7/11 Leque Is,, xylene, race pollution, orca hormones, ocean acid, news boom, fast ferry

Hardhack [Fourth Corner Nurseries]

Hardhack Spiraea douglasii
Spiraea douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the rose family native to western North America. Common names include hardhack, hardhack steeplebush, Douglas' spirea, douglasspirea, steeplebush, and rose spirea. (Wikipedia) Native deciduous shrub grows to 6-12′ tall with showy pink flowers. Prefers wet habitats, spreading vigorously by rhizomes. Competes favorably with reed canary grass. Tolerates salt spray in shoreline plantings. (Fourth Corner Nurseries)

Project on Leque Island in Stanwood all for salmon, wildlife
Several hundred flood-prone acres that were used as farmland for more than a century are being transformed into a saltwater marsh. Work is set to start this month on a project that, over the next few years, is meant to carve out tidal channels, build earth mounds and remove levees around Leque Island, located between Stanwood and Camano Island. Leque is closing to the public starting July 17 for the first phase of the roughly $6 million project. The closure is expected to last until the middle of October. Kari Bray reports. (Everett Herald)

Final study released for Tesoro refinery xylene project
Skagit County reached no new conclusions in the final environmental impact statement it released Monday for a project proposed at the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery at March Point. Skagit County Planning and Development Services has determined the project would have no significant environmental impacts that would require mitigation. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

How is pollution connected to race and inequality?
The Trump administration has proposed cutting the EPA's budget by 30 percent. What does that mean for polluted communities in the U.S.? The effects of pollution and climate change don’t affect us all equally. Those hit hardest often belong to communities of color and are cash poor — what Majora Carter describes as “low status” communities. She’s an urban revitalization strategist who has focused on environmental justice throughout her career. Carter was raised in the South Bronx, a hub of urban blight. Ashley Ahearn and Ashley Cleek report. (terrestrial)

Orca hormones linking pregnancies to prey will go into medical files
Hormones found in the feces of killer whales are providing unique insights about the health of Southern Resident orcas — including pregnancy status and stress levels. Fortunately, such information can be gathered with little disturbance to the animals. The latest information about hormones will soon be incorporated into a new health-status database with individual medical reports being compiled for each whale in the Southern Resident population. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

Climate change turns Puget Sound acidic and region’s signature oysters struggle to survive
Bill Taylor’s first memory is of falling out of a boat at about age 3. Taylor’s father was working the family shellfish farm in the chill waters of Puget Sound, Washington’s scenic inland sea, with his young son in tow. It all happened pretty fast, but fortunately Taylor’s dad plucked him out of danger’s way. Nearly 60 years later, Bill Taylor is trying to figure out how to rescue his family’s fifth-generation shellfish-farming operation from an ocean that’s turning more acidic due to global climate change. This save is going to be a lot harder. It’s a calamity that threatens Washington state’s $270-million-a-year shellfish industry. And it has the Taylors — after a century-plus producing shellfish in the Evergreen State — exploring every potential angle to steel their mollusks against the corrosive effects of ocean acidification. Lisa Stiffler reports. (Investigate West)

Trump era boosts shares for major newspapers, while local papers face famine
Trump’s famous #failingnytimes hashtag has driven more traffic to the news site than halted it. Furthermore, major newspapers directly criticizing Trump are soaring in share prices, leaving local newspapers with a fight to stay afloat. Gerry Smith reports. (Bloomberg News)

New fast ferry debuts, cutting Seattle-Bremerton commute in half
A new ferry service is now carrying passengers between Bremerton and downtown Seattle. Kitsap Transit launched the passenger-only Bremerton Fast Ferry with early sailings Monday morning. The ferry can carry about 118 passengers. The crossing time is about 28 minutes. The ferry runs on weekdays and Saturdays. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  306 AM PDT Tue Jul 11 2017  
TODAY  W wind 10 to 20 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W swell 3 ft at 9 seconds.
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 3 ft  at 9 seconds.

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