VICE News just released Bomb Trains: The Crude Gamble of Oil by Rail, a 23-minute-long documentary investigating the explosive oil trains that regularly run from the Bakken shale to the Pacific Northwest. That might seem a bit long for web video, but you should watch it anyway — mostly because Thomas the Terror Engine is headed to your town, but also because Jerry Bruckheimer has nothing on the terrifying explosions at the 5:09 and 6:00 marks.
Oh, and you can find out if you live near a bomb-train blast zone right here. (Spoiler alert: You probably do.)
PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — The disease wreaking havoc on wild sea star populations on the West Coast has struck captive collections on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
The Peninsula Daily News reports Monday that sea stars at Port Townsend’s Marine Life Center and Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles have died of the disease, known as sea star wasting.
In Port Townsend, 12 ochre stars have died, while the illness eliminated a species from the tanks in Port Angeles. Both centers pipe in ocean water for their tanks. Experts believe the disease is infectious and might be caused by bacteria or a virus.
Caretakers at the Olympic Peninsula’s marine science centers don’t intend to replace sea stars until they feel more confident they can keep them alive. They also want to avoid taking breeding adults that might be needed to replenish wild colonies.
TULALIP – Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve has packed their August schedule with exciting events that includes the center’s third anniversary celebration and a community event that brings elders and youth together to share wisdom and stories.
The host of activities kicks off on Sunday, August 3, with Tulalip storyteller Kelly Moses who will be telling traditional Tulalip stories in the center’s longhouse. At 1:00 p.m.
The center will host its 3rd anniversary celebration on August 16, beginning at 10:30 a.m. with Tulalip storyteller Lois Landgrebe, who tells traditional Tulalip stories in English and Lushootseed. Joining Landgrebe will be Jeff Hogan, executive director of Killer Whale Tales, an educational environment program that brings together the art of storytelling and field-based science to inspire listeners to take an active role in conservation of the Pacific Northwest killer whale habitat.
The anniversary event will also feature Tulalip poet, Ceriwyn Hanney, at 12:00 p.m., who will read original work. Immediately following Hanney will be a lecture at 1:00 p.m. given by Father Patrick Twohy, Superior of Jesuits of the Rocky Mountain Mission, who will be discussing his work with Coast Salish communities and his books, “Finding a Way Home” and “Beginnings – A Meditation on Coast Salish Lifeways.”
Tulalip artist Richard Muir Jr., will be holding a peyote stitch demonstration with kits available for purchase at 2:00 p.m. Following at 3:00 p.m., Tulalip master weaver Lance Taylor will also be hosting a demonstration on cedar weaving. To end the anniversary celebration the center, at 4:00 p.m., will feature Travis Holt Hamilton, who will be screening the movie, “More than frybread,” starring Tatanka Means, Gloria Dodge and Ernst Tsosie III.
On August 23, Angela Carpenter will be reading one of her favorite children’s book for the center’s children reading time series. Also scheduled for this series is Lois Landgrebe, who will read one of her favorite children’s books on August 30. Both reading times start at 1:30 p.m.
To wrap up the August event schedule the center will be hosting a campout style community event with the Elders and Youth Transfer of Knowledge Conference, August 26-28. The conference will be held at the Bay View Ranch House in the Warm Beach Camp in Stanwood and will feature Ray Williams, Don Hatch Jr., and Father Pat Twohy S.J., who will tell stories and host engaging discussions with the youth. This event requires registration with Hibulb staff.
August also marks the deadline for film submissions for the center’s second film festival. The deadline for the “Family, Through our Eyes” film festival is midnight August 24. Films submitted should include topics based on family history, heritage and honor and shared connections to recount history, culture and wisdom from your family’s perspective. This year a new youth category, anti-bullying has been added. Other film categories include documentaries, feature films, music documentaries, music videos and shorts. There is no entry fee for submissions. “Family, Through our eyes,” will be held on September 20th.
For more information on the Hibulb Cultural Center’s August events or the “Family, Through our eyes,” film festival, please contact the Lena Jones at 360-716-2640 or Mary Jane Topash at 360-716-2657, or visit their website at www.hibulbculturalcenter.org.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
WASHINGTON – National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced more than $700,000 in historic preservation grants to 18 American Indian tribes and Alaskan Natives organizations.
“These grants help America’s first peoples in preserving significant tribal places, culture and tradition,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Whether used to create oral history programs, operate museums and cultural centers, or develop training and education programs, the grants help all Americans gain a greater appreciation of our nation’s rich traditions and cultures.”
The competitive grants can also be used to fund projects such as nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, preservation education, architectural planning, historic structure reports, community preservation plans, and bricks-and-mortar repair to buildings.
Congress provides these grant appropriations each year with revenue from Federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. The National Park Service administers the grants through the Historic Preservation Fund on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior.
Low warm water conditions from the drought are starting to kill salmon in the Klamath Basin. | credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr
By: Associated Press
Low warm water conditions from the drought are starting to kill salmon in northern California and southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin — the site of a massive fish kill in 2002.
Sara Borok of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said a survey of the Salmon River on Wednesday found 55 dead adult salmon and more dead juveniles than would be expected this time of year. The reason is low and warm water related to the drought.
Fisheries officials do not want see a repeat of 2002, but there is little to do but pray for rain. Even in the Klamath River, which has dams to store water, there is little available for extra releases.
The Salmon River is a tributary of the Klamath River.
The amendment lowers the gambling age at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge. Patrons between 18 and 20 will now be able to play Class III games at the facility.
“This proposed amendment modernizes the compact by clarifying that patrons between 18 and 20 years of age may participate in gambling activities so long as they do not purchase or consume alcohol on the premises,” the Washington State Gambling Commission said in a press release earlier this year. “The amendment language is consistent with several other tribes’ gaming compacts.
A notice of the approval was published in today’s issue of the Federal Register.
Federal Register Notice: Indian Gaming (July 23, 2014)
From left, Marysville Walgreens Pharmacy Manager Michelle Akigami, Will Ibershof, Tulalip Boys & Girls Club Unit Director Chuck Thacker, state Sen. John McCoy, Marysville Walgreens Store Manager Alan Powell, Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, City Council member Donna Wright and Marysville Historical Society President Ken Cage take part in the Marysville Walgreens ribbon-cutting. — image credit: Kirk Boxleitner
By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe
MARYSVILLE — Walgreens opened its Marysville branch at 404 State Ave. with fanfare and charitable contributions to the community July 18.
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring touted the store’s opening as contributing to the city’s plans for downtown revitalization.
“They’ve already improved this street corner,” Nehring said. “I’m really excited by what the future will bring.”
“The Mayor has already pleaded with me to add a yogurt shop, so I have my marching orders,” Walgreens District Manager Bruce Philip laughed. “Our managers have put together a fabulous group of store employees, who are talented and committed and enjoy taking care of their customers.”
Philip deemed his donations of $250 each, to the Marysville Historical Society and the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, as evidence of Walgreens long-term commitment to its new community.
“We intend to maintain and even grow these contributions over time,” Philip said. “Our staff lives in this community, so we care what happens here.”
State Sen. John McCoy and Chuck Thacker, unit director of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, accepted Walgreens’ oversized check to their club, which McCoy had helped institute 18 years ago.
“It was only the seventh Boys & Girls Club on a Native American reservation,” Thacker said.
“Our kids are our future leaders, so we need to take care of them,” McCoy said.
MARYSVILLE – Imagine the city’s waterfront filled with classy restaurants, a boardwalk and boutiques. Or how about condominiums and a casino? Wouldn’t a park with a stage for concerts and plays be nice?
What, you didn’t even know Marysville has a waterfront? It doesn’t look like much now, but city officials hope it will be something special in the future.
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said it’s part of the Downtown Revitalization vision, which includes the recently completed and widely popular Spray Park.
“We want a vibrant downtown that’s generating income and where everybody has jobs,” Nehring said, adding the goal is to have private enterprise build up the waterfront.
The downtown master plan calls for a waterfront trail and mixed use of business and living space on the property south of Penny’s.
Four years ago the city bought the former Ed and Susan Geddes five-acre marina at 1326 1st St. for $1.9 million. It took four years to decide on a price, as the Geddeses filed suit against the city due to surface water flowing into the marina. Bill Geddes had owned the property in the 1930s as a retention pond for a lumber mill.
The city has been applying for grants to clean up the site for years.
The city was awarded a $200,000 hazardous substances cleanup Brownsfield grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Oct. 1 of last year. A month later it received an Integrated Planning Grant from the state Department of Ecology for a similar amount. It has hired Maul Foster Alongi Consultants for $304,000 for a contract that runs from July 15, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2017.
Past activities at the location, including painting, boat sanding and fuel and oil storage and handling, likely contaminated the site with arsenic, cadmium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, stormwater discharge from the adjacent mill site has likely caused some of the contamination.
The property was historically used as a marina, but the city has stopped renewing leases and has removed several boat houses, the grant says.
Nehring said the city knew the site was contaminated when it bought it, and it also knew grants would be needed to move on. The state money will determine chemicals in the soils and the method of cleanup. The money from the feds will help pay for the actual cleanup.
“We need more money. This will just get us started,” Nehring said.
He said how much the cleanup will cost will be determined by what goes there. Some development needs would have to have more cleanup than others.
Nehring said the city spent about $200,000 in federal money to clean up the area just to the East a couple years ago, but that was “minor” compared with Geddes Marina, said Gloria Hirashima, Community Development director.
Hirashima said no matter what goes there drinking water will be pumped in and people will not want to be exposed to the contaminated soil. Across the street at the boat launch soil was cleaned to a point but then the site was capped and clean dirt put over it, similar to what is done to build over landfills.
A key to the success of the area will be finding a use that provides “constant activity.” Hirashima said that is lacking at the boat launch, and that is why homeless have inhabited that area. She said if Geddes Marina becomes more like the skate park it will be successful.
“There used to be a bad crowd there, but the families reclaimed that park,” she said. “We need active usage at a daily rate.”
The consultant will work in two phases. The first to analyze the site, the second to design remedial action and oversight.
The first phase includes cleanup options, community involvement, developer options and market analysis. Cost is $220,000. The second phase includes permitting and working with agencies, the cleanup, oversight and the final report. Cost is $84,000.
Final approval would come from the Department of Ecology.
PHASE ONE – Site analysis
• Presentation to the City Council and Open House for residents.
• Analyze cleanup costs to evaluate potential developer interest and flag areas of risk for the city.
• Analyze physical condition of land, including stormwater, hydrogeological and geotechnical.
• Analyze federal, state, and local land-use and environmental regulations.
• Study local and regional real estate market to look at potential marketing opportunities. That will include cost estimates, achievable rents as well as vacancy rates for competing development sites. The market analysis will ensure that the development vision has a realistic opportunity for implementation.
PHASE TWO – remedial action and oversight
• Work with federal, state, local governments and Tulalip Tribes to obtain required approval and permits.
• Cleanup plan to include approach, sampling strategy, cleanup levels and post-cleanup monitoring.
• Will develop construction bid package that will allow the city to procure a contractor to complete the remedial action.
• Will provide field oversight associated with implementation of the remedial action.
What do you think should be done on the waterfront?
As Jelani Cobb wrote recently in The New Yorker: “The past year has offered an odd object lesson in historical redundancy. The 50th anniversaries of major points in the civil-rights movement tick by at the same time that Supreme Court decisions and political maneuvering in state legislatures offer reminders of what, exactly, the movement fought against.”
The most recognizable example of what Cobb is referring to is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby v. Holder decision, which severely weakened the heralded Voting Rights Act just weeks before we recognized the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington that made the civil rights law possible. Earlier this month, we recognized the 50th of the Civil Rights Act, and next year will mark the half-century mark of the Voting Rights Act itself. And yet equal protection for people of color seems to be moving backwards.
Why should this matter to the average white (green) American? Well, for many reasons. But one of them is this: In our ever-browning America, empowering black and brown voters is absolutely necessary to make the transition to clean energy.
Consider that only 51 percent of American voters “strongly” prefer clean energy investments, according to a recent Sierra Club survey, but preference is significantly higher among African-American voters (77 percent) and Latino voters (71 percent). A Yale study found that African Americans and Latinos are more likely than whites to require electric utilities to produce at least 20 percent — a modest sum — of energy load from wind or solar, even if that would increase electric bills.
And yet it’s white men who exercise most of the power over the current coal-based economy – via their places on corporate boards, their positions in politics, and, on the local and state level, where they make up the bulk of public utility and service commissioners. The utility commissioners (who are usually elected or appointed) regulate the corporate-owned utility industries, determine electricity costs and, in some cases, decide where power plants can be built.
These utility commissioners will play a critical role in hammering out the details of the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently announced regulations for coal-fired power plants. Yet, many of them do not look like the residents that the utilities serve. According to a study from the Minority and Media Telecom Council, 33 state public utility commissions (64.7 percent) do not have a single minority member — that includes Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina, the states with the highest concentration of black residents.
We also see this whiteout at the federal level, where the number of people of color serving in the U.S. House and Senate energy committees are but a handful.
You can chalk this lack of diversity up to the kind of patronage and cronyism that has preserved these powerful roles for white men — a function of white supremacy. You can also credit voter suppression and intimidation, which happen even in local utility district elections. In fact, such shenanigans are harder to detect in these smaller races that don’t draw the same kind of media spotlight as a gubernatorial or presidential race. In the 1980s and 1990s, when African Americans built multiracial coalitions to diversify local utility boards and electricity co-ops throughout the South, white officials secretly changed election rules to disqualify their votes (read more on this here).
Other examples:
● In 2000, the Department of Justice filed a voting rights complaint against the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District in Los Angeles County, Calif., for redrawing district lines so that the Latino voting populations would be diluted across the district.
● In 2008, Texas proposed to change its qualification requirements for candidates running for water supply district supervisor so that only landowners would be eligible, which ruled out a number of Latino Americans seeking candidacy and some who were already supervisors.
● Also in 2008, the North Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holder case, which the U.S. Supreme Court almost used to dismantle the Voting Rights Act, involved elections for positions that control utility, land, and water resources.
These cases show how racial disenfranchisement drains power, energy, and resources from people of color, which is why Voting Rights Act protections are so essential.
People are taking action despite these problems. Latino Americans are campaigning to defeat a proposal from the Public Service Company of New Mexico, which wants to build more coal and nuclear energy stations. In Arizona, Latinos are campaigning to encourage the Salt River Project public utility board to increase solar and wind energy generation. In South Carolina, Rev. Leo Woodberry is leading an environmental justice effort to work on the state’s implementation plans for the new power plant regulations, with an emphasis on making sure electricity rates remain affordable and accessible for low-income customers.
Understand, it’s not only that we need more black and brown utility commissioners. But voters need to ensure that commissioners of any race represent their clean energy values. Last year in Georgia, a multi-racial band of clean energy advocates teamed with the not-so-colorful Tea Party to force Georgia Power Company to increase solar-based energy production. The coalition did this by appealing to the Georgia Public Service Commission. There has been only one African American and one woman who’ve served on Georgia’s Public Service Commission in its 133 years, both of them elected in the 21st century.
These are laudable campaigns, but ultimately it will require African-American, Native-American, and Latino American voters being able to vote fairly and freely — and also to be able to serve on these boards — to ensure that those paying the highest costs for our fossil fuel addiction have a voice in securing a clean energy future. For all Americans who want the same for their future, the way to act is to support strengthening voting rights protections across the nation.
Brentin Mock is Grist’s justice editor. Follow him on Twitter at @brentinmock.
