Of all the beautiful natural features in Cascadia, one of the largest and most important is the Columbia River. In this era of recession and the desire to vacation closer to home, we have one great natural wonder right here in our backyard. It is well worth a visit. The Columbia River is one of [...]
By now, it has been plastered all over the media that perennial candidate Dino Rossi (“prefers GOP”) will be running for the US Senate to put some pressure on three-term incumbent senator Patty Murray. Yes, he will need to get past other candidates in the primary election. However, with his name recognition in two unsuccessful [...]
There are many ways to describe what Cascadia is. It has been described differently by a multitude of people, both as a region and as a way of life. I see it as both — both as a geographic region and as a way of life. I will take the rest of this page to [...]
Many states are having serious problems making their budgets work. There is a well known situation in California where services have been cut drastically and the government has ground to a halt in the last year. It is easy to blame the governor and legislators for this, but the biggest problem is the existence of [...]
Vote-by-mail ballots are on their way out for the upcoming election in Washington. It’s time to look at some of the issues to be decided. Again, we are looking mostly at issues that have clear choices. In the latest legislative session, the Washington Legislature decided correctly to expand the rights of domestic partners in the [...]
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is very protective of the “Olympics” brand in this country. Of course they are, as they spend a lot of money on marketing themselves and the international sports festival that they participate in. I have no issue with the organization protecting themselves from businesses who want to get a [...]
I have commented before here on the plight of the Columbia River sea lions. Despite the fact that they are a natural part of the wildlife that appears on the Columbia River, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife has found it necessary to kill some of the sea lions around Bonneville Dam because they [...]
Currently, the Washington Legislature is working on a long-range plan for Washington State Ferries for the next 25 years. The state ferry system acts as the primary means for commuters, residents, and commercial traffic to cross Puget Sound from the quarter of the state that comprises the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas to the Greater Seattle [...]
As the legislators in both Washington and Oregon are beginning their sessions this week, our leaders are being faced with some difficult choices to make. Because of the recession’s effects on the economy, we have fewer dollars to spend on the services that we require or are used to receiving from government. At the same [...]
Finally. Finally we have a decision on what will be built to replace Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct. The 1953 monstrosity will be replaced with a tunnel. According to the Seattle P-I and other sources, the government entities who are involved with the decision will be announcing on Tuesday that they are choosing a 4-lane tunnel [...]
