Daily Digest: Vancouver's "darkest day", WA legislature completes budget, Canada votes today
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Vancouver's "darkest day": driver kills 11 at Filipino festival
The Tyee reports on what acting Vancouver police chief Steve Rai called the city's "darkest day" after a driver plowed through a festival celebrating the Filipino holiday of Lapu Lapu, killing eleven and injuring dozens. CBC reports on how the Vancouver's Filipino community is coming together to mourn, and Global News has more on the tragedy and outpouring of support.
Washington legislature sends budget to Ferguson
The Washington legislature wrapped things up for the session on Sunday, sending a $77 million two-year budget to governor Bob Ferguson for his signature (he can line-item veto the bill). The package includes over $9 billion in new taxes, mostly on business and capital gains, and a $15 billion transportation package that includes a 6 cent increase in the gas tax. I've criticized Ferguson and the legislature for failing to increase the state's safety net in response to Trump's devastating federal cuts. Ferguson drew fire from unions and progressive for seeking steep spending cuts while seeking – and getting– a $100 million boost for cops across the state.
BC a key battleground in Canada's election today
According to CBC, Mark Carney's Liberal party leads in the polls in Canada's federal election today, and British Columbia has several key contested races in seats representing suburban Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The biggest loser in the election will likely be the left-of-center NDP as the Liberals ride a wave of anti-Trump patriotism. Party leader Jagmeet Singh may possibly even lose his Burnaby seat, and Green Party leader Elizabeth May is in a tight race with the Conservative candidate for a seat representing the Gulf Islands. The Tyee has excellent coverage of the federal election and its impact on BC.
Could redwoods and sequoias grow in northern Cascadia?
Columbia Insight has a fascinating feature about how a group of enthusiasts for redwoods and giant sequoias are studying whether, as a result of warming climate, the two iconic trees of northern California could reproduce and grow in Oregon and further north. The piece grew out of an article last year in the New York Times magazine on the effort to save the trees from climate change by moving their range north.
North Coast Squid – A coastal literary mag
At Oregon Arts Watch, check out a profile of North Coast Squid, a literary magazine based in the coastal town of Manzanita, Oregon that's now in its tenth edition and has grown from a small tabloid to a 74-page glossy collection of poetry and prose. "A lot of good writers don’t realize how good they are. Getting published in the Squid takes them to a new level of confidence in their voice and commitment to their craft.” Submissions for the next edition are open during the month of May.
--Andrew Engelson