2/5 First Nations & Enbridge, Seattle traffic, Snohomish park, Shell LNG, eagle deaths, Reel Time

Urban mobility

Coastal First Nations has pulled out of a critical Northern Gateway hearing on Enbridge’s marine oil spill response plans, saying the hearings have drained the organization’s financial resources and are providing few answers. “We might as well keep our powder dry and save it for court,” CFN executive director Art Sterritt said Monday, expressing dissatisfaction over the cost of attending the hearings and over what he called “a difficult time” getting answers from Northern Gateway applicant Enbridge. Further, he said, the hearing process has been stripped of its legitimacy by the federal government’s omnibus budget bill. Gordon Hamilton reports.  First Nations group quits Enbridge hearings, citing lack of cash

Seattle drivers lost an average 48 hours to congestion during 2011, tied with Philadelphia for ninth place among the 15 largest metro areas in the annual Urban Mobility Report by the Texas Transportation Institute, which uses 2011 data from INRIX. That’s up only one spot from 2010, in a report released Monday night. But if your personal experience seems a lot crazier, you may be right. Traffic here is highly volatile — sixth-worst among the big metros, if you ask the question, “How much time do I need to allow to get to or from work 19 days out of 20 on time?”   Seattle’s “Freeway Planning Time Index” is 3.99, meaning that if the commute takes 20 minutes in light traffic, you should allow 80 minutes.  Washington, D.C. fared the worst, at 5.72, in a new analysis that TTI rolled out for this year’s report. Portland isn’t in the largest 15 metros, but did worse than Seattle, at a 4.26 ratio. Mike Lindblom blogs. Time’s a-wastin’: Seattle drivers lose 2 days a year to traffic

A park controversy in the town of Snohomish has pitted bird lovers against dog owners. A plan to set aside land for a wildlife refuge is ruffling some feathers. The dispute is over whether dogs and birds can coexist on the public land without ruining the outdoor experience for some people. Pet owner P.J. Parsons thinks she should be able to walk her border collie at any public park in the city. Her view puts her at odds with bird lovers, who believe the city should prohibit canines in the refuge. Mark Miller reports. Bird lovers, dog owners at odds over wildlife refuge plans

The National Energy Board has granted Royal Dutch Shell PLC and a group of foreign partners authority to export natural gas from the coast of British Columbia. Shell has been granted a licence to export up to 24-million tonnes of natural gas a day for 25 years. That’s the equivalent of 3.23-billion cubic feet per day, a little less than the roughly four-billion cubic feet per day currently produced in British Columbia. Shell gets go-ahead to export natural gas from B.C. coast

Authorities still are asking for help finding the person responsible for the deaths of four bald eagles last month near Granite Falls. A recent donation brought the reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction up to $20,250, wildlife officials said Monday. Rikki King reports. Reward at $20,500 for information in eagle deaths  

Mark Yuasa asks: This southern Puget Sound creek is home to a very popular fall chum fishery, and when the fish are in the banks lined with hundreds of anglers. Fish watchers also can get a close up view of the chum migrating upstream of this creek west of Olympia and just off Highway 101. After folks are done either fishing or just soaking up the views they can warm up with a nice plate of BBQ at the popular and award-winning restaurant near its banks. Where am I fishing?  It's Reel Time trivia so put on your fishing thinking cap  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST TUE FEB 5 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
S WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 13 SECONDS. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS BUILDING TO 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS. SHOWERS.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told