5/5 GiveBIG, PS Starts Here, clingfish, sea star disease, Shell drill, FHL pix, Cherry Point, Padden Cr., Fraser coal

Today, GiveBIG
The Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG is a one-day, online charitable giving event to inspire people to give generously to nonprofit organizations who make our region a healthier and more vital place to live. The people behind these organizations, those who work tirelessly to improve the lives of everyone in Greater Seattle, are champions. GiveBIG is a day to support their championship-worthy work. Donate today

New blog: Whither Puget Sound Starts Here?
Governor Inslee proclaims the month of May as Puget Sound Starts Here month. The Puget Sound Partnership laments that, due to funding cuts, Puget Sound Starts Here needs to find another home. Do you care?….

Puget Sound’s clingfish could inspire better medical devices, whale tags
Scooting around in the shallow, coastal waters of Puget Sound is one of the world’s best suction cups. It’s called the Northern clingfish, and its small, finger-sized body uses suction forces to hold up to 150 times its own body weight. These fish actually hold on better to rough surfaces than to smooth ones, putting to shame industrial suction devices that give way with the slightest uneven surface. Michelle Ma reports. (UW Today)

Sea star wasting syndrome may have spread to Haida Gwaii
A disease that causes sea stars to fall apart may have spread to Haida Gwaii. If confirmed, this will be the first time sea star wasting disease would have been found in northern B.C. waters. The condition has killed millions of the marine creatures from California to Vancouver. Aggie Cangardel, a marine biologist for the Council of the Haida Nation, says scientists believe they have found it off the coast of Haida Gwaii. (CBC)

Mayor blocks lease, says Port of Seattle must get new permits to host Shell Oil
The Port of Seattle will have to apply for new permits in order for Shell Oil to use Terminal 5 to stage oil rigs. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray made the announcement to a roar of applause at the Climate Solutions annual breakfast Monday morning. “We need not continue with the past. It’s time to turn the page. Things like oil trains, coal trains and oil drilling rigs are the past,” he said. “If it was up to me, there would be no place for Arctic offshore oil drilling equipment in Seattle.” Steve Wilhelm reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

If you like to watch: The Friday Harbor Labs Image Gallery
Enjoy amazing photos of organisms and researchers from the Salish Sea region and around the world. We want to continue to update this gallery with new photos of FHL classes, research and marine plants and animals.... This image gallery is maintained by the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories as a resource for teachers and students at all levels and stages of their education. The images are being provided by scientists at FHL, and can be used free of charge for all non-profit purposes including lectures, reports, etc. Any for-profit use or publication of these images is prohibited without prior consent of the photographer.

Proponent of Cherry Point coal port prepares response to Lummi opposition
The company that would build a coal terminal at Cherry Point has until May 10 to respond to Lummi Nation’s request to reject the terminal. SSA Marine received a letter April 10 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking for the company’s response, along with copies of information the tribe originally sent to the Corps to support its Jan. 5 request that the agency refuse to grant a permit for the terminal. Ralph Schwartz reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Padden Creek project will remove tunnel that’s a barrier to migrating fish
For more than 120 years, a nearly half-mile section of Padden Creek between 22nd and 17th streets has been forced through a tunnel away and hidden from the sun. It’s believed that part of the creek, located off what is now Old Fairhaven Parkway, was routed through the tunnel in 1892 to help drain wetlands in part of Happy Valley so a train station could be built for Great Northern Railroad. That’s where the creek has been since. Now, the city of Bellingham will remove 2,300 feet of the creek from the 8-foot-tall and 4-foot-wide tunnel and return it to a more natural state in a $2.8 million “daylighting” project. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Fraser River port considers Panamax coal shipments
Fraser Surrey Docks is considering shipping coal directly from its planned transfer terminal on large ocean-going vessels rather than sending it by barge to Texada Island. The change of plans would cut the number of vessels brimming with U.S. thermal coal and navigating local waters, but the company would have to amend its permit and is asking for public feedback. The amendment would see as many as 80 Panamax-size vessels leave the docks annually. Each would carry about four trainloads of coal in a closed hatch. There would be no change in the total amount of coal — about four million metric tonnes annually — that would be shipped from the site. The company’s current permit allows for up to 640 loaded barges per year — nearly two per day. Matt Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE MAY 5 2015
TODAY
SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS AND A CHANCE OF TSTMS.
TONIGHT
NW WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 7 FT
 AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE EVENING.
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"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.

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