Daily Digest: Will Alaska cruise season run aground? A Black/queer series set in Vancouver
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Will Alaska cruise season run aground?
This week marks the start of the Seattle-Alaska cruise season, and the industry and cities dependent on tourism from the massive floating hotels are anxious about how the economy and border anxiety will have an impact. KTOO reports that Juneau tourism officials are nervous about how the economy and trade war will affect cruise travel. The Port of Seattle estimates that 900,000 passengers traveled on cruise ships to Alaska in 2024, accounting for $900 million in economic impact for Seattle. Protesters from Seattle Cruise Control were on hand at the waterfront for the first sailing of the year, and in 2023, I wrote an in-depth multimedia feature for Hakai magazine about the various negative environmental impacts from Alaska cruises. Meanwhile, CBC reports that visits to the US from Canada plummeted by nearly 1 million in March because of Trump's belligerence, and crossings between BC and Washington dipped 43% in that same period.
Legislatures grapple with wildfire, wealth taxes
OPB reports that several bills in the Oregon legislature that would fund wildfire fighting and prevention in the face of federal cuts are faltering. Several gun control measures, however, including a 72-hour waiting period, moved forward. In Washington, the legislature is debating what if any new taxes to generate in order to deal with a budget deficit, including hikes to capital gains and business taxes, and lifting a cap on local property taxes.
Nationally lauded alternative to policing in Eugene ends
Last week, OPB reported that the nationally-recognized mental health crisis program in Eugene known has CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) is ending due to lack of funds. The program had been praised across the country as a standard for helping those in crisis without police involvement.
"Novelette is Trying" a Black/queer coming of age show
The Tyee has an interview with filmmaker Giselle Miller about her new web-based series "Novelette is Trying," a comic look at sex, work and daily life being Black and queer in Vancouver. "Independent film, for me, reflects the heart of a filmmaker, of a storyteller. That’s what people are drawn to, because your heart has a truthfulness and authenticity that human beings are drawn to."