Local News Archives - Page 46 of 92

Larsen Announces Funding for Skagit Valley Flood Study and Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration

Press Release, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen

WASHINGTON—Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, announced $760,000 in funding for local flood protection and estuary restoration projects. The Skagit General Investigation (G.I) Study will be receiving $400,000 and the Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project will be receiving $360,000. Citing the need for long-term flood protection in the Skagit River valley, Larsen pressed the Army Corps for funding last month.

“Communities in Skagit County have stayed focused on getting the G.I. Study finished,” Larsen said. “This ongoing commitment from the Army Corps is great news and sends a clear message that the federal government is going to keep its agreement in Skagit County.

“The Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project will be the largest tidal marsh restoration project ever completed in our state. This project is not just about protecting the environment. It is about protecting our economy. Restoring the estuary will enhance the role of fishing in our economy and keep a commitment to our tribal and city partners and provide critical habitat for salmon.”

More information on the Army Corps’ announcement of funding is available here.

‘Nooksack 306’ Wards Off Disenrollment With Multiple Legal Actions

Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today Media Network, 3/3/14

Two members of the “Nooksack 306” – Nooksack Indian Tribe citizens who are fighting disenrollment – are awaiting an appeals court ruling on a case involving their alleged unconstitutional removal from the tribal council.

Council members Michelle Roberts and Rudy St. Germaine, along with more than 270 of the members targeted for disenrollment, filed a motion in Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals February 18 seeking an emergency review of a February 7 order by Nooksack Tribal Court Chief Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis, denying an injunction to stop Council Chairman Robert Kelly and other defendants from removing Roberts and St. Germaine from the council and reinstate them to their elected positions. Montoya-Lewis said the council had the power to remove them and that the court did not have the power to deal with the political aspects of the events.

According to the court documents, Kelly called three emergency meetings over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, effectively blocked Roberts and St. Germaine from attending the meeting via teleconference and, at the last meeting, led the council in removing them from office for missing three meetings.

The motion to the Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals asking for a review of Montoya-Lewis’s order is the latest action in a long series of legal moves that have taken place since February 2013, when the tribal council under Kelly’s direction passed Resolution 13-02: Initiating Involuntary Disenrollment for Certain Descendants of Annie James (George). The common thread among the 306 members facing disenrollment is their mixed Filipino and American Indian heritage. Moreno Peralta, spokesman for the families, told Indian Country Today Media Network that the families believe they are being dispossessed of their Nooksack identity because of their mixed Nooksack and Filipino ancestry.

Attorney Gabriel Galanda of the Seattle firm of Galanda Broadman is representing the Nooksack 306 and has challenged a number of Montoya-Lewis’s rulings in support of the tribal council before the Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals. The appeals court ordered a halt to the disenrollment process while the legal issues are under review, ruling tribal membership is not tied to a 1942 federal census, as the Kelly Faction has maintained since starting to disenroll the Nooksack 306 last February. More than a dozen members of the Nooksack 306, including Roberts, say that since the disenrollment effort began they have been fired from jobs with the tribe and others have been denied tribal housing assistance, even though they have not yet been removed from tribal membership rolls.

Kelly did not respond to a request for comment.

In an open letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, posted on Indian Country Today Media Network February 25, Roberts implored the federal officials to intervene in the Nooksack disenrollment conflict. She cited the violence that erupted at the Cedarville Rancheria when former tribal council chair Cherie Lash Rhoades gunned down five people, killing four of them, and stabbed a sixth.

Roberts cited a media report that described the Cedarville killings as “the latest, and most chilling, example of tribal violence over power struggles and disenrollments.”

“So we have worried about the dispute turning violent on our reservation. History teaches us that when democracy falters, when there is no due process, when free speech is stifled, people take matters into their own hands,” Roberts wrote.

However, according to the Associated Press, Rhoades was being evicted from her home, but not disenrolled from the tribe.

Roberts called disenrollment “a creature of the federal government.” It was foreign to Indian people until the 1930s, when the United States began ‘reorganizing’ tribes and the Interior Department began “foisting boilerplate constitutions on tribes” that include disenrollment provisions. “Our traditions do not… Disenrollment is therefore your business,” she told the federal officials.

Interior Department spokeswoman Nedra Darling said the department cannot comment on pending litigation.

Moreno Peralta, the Nooksack spokesman, said the Nooksack 306 group is prepared to take the disenrollment conflict into the international arena, but must first exhaust all available legal venues here.

“As clichéd as it sounds, we have not yet begun to fight. We still have two lawsuits pending before the Nooksack tribal court judge and three appeals before the Nooksack appeals court. We are hopeful that the Nooksack appellate judges will strike down the entire disenrollment,” Peralta said.

If that does not happen, the Nooksack 306 will move ahead with a pending federal court lawsuit against Interior officials regarding an allegedly unlawful federal disenrollment election that took place last summer. “That case could take us to the highest courts in the land,” Peralta said. The group is also considering another federal court lawsuit against the Kelly faction, alleging a violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for depriving the Nooksack 306 of Christmas per capita payments. “The Nooksack judge refused to hold the Kelly faction in contempt of her own order but a federal court judge might not be so kind to them given how egregiously they have violated federal gaming laws,” Peralta said. The Nooksack 306 is also waiting to see the results of a National Indian Gaming Commission investigation into the matter.

“If all of those domestic legal efforts fail, our lawyers are already poised to pursue our claims internationally for violation of various human rights laws,” Peralta said.

Boards of Marysville School District, Tulalip Tribes meet

Tulalip Tribal Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. and Vice Chair Deborah Parker discuss what their community can do to aid the Marysville School District’s mission on Feb. 24.— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner — Tulalip Tribal Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. and Vice Chair Deborah Parker discuss what their community can do to aid the Marysville School District’s mission on Feb. 24.
— image credit: Kirk Boxleitner

By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

TULALIP — Shoring up the struggling students of the Marysville School District was a recurring theme among the many and varied subjects discussed during the Monday, Feb. 24, joint meeting of the respective boards of directors of the Marysville School District and the Tulalip Tribes.

Marysville School Board Vice President Chris Nation touted incoming interim special education services directors Dave Gow and Dr. Bob Gose as experienced professionals who have successfully turned around other school districts’ special education programs.

“I don’t know how much they’ll be able to fix in six months, but they can develop the department so that pieces will be in place for our new permanent directors,” Nation said.

“We’re also elevating those positions to executive directors, so they’ll be part of the district’s cabinet,” MSD Superintendent Dr. Becky Berg said.

“Our concern is, what can we be doing to offer more services to these students?” Tulalip Tribal Board Chair Mel Sheldon Jr. asked.

“The systems we had in place were not making effective use of all of our partnerships,” Nation said.

Berg’s coffees with community members were cited by members of both boards as a successful venue for allowing parents to discuss their concerns in a more informal setting.

MSD Assistant Superintendent Ray Houser followed this conversation by reporting that Quil Ceda/Tulalip Elementary has been designated as a Required Action District by the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“As hard as those students have worked, because of where they began, they’re still not at standard,” said Houser, who pointed out the silver lining of continued resources for the school, whose school improvement grants are set to wrap up. “We’re moving from federal to state money.”

Houser and Berg reassured those in attendance that the school staff who guided the students through such significant growth in recent years would not be the subject of turnovers.

“This allows us to build on our successes,” Berg said of the RAD designation.

Anthony Craig and Kristin DeWitte, co-principals of Quil Ceda/Tulalip Elementary, identified the merged school’s three focus points as academics, behavior and cultural heritage.

“A lot of schools that were recipients of those improvement grants came up with strategies to bump up their scores in the short term, and we could have done the same,” Craig said. “The problem would have been that we wouldn’t have had any real reforms after the money went away in three years.”

“What role can the parents play in all of this?” Sheldon asked.

“We’re looking at a lot more family engagement,” Craig said. “A lot of our parent/teacher conferences have 100 percent attendance now. That’s what it means to own a school. We want our students to be able to tell their parents about their own positive experiences at school, and about how someone believes in them.”

Gray whales are arriving and you see them on trips from Everett

Gray whales have two blow holes atop their heads.

By Mike Benbow, The Herald

An estimated 22,000 gray whales will swim past Washington’s coastline during the next few weeks as they migrate thousands of miles to rich feeding grounds near Alaska.

A dozen or more of the giant creatures are expected to spend a few months in Puget Sound as they bulk up for the trip.

The whales don’t eat while spending the winter in their breeding grounds in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula or in the Gulf of California, so fuel stops are needed as they travel 5,000 to 6,500 miles to the Bering and Chukchi seas in the Arctic.

The Pacific Whale Watching Association calls it the longest migration of any mammal on Earth, with the whales traveling at about five knots and averaging 75 miles a day on the trip.

There have been a couple sightings of whales in the Sound already this year, so whale-watching season has officially begun.

Island Adventures Whale Watching, which offers three-hour trips from the Port of Everett, begins operations on Saturday and will continue until May 18.

California gray whales are sizable creatures, reaching an estimated 45 feet in length and weighing as much as 40 tons. They can live for decades.

Olympia-based Cascadia Research has been studying the small but growing group of grays in Puget Sound since 1990. It has identified whales that visit the Sound every year, feeding in shallow tide flats around Everett and Whidbey and Camano islands for sand shrimp. In addition to the regulars, there are also usually a few transients.

The resident whales regularly visit Mission Beach on the Tulalip Tribes Reservation, rolling in the shallows during high tide to stir up the beach and using their baleen plates to separate the shrimp from the water and sand.

They can eat about a ton of shrimp a day, according to the institute.

Michael Harris of the whale-watching association said the population of gray whales is growing, which could be good news for local whale watchers.

“We’re fortunate that we get about a dozen gray whales who hang out each spring for long periods of time feeding on ghost shrimp — what we call ‘residents’— but from the sound of things, we should be getting a lot of migratory whales in here, too. And maybe some hungry orcas following them in,” he said in a news release.

He added that researchers in California are reporting bigger than usual numbers of gray whales in this year’s migration.

Watch the whales

Island Adventures: Boards at 10:30 a.m. from the Everett Marina near Anthony’s Homeport Restaurant, 1726 W. Marine View Drive.

First trip is Saturday. The boat leaves at 11 a.m. Trips will continue through May 18. In addition to whales, customers frequently see harbor seals, sea lions, porpoises, eagles and osprey.

Tickets are $69 for adults; $59 for seniors 65 and older, military, groups of 10 or more, students with ID and AAA discounts; $49 for kids 3 to 12; children 2 and under are free.

Go to www.island-adventures.com or call 800-465-4604. Reservations are suggested.

Cascadia Research: Learn more about California gray whales at www.cascadiaresearch.org.

Orca Network: Check for local whale sightings at www.orcanetwork.org

See standout Northwest artists’ works at Camano gallery

By Gale Fiege, The Herald

Sculptor Karla Matzke of Camano Island helped national author E. Ashley Rooney write the recently released coffee table book “100 Artists of the Northwest.”

Rooney has written other books highlighting regional artists in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest and the South.

Beginning March 1, the Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park features 25 of the 100 artists featured in the Northwest book. A book signing, opening party and potluck goes from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday. The gallery and park are at 2345 Blanche Way on Camano Island.

People can see the show on weekends through April 13.

The 25 artists showing represent the artistic vibrancy of the Northwest region, Matzke said.

“Using paint, sculpture, glass, oil, clay, wood and other contemporary mediums, these 21st century artists combine, redesign, and transform their materials into pieces of works that change the way we perceive art in the Northwest,” Matzke said.

The artists, including Matzke, are Sabah Al-Dhaher of Seattle, Liana Bennett of Bothell, Brian Berman of Bainbridge Island, Lance Carleton of Lake Stevens, Shirley Erickson of Bellingham, Kathleen Faulkner of Anacortes, Aaron Haba of Camano Island, Karen Hackenberg of Port Townsend, Phillip Levine of Burien, James Madison of Tulalip, Lin McJunkin of Conway, Merrilee Moore of Seattle, Richard Nash of Oak Harbor, Peregrine O’Gormley of La Conner, Doug Randall of Portland, Debbi Rhodes of Camano Island, David Ridgway of Bellingham, Sue Roberts of Guemes Island, Ethan Stern of Seattle, Donna Watson of Camano Island and Bill Wentworth of Poulsbo.

The book, which includes a guide to galleries, sculpture parks, museums and schools, is available for sale for $38 at the gallery.

On April 25, 26 and 27, Matzke will host her Stone Carving Workshop and Retreat for beginning carvers and more experienced sculptors.

Instruction by master carver Alexandra Morosco will cover history, concepts, processes, techniques, materials and tools associated with the creation of three dimensional forms in stone.

Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center March Events

Enjoy storytelling, poetry, film and more this month at the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center

Marysville students learn culinary skills at School House Cafe

By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — The School House Cafe at Totem Middle School has undergone a few changes this year, as former Seattle chef Jeff Delma makes his way through his seventh year of coordinating the student cooks in the kitchen.

“We’ve got a new paint job and a new look, but we’re not done touching it up just yet,” said Delma, who credited Brian Murrill as one of the key contributors to the student-run restaurant’s mid-school year renovations.

“It’s made the School House Cafe a nicer place to eat at,” said Ariel Williams, a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, who hopes to pursue cooking as a career.

“It has been looking a little worn down,” said Natalie Vinson, a senior at the Marysville Getchell High School Bio-Med Academy, who also comes from a family of cooks, but is more interested in cooking as a hobby.

“We already offer gourmet food from high school students,” said fellow Bio-Med Academy senior Ian Wahlgren, who enrolled in the program because “I want to learn how to cook so I can live on my own.”

Regular patrons will also notice a new menu at the School House Cafe, complete with its own blend of coffee. Vista Clara Coffee of Snohomish has created the “Caffe’ Diem” blend for the local student-run restaurant, offering what Delma described as a “deep, dark and beautiful” flavor. Likewise, while familiar favorites such as the house-smoked barbecue pulled-pork sandwich, paninis, and fish and chips are still available, they’ve been joined this year by new selections such as the spicy shrimp wrap, which bundles crispy shrimp, lettuce, tomato and spicy mayo in a flour tortilla.

While Wahlgren rates the spicy shrimp wrap as his own first choice to order, Williams is more partial to shepherd’s pie, and Vinson prefers the simplicity of the School House Cafe’s salads.

“I would come here on my own time even if I wasn’t working here, because the food is just that good,” Vinson said.

“Plus, the people are as friendly as they can be,” Williams said. “We’ve all made new friends here.”

Indeed, even though many students go to different schools, or different Small Learning Communities, they all agreed that their close-knit working relationships at the School House Cafe remind them that they’re all part of the same Marysville school community.

“It doesn’t feel like coming to class when you come here,” Wahlgren said.

Which is not to say that culinary education isn’t emphasized during students’ hands-on experiences at the School House Cafe, since Delma has also been throwing middle school students into the mix.

“They’re only here for relatively short periods, but it gives them a taste of what it’s like, and increases their awareness,” Delma said. “We don’t want incoming high school freshmen to get lost in the shuffle.”

The School House Cafe has even started incorporating a new culinary curriculum from ProStart into its lessons, by focusing on industry specific-skills training, and working with the Washington Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association.

“This connection offers our program a direct pipeline to hundreds of professionals, who are available for mentor relationships, career and education advice, as well as professional, hands-on guest instruction,” said Donneta Spath, the Marysville School District’s Career and Technical Education Director. “This partnership will also allow Chef Delma to share ideas, information and teaching strategies with hundreds of schools across the country, via online forums and databases.”

As valuable as these programs and benefits are to the students and the community overall, perhaps the most important aspect of the School House Cafe to its customers is how well it serves them as a local restaurant.

“I used to come here all the time,” said Betty Berger, whose workplace was previously located adjacent to the School House Cafe. “They were so very nice to me. When I had a leg injury, they even brought my meals to me. It’s been years since I came here regularly, but with as good as the food is, I’ll be bringing my girlfriends back with me tomorrow.”

The School House Cafe is located at 1605 Seventh Street, on the south side of Totem Middle School, and is open from 12:15-1:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays. Senior citizens are encouraged to ask for a 10 percent discount. For more information, call 360-653-0639.

To place an order for “Caffe’ Diem” coffee — either whole bean, ground or decaf — contact Wendy Hodgins by phone at 360-657-0982 or via email at wendy_hodgins@msvl.k12.wa.us.

Washington State Senators Propose Tax On Oil Train Shipments

Taylor Winkel, Northwest News Network

Powerful members of the Washington state Senate are on board with a plan to tax crude oil shipped into the state by rail.

The money raised would pay for oil spill response and clean up.

The proposed legislation would expand an existing barrel tax paid only by seaborne oil tankers.

Republican Sen. Doug Ericksen says extending the tax is fair.

“Every tanker coming into our refinery today pays a 5-cents-per-barrel tax that goes into oil spill prevention and response,” Ericksen says. “We believe we should apply that to rail cars coming in and we have a bi partisan bill that would apply the barrel tax to the rail cars also.”

Oil train traffic across the Northwest has rapidly increased since 2012. Trains are carrying crude oil from wells on the northern plains to refineries in Northwest Washington and a marine terminal in Clatskanie, Ore.

At least half a dozen more crude oil receiving terminals are on the drawing boards in Western Oregon and Washington.

Puyallup Tribe tracking sea star wasting in South Sound

George Stearns, shellfish biologist for the Puyallup Tribe, inspects a sick sea star caught in the tribe’s crab monitoring study.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

As part of their regular monitoring of crab populations the Puyallup Tribe of Indians is tracking the impact of a mysterious ailment that is decimating sea stars.

An outbreak of sea star wasting syndrome was first noticed early last fall in British Columbia. The syndrome starts as small lesions and eventually the infected sea stars disintegrate. Since the syndrome was first noticed, it quickly spread throughout the Salish Sea and along the Pacific coast.

While there have been documented outbreaks before of the syndrome, nothing on this scale has ever been recorded. There is no known cause.

The tribe started regular crab surveys in April 2013. “Since then, we started seeing a lot of sea star by-catch,” said George Stearns, shellfish biologist for the tribe. “One pot near the north point of Vashon Island was literally full of sea stars.”

The tribe regularly monitors eight stations between the north end of Vashon Island and the Tacoma Narrows. Each station includes nine crab pots.

George Stearns (right) and David Winfrey, shellfish biologists for the Puyallup Tribe, count and measure crab caught in a monitoring study in southern Puget Sound.

During the tribe’s early surveys, the sea star population seemed healthy. But, Puyallup tribal scientists recorded a sharp die-off in October. “We saw one monitoring site go from four sea stars per pot in April to 12 in September to zero all together in October,” Stearns said. “We went from catching over 100 sea stars to none within a month at that site.”

“Across the entire area we’re monitoring, we’re seeing a massive decrease in sea star bycatch,” Stearns said. “Some of the sea stars we are finding are literally melting in front of us.”

When a diseased sea star does catch a ride on a tribal crab pot, it deflates quickly. Within a few minutes, a normally rigid sea star will be hanging on the pot like a wet rag.

The main focus of the crab monitoring work by the tribe is to pinpoint exactly when the crab in the tribe’s harvest area molt, or shed their shells.

“Crabbing during the middle of molting, which makes them soft and vulnerable, can increase the handling mortality,” Stearns said. “Its a common practice to shut down harvest during the molt. But, we’ve only had a general idea of when that occurs down here.”

The data collected will also help the fisheries managers put together a more complete picture of crab populations in the South Sound. “We GPS the locations so we’re at the same spots and put the pots in for the same length of time,” Stearns said. “So, we know we’re comparing apples to apples each month.”

Sea star immediately after being caught. Photo by George Stearns.

Sea star five minutes after being caught. Photo by George Stearns.

Weekend fun: Geese, treasures, dance, kids snowboarding, more

Mike Benbow / For The HeraldThe Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival is this weekend. — Mike Benbow / For The Herald
The Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival is this weekend.

Source: The Herald

Birds on parade: The Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival is Saturday and Sunday in and around Stanwood and Camano Island with free talks, walks, bus tours and activities for kids. Head to the headquarters, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. Get more info in our story here.

Treasure hunt: While you’re in the Stanwood area go hunting for a “clue ball” at the Great Northwest Glass Quest on Saturday and Sunday. Pick up a brochure at A Guilded Gallery, 8700 271st NW, Stanwood, and head out to hunt. If you find one of the plastic balls return it to the location found inside the ball and you’ll receive a limited edition glass art ball. For more info, go here.

A sweet show: “I Love to Dance: A studio performance of original and solo works” will be performed at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Dance School of Everett in the former Betty Spooner ballet studio, upstairs at 2821 Rockefeller Ave. You can see the hourlong performances for a suggested donation of $5 that includes dessert. Call 425-259-6861 to reserve a seat. Get more info in our story here.

Films: The Everett Film Festival is Friday and Saturday at the Everett Performing Arts Center. The festival initially was considered a women’s festival. Though it continues to celebrate the strength, humor and diversity of women through film, it now has a wider view and welcomes men and women to submit their films. Get the details in our story here.

Author: Hear Maria Semple, author of “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” speak at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. The book is an Everett Reads book pick.

Got a clue? Get one in Langley for the 30th annual Mystery Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. The plot? A handsome stranger turns up dead after claiming to be the long-lost heir to a Whidbey estate. Pick up a map and ticket at the Langley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center at 208 Anthes St. The Coroner’s Report will be given at 1 p.m. Saturday and the solution will be announced and prizes awarded at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Langley Middle School’s auditorium. Get more info here.

Symphony for kids: The Cascade Symphony Orchestra’s annual children’s concert, “Paddington Bear’s First Concert,” is at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N. Call 425-275-9595 for tickets. Cellist Stephen Leou, 11, will perform the 1st movement of Haydn’s C Major Cello Concerto. Children also can enjoy the “instrument petting zoo” in the lobby beginning at 2 p.m., where they can test out various instruments.

Author: Bill Dietrich, an author who focuses on environmental issues, will speak about forest concerns at 10 a.m. Saturday at Rockport State Park, 51095 Highway 20, Rockport. The talk will be followed by a guided tour of the park’s trails.

Kids snowboarding: Kids between 3 and 6 years old can try out snowboarding on Saturday and Sunday at Stevens Pass. The boards and the terrain are designed for young kids. Get more info here.

Zeros: The Flying Heritage Collection in Everett will officially open a new display to the public Friday. The collection will have three Japanese Zeros on display. One is in flying condition while two are still undergoing restoration. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get more info here.

More planes: Learn about the aviation history of Troy, Ohio, and the Waco Aircraft Company and its history of producing excellent wood and fabric aircraft parts. The talk is from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Flying Heritage Collection. Get more info here.

Gardening: Learn pruning tips, with a focus on fruit plants and flowering shrubs, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Coldwell Banker Bain’s meeting room, 108 Fifth Ave., Edmonds. The event is presented by the Edmonds Floretum Garden Club. Everyone is invited to attend the event. It’s free, although donations are welcome. Call 425-774-4991 with questions.

Service: Historian and actress Tames Alan will appear in a free program at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Everett Public Library, 2702 Hoyt Ave. Alan will reveal the colorful culture of servants at Edwardian estates like Downton Abbey. Get more info here.