Margaret Journalists have been giving a lot of press time to the role of foreign investment and absentee ownership in inflating Vancouver, British Columbia’s housing market these days. But knowing how to interpret that press is another matter. Take for instance this recent article in the Walrus which blamed wealthy investors from mainland China for … Read more
The Cascadia region is low on the Zika list, with only a handful of cases to date. Currently, neither of the two mosquito species that carry Zika lives in Cascadia, nor are they expected to arrive soon, even with climate change expanding mosquitoes’ habitat. So, the primary risk to residents of British Columbia, Oregon, and … Read more
For Immediate Release: June 9, 2016 Contact: Eric de Place, eric@sightline.org, 206-447-1880 x105 SEATTLE, WA—A prominent Seattle-based public affairs firm with a green reputation has in fact worked to advance some of the Pacific Northwest’s most controversial oil and gas projects, according to newly published research from Sightline Institute. EnviroIssues has worked to shepherd through … Read more
Consulting firm EnviroIssues is a longstanding fixture of the Northwest’s sustainability community. Known mostly for its work with local governments, the company is generally well respected and considered “a white hat” in a field liberally populated with unscrupulous characters. Of themselves, EnviroIssues says: “Our names says it all—we help make the natural and built communities … Read more
In 2016, one Portland mayoral campaign funded entirely by small donors giving $250 or less faced off against another campaign funded mostly by wealthy donors and business interests giving unlimited amounts. The big checks from a few donors far outweighed the small checks written by thousands of Portlanders. But if the Portland Open and Accountable … Read more
And another one bites the dust… Starting six years ago, Washington and Oregon found themselves besieged by a flotilla of massive, well-financed companies hell-bent on building coal export terminals to feed Asia’s allegedly insatiable appetite for coal. But the coal industry’s vision of a robust export market turned out to be a mirage: starting in early 2011, international coal … Read more
The wave of big money that has crashed over US politics since Citizens United has not spared Portland, Oregon, Cascadia’s third largest city. Just 600 big donors (including individuals, business entities, labor organizations, and PACs) accounted for nearly 60 percent of all money given to city campaigns in the last completed election cycle. In 2012, … Read more
Sightline senior researcher Kristin Eberhard recently spoke about alternative voting systems on KBOO, a community radio station based in Portland. In her interview, Kristin explains how outdated voting systems can lead to unrepresentative democracies and disenfranchised voters. She then describes how Oregon and Washington can guide the United States towards proportional representation voting that engages more people, better reflects diverse communities, … Read more
Did you know that it costs over one billion dollars to run for President? And even over one million dollars to run for Mayor of Portland? It’s no secret that elections at all political levels are flooded with money from big donors, which drowns out the voices of ordinary citizens. Big Money in politics limits who can … Read more
Editor’s Note December 2016: Great news! BMW ReachNow car-sharing service has expanded its fleet to Portland with 360 vehicles and added 330 vehicles to its fleet in Seattle. We’ve updated the numbers below: Last month, BMW launched its car-sharing brand ReachNow in Seattle, expanding into North America from its half-million-member stronghold in Europe, and I’ll admit that even I, … Read more