Category: News

Navajo Generating Station gains support from government agencies

Interior, Energy, EPA Commit to Cooperative Working Group to Achieve Shared Goals on Navajo Generating Station in Arizona

Release Date: 01/04/2013, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, press@epa.gov

WASHINGTON – Today the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency released a joint statement that lays out the agencies’ shared goals for Navajo Generating Station (NGS) and energy production in the region served by NGS.

In the statement, the three agencies agree they will work together to support Arizona and tribal stakeholders in finding ways to produce “clean, affordable and reliable power, affordable and sustainable water supplies, and sustainable economic development, while minimizing negative impacts on those who currently obtain significant benefits from NGS, including tribal nations.”

In addition to identifying shared goals, the statement announces specific activities the agencies intend to take jointly to help achieve those goals. These actions include: 1) creating a long-term DOI-EPA-DOE NGS working group; 2) working with stakeholders to develop an NGS roadmap; 3) committing to complete the second phase of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s report on clean, affordable, and sustainable energy options for NGS; and 4) supporting near-term investments that align with long-term clean energy goals.

A copy of the Joint Statement is available at http://epa.gov/air/tribal/pdfs/130103_statement_ngs.pdf.

NGS is a coal-fired power plant located on the Navajo Indian reservation approximately 15 miles from the Grand Canyon and owned partially by the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). Power from the facility is distributed to customers in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Reclamation’s share of the power is used to move water to tribal, agricultural, and municipal water users in central Arizona.

The Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency oversee other federal responsibilities or interests that relate to NGS. These include tribal trust responsibilities, protection of national parks and wilderness areas, visibility and public health protection, and clean energy development.

Michael Moore’s Poetic Plea to Obama: “Dear Mr. President, Please Let Leonard Peltier Come Home”

www.democracynow.org

 

Singers Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger hosted the “Bring Leonard Peltier Home in 2012 Concert” at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Friday, December 14th to raise awareness of Peltier’s 37-year ordeal and plea for executive clemency from President Obama. Peltier is the Native American activist and former member of the American Indian Movement who was convicted of aiding in the killing of two FBI agents during a shootout on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. Among those who spoke was Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, who read a poem he wrote urging Peltier’s release.

Marysville Little League registration open

 

 

Marysville, Wa Little League

Scott Campbell, Information Officer / VP Fastpitch Softball, Marysville Little League
 
Dear MLL Parents:On behalf of the Marysville Little League Board of Directors, I’d like to welcome you back to a new season.   We are very excited about the upcoming season.  You will be receiving more information in the next several weeks, but for now we wanted to give you information regarding registration.    We are actively adding more information to our  website (www.marysvillelittleleague.net) to keep you more informed.   If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at information@marysvillelittleleague.net.Registration for 2013 is 100% online this season.   This change will allow us to save money on registration forms and ensure that your data is accurate and up to date.Please note that we will not be using Cedarcrest Middle School for registration.  (See below for more details)The registration process is broken down to 3 steps.

Step 1:   Verify your child lives in the Marysville Little League boundaries.   

Our boundaries are similar to the Marysville School Districts boundaries…  If your child attend (or should attend) a Marysville School District school, you most likely are in the boundaries.

There is an online tool that you can use:   http://www.littleleaguewa.org/findyourleague

Once you have verified your address, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2:   Complete the Registration Form online.

Option 1:   Go to www.marysvillelittleleague.net and click the Click here to register online button.

Option 2:   Attend one of four registration events.   At these events, we will have computers set up for you to register your child.   No more paper forms.

  • Sat, Jan 12, 2013 @ Marysville Library  10:30am – 3:00pm
  • Tue, Jan 15, 2013 @ Cedar Field  (1010 Cedar Ave) 6:00pm – 9:00pm
  • Sat,  Jan 19, 2013  @ Marysville Library  10:30am – 3:00pm
  • Thu, Jan 24, 2013 @ Cedar Field  (1010 Cedar Ave)  6:00pm – 9:00pm

Notes:

  • Registration Fees must be paid at the time of registration.
  • Credit Cards will be accepted online and in-person.  Cash payments are available in person only.
  • Checks will be accepted.
  • Online registration ends on 1/31/2013.   Any registrations after 1/31/2013 will be assessed a $25 late fee

Step 3:  Provide copies of birth certificate and 3 proofs of residency

Little League Regulations require us to verify birth certificates and 3 proofs of residency.   The complete rules and types of documents can be found here:    The easiest and most common types are driver’s license, car registration and insurance documents.   Other easy ones are utility bills (you can use only one), bank statements, school records.  Just make sure that have your address printed on it.

Very Important Note:  The key is that these documents must be in effect between 2/1/2012 and 2/1/2013

Option 1:  You can upload these documents online on your profile page at www.marysvillelittleleague.net.

Option 2:   You can bring these documents to one of the registration events listed above, and we will scan it and upload it for you.

 

Stay tuned for more information.  If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please reach out to us.

Tulaip Resort Casino earns coveted 2012 Platinum Choice Award

Tulalip ResortFrom Thousands of Qualified Properties and Organizations, Only a Select Few are Honored

January 07, 2013, Press Release, Tulalip Resort Casino,  www.tulalipresort.com

Tulalip, Washington — Tulalip Resort Casino is one of 125 hotels in North America to be awarded the ninth annual Platinum Choice Award from Smart Meetings Magazine — the industry’s premier resource for meeting professionals. This prestigious award recognizes excellence in service and amenities among meeting facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Out of thousands of qualified properties and organizations, only a select few received this award.  Winners earn this accreditation by setting exemplary standards in numerous categories, which include ambience, amenities, breadth of resources, facility quality, guest services, meeting space, meeting packages, recreational activities, restaurant and dining facilities, staff attitude and technical support.

“I am so proud of our Tulalip family and their unwavering commitment to insure that each meeting we host is beyond compare and memorable for our guests,” said General Manager Samuel Askew. “We are honored to have been selected for this top award by the magazine’s readers and industry experts.”

The esteemed group of honorees can be found on Smart Meetings’ website, http://www.smartmeetings.com.

 

About Tulalip Resort Casino

Award winning Tulalip Resort Casino is the most distinctive gaming, dining, meeting, entertainment and shopping destination in Washington State. The AAA Four Diamond resort’s world class amenities have ensured its place on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold and Traveler Top 100 Resorts lists, as well as Preferred Hotel & Resorts membership. The property includes 192,000 square feet of gaming excitement; a luxury hotel featuring 370 guest rooms and suites; 30,000 square feet of premier meeting, convention and wedding space; the full-service T Spa; and 6 dining venues, including the AAA Four Diamond Tulalip Bay Restaurant.  It also showcases the intimate Canoes Cabaret; a 3,000-seat amphitheater. Nearby, find the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve, Cabela’s; and Seattle Premium Outlets, featuring more than 110 name brand retail discount shops. The Resort Casino is conveniently located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. just off Interstate-5 at exit 200. It is an enterprise of the Tulalip Tribes. For reservations please call (866) 716-7162.

Tribes monitor Hooper Creek after culvert removal

A cutthroat trout is counted and measured in newly accessible habitat in Hooper Creek.
A cutthroat trout is counted and measured in newly accessible habitat in Hooper Creek.

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, www.nwifc.org

When Sierra Pacific replaced an inadequate culvert with a 45-foot bridge over a tributary to the Skagit River, enough sediment had accumulated behind the fish barrier to fill 30 dump trucks.

Biologists with the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) monitored the channel, habitat quality and fish distribution before and after the 2008 culvert removal in Hooper Creek near Concrete. SRSC is the natural resources management arm of the Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle tribes.

As the landowner, forest products company Sierra Pacific is required to fix culverts that block fish passage.

Forest and fish biologist Mike Olis was pleasantly surprised to discover an increase in habitat quality downstream of the project area. A year after the bridge was built, Olis counted almost three times the number of the large pools (with at least 3 square feet of surface area and 1 foot of residual depth) fish need to feed, rest and stay cool.

“We were expecting some pool-filling from the released sediment,” he said. “The increase in pools is good for the fish.”

Hooper Creek’s resident cutthroat trout quickly took advantage of the newly accessible habitat. In 2009, a year after the project was completed, surveys found 23 trout above the new bridge, including one as far as about a half mile upstream. In 2010, there were 137 fish. Of those 101 were younger than one year.

Coho also spawn in Hooper Creek, but year-to-year spawner surveys don’t necessarily reflect changes in habitat following the culvert removal because run sizes vary. More coho were seen spawning after fish passage was restored, but there also was a larger coho run that year. What the numbers do show, however, is that the release of 300 cubic yards of sediment didn’t have a negative effect on coho spawning.

For more information, contact: Mike Olis, SRSC biologist, molis@skagitcoop.org or 360-708-2809; Kari Neumeyer, NWIFC information officer, 360-424-8226 or kneumeyer@nwifc.org.

Grovers Creek Coho Used for Stormwater Runoff Study

Coho-runoff-experiment-Grovers-Kate-Julann-Nov-2012-2267-thumbnail-300x200
Biologists place a coho (inside the PVC tube) in a bin of stormwater runoff.

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, nwifc.org

Using fish from the Suquamish Tribe’s Grovers Creek hatchery, federal agencies and their partners are determining just how lethal polluted urban highway runoff is to salmon.

Staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) have been working with the tribe to expose a small number of adult coho spawners to polluted urban runoff.

“We know that toxic contaminants in stormwater are bad for salmon, and that adult coho are dying prematurely in urban watersheds throughout Puget Sound,” said Jay Davis, a USFWS contaminants specialist.  “The current study is designed to help us determine the underlying cause of death.”Last year, agency scientists exposed adult coho to cocktails of chemical contaminants that were prepared in a lab to simulate stormwater runoff.  The fish were largely unaffected by artificial mixtures of metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.

However, when exposed to actual urban runoff this fall, the spawners quickly developed the familiar symptoms of pre-spawn mortality syndrome. Symptoms include a gaping mouth, and loss of orientation and balance. Affected fish display these symptoms just before they die, and adult coho became symptomatic after just two to four hours of being exposed to the stormwater.

Blood and tissues were collected from the hearts, gills, and livers of the coho. Genetic analyses of these samples are expected to show physiological stress in fish, such as heart or respiratory failure. Samples from coho exposed to stormwater will be compared to samples from unexposed fish and symptomatic spawners found in Seattle-area streams this fall.

“Urban runoff is a very complex mixture,” Davis said. “But we’re getting closer to understanding why stormwater is so lethal to coho.”

“The tribe has been a good partner to work with,” said Nat Scholz, a NOAA research zoologist and ecotoxicology manager. “We like to use the Grovers Creek facility because of the easily available coho, the facility’s abrupt saltwater-freshwater transition, and the availability of protected space to do the exposures and tissue collections. The findings should be applicable throughout Puget Sound, including Kitsap.”

The contaminated water is taken for disposal to Kitsap County’s wastewater treatment plant in Kingston.

Providence partners with Tulalip Tribes to offer support to tribal members during medical care

Article by Monica Brown, photos by Brandi N. Montreuil

Tulalip Community RoomTULALIP, Wash.- Recently Providence Medical Center and Tulalip Tribes have been strengthening their relationship so that both may benefit; staff at Providence will have more knowledge about what tribal member’s needs are in times of crisis and tribal members will feel more at ease while in the their care.

The old surgery waiting room has been remolded and is designed to accommodate traditional practices when tribal members are hospitalized.   The new room called the Tulalip Community Room has been set-aside for tribal members to use and features a variety of sitting areas, a TV, phone, a small kitchenette, a computer with Internet access. The room also features elegantly carved art pieces by James Madison and Joe Gobin that decorate the walls,Tulalip Community Room and a large timeline of Tulalip Tribes history welcomes visitors as they walk in.

Tulalip Community Room is designed to provide comfort and privacy for family members and space to accommodate large gatherings.

“Especially in crisis time, all of our friends and family want to be there to give them [each other] a handshake, a hug. That’s how we are during crisis,” stated Don about the larger and quieter rooms.

Tribal member Dale Jones reads the Tulalip Tribes Past & Present timeline piece.
Tribal member Dale Jones reads the Tulalip Tribes Past & Present timeline piece.

Providence and Tulalip plan to meet every six months in order to address any underlying issues that may occur while tribal members are hospitalized.

“You’re an important and special part of our community,” said CEO of Providence Medical Center David Brooks. “I appreciate meeting here today and having open communications.”

 

Monica Brown: 360-716-4189; brown@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Being Frank: Aloha, Senator Daniel Inouye

“Being Frank” by Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Billy FrankOLYMPIA – I’ve met a lot of people in my life, but no one like Sen. Daniel Inouye. A soft-spoken son of Japanese immigrants, he rose to become a war hero and represented Hawaii in Congress from the time it became a state. But I always believed he was an Indian at heart.

My good friend for more than 30 years, he died Dec. 17 at 88. He served in the Senate for 50 years, the second longest term in U.S. history, and became one of the greatest champions for Indian people that we have ever seen.

Danny understood us and our issues in a way that many Americans can’t. I think it’s because he knew what it was like to be different, to be someone who came from a people set apart.

As a 17-year-old, he rushed to enlist after Japanese bombs fell on Pearl Harbor in 1941. At a time when most Japanese Americans were rounded up and forced into internment camps around the United States, Inouye was fighting in Europe. In Italy he lost his right arm, and nearly his life, in actions that were later recognized by a Medal of Honor, our country’s highest military award.

Many might question why a Japanese American like Inouye would fight so hard for a country that treated his people so poorly. That same question could be asked of Indians, African Americans and many others. As a tribal member and a veteran, I can tell you that we did it for the greater good of everyone in the hope that things would get better.

But for Danny, and for many of us, it took awhile for things to get better.  On his way home to Hawaii while recuperating from his war wounds, he made a stop-over in San Francisco. Wanting to look good for his homecoming, he stepped into a barbershop, but was told they didn’t cut “Jap” hair.

Despite the injuries he suffered and the racism he experienced, he was never bitter. He became a quiet giant in the Senate, always with an eye toward helping those in need of social justice. He worked tirelessly to support the sovereignty of Indian tribes across the country, and equally as hard to gain that same recognition for native Hawaiians.

During his time in the Senate he helped pass many pieces of legislation important to Indian people. Among them are the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, The Tribal Self Governance Act of 1994 and the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994.

Before enlisting in the Army, he was planning to be a doctor – a surgeon – someone who could help people. In the end, that’s just what he did, but he helped many, many more people while serving in the Senate than he ever could as a doctor.

I will miss him deeply and so will all of Indian Country. One of the things I’ll miss most might surprise you. Danny was one heck of a piano player.

We will not forget this man who understood and helped Indian people like few in this country ever have, a man who worked so hard and endured so much to make our country a better place for everyone.

Note: A more comprehensive remembrance of Sen. Inouye by Chairman Frank is available at: go.nwifc.org/1aq

 

Help Break Guinness World Record for Largest Snowball Fight

Seattle is attempting to break the record for the World’s Largest Snowball Fight which is officially held by the Republic of Korea at 5,387 participants.

The Snowball fight will be held at the Seattle Center January 12th 2013. Tickets are $25 per person and all proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of King County. Participants must be at least 18 years of age or older. Photo ID will be required for entry.

So much Snow and so many people

162,000 lbs. of snow, enough to fill 34 dump trucks.

6,000+ people building forts and participating in the world record.

12 bars and pubs in lower Queen Anne will be offering discounted Snow Day drink and food specials. Click here and visit “Pub Crawl” for the complete bar listing.

 

SCHEDULE OF FESTIVITIES

12:00pm – Registration opens at Seattle Center

1:00pm — Snow Fort and Snow Castle competition begins

4:30pm — Snow Fort and Snow Castle winners announced

5:00pm — World’s largest snowball fight

5:30pm — Guinness World Record presentation

6:00pm — Pub crawl and war stories!

Snow Fort Competition – Anyone is welcome to come early and play in the snow but teams participating in the snow fort competition have raised at least $1,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County. Participants will receive ten free tickets, Snow Day shirts, a massive amount of snow and prizes if they win! If you’re interested in participating please email us at forts@snow.co.

For more details about the attempt to break the Guinness record for largest Snowball fight check out this website.

http://www.snow.co/