Salish Sea News Week in Review August 23 2019

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Aloha Cubano Friday!
Born out of Tampa's cigar-producing neighborhoods in the late 1800s, the marriage of yellow mustard, roast pork, glazed ham, Swiss cheese, and dill pickles have somehow swept across the menus (and napkin-dabbing mouths) of restaurants and Cubano connoisseurs across the world-- Friday, Aug. 23 is National Cuban Sandwich Day! (Christina Ausley, SeattlePI)

Jay Inslee exits presidential race; plans run for 3rd term as governor
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ended his presidential run Wednesday evening, announcing it had become clear that his climate change-focused campaign would not succeed.

Conservation groups sue to restrict whale-watching near southern resident orcas
Conservation groups sued the Trump administration Monday for ignoring a legal petition to create a no-go zone for boats in the prime fishing areas of endangered southern resident orcas.

Trans Mountain pipeline construction set to restart within a month
Construction on the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline project is set to restart within a month. In a statement released Wednesday, the company said it had directed its main contractors to begin the hiring and mobilization process necessary to restart the expansion project.

Keystone XL Pipeline Plan Is Approved by Nebraska Supreme Court
Nebraska’s highest court approved the Keystone XL oil pipeline’s planned path through that state on Friday, resolving a permitting battle that has stretched on for more than a decade as the project became a proxy for a national debate between environmentalists and the energy industry.

Appeals court deals blow to big coal export terminal proposed for Longview, Washington
Would-be builders of a massive coal export terminal, to be located along the Columbia River at Longview, suffered a severe setback Tuesday in court. The Washington State Court of Appeals ruled that the Department of Natural Resources had a valid reason when it refused to lease state-owned aquatic lands to Millennium Bulk Terminals.

B.C. judge rules multi-million dollar Inside Passage fuel spill fine go to Heiltsuk Nation
A B.C. judge has ruled that close to $3 million in fines imposed on the operator of a tug that hit a reef and sank in the Inside Passage in 2016 be handed to the Heiltsuk Nation.

'What fishing season?': Local First Nations worry about state of fishing in Fraser River
With mounting pressure on local salmon stocks, fishery closures and restrictions, and a landslide blocking migration paths, 2019 hasn't been ripe for fishing opportunities — in fact, some local First Nations are calling it the worst fishing season in history.


'They're flat broke': Salmon fishermen demand disaster relief for failed season
With some of this year's salmon runs projected to be the lowest on record, West Coast salmon fishermen are demanding disaster relief from the federal and provincial governments.

Genetic study of sockeye salmon in B.C. river suggests 75% decline since 1913
A new study that suggests sockeye returns have dropped by three-quarters in the Skeena River over the last century should serve as a "wake-up call" for B.C., the lead researcher says.

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These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Salish Sea News Week in Review August 16 2019

Aloha Tell A Joke Friday
A man was pulled over by a police officer who said, “Sir, you are weaving all over the road. Have you been drinking?” The man said with a slurred voice, “Officer, I have only been drinking water.” The officer asked for the bottle of water and smelled it. “This isn’t water, it’s wine!” The man looked at the police officer with astonishment and said, “The good Lord did it again!”

Both orca babies alive, all 3 southern resident pods seen in Canadian waters
Researchers documented this week that both babies in the southern resident killer whale pods are still alive.


No end date in sight for crews working at Big Bar landslide in B.C. 
Officials working at a landslide northwest of Kamloops say they don't know how long efforts to rescue spawning salmon will take on the Fraser River.


Kitsap County next to ban single-use plastic shopping bags
Kitsap County commissioners on Monday unanimously passed an ordinance to limit the distribution of thin, film-like plastic bags.

States Sue Trump Administration Over Rollback of Obama-Era Climate Rule
A coalition of 29 states and cities on Tuesday sued to block the Trump administration from easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants.

New Trump rules weaken wildlife protections
The Trump administration took its final step Monday to weaken the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock law that brought the bald eagle, the American alligator, the California condor, the humpback whale and the grizzly bear back from the brink of extinction.

Liberals launch next phase of engagement with Indigenous groups over Trans Mountain pipeline 
The federal government has launched a new phase of engagement with Indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.


Slowly slipping away.’ Fewest Sockeye salmon ever counted at Ballard Locks
Sockeye salmon are returning to Lake Washington in the smallest numbers since record-keeping started. Disastrous year for sockeye predicted Fishermen of all stripes – commercial, First Nations and recreational – should brace themselves for what could be an epic bad year for sockeye. Salmon at ‘scary’ low levels in area rivers as fishing season opens on the Puyallup Around 1,800 wild chinook are expected to come back to the Puyallup this year, along with 13,000 hatchery chinook. The forecast for pink salmon... is especially low this year.


These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Salish Sea News Week in Review, August 9 2019

Aloha Nagasaki Memorial Friday
3 days after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the city of Nagasaki was destroyed on August 9 1045 by a 21 kiloton atomic bomb nicknamed Fat Boy. About 40 to 80 thousand people were estimated killed during this American-led attack towards the end of the Second World War. A few days later on August 15, Japan surrendered to the Allies, effectively bringing the War to a close by September, 1945.


Three more orca deaths takes census count down to 73 Southern Residents
Four orca deaths and two births over the past year brings the official population of southern resident killer whales to 73 — the lowest number since the annual census was launched in 1976.

Biologist warns it's 'past the time' to act for Southern resident killer whales
Many called it a "tour of grief" when orca J35 or “Tahlequah” captivated the world by pushing her dead calf for a thousand miles over 17 days around the Salish Sea. A year later, biologist Ken Balcomb said nothing significant has changed to keep the endangered Southern resident killer whales from disappearing forever.


Where are the salmon and the orcas? Tribe, scientists grapple with unprecedented disappearance in Washington waters
...Tuesday marks a month since the southern residents were last seen in their usual home waters in and around the San Juan Islands. Usually present nearly every day at this time of year, the orcas have shown up only a handful of times this year, and then, only for brief visits before quickly leaving again for waters of the outer coast.


NOAA adds to overfished list
Changes in the environment, including warming waters, are prompting the U.S. government to add eight populations of fish — including three populations of coho salmon in Washington state — to its federal overfished list, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.


Peaceful pipeline protesters return to Burnaby Mountain on B.C. Day
Activists spent B.C. Day up on Burnaby Mountain protesting the Kinder Morgan Expansion. Construction on the $7.5-billion project has been given the go-ahead from the National Energy Board and is expected to resume soon.

These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 2 2019

Aloha Dinosaur Friday!
Dinosaurs first appeared about 245 million years ago, at the beginning of the Middle Triassic Epoch, and existed for about 180 million years, going extinct about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The period when they lived is called the Mesozoic Era. Richard Owen, an English anatomist, came up with the word "Dinosauria" in 1842. The word comes from the Greek word "deinos," meaning terrible or fearfully great, and "sauros," meaning reptile or lizard.

July was Earth’s hottest month on record, beating or tying July 2016
July was Earth’s hottest month ever recorded, “on a par with, and possibly marginally higher” than the previous warmest month, which was July 2016, according to provisional data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.


Salal’s Worrisome Die-Off 
...in recent months, reports of dead and dying salal in British Columbia have accumulated. More troubling is that no one knows for sure what’s killing the plant.


Study: In breaching Snake River dams, benefits outweigh costs
A new study is further dividing Washington state after concluding the benefits of breaching four dams on the lower Snake River outweigh the costs, both physically and to communities.

No timeline for opening of natural passage for salmon bottleneck on Fraser River 
Officials say they're working as quickly as possible but can't determine if they're on track to create a natural passage at the site of a Fraser River landslide that would allow salmon to reach their spawning grounds.

Trump EPA yanks Obama-era proposal to restrict mine development in salmon-rich Bristol Bay region
The Environmental Protection Agency scuttled proposed development restrictions Tuesday on an open-pit mine in the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which sustains the largest sockeye salmon runs in the world.

B.C. First Nation buys 5 per cent stake in clean-energy projects worth $2.5 billion
A First Nation in northwest British Columbia says an investment in clean-energy projects worth more than $2.5 billion represents a historic move toward its economic independence.

EPA's move to ease state water quality rules welcomed by pulp industry
In what industry officials are calling good news for local pulp and paper mills, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed a proposal Tuesday to roll back “unattainable” water quality standards. Also known as the fish consumption rule, Washington’s clean water rule is intended to protect the health of people and fish and to manage pollution caused by industries and municipalities.

These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told