Latest Press Releases
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How to Finance the Northwest’s Transmission Lines
As utilities and the Bonneville Power Administration balk at multibillion-dollar grid investments and threaten the region’s climate progress, Inslee, Cantwell, and others can break the funding deadlock with three smart actions.September 12, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Emily Moore, Sightline Institute, emily@sightline.org FULL ARTICLE: Who Will Pay for Cascadia’s Transmission Lines? OREGON and WASHINGTON – The Pacific Northwest will need billions of dollars invested in its grid to achieve stated climate goals, [...] Read more »
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Portland’s Inclusionary Housing Program Looks Cost-Efficient, & Full Funding Is in Reach
A new economic study commissioned by the City of Portland points to a set of policy changes that could make its affordability mandate more productive.August 1, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Andersen, Sightline Institute, michael@sightline.org PORTLAND, OR – A new city-commissioned study of Portland’s six-year-old affordability mandate for new apartment buildings suggests that the rental program can work well when fully funded, but that it [...] Read more »
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Legislation Against Parking Mandates Spreads across US
A full list of passed and proposed measures to curb costly parking minimums amid a worsening housing shortage and consumer appetite for walkable communities.July 20, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Andersen, Sightline Institute, michael@sightline.org PORTLAND, OR – In the 2023 legislative session, more than a dozen US states have proposed legislation to reduce the overbuilding of parking lots. That’s according to a newly published [...] Read more »
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Letter to Portland Council: Sightline Institute Opposes Revisions to Portland Charter Amendments
Think tank warns that revisions under consideration in work session this morning would undermine the will of the voters and the promise of the original charter changes to better represent Portlanders.July 18, 2023 MEDIA CONTACTS: Alan Durning, Executive Director, alan@sightline.org; Jay Lee, Senior Research Associate (Portland), jay@sightline.org FULL LETTER: Sightline’s Concerns about Proposed Revisions to Charter Amendments (PDF download) PORTLAND, OR – Leadership of Sightline Institute, the Pacific Northwest’s leading [...] Read more »
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How to Stop Building in Wildfire Zones
Three policy solutions to prevent the sprawl that traps us on the “wildfire treadmill.”June 12, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Kate Anderson, Sightline Institute, kate@sightline.org FULL ARTICLE: The best wildfire solution we’re not using The best and possibly only practical way to protect homes from fire is to stop building so many of them in [...] Read more »
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Northwest needs to prune gas system, electrify neighborhoods
Doing so would protect ratepayers as the region shifts more electric each year.June 7, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Emily Moore, Sightline Institute, emily@sightline.org FULL ARTICLE: It’s Time for Cascadia to Start Pruning the Gas System and Electrifying Whole Neighborhoods BC, ID, MT, OR, WA – Cascadians are swapping gas furnaces for heat pumps, [...] Read more »
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Oregon Could Build Thousands More Homes with Small State Investment
To reduce housing shortages, small doses of cash could get many projects built. A bill introduced in Oregon this year suggests a clever place to find it.June 6, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Andersen, Sightline Institute, michael@sightline.org SALEM, OR – A group of Oregon housing experts has a unique idea to help the state build more homes that residents badly need: the state could offer interest-free loans [...] Read more »
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AK Election System Helped More Independents Win Office
New analysis shows open primaries and ranked choice voting cleared the way for greater political diversity in the Alaska legislature, though the system’s effect on age, gender, and racial diversity was less apparent.May 22, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Jeannette Lee, Alaska Research Director, Sightline Institute, jeannette@sightline.org JUNEAU, AK – Ranked choice voting and open primaries likely boosted political diversity and representation in the new Alaska legislature, specifically for Independents. That’s according to new [...] Read more »
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How Washington Made 2023 the “Year of Housing”
As Governor Inslee signs into law a suite of housing bills today, a look at how the state got here, what the measures do, and what’s next.May 8, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org SEATTLE, WA – Today, Governor Inslee signs into law a landmark suite of housing bills to create more homes, at more affordable prices, in communities [...] Read more »
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A Full List of the Housing Bills That Passed in Washington This Year
Small and large policy changes add up to more housing choices and availability of homes in Washington’s job centers.April 21, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Bertolet, Director, Housing and Urbanism Program, Sightline Institute, dan@sightline.org OLYMPIA, WA – Washington communities have a far better chance of meeting the housing needs of their residents and local job holders, and the state [...] Read more »