InvestigateWest

This story is contributed by The South Seattle Emerald, a partner in InvestigateWest’s yearlong climate reporting initiative. When the time arrived for Gov. Jay Inslee to sign a far-reaching piece of environmental justice into law, the ceremony took place by the mouth of Seattle’s only river, the Duwamish, at the cultural center of the people who have called themselves by the same name for generations.

Can an innovative approach to reforestation take root in British Columbia?. This report is contributed by The Tyee in British Columbia, a partner in InvestigateWest’s yearlong reporting initiative Getting to Zero. The Tyee’s work is. supported in part by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. For Natasha Kuperman, the seed was...

After two years of defeat in Salem, carbon pricing still lacks support from business and rural interests. This report is contributed by Jefferson Public Radio, a partner in Getting to Zero, InvestigateWest’s yearlong reporting initiative. In 2019 and again in 2020, Oregon Republicans walked out of the state Legislature to...

As the dust settles in Olympia, the state finally has embraced cap and trade, electric cars and environmental justice. Lawmakers in Olympia have bound Washington state’s fortunes — literally — to the fight against climate change with a legislative blitz, enacting a “historic” suite of climate protections. Before adjourning April...

In the spring when snow melts and Cascadia’s rivers surge, hydropower producers are often forced to run their generators at full tilt. “We’re in high production mode,” said Gary Ivory, general manager for Washington state’s Douglas County Public Utility District, which operates a hydropower dam on the Columbia River. At times they generate so much power that they must literally pay power brokers to take it.

Cascadia needs cleaner fuels to start decarbonizing heavy vehicles and industry. That means pushing biofuels to the max, and more. These days Frank Lemos manages a shipping operation, but the former truck driver still gets behind the wheel occasionally to train new drivers or to fill a staffing hole. When he does, he notices a big difference. The firm recently moved away from conventional diesel fuel, and without it there’s something missing: the permeating petroleum smell that drivers wear after a day inside a big rig.

Neal Pattison has been named interim executive editor of InvestigateWest. Already an editor with InvestigateWest, Pattison will assume the editorial leadership role while the organization undertakes a national search for its next permanent executive editor. “Neal is a unique Pacific Northwest talent, and more than equipped with years of experience...

Legislature unites in support of massive cash infusion to step up firefighting, improve forests and secure communities near the fire lines. After a devastating wildfire season that saw a baby boy die and 1,200 square miles of the state burn, Washington lawmakers are poised to fight fire with money. A lot of money.

Plugging in more stuff can slash Cascadia’s climate-warming emissions at modest cost. But that means moving much faster. Amid the 1970s Arab oil embargo, a gasoline company’s TV ads showed an aging wooden windmill. As the wind died, it slowed to stillness. The ad asked: “But what do you do...

InvestigateWest has been invited to become a member of Local Media Association’s Covering Climate Collaborative. Only 22 newsrooms in the nation were chosen for this group, which includes digital, radio, and television stations. “We’re thrilled to announce this group of newsrooms that are recognized for their commitment to reporting locally...

Despite gun-rights opposition, lawmakers in Olympia are working to deter ad hoc ‘patrols’ and armed protests. After a summer of armed, mostly white “patrols” at racial justice protests and the winter insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Washington lawmakers are ready to ban guns at demonstrations and the statehouse. Over opposition...

Poverty, disability, homelessness wouldn’t qualify as sole reason to take kids away. With tears in her eyes, Karen Osborne recalled the day in 2014 when police showed up to take away her 6-week-old daughter. Osborne hadn’t been accused of abuse nor neglect. Instead, social workers were concerned about Osborne’s “mental capacity.” They had already removed seven of Osborne’s previous children and made plans to remove her new baby before she was even born.

InvestigateWest is the recipient of a new $80,000 grant from Chicago-based family foundation The Reva & David Logan Foundation. The Foundation provides strategic grants to support social justice, the arts, and investigative journalism around the world. “We believe that it will take courage, determination and great will to overcome our...

With strong mandates stripped out, landmark environmental justice legislation approaches passage. After decades of inaction and false starts, Washington lawmakers are on the verge of taking a first, tentative step toward addressing environmental racism in the state. Now, they have to hope state regulators will follow along. The legislation, known...

‘Inside-the-home transmission is what has been killing so many older people of color’. Nursing home social worker Sang Nguyen lived in constant fear that he’d bring COVID-19 home to his parents and his 78-year-old grandmother. He knew from his job how deadly the coronavirus could be for older people with pre-existing health conditions.

Legislation would ensure doctors at Catholic hospitals could offer medically necessary abortions when emergencies arise. After years of trying, Washington legislators appear poised to free up doctors at Catholic hospitals to provide medically necessary abortions when pregnancies go wrong. The legislation would allow patients to sue a hospital if they...

For third time, lawmakers hope to restrict greenhouse gases escaping tailpipes. The annual push in Olympia to promote electric vehicles and biofuels at the expense of gasoline and “dinosaur” diesel has again failed to woo a key Washington state senator who killed the bill twice before. But whether that’ll matter...

Competing efforts to enact landmark climate-change legislation have fractured the state’s environmental coalition and Olympia’s all-powerful Democratic caucus, with some activists arguing that the proposal pushed by Gov. Jay Inslee shortchanges minority and low-income communities. Questions of equity and trust have prompted a prominent environmental-justice coalition to oppose a cap-and-trade...

Indigenous activists spearhead last-ditch effort to short-circuit decades-long greenhouse gas boost. Mike McKenzie felt that he had to leave his home. He says he was no longer welcome in Skeetchestn, a community in central British Columbia west of Kamloops that’s one of 17 reserves in Secwepemc Nation. Three years later, he’s still not home.

While most protests against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion are happening on the land, the federal government has recognized that some of the project’s greatest risks concern potentially catastrophic spills on the water. That’s because the expansion is expected to spur at least a sevenfold increase in the number of...