Daily digest: Oregon bans rapid-fire guns + First Nation fights mine dam + Juneteenth joy
Good morning, Cascadia! Here's all the news and culture that's fit to print (and maybe some that isn't). If you appreciate this round up of news from across the bioregion, help me meet my goal of 50 subscriber by the end of June...
Oregon bans rapid-fire guns
As the Oregon legislative session wraps up, legislators passed new gun-control laws, including a ban on bump-stocks that convert assault rifles to rapid-fire machine guns, and new restrictions on concealed carry , OPB reports. Washington state banned bump stocks in 2018. Meanwhile, the Oregon legislature offered up an $11 billion transportation budget that increases the gas tax and adds a tax on the resale of vehicles – but many Republicans AND Democrats seem to hate the bill. And PubliCola reports that Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell and progressive city council member Alexis Mercedes Rinck have proposed adjustments to the city's business tax that would raise $90 million in revenue.
Spokane ICE protester charged with felonies
RANGE Media reports that Spokane protest leader and queer activist Justice Forral is being charged with six felonies that could send them to prison for years – simply for blocking access to an ICE facility. They're being charged with six counts of "unlawful imprisonment” which contains some very deep and disturbing irony. In related news, the Portland Mercury looks at the debate among protesters about whether the city should push to revoke ICE's permit to operate in Portland. Some immigrant activists contend closing the facility wouldn't stop detainments and make it harder to track down those in custody.
“ It’s not us as individuals. It’s about our collective rights. It’s about everything we do together. And if they want to make me infamous — for whatever — well, it shows how much one person can do." --Justice Forral
Court orders Trump to resume funding EV chargers
KUOW reports on a federal judge's order that the Trump administration resume distributing funds for electric vehicle chargers in 14 states, including Washington. The judge contends that the funds were already allocated by Congress. Oh, and FEMA again denied Washington's request for funds related to last year's "bomb cyclone storm. Just a friendly reminder that Washington state pays $55 million more in federal taxes than it receives back in services each year. It's a solid argument for Cascadia independence: your tax dollars should help benefit the place you live, not to fund a narcissist's military parade or Elon Musk's SpaceX fireworks show.
First Nation sues to block mine waste dam
The Tyee has a report on the Xatśūll First Nation's lawsuit aiming to block a new mine waste dam at the Mount Polley mine in central British Columbia. Mount Polley was the site of one of the worst environmental disasters in Canadian history, when a former dam collapsed in 2014 and sent 25 million liters of toxic sludge into the Fraser River drainage. Seems like maybe the mining company shouldn't get a do-over.
Juneteenth Joy in Seattle
The South Seattle Emerald has a fantastic photo essay from this years' Juneteenth celebrations in Seattle last week. They're a lovely reminder of the joy and celebration of Black culture in Seattle. Seeing these scenes, it's clear that the Trumpian jerks in the federal government attacking diversity and pushing the erasure of Black history are on the wrong side of history and won't win.
--Andrew Engelson
