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Yesterday,Sightline released a new, expanded report telling the stories of seven communities affected by Measure 37. Here is another of the stories… Protection. Farmer Ted Warrick knows that his wine grapes need protection to be good enough to craft the pinot noir, chardonnay, zinfandel, syrah, and eight other varietals he makes at Wooldridge Creek Winery and Vineyards. Proud of southern Oregon’s fertile Applegate Valley, Warrick insists that this area rivals California...

Last autumn, Western states braced against an onslaught of “takings” initiatives masquerading as protections for property rights. In the run-up to the elections, voters were regaled with scary stories of abusive government regulation and eminent domain. Many of the stories turned out to be apocryphal, but some were genuine. And those of us who warned against the initiatives, such as I-933 in Washington, said we’d support real fixes for real...

Bicycle boulevards – coming soon to a city near you. Portland, Vancouver and Seattle are creating a designated system of residential streets with low traffic volume and direct routes that prioritize bicycle utility and safety. These boulevards come outfitted with street markings that dominate the road (as opposed to segregated bicycle lanes), right-of-way that allows the free flow of bikes, and signage that creates a comprehensive system. Check out what...

Who stands to benefit most from living in “walkable” neighborhoods? Possibly kids, new research suggests. As Science News reports this week, researchers including UBC’s Lawrence Frank (whose work we covered in Cascadia Scorecard 2006) are finding that children are disproportionately affected by how their neighborhood is designed. In one study of what determines whether kids are active, scientists found that: Girls who live near parks and recreational facilities are more...

Looks like Oregon’s making its move: Gov. Ted Kulongoski is backing a proposal that would force utilities to increase energy efficiency, increase their reliance on renewable energy and limit greenhouse gas emissions. He said he would work with other Western states to discuss a regional program called cap-and-trade, but an initial program just within Oregon also is viable. So it looks like Oregon is set to follow California’s lead: establishing...

When California passed its landmark global warming law last summer, it left the rest of the west coast playing catch up. But, perhaps, not for long. Late last fall, the environmental law clinic at the University of Victoria drafted a model climate change law, based on California’s, but tailored to work in British Columbia’s political climate: California’s law gave broad power to an independent regulatory board, but the UVic drafters...

This week I’ve been working on the data for the economic security chapter in Sightline’s next volume of Cascadia Scorecard. (The sneak preview is that a few things are looking up and a few things… well, not so much.) According to the most recent data, poverty rates are slightly down, but child poverty rates are slightly up. Unemployment has dropped a bit. What never fails to astonish me, however, is...

An interesting pair of articles in my morning scan of the papers. This: …scientists concluded Wednesday that the baiji [the Yangtze dolphin], a freshwater dolphin that was one of the world’s oldest species, is almost certainly extinct. And this: Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday promised the strongest winds of change in two decades on the long-stalled drive to rescue environmentally ailing Puget Sound—work that could cost nearly $9 billion by...

I thought this was interesting. Here are some visual concepts for what Seattle’s waterfront might look like sans Alaska Way Viaduct, presented yesterday by University of Washington students in the urban design and planning program.         One of the more unusual ideas: a series of large greenhouses that would step down from Victor Steinbrueck Park to the aquarium. (Davila Parker-Garcia) I have no idea if greenhouses would pencil...

“Don’t you college boys know? People don’t like hitch-hikers no more.” That’s what the state trooper told us—my friend John and me—25 years ago. We were standing in the rain, on the edge of an Ohio highway, our thumbs half extended, bedraggled from a sleepless night and unseasonably cold temperatures. Twelve hours earlier we “college boys” certainly had not known, but we had caught on in the meantime. For lack...