with regular waves that surfers can drop in to.
“My spirit animal is probably a rainbow trout… I’m just meant to be on the river,” said one surfer.
--Andrew Engelson
