***CLICK ON THE TOPIC HEADER TO EXPAND THE DETAILS***
Local Level Actions
Call on City of Bellingham officials to create a civilian oversight board and enact accountability measures to protect immigrants and people of color
Source: The provision for a civilian oversight board was included in the Keep Bellingham Families Working ordinance that community members from the Western Washington Blue Group, working in collaboration with specialists in immigration policy, presented to the Bellingham City Council in early 2017. Keep Bellingham Families Working has a standing call to action for this. https://keepbellinghamfamiliesworking.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/on-ordinances-and-city-council/
Description: Contact Bellingham City Council Members and Mayor Linville this month and ask that officials act swiftly to, along with other measures to provide accountability, create a civilian oversight board to ensure that law enforcement is employing necessary measures to ensure that community members who are immigrants, those who do not have documented U.S citizenship, or people of color are not persecuted and/or discriminated against in our community.
Background:
Immigrants in our own community are suffering persecution by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigrants rights advocate, Maru Mora-Villalpando is just one example of a person without documented U.S. citizenship who was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation and now must show up to hearing after hearing in an effort to remain here in this country and to not have to suffer incarceration when she has committed no criminal offense.
In February 2017 the Bellingham City Council pushed aside the Keep Bellingham Families Working ordinance and replaced it with an ordinance created by the Bellingham City Council with the help of City staff and legal counsel. There were missing components of accountability in that ordinance, such as the civilian oversight board, or enforcement measures that could be employed should city employees be found to have collaborated with ICE agents. These missing measures are similar in intent to ones that are now being adopted and employed by Washington’s Department of Licensing after Governor Inslee’s executive order did not offer needed provisions to prevent the contact information of nearly 1000 undocumented immigrants being handed over from DOL to ICE.
Well over a year later, despite many requests for action, and 67 weeks of Dignity Vigils demonstrating public demand for the City to adopt these accountability measures, the Mayor and City Council Members still have not created a civilian oversight board nor have they adopted other accountability measures.
Demands For Bellingham City Council Members and Mayor Linville
My name is_____________________. I live in Ward__________, and I vote!
I have read the information by immigrant community leaders and am seriously concerned that the ordinance you passed is not creating a safe and secure city. In short, Bellingham is not a sanctuary city and does not protect all our community members.
I’m asking that you immediately act and change the ordinance to include the following:
-A Civilian Oversight Board as described in the ordinance provided to you by the community – an administrative or advisory committee without enforcement powers is unsatisfactory.
-Stop all activity or cooperation by Bellingham Police officers related to Secure Communities, the 287(g) program and any other collaboration without judicial warrants or court orders.
Additional information
Text of Citizen oversight chapter of Keep Bellingham Families Working Ordinance:
“CHAPTER 11: CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARD
“A civilian oversight board will be formed in order to review and enforce the requirements of this Ordinance by the time the Ordinance is effective. Five (5) persons will serve be [sic] on this board for a term of three (3) years. The mayor, Latino Advocacy, the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, Community to Community, and Northwest Youth Services may each appoint one person to serve on the board. A civilian oversight board is a crucial component to build trust with the community, establish transparency, and ensure enforcement of the Ordinance.”
Attend the Chinga La Migra Tour Kick-Off: Noise Demo at NWDC on Monday, June 4th and Follow NWDC Resistance/Resistencia on Facebook
Source: NWDC Resistance/Resistencia al NWDC and Mijente
Description: From the Facebook event description: “On June 4, Mijente will partner with NWDC Resistance to launch a multi-city #ChingaLaMigra tour here in Washington, the so-called sanctuary state and bastion of progressivism where Homeland Security Investigations continues to collaborate with local law enforcement and where 1,575 people are caged on a hazardous superfund site at Tacoma’s immigration prison. Come help us kick off the tour with a noise demo outside the Northwest Detention Center. Bring your pots and pans! Bring you musical instruments! Bring your signs that say Chinga La Migra!! Melt, Dismantle, #ResistICE!!
We’re not just here to demand real sanctuary. We’re here to demand freedom to move and freedom to stay for all people. We’re here to demand an end to ICE and an end to deportation. We won’t stop until we shut it down!”
Background: The Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, WA is one of the largest immigration prisons in the country, with a capacity to hold up to 1575 immigrants. People end up in the detention center after being transferred from local law enforcement custody, after immigration raids, and after being transferred from the border regions. Up to 200 people, mostly women, many of whom are seeking asylum, are transferred from the US-Mexico border to the NWDC each month. Many held at the NWDC have lived in the US for years, in some cases for the majority of their lives. While some are deported after only weeks, due to mandatory detention policies, some are held for months and sometimes years awaiting the outcomes of their deportation cases. Few legal protections apply to these civil detainees, and those held are not entitled to an attorney at government expense; approximately 90% of them move forward in their cases unrepresented. The NWDC is operated by GEO Group, the second-largest private prison operator in the US.
Call WA state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and demand he investigate wafla, the largest farm labor contracting business in WA.
Call WA Governor Jay Inslee and demand that he form a special task force to investigate the impact of the H2A program on farmworker families and our state economy.
Call WA Dept. of Labor and Industries Director Joel Sacks and demand that L&I reopen the investigation in the death last summer of Honesto Silva Ibarra.
Background:
The federal H2A guestworker program is deeply flawed and leaves the workers vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Last August in Sumas, an H2A guestworker named Honesto Silva Ibarra died due to complications related to diabetes and long hours in extremely hot, smoke-infested fields. His diabetes was exacerbated by extreme dehydration and low food rations provided while working and living in Sarbanand Farms’ company-owned barrack housing, a prison camp-like setting. Honesto’s fellow farm workers, working under the H2A program, protested the working conditions and were fired by Sarbanand Farms. On February 1, 2018 the Dept. of Labor and Industries (L&I) found the farm not negligent in the death of Honesto. This, in spite of the farm managers denying him his request to get health care for several days until he collapsed. L&I found that Sarbanand Farms had committed 13 violations last summer related to depriving farm workers of rest breaks and serving their meals late. L&I had chosen to fine Sarbanand for just one of those missed rest breaks and one of those late meals.
Corporations like California-based Sarbanand Farms, growing berries in Whatcom County, with the help of Dan Fazio and wafla, are leading this dangerous shift in Washington State. Fazio is the Executive Director of a farm labor contracting firm now modernized to also act as a WA-based corporate grower lobby association and rebranded as wafla. Wafla is actively campaigning to support the expansion of the H2A guestworker program into H2C (see more about this in national actions below), lobbying for the removal of worker protections and providing further incentive to similar employer associations. Their membership is calling their elected officials in support of this legislation. Wafla made $8,191,969 this last fiscal year, compared to $150,180 only three years ago. Wafla profits off of this modern-day slave trading program: their income rises as they contract more and more H2A guestworkers in Washington, California, and more recently Idaho. This market will only expand with the proposed legislation. Unsurprisingly, there is no language in the proposed bills that would regulate employer association organizations such as wafla.
Contact info and suggested scripts
Call WA state Attorney General Bob Ferguson (360) 753-6200
“Hi, my name is ________ and I live in __________. I’m calling to ask your office to investigate farm labor contracting firm wafla. Wafla has a history of abusing workers’ rights and with their expansion in recent years under continued limited regulation and oversight, I’m concerned about their operating practices. Please keep me informed of your progress on this matter. My email address is _____________.”
Call WA Governor Jay Inslee (360) 902-4111
“Hi, my name is _________ and I live in___________. I’m calling to demand the governor form a special task force to investigate the impact of the H2A program on farmworker families and our state economy. Last year, an H2A farmworker died in my community. That is unacceptable and we cannot allow the conditions that led to his death to continue. Please keep me informed of your progress on this matter. My email address is __________________.”
Call WA Dept. of Labor and Industries Director Joel Sacks (360) 902-5584
“Hi, my name is _________ and I live in ___________. I’m calling to demand that L&I reopen the investigation in the death last summer of Honesto Silva Ibarra at Sarbanand Farms in Sumas. The results of the completed investigation do not do justice to the fact that a guestworker died. Please reopen the investigation immediately and keep me informed of the progress. My email address is ___________.”
Use 5calls.org to quickly and easily call your representative and senators to use their oversight authority over the Department of Homeland Security to stop separating families at the border.
Background:
At a law enforcement conference in Arizona, AG Jeff Sessions declared that the Department of Justice would seek “100% prosecution” of all who enter the U.S. illegally and separate parents from children instead of keeping them in a detention center together. “If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law.” Homeland Security is cruelly separating families at the border for no legitimate reason. Immigration authorities have separated at least 700 children from their families, and about a hundred of them are under the age of four.
Description: Call your legislator in the House of Representatives and tell them to vote no on “Securing America’s Future Act of 2018” HR 4760. They are planning to vote on this bill this month, so call today.
Background: The Departments of Labor, Agriculture, State, and Homeland Security are coordinating a dangerous attack on immigrants and our food system under the guise of ‘streamlining and improving’ the H2A guestworker visa program — by expanding and rebranding it as the H2C guestworker visa program. On October 25, 2017, the House Judiciary Committee passed Representative Goodlatte’s “Agricultural Guestworker Act” (AGA), HR 4092. The AGA was then included in a broader anti-immigrant bill, introduced by Goodlatte in January 2018: the “Securing America’s Future Act of 2018,” HR 4760. This bill is one of possibly multiple immigration bills the House of Representatives is planning to vote on in June. ‘Streamlining and improving’ is a euphemism for deregulation. If passed, this proposed legislation would:
Extend the use of the exploitative guestworker program (which is currently limited to temporary and seasonal jobs) throughout our entire food system: from farms and ranches to packing houses and processing plants, and from seasonal crops to year-round dairy cows and poultry farms.
Deprive local farmworkers of jobs by reducing employers’ local recruitment obligations even further.
Limit guestworkers’ access to judicial and legal assistance, while minimizing government oversight of the guestworker program.
Create new levels of discriminatory bureaucracy and dysfunction, such as withholding 10% of guestworkers’ wages until they meet a complicated series of requirements, and eliminating the requirement that employers provide housing or travel-expense reimbursement.
This bill does not provide a path to citizenship for the current experienced, undocumented farmworkers or their family members. Instead, it is an attack on family-based immigration, reducing immigrant workers in the food system to individual commodities to be imported and exported cheaply for the profit of agribusiness.
Congresswoman Suzan DelBene: WA (360) 416-7879, DC (202) 225-6311 Congressman Rick Larsen: WA (360) 733-4500, DC (202) 225-2605
“Hi, my name is ___________ and I live in _________________. I am calling to ask you to vote no on HR 4760 Securing America’s Future Act of 2018. This act would remove the already meager protections for guestworkers and make them even more vulnerable to exploitation. If anything, we need to eliminate the current H2A visa program and start over, not degregulate it even further. Please let me know how you vote on this resolution. My email address is _________.”
The Whatcom Conservation District holds an election for one supervisor each year. Unlike all other elections, WCD supervisor elections are not held by the Whatcom County Auditors office, and you will not automatically receive a ballot.
Here’s what you need to do:
DEADLINE PASSED: Before February 7th at 4 p.m.: request a ballot. Fill out this online form before February 7th at 4pm.
Mid-February: receive your ballot in the mail (we’re not sure when they will be mailed, but you can bet there will be chatter about this in our Facebook group).
Also Mid-February: Read about the candidates. Our recruiting committee sent these questions to the candidates and received responses from Alan Chapman and David Kroontje.
Ballot return deadline is Tuesday, March 13th at 6p.m. (as far as I can tell from the WCD page). If you are worried your ballot will be delayed in the mail, you can vote in-person at the WCD on Tuesday March 13th between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Candidate Information
Riveters Collective has officially endorsed Alan B. Chapman.
Here’s the Lummi Nation’s ask for support (plus one RC ask, #3) in responding to the Cooke Aquaculture farmed fish release near Cypress Island.
Call Governor Inslee
360-902-4111
Hi, my name is _____ and I live in ______, Washington.
I’m calling to ask Governor Inslee to do three things:
1. Join the Lummi Nation in declaring a State of Emergency in response to the Cooke Aquaculture release of farmed Atlantic salmon near Cypress Island.
2. Coordinate recovery efforts immediately
3. Direct WA State employees to name Cooke Aquaculture in all media and documentation, and omit the company-contrived eclipse story, which is intentional misdirection.
# Background
On Saturday August 19th, a Cooke Aquaculture pen containing Atlantic salmon failed, and released more than 300,000 farmed fish into the Salish Sea near Cypress Island. The company, inexplicably, blamed the eclipse, though actual data show that tidal currents had been higher in previous days and in every other month of the year. This is not the first such release, and yet there are no alert systems or back-up systems for this kind of situation. Lummi Nation is responding, but wants the State’s support. http://www.npr.org/…/environmental-nightmare-after-thousand…
Attend Public Hearing 4/17 and/or Comment on the Anacortes Tesoro Xylene DEIS
Source: Re-Sources for Sustainable Communities
Description: Attend the public hearing on 4/17 and/or submit comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Tesoro Xylene Project.
Background: Tesoro refinery in Anacortes has proposed an expansion project that would increase the risk of a chemical spill in the Salish Sea. The “Tesoro Anacortes Clean Products Upgrade Project” is a proposal to upgrade the refinery to produce and export xylene, a flammable petrochemical used to make plastic and synthetics. The plan to produce 15,000 barrels of xylene per day for export to Asia would bring an addition 5 tankers per month through the Salish Sea – each additional tanker increases the risks of spills of crude oil and refined products. In March 2017, Skagit County released the draft EIS for the proposal. The public hearing is April 17th in Anacortes, and the public comment period ends May 8th, 2017.
Attend the public hearing, Monday, April 17, 4:30-8:00p.m., Anacortes High School (1200 20th St., Anacortes). RSVP for the hearing here.
Suggested Script:
As a resident of [insert city/County], I am deeply concerned that the proposed Tesoro Anacortes CPU Project threatens our climate, public health, and the sensitive Salish Sea ecosystem. The draft EIS lacks both accurate calculations for carbon pollution and assurances the project won’t increase crude oil train traffic. I would like to request that Skagit County include language in the final EIS that:
Requires the highest standards during the transport, refining and shipping of xylene.
Ensures refinery workers follow the highest safety standards and are protected from the risks of toxic xylene spills.
Creates an adequate disaster response plan with mitigation measures for water and air during a xylene spill at the refinery or from a tanker in the Salish Sea.
Prevents Tesoro from utilizing the upgrades to begin exporting crude oil without additional permits and an independent environmental impact assessment.
Prevents Tesoro from increasing crude oil train traffic to the refinery to provide the products needed to create xylene.
Fully offsets any increases in refinery pollution by specifically supporting mitigation projects in Northwest Washington.
Additional Information: For the ReSources action alert (which links to news articles and other sources of info), click here. To learn more about the proposed project and to review the Draft EIS, click here.
Write a Letter or Postcard to Legislators Regarding Fully Funding Public Education (Due 04/18/17)
Source: Lisa Van Doren
Description: Washington’s Paramount Duty (WPD) will be visiting Olympia on Thursday to talk to legislators about fully funding public education. They will deliver letters/postcards to representatives on our behalf. If we get enough letters/postcards, I will take them to Seattle on Wednesday for WPD members to deliver in person. Let’s do this!
Write a quick postcard or see talking points below to assist in writing a letter. Print and sign your letter, including your address (to verify you are a constituent). I’ll be at Elizabeth Station on Tuesday between 6-8pm and you can drop it with me. If this doesn’t work for you, message me and I will meet up with you to get it another time.
Choose one or two of these talking points (or go freestyle!) and add a personal anecdote, if you can. You can talk about your own kid’s education, teachers, PTA experience, etc. Bonus – if you do write a letter, you can later submit it as a Letter to the Editor – two birds with one stone!
Suggested Script:
40th District Constituents (Dem Budget)
This budget proposal is a good start that uses new revenues paid for by the wealthiest in our state. It gets us closer to the goal of fully and amply funding our public schools.
Washington state has over 600 tax breaks—more than any state other than New York.
The loopholes in the tax code deprive the state of 30 billion dollars a biennium that could be invested in our public schools. We like that this proposal includes closing some tax loopholes, but we urge you to look to close additional tax breaks for big businesses. Massive corporations should be paying their full and fair share towards public schools in our state.
Unfortunately, this budget still falls short of fully and amply funding our public schools. For example, budget doesn’t meet the legislative-set deadline of fully funding schools by September 1, 2018. The investments need to be made now, rather than ramping up. The legislature had years to ramp up, and you didn’t do it. You must meet your own deadline to fulfill your promise to our children.
Great public schools are not only the key to providing Washington’s kids with an opportunity for a bright future; they are also the foundations of a prosperous state.
In a state that is home to world-class companies, Washington has the wealth to ensure every Washington student receives a world-class education.
The legislature’s paramount duty is to fund our schools, not to keep taxes low on rich people and large corporations.
42nd District Constituents (GOP Budget)
The Senate plan claims to lower property taxes, but this comes with huge caveats. Their plan doesn’t provide districts enough money for things like buses, or sports, or other priorities. They limit the amount districts can raise through local levies, but if districts pass a local levy, then the property taxes go up, not down. The Governor’s budget is the only one that lowers property taxes without hurting schools.
The Republicans’ plan is a back-door massive property tax cut for large corporations such as Walmart, Puget Sound Energy, Avista, and Boeing.
The Republicans are choosing to raise a regressive tax on the hardworking families rather than ask the richest 1% and the corporate special interests to pay their fair share.
Great public schools are not only the key to providing Washington’s kids with an opportunity for a bright future; they are also the foundations of a prosperous state.
In a state that is home to world-class companies, Washington has the wealth to ensure every Washington student receives a world-class education.
The legislature’s paramount duty is to fund our schools, not to keep taxes low on rich people and large corporations.
Additional Information: Please deliver your letter or postcard to Lisa Van Doren on Tuesday, April 18th at Elizabeth Station or contact her at lisa.vandoren@gmail.com to make arrangements for pick-up.
Carbon Tax Lobby Day (In-Person or Virtual), 4/20
Source: Carbon Washington/ACT NOW coalition (Advocates for a Carbon Tax NOW)
Description: Participate in the lobby day on April 20th (either in person or virtually, by calling your legislators) to convey support for a carbon tax.
Background: Advocates for a Carbon Tax NOW (ACT NOW) is a growing coalition of volunteers and organizations that want to see a carbon tax pass this legislative session. Together with Carbon Washington, they have organized a carbon tax lobby day for Thursday, April 20 (Earth Day), in Olympia. You can participate in any of the following ways:
Attend carbon tax lobby day, Thursday 4/20, in person in Olympia (click here for more information and to RSVP).
Call your legislators on 4/20 (see contact info and suggested script below).
Write a Letter to the Editor by 4/20 (click here to request assistance from organizers).
Suggested Script: My name is [name], and I am a constituent of the [district #] legislative district in [insert city or County]. Climate Change is a moral and economic threat to Washington State, and one of the most efficient and effective policies to reduce carbon emissions is a price on carbon pollution. I urge the [Senator/Representative ] to enact a price on pollution as a measure to uphold our obligation to future generations. A price on carbon pollution will generate revenue that could be used to provide tax relief for citizens, in particular, low-income communities, funding for healthy forests and clean water, acceleration of the clean energy economy and vital state services.
Contact Information:
Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 1-800-635-9993)
HB1646: Promoting an equitable clean energy economy by creating a carbon tax that allows investment in clean energy, clean air, healthy forests, and Washington’s communities
Sign the Petition for Albertsons to Abandon the Non-Compete Clause with Park Manor Shopping Center
Source: Submitted by Community Member
Description: Call on Albertsons to abandon the “non-compete clause” and permit other grocers to move into the Park Manor shopping center so that Bellingham’s Birchwood residents again have access to a wide selection of affordable and healthy foods and end the food desert.
Contact Information: Click here to sign the petition.
National Level Actions / Other
Write Postcards to President Trump and Senator Schumer to Release Trump's Tax Returns
Source: Submitted by Community Member
Description: We need to keep the pressure on President Trump and demand he release his tax returns for years 2006-2016.
The second postcard is to ask Senator Chuck Schumer to keep up the pressure on DJT’s tax returns, and because Trump will never admit he got so many postcards. Senator Schumer can verify how many people care about this issue.
Contact Information:
President Trump, White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington DC 20500
Senator Chuck Schumer, 322 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510
From the Calendar
Mondays from 11:30a.m.-1:30p.m.: Attend a vigil hosted by C2C every Monday in front of City Hall. Show the powers that be that you stand by our undocumented workers and anyone else running afoul of ICE. Let the officials know it’s not alright to tear families apart!
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 from 5:00-6:00p.m.: Please join the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center and the Veterans For Peace Chapter 111 at Lottie and Grand (by the Bellingham Public Library) in resisting a federal budget that fuels the U.S. war machine and corporate greed. Bellingham will be one of hundreds of sites of action across 35 countries calling on elected representatives to prioritize human needs over war. We will:
Unveil a massive banner exposing the outrageous amount of funding the U.S. federal budget allocates to the military in comparison to other federal programs.
Reflect on the problems caused by excessive militarism and the military-industrial complex.
Demand that Congress start to prioritize human needs over corporate greed by agreeing not to vote for increases to military spending.
Thursday, April 20, 2017 from 7:00-9:00p.m.: Community Forum: The Future of Affordable Care hosted by Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement at St. Luke’s Community Health Education Center, 3333 Squalicum Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98225.
Thursday, April 20, 2017 from 7:00-9:00p.m.: Put a Cork in it, Trump! A postcard writing party at Vinostrology Wine Lounge & Merchant, 120 W. Holly Street, Bellingham, WA 98225.
Saturday, April 22, 2017 from 12:30-4:00p.m.: March for Science Bellingham at City Hall. Click here to learn more. Use the Facebook post to spread the word.
Sunday, April 23, 2017 from 1:00-2:30p.m.: RC Education Series: Campaign 101 at the Leopold Crystal Ballroom, 1224 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225. Join Riveters Collective for a nuts and bolts campaign training for candidates and campaign volunteers. This is a family-friendly event. Bring a snack or beverage to share if you’d like, potluck to follow!
Riveters, this is an urgent call to take action by Tuesday, March 21, to protect Cherry Point from fossil fuel export! We need all who can to do BOTH of the following:
1. Oppose Senator Ericksen’s efforts to reverse the order that removed the 45-acre pier-sized cutout from the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve boundary.
In January 2017, honoring Lummi Nation’s request and with strong public support, Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark issued an order that amended the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve boundary to remove the 45-acre pier-sized cutout that had been left for then-proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal when the Reserve was established. See here for more information.
Senator Ericksen proposed SB 5171 to rescind that order and require that any future aquatic reserve designation, establishment, or enlargement be expressly authorized by the legislature. That bill did not make it out of committee.
Now, Senator Ericksen is trying to amend a bill on utility easements for aquatic lands to include the language from SB5171. He is flying back from DC to hold a hearing on Tuesday, March 21, at 10am in the Senate Committee on Energy, Environment & Telecommunications.
Take action!
Call committee members and ask them to oppose amendment S-2118.1 to HB1001. Let’s flood them with calls on MONDAY, 3/20!!
Hotline 1-800-562-6000
Committee members:
Chair: Doug Ericksen, 42nd, (360) 786-7682
Vice-Chair: Tim Sheldon, 35th, (360) 786-7668
Reuven Carlyle, 36th, (360) 786-7670
Sharon Brown, 8th, (360) 786-7614
Steve Hobbs, 44th, (360) 786-7686
Jim Honeyford, 15th, (360) 786-7684
Kevin Ranker, 40th, (360) 786-7678
Shelly Short, 7th, (360) 786-7612
Lisa Wellman, 41st, (360) 786-7641
Suggested Script: My name is [insert name] and I live in [insert County]. I’m calling to urge the Senator to oppose Senator Ericksen’s striking amendment (S-2118.1) to HB1001. It’s a back-door approach to overturn protection of the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve. This reserve was based on science and significant public input over several years. It followed a decision by the US Army Corps that was based on 27 separate studies and 124,000 comments by citizens across Washington State. Prior to setting aside the reserve, the DNR received 5,000 responses in favor of the protected reserve and just 10 opposed, including one from Senator Ericksen. Please oppose this back-door approach to overturning science and the public’s will.
If you can, attend the public hearing in Olympia on 3/21 at 10am.Public leaders are being asked to attend the hearing to speak out on impacts of fossil fuel export projects. Show your support for these speakers by wearing red!
2. Ask Whatcom County Council to extend the moratorium on unrefined fossil fuel export projects and strengthen Comprehensive Plan policies for Cherry Point.
Although SSA Marine has withdrawn their 2011 county permits for a coal terminal at Cherry Point, the fact is still the same: Cherry Point remains a targeted route to export crude oil, tar sands, and fracked gas.
Whatcom County Council is working on updates to their Comprehensive Plan policies for Cherry Point. Let’s call on Whatcom County Council to take action to protect the public by discourage projects that will bring more dangerous crude oil shipments through Whatcom County and the Salish Sea!
As a [insert city] resident and citizen of Whatcom County, I implore you to act to the full extent of your power to protect our community’s health and safety, farms, fisheries and natural resources from the dangers of fossil fuel shipments by rail, pipeline and marine vessel. Cherry Point is a targeted route to export crude oil, tar sands, fracked gas, and propane from Canada, which would bring high risks of spills, leaks, explosions, pollution, traffic, a local tax burden, reduced property values, and the degradation of our quality of life. I urge you to take the following actions, without delay:
Extend the temporary moratorium on permits for fossil fuel export projects until the Shoreline Master Plan is updated and until new development regulations are implemented. Additionally, please add a moratorium on applications for any modification of piers, docks, or wharfs in or adjacent to the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve.
Commence a legal study into Whatcom County’s powers to prevent future development for coal, oil, and gas exports.
Strengthen policies in the Comprehensive Plan to prevent piecemeal upgrades for oil exports by requiring Magnuson Amendment review of all permits that involve handling petroleum; block any new proposals for shipping piers in the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve; recognize Lummi Nation’s history and treaty-protected fishing rights; and complete a legal study by December 2017.
I support your work to protect the ecological and cultural significance of Cherry Point. Thank you.
Attend the public hearing on Tuesday, March 21st, at 7pm in the Whatcom County Council Chambers, 311 Grand Ave., Bellingham, and WEAR RED!RSVP to ReSources by sending an email to cleanenergy@re-sources.org.
DON’T FORGET: ACT BY TUESDAY! Whatcom Conservation District election, North Cascades Grizzly Restoration.
WCD ELECTION: Drop off your ballot or vote in person (at WCD’s office at 6975 Hannegan Road, Lynden. Polls will be open between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm) for District Board Supervisor by Tuesday 3/14 at 6pm the Whatcom Conservation District Board Supervisor election. In case you missed our post about the candidates, we have more information here.
CARBON TAX: Support Clean Energy by Creating a Carbon Tax (HB 1646/SB 5509)
**From Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, Washington Environmental Council, Sierra Club (edited). Despite a federal government that refuses to acknowledge climate change, Washington state can and must step up as a leader and a beacon of hope for equitable climate policy. How can you help?
If you can, attend the hearing (House Committee on Environment) in Olympia on March 14 at 1:30pm (policy briefing and activist training starts at 10:30am). Click here to RSVP and arrange carpools.
Suggested script: Washington State can and should join the growing number of countries and regions acting to reduce carbon emissions and build a clean energy future. Please support HB1646, which the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy believes is the most effective and equitable carbon reduction policy to date for transitioning to a clean energy economy.
Talk to your state legislators about why we must adequately fund Puget Sound protection and recovery at the state level. State support for natural resources programs as a whole and Puget Sound protections specifically has declined dramatically over the past several years.
Suggested script: I am a constituent of [insert legislator name], and now more than ever, it is important that we take action to protect and restore Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. Please support funding for important Puget Sound Protection and Restoration programs, including toxic cleanup and prevention (Support HB1663/SB5501), sound floodplain management (“Floodplains by Design” program), and habitat protection and restoration (“Puget Sound Recovery and Acquisition Fund”).
FAIR CHANCE: Call/Comment: People who have served their time deserve a fair chance.
The Fair Chance Act (Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1298), which would prevent employers from asking about arrests or convictions until after an employer has determined that the applicant is qualified for the position, was voted out of the House and is now in the Senate committee on Commerce, Labor and Sports.
Suggested comment:
“One of the biggest problems facing people convicted of a crime is “the box.” Job applicants who answer that they’ve been convicted of a crime, even something rather minimal, are less likely to get hired. People who have served their time deserve a fair chance. Please vote for SHB 1298″.
SAVE THE DATE! 3/21, 7pm: Whatcom County Council public hearing on Cherry Point moratorium and Comp Plan Amendments.
**From ReSources for Sustainable Communities. Come speak out in support of extending the moratorium on fossil fuel exports and strengthening policies in the Comprehensive Plan protecting Cherry Point. See here to RSVP and for more information.
From the Calendar
15 March 2017. Eric Hirst to speak on “Water in Whatcom County, and Why We should Be Concerned”, 7-8:30pm, Carl Cozier School, 1330 Lincoln St., Bellingham.
Recommended Local Actions for the Week of 20170227
ACT TODAY: Support SB5501/HB1663 (Funding for Toxic Pollution Prevention and Cleanup)
Call or submit comment online to express your support for these important bills which will stabilize funding for preventing and controlling pollution and cleaning up toxic sites, including the Bellingham waterfront.
Funding to support toxics cleanup, as well as pollution prevention, in Washington state comes from a tax on hazardous substances – mostly petroleum products. With the drop in oil prices in recent years, there has been a significant shortfall in revenue to support cleanup. These bills will help stabilize funding by applying a modest surtax on hazardous substances when annual revenues fall below $160M.
The voter-approved Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) has proven to be an effective means to clean up toxic waste sites, prevent toxic chemical pollution, and support communities to address toxics pollution threats. However, the state has lost an estimated $375 million in MTCA funding over the last three years, and the tax must be stabilized to keep Washington on track in reducing harmful pollution.
Thankfully, the legislature is considering HB 1663/SB 5501, which would:
Stabilize funding for cleaning up toxic sites, preventing and controlling pollution, and ensuring communities have a voice in reducing threats from toxic pollution.
Apply a modest and temporary surcharge on the state hazardous substance tax, which would generate an estimated $50 million over the next two years and help address a $70 million budget shortfall.
Allow for more predictability in the state budget process and provides reliability for local communities that depend on these dollars to improve public health and the environment.
Help maintain funding for critical state environmental programs that benefit all corners of the state.
I urge you to support HB 1663/SB 5501 so we can protect our communities from risks we face today and keep us safe for years to come. Thank you for considering my comments, and I look forward to your response.
More information on SB5501/HB1663 “Concerning imposing a surtax on the possession of hazardous substances”
Thank Jay Inslee for Executive Order on Immigration
It’s that time of the week again, time to call Jay Inslee and say thanks. Washington will not participate in civil immigration raids. Read about it in the Seattle Times and the Stranger.
SAVE THE DATE: 3/7/17, 6pm. Whatcom County Council Special Presentation on the Hirst Decision.
In the Hirst decision, the Court ruled that Whatcom County, in issuing building permits with permit-exempt wells as water source, failed to comply with GMA requirements in protecting water resources. Whatcom County Council has scheduled a special presentation on the issue at their 3/7 meeting, where they will show a 20-minute video, ask questions of state and local water experts, and hold a public hearing on a proposed interim ordinance. More information here.
Oil transportation is a hot issue this legislative session. Despite the critical gains around public disclosure and preparedness measures, significant gaps remain that put our communities and waterways at risk of an oil spill or other such disaster. Given the Trump Administration’s support of the oil industry, it is now more important than ever to make sure that we here in Washington are holding the line.
In response, Representative Farrell (46th) and Senator Carlyle (36th) introduced the Oil Transportation Safety bill (HB 1611 / SB 5462). Highlights of the bill include:
Ensuring the oil industry pays in the case of a spill or other disaster;
Updating the funding for prevention, preparedness and response;
Protecting Puget Sound from increased oil barges and other vessels from the Kinder Morgan Pipeline;
Protecting against refineries turning into transshipment terminals; and
Strengthening oversight of pipeline safety.
This is a great time to engage and show your support! You have two choices for action:
Attend the hearings scheduled in the Senate and House. RSVP (and arrange carpools) here.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND, at 10 a.m. in the Senate.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6th, at 1:30 p.m. in the House. The House is more favorable to the bill, so this hearing is more important. Watch live here: http://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2017021092
Call your state legislators to ask them to support the bill.
Washingtonians continue to be at risk of oil spills and other disasters. In the wake of the Mosier, OR, derailment this past June, the threat of the Kinder Morgan pipeline increasing tanker traffic 7-fold, and the increase in use in pipelines for crude oil transport, we need to continue to improve our system.
Please support HB 1611/SB 5462 – Oil Transportation Safety Act – and protect Washington’s communities and waterways.
Key parts of the bill include:
Ensuring the oil industry pays in the case of a spill or other disaster;
Updating the funding for prevention, preparedness and response;
Protecting Puget Sound from increased oil barges and other vessels from the Kinder Morgan Pipeline;
Protecting against refineries turning into transshipment terminals; and
Strengthening oversight of pipeline safety.
I urge you to support and move forward HB 1611 and SB 5462.
For more information, please see the press release for the bill.
Here we go- time to get busy. Let’s look at how you can use your time to influence change.
Some of these actions are quick and introvert-friendly. Some are harder and require you to step out of your comfort zone. You can do it.
Petition (quick and easy, but low impact)
Signing online petitions is a simple, entry-level action. You sign your name and zip code to support a cause you believe in. It takes about 30 seconds. BUT, it’s hard to say how much they actually accomplish. (Readhere,here, andhere.) Keep in mind that signing will probably get you on an email list, and right after you sign, you will probably be asked to donate money and share the petition. That being said, there’s no harm in signing a petition, as long as it’s not the only action you take.
Tell your friends, family, and neighbors to vote, too. If our friends just voted in local and midterm elections we could change the world. Far too many people (it would surprise you who) are inconsistent in voting. We should all be helping to get out the vote. Check out the Whatcom Democrats for get out the vote opportunities.
Call and Write Letters (quick to moderate time, moderate impact)
Contacting politicians and policy makers to share your opinion about specific issues is a simple, tried and true way to influence change. If you’ve never done it, it can sound intimidating. Luckily, there are scripts out there to follow to make it easy. And the people who answer the phones are nice. You don’t have to be a political junkie to call or write. These public servants are there to serve YOU. Let them know what you think.
Tip: Write handwritten letters instead of using the contact forms on their webpages or sending email. Real letters get noticed.
Tip: Put the numbers for your congresspeople (state and national) in your phone. You’re going to be calling them a lot.Find your elected officials.
Attend Town Hall Meetings (moderate time, high impact)
Word is, the best way to get your legislator’s attention is to attend one of their Town Hall meetings and ask questions. Check out this wonderful, detailed guide put together by a handful of former DC staffers. And, this former congressman confirms it: go to the Town Halls and ask hard questions.
Protest (moderate time, high profile impact)
Seattle Womxn’s March
Why should YOU participate in a peaceful protest? Read this.
For many of us, this will be our first time protesting. You don’t have to be a young radical to protest. Here are some tips for protesters. (These are very practical and may make you feel uncomfortable. Peaceful, organized protests are not without risk, but they are entirely different than violent destruction and looting.)
Remember all those organizations (big and small) you just donated too? They could use your time, too.Most of them have volunteer opportunities. Yes, life is busy. Sometimes there are volunteer opportunities that can be accomplished online, from the comfort of your pjs. Look into it. Bonus-it’s good for your health!
Serve 306 is asking you to pledge 306 hours of volunteer time over the next four years. That’s about 1.5 hours per week. Totally doable.
Signing up as a volunteer for a political party or organization will get you on the list of folks to help out in the next campaign, whether it’s local, state, or national. There are lots of ways to help a campaign, ranging from low to high time commitment.
