The Northwest Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Special Weather Statement for colder temperatures and a chance of lowland snow from tonight through the weekend
The Puget Sound Convergence Zone (PSCZ) is forming and we may see 0 to 3 inches of lowland snow (mainly above 400 foot level) accumulation late tonight through tomorrow. NWS indicates this could impact from North Seattle along the I-5 corridor to Bellingham.
Areas at higher elevations and the further north/east in the region may see larger amounts of snowfall. Also please note that accurate forecasting for snow relating to the PSCZ is very difficult; be prepared for some areas to receive amounts greater than 3 inches.
Drier conditions will move in behind these systems, but cold temps may keep any snow accumulations around as daytime highs will only make the mid-30s through Monday.
There also is a possibility of another round of snow on Saturday, but it really depends on which track this system takes.
Please be prepared for widely varied winter driving conditions throughout the County and allow extra time in your travels.
On August 25, 2011, NativeOne became the first Native American owned trading institution of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Don Lyons and Dennis Smith are the co-founders of NativeOne. Lyons is a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians located in Cabazon California while Smith has over 30 years experience in financial capital markets and investment advisory services and 12 years of working as a financial advisor for tribes.
NativeOne offers a unique opportunity, as their company states, “Your company simply requests their funds managers to direct a portion of their trading activity to the NativeOne Institutional Trading Desk or directly to our traders on the NY Stock Exchange. NativeOne will donate a portion of its net profits in the name of your company every quarter to these causes. This could give your company continued positive publicity in Indian Country at no additional cost to your company.”
NativeOne services include Equity and Fixed Incomes sales and trading along with offering internships. As part of their Mission statement NativeOne is aimed to level the financial playing field for all native tribes and Canadian First Nations while delivering the very best financial services to its institutional customers.
“One of the goals of the NativeOne companies is to collaborate with Tribes towards achieving greater participation in the financial services industry while promoting the economic advancement of Native American Tribes, Canadian First Nations Tribes, their members and communities” states Lyons.
While tribes don’t always have the knowledge to manage the money they will use money managers. The money managers, in buying and selling stocks, cannot make the trades themselves and will need to go through a broker-dealer. NativeOne, as a broker-dealer is able to buy and sell stocks, bonds, options or government securities for tribal money managers, if the tribal chief financial officer directs them to do so.
Early this month Oregon Health & Science University invited NativeOne to participate in their recent $126,365,000 bond underwriting.
“NativeOne’s inclusion in this underwriting is a groundbreaking achievement”, said Tiani Osborn, Managing Member of NativeOne and former Chairwoman of the Investment Committee for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “We are paving the way for Native Americans as they assume an active and meaningful role as capital markets participants”.
Courtesy Mohawk Council of Kahnawa:ke. Eleven women elected Mohawk chiefs visited Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence in her hunger strike tipi in Ottawa on December 18 and delivered a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper supporting Idle No More and demanding that he meet with Spence and address the issue of an unprecedented series of laws that many feel are oppressive and insulting to First Nations.
A delegation of women chiefs from three Mohawk Nation communities visited Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence during the second week of her hungry strike last month to offer her their support and respect and in doing so forged a new alliance among themselves.
Kahnawà:ke Chiefs Rhonda Kirby, Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, Christine Zachary-Deom and Gina Deer, Kanesatake Chiefs Sonya Gagnier, Shannon Nicholas, Sheila Bonspiel, Akwesasne Chiefs Karen Loran, Louise Thompson, April Adams-Phillips and one other unnamed woman chief from Akwesasne traveled on December 18 to meet with Chief Spence in her tipi on Victoria Island in Ottawa where she had promised to fast on water and medicine tea until Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with her and other First Nation leaders to talk about the federal government living up to its promises and responsibilities toward Indigenous Peoples. That meeting is now scheduled for January 11.
Spence’s hunger strike and the Idle No More movement were sparked by the passage in the Canadian legislature of the Bill C-45 with inadequate consultation with the nations. The bill amends the Fisheries Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Canadian Labour Code in ways that erode Indian sovereignty and control over their lands and resources. First Nations reacted immediately and strongly to the passage with protests and demonstrations across the country that have now spread in Idle No More solidarity rallies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and even Japan.
Sky-Deer said the visit to Spence created an unprecedented bond of solidarity among the women Mohawk chiefs. “I think one of the most positive aspects of it was that it brought together the women leadership from our three Kanienkahaka (Mohawk people, the People of the Flint) communities, which otherwise may not have happened like that. It was a first meeting for all of us,” said Sky-Deer. Was the meeting the beginning of something new and great? “I hope so!” she said. “We’ve talked about continuing this in the New Year and maybe meeting again, because we face a lot of the same issues in our respective communities and it only helps us to strengthen and support each other in that we’re all Kanienkahaka women and have the best interest of our community and taking care of business. It was definitely a positive thing.”
Before traveling to Victoria Island, the women chiefs coordinated the gifts they would bring to Spence – tobacco, medicine bundles, eagle feathers and a big confederacy blanket that the Kahnawà:ke council donated, along with a confederacy flat that was hoisted on the palisades around the area where her tipi was located, Zachary-Deom said. “There was a big fire going near the tipi. She’s on very low lying ground, very moist and foggy and wet. I don’t know how healthy it is for her there. We were scheduled to see her at 2 p.m. but then we were told she had so many visitors and had just gone to bed,” Zachary-Deom said. So the women delivered letters from the Mohawk Council to Harper and Governor General David Johnson, the representative of the British Crown in Canada.
“The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke has grown increasingly concerned with the paternalistic legislative approach that Canada has taken regarding First Nations affairs, which is in conflict with not only our inherent self-determination, but is also a violation of the agreements between our People and the Crown,” the council wrote. “The recent passage of the Omnibus Budget Bill C-45 is an offensive action on Canada’s part that is causing an obvious and serious deterioration in First Nations/Canada relations. The unwillingness to take corrective measures and continue to consider legislation impacting First Nations only promotes further dissension. At this time, we feel obligated to caution Canada that continuation of this unilateral and paternalistic approach will only result in further deterioration and dissent amongst First Nations Peoples.”
After delivering the letters, the women chiefs returned to Victoria Island and after a long wait finally got to meet with Chief Spence. “We gave her our message of support and comforted her with the blanket we brought that we wrapped around her. We told her that whatever she needed she would just have to tell us and the Mohawks would support her,” Zachary-Deom said.
Each woman had the opportunity to speak individually to Spence, Sky-Deer said. “We each brought our own messages and words of support in how she inspired us, being a woman leader herself, and, you know, just the feeling in that tipi, to have 12 women there together and sharing the weight of what we carry for our communities and wanting to see the best things for our people and our future generations – it was a very positive, very uplifting, powerful experience,” Sky-Deer said.
The women said they hoped the meeting of the First Nations chiefs with the Harper government would result in some changes in the way the federal government conducts itself. “We hope to have a more direct relationship that’s not just them making decisions and passing legislation without consultation that directly affects people – our people and Canadians – across the country,” Sky-Deer said. “It’s very unilateral and it doesn’t take into account and consideration the long term effects that will happen. I’m hoping for the best. I’m hoping for maybe some repeal if the Harper government can understand what we’re looking at and what we want to protect.”
Article by Monica Brown
On Dec. 21, the 62 acres around Tamanowas Rock, including the rock itself, were purchased by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe for $600,000. Tamanowas Rock, shaped like a pointed egg, stands more than 150 feet from the valley floor to the east of Anderson Lake State Park just south of Port Townsend.
The purchase has been added to the adjacent 22-acre property that has been owned by the tribe since the 1990’s and will be known as the Tamanowas Rock Sanctuary, “will be protected in perpetuity from development and inappropriate uses with respect to a cultural and religious Indian site,” according to the tribe’s official announcement of the purchase.
For over 10,000 years the Tamanowas rock which has been a sacred spot beginning with the Chemakuan people, now extinct. Currently a sacred location for many Salish people and would draw them in from as far north as the Lummi Nation. Tamanowas means “spirit power” in the Klallam language.
The rock was previously owned by George Heidgerkin, a developer who purchased the property in 1993 with plans for as many as 46 homes on the land surrounding the rock but was purchased by Washington State Parks in 2008 and transferred to the Jefferson Land Trust and purchased by the Tribe.
A new management plan has been developed that will allow continued but controlled public access Tribal plans include the addition of information kiosks to teach visitors of the history of the site; its cultural, religious and historic importance; and how to show respect to the land and the rock itself — including no rock climbing.
Images of the Tamanowas rock Sanctuary can be viewed here;
Interior, Energy, EPA Commit to Cooperative Working Group to Achieve Shared Goals on Navajo Generating Station in Arizona
Release Date: 01/04/2013, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, press@epa.gov
WASHINGTON – Today the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency released a joint statement that lays out the agencies’ shared goals for Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and energy production in the region served by NGS.
In the statement, the three agencies agree they will work together to support Arizona and tribal stakeholders in finding ways to produce “clean, affordable and reliable power, affordable and sustainable water supplies, and sustainable economic development, while minimizing negative impacts on those who currently obtain significant benefits from NGS, including tribal nations.”
In addition to identifying shared goals, the statement announces specific activities the agencies intend to take jointly to help achieve those goals. These actions include: 1) creating a long-term DOI-EPA-DOE NGS working group; 2) working with stakeholders to develop an NGS roadmap; 3) committing to complete the second phase of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s report on clean, affordable, and sustainable energy options for NGS; and 4) supporting near-term investments that align with long-term clean energy goals.
NGS is a coal-fired power plant located on the Navajo Indian reservation approximately 15 miles from the Grand Canyon and owned partially by the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). Power from the facility is distributed to customers in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Reclamation’s share of the power is used to move water to tribal, agricultural, and municipal water users in central Arizona.
The Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency oversee other federal responsibilities or interests that relate to NGS. These include tribal trust responsibilities, protection of national parks and wilderness areas, visibility and public health protection, and clean energy development.
Wind Advisory issued by the National Weather Service for Snohomish County – from noon today till midnight tonight we can expect 30 to 35 MPH winds, gust to 50 MPH.
Not likely to cause major damage, but expect to see few trees and branches come down and some scattered power outages. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sew/
Singers Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger hosted the “Bring Leonard Peltier Home in 2012 Concert” at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Friday, December 14th to raise awareness of Peltier’s 37-year ordeal and plea for executive clemency from President Obama. Peltier is the Native American activist and former member of the American Indian Movement who was convicted of aiding in the killing of two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. Among those who spoke was Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, who read a poem he wrote urging Peltier’s release.
Scott Campbell, Information Officer / VP Fastpitch Softball, Marysville Little League
Dear MLL Parents:On behalf of the Marysville Little League Board of Directors, I’d like to welcome you back to a new season. We are very excited about the upcoming season. You will be receiving more information in the next several weeks, but for now we wanted to give you information regarding registration. We are actively adding more information to our website (www.marysvillelittleleague.net) to keep you more informed. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at information@marysvillelittleleague.net.Registration for 2013 is 100% online this season. This change will allow us to save money on registration forms and ensure that your data is accurate and up to date.Please note that we will not be using Cedarcrest Middle School for registration. (See below for more details)The registration process is broken down to 3 steps.
Step 1: Verify your child lives in the Marysville Little League boundaries.
Our boundaries are similar to the Marysville School Districts boundaries… If your child attend (or should attend) a Marysville School District school, you most likely are in the boundaries.
Option 2: Attend one of four registration events. At these events, we will have computers set up for you to register your child. No more paper forms.
Sat, Jan 12, 2013 @ Marysville Library 10:30am – 3:00pm
Tue, Jan 15, 2013 @ Cedar Field (1010 Cedar Ave) 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Sat, Jan 19, 2013 @ Marysville Library 10:30am – 3:00pm
Thu, Jan 24, 2013 @ Cedar Field (1010 Cedar Ave) 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Notes:
Registration Fees must be paid at the time of registration.
Credit Cards will be accepted online and in-person. Cash payments are available in person only.
Checks will be accepted.
Online registration ends on 1/31/2013. Any registrations after 1/31/2013 will be assessed a $25 late fee
Step 3: Provide copies of birth certificate and 3 proofs of residency
Little League Regulations require us to verify birth certificates and 3 proofs of residency. The complete rules and types of documents can be found here: The easiest and most common types are driver’s license, car registration and insurance documents. Other easy ones are utility bills (you can use only one), bank statements, school records. Just make sure that have your address printed on it.
Very Important Note: The key is that these documents must be in effect between 2/1/2012 and 2/1/2013
Tulalip, Washington — Tulalip Resort Casino is one of 125 hotels in North America to be awarded the ninth annual Platinum Choice Award from Smart Meetings Magazine — the industry’s premier resource for meeting professionals. This prestigious award recognizes excellence in service and amenities among meeting facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Out of thousands of qualified properties and organizations, only a select few received this award. Winners earn this accreditation by setting exemplary standards in numerous categories, which include ambience, amenities, breadth of resources, facility quality, guest services, meeting space, meeting packages, recreational activities, restaurant and dining facilities, staff attitude and technical support.
“I am so proud of our Tulalip family and their unwavering commitment to insure that each meeting we host is beyond compare and memorable for our guests,” said General Manager Samuel Askew. “We are honored to have been selected for this top award by the magazine’s readers and industry experts.”
Award winning Tulalip Resort Casino is the most distinctive gaming, dining, meeting, entertainment and shopping destination in Washington State. The AAA Four Diamond resort’s world class amenities have ensured its place on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold and Traveler Top 100 Resorts lists, as well as Preferred Hotel & Resorts membership. The property includes 192,000 square feet of gaming excitement; a luxury hotel featuring 370 guest rooms and suites; 30,000 square feet of premier meeting, convention and wedding space; the full-service T Spa; and 6 dining venues, including the AAA Four Diamond Tulalip Bay Restaurant. It also showcases the intimate Canoes Cabaret; a 3,000-seat amphitheater. Nearby, find the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve, Cabela’s; and Seattle Premium Outlets, featuring more than 110 name brand retail discount shops. The Resort Casino is conveniently located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. just off Interstate-5 at exit 200. It is an enterprise of the Tulalip Tribes. For reservations please call (866) 716-7162.
A cutthroat trout is counted and measured in newly accessible habitat in Hooper Creek.
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, www.nwifc.org
When Sierra Pacific replaced an inadequate culvert with a 45-foot bridge over a tributary to the Skagit River, enough sediment had accumulated behind the fish barrier to fill 30 dump trucks.
Biologists with the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) monitored the channel, habitat quality and fish distribution before and after the 2008 culvert removal in Hooper Creek near Concrete. SRSC is the natural resources management arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.
As the landowner, forest products company Sierra Pacific is required to fix culverts that block fish passage.
Forest and fish biologist Mike Olis was pleasantly surprised to discover an increase in habitat quality downstream of the project area. A year after the bridge was built, Olis counted almost three times the number of the large pools (with at least 3 square feet of surface area and 1 foot of residual depth) fish need to feed, rest and stay cool.
“We were expecting some pool-filling from the released sediment,” he said. “The increase in pools is good for the fish.”
Hooper Creek’s resident cutthroat trout quickly took advantage of the newly accessible habitat. In 2009, a year after the project was completed, surveys found 23 trout above the new bridge, including one as far as about a half mile upstream. In 2010, there were 137 fish. Of those 101 were younger than one year.
Coho also spawn in Hooper Creek, but year-to-year spawner surveys don’t necessarily reflect changes in habitat following the culvert removal because run sizes vary. More coho were seen spawning after fish passage was restored, but there also was a larger coho run that year. What the numbers do show, however, is that the release of 300 cubic yards of sediment didn’t have a negative effect on coho spawning.
For more information, contact: Mike Olis, SRSC biologist, molis@skagitcoop.org or 360-708-2809; Kari Neumeyer, NWIFC information officer, 360-424-8226 or kneumeyer@nwifc.org.
