#BreakFreePNW kayaktivists land at March Point and raise a banner as troopers in riot gear look on. #breakfree2016 pic.twitter.com/ZprqN0FqkA
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) May 15, 2016
Climate Justice Activists Protested on Land and Water in Anacortes This Weekend: Fifty two protesters were arrested on grounds of trespassing for camping on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks, which lead to the Tesoro and Shell oil refineries, KIRO reported. Hundreds of climate justice activists marched and camped in the coastal city as part of Break Free, a nationwide movement seeking to end dependency on fossil fuels. According to KIRO, indigenous peoples are a big force in the movement.
Deborah Parker, a member of the Tulalip Tribes and the protest's indigenous organizer, was asked how many tribes are represented. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "You know, I lost count."
Parker said there were tribes from Alaska natives to the Makah to the Navajo and so many in between are here. All of them deeply concerned about the changes in the climate that are impacting the Earth.
"This whole refineries and everything that's happened around us, it's gone wrong," Parker said. "It's all wrong. And so we're coming together to take a stand. It's not just for this generation. But we're doing it for our next generation."
#breakfreepnw #breakfree2016 Dr. Jill Stein gets a brief kayak training before hitting the water with activists. pic.twitter.com/miL5jtPFZt
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) May 14, 2016
See that pollution in the background? That's why we are here #BreakFreePNW #stopfossilfuels pic.twitter.com/UVy3kHpbdo
— Zebra (@Zebra425) May 15, 2016
Amazon-Owned Motel Is Now Open to Homeless Families: Mary's Place is running the 24-hour shelter in a former-Travelodge motel. According to Crosscut, the shelter is already making a big impact for a family of eight who have always been separated due to other shelter's restrictions.
Washington's Raging Wildfires Are Finally Calming Down: The fire in Gold Bar, which has burned about 352 acres as of Saturday, is now about 90 percent contained and the Hot Shot Fire in Oso is about 50 percent contained thanks to this weekend's wetter weather, MyNorthwest reports. The fire in Oso began on a hillside logging area, which quickly spread to about 130 as of Saturday, KIRO reports. The area was the site of a massive landslide just two years ago.
More Than 1,000 Buildings in Seattle Aren't Prepared for The Big One: "Seattle city officials list 1,164 brick or stone buildings as constructed of unreinforced masonry and in need of seismic upgrades," KOMO reports. According to Washington state seismologist and UW Professor John Vidale, there isn't currently a system in place to pay for retrofitting. "Mandating the work might drive up rents and make Seattle even more unaffordable. So for now, city building officials wait until people apply for a permit to force earthquake improvements," KOMO said.
Tales of Humanity from Inside the Jungle: Another must-listen from KUOW. Encampment resident Robert Patterson's documents his life in an audio diary and discusses everything from his marriage and dignity to beating addiction and his frustrations with Seattle's shelter system.
I don’t know what people think they are, but they’re not cool. They don’t let you in until about 8 o’clock at night. But you have to get in line hours earlier. And they wake you up at 4:45, 5 in the morning, and they’re not nice about it.
“Bang, bang, bang, time to get up, go out and do stuff.”
It’s 5 in the morning. What the hell you supposed to do at 5 in the morning?
A Number of Seattle Schools Are Opening Up Gender Neutral Bathrooms: West Seattle, Franklin, Interagency, and Nova High Schools all have facilities for gender non-conforming students, The Seattle Times reports. Nathan Hale High School is set to open up a bathroom for all students this week.
A Rock Climber Died in Leavenworth: Despite a rescue team performing CPR, the woman died from the injuries she sustained from her 80-foot fall. She was 50-years-old and resided in SeaTac, KING 5 reports.
Nintendo Eyes the Big Screen: The video game company announced that it would be using money from selling its stake in the Seattle Mariners baseball team to fund the experiment, GeekWire reports.
Link, Zelda’s main character, may make his on-camera debut before Nintendo releases its first film. The gaming company is in talks with Netflix to create a live-action series based on the beloved video game. Both companies remain tight-lipped about the project, however.
Wildfires Continue to Devastate Alberta: Residents in Greenview, a city in northwestern Alberta, have been ordered to evacuate, The Huffington Post reports. According to The Guardian, the fire has already destroyed 544,000 acres and has forced 88,000 people to leave their homes.
HONY Made Me Cry All Weekend: Photographer Brandon Stanton documents the lives of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's children patients and their parents in his latest series for Humans of New York. The campaign has raised more than $1 million for the hospital.
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