5/27 Go fish, tug crash, KPLU sale, Eyman overruled, enviro justice, fish crime, coal train, BC pipe

(PHOTO: UW Digital Collections)

State, tribes reach agreement on Puget Sound salmon fishing plan
State and tribal fishery officials said Thursday that after weeks of negotiations they've agreed on a plan that will allow for a 2016-2017 Puget Sound salmon-fishing season. Recreational and non-tribal commercial salmon fishing in Puget Sound has been closed since May 1, after the state and tribes failed to come to an agreement over annual catch limits. That prompted concern that a fishing season might not happen this year. The agreement still needs federal approval, but John Long, salmon fisheries policy lead for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said anglers can start planning to fish for salmon this summer. (Associated Press)

Double tug boat crash near Nanaimo leaves vessel underwater
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating a collision between two tug boats that caused one vessel to sink near Gabriola Island, off the east coast of Vancouver Island. The safety board's Pacific operations regional manager Mohan Raman says two crew members of the Albern were thrown into the water and rescued after their tug was hit by the C.T. Titan about 6 p.m. Tuesday. He says the larger ship overpowered the smaller boat, which sank about 90 metres to the bottom of the Northumberland Channel between Gabriola and Vancouver Island. (Canadian Press)

Community group reaches $7 million goal to buy KPLU
A grass-roots campaign seeking to purchase Tacoma-based public radio station KPLU from Pacific Lutheran University reached its $7 million fundraising goal Thursday — more than a month before a deadline imposed on the group to raise enough money to buy the station…. he group still must negotiate an asset purchase agreement with PLU by June 30 — and eventually obtain approval of the deal from the Federal Communications Commission — before it can take over KPLU’s broadcast license and begin operating the station. Lewis Kamb reports. (Seattle Times)

Eyman’s tax-limiting initiative unconstitutional, state Supreme Court says 
The state Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling striking down a ballot initiative that sought to limit taxes. The high court said Initiative 1366, sponsored by anti-tax activist Tim Eyman, was unconstitutional because it violated the requirement that initiatives be limited to a single subject. Voters last fall narrowly approved the measure, which would have cut the sales tax by 1 percentage point beginning last month unless lawmakers allowed a public vote on a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority in the Legislature for future tax increases. A King County Superior Court judge in January ruled the measure unconstitutional. Rachel La Corte reports. (Associated Press)

Meet the Northwest’s environmental justice champions
There’s a movement afoot in Seattle. It’s a new breed of environmentalism, one that aims to put people who normally get left out of the conversation about conservation right at the center of it. Because when we pollute the air and water, dam streams and rivers, and warm the climate, they are often the people who are the most impacted. The short film “Our Story,” created by Henry M. Jackson Leadership Fellow Laura Stewart and her colleague Julian Kane, highlights 24 of the thought leaders within the environmental justice movement around Puget Sound. Stewart and Kane embarked on the project in order to amplify the perspectives of those most affected by climate change, and to “remind ourselves, to remind each other, that climate justice and environmental justice are everybody’s responsibility,” Stewart says in the film. Samantha Larson reports. (Crosscut)

Repeat illegal fishing offences land B.C. man in jail — again
A commercial fisherman who sold up to $100,000 in illegally-acquired crab and halibut has been given a rare sentence of 21 days in jail for breaching his probation conditions. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says Scott Steer was arrested at sea on April 10 for "failing to comply with a court order banning him from being on any vessel other than BC Ferries." Jim Robson, the department's acting area chief for the South Coast, said Steer was apprehended at sea by members of the Canadian Coast Guard while he was en route to crab fishing grounds. Maryse Zeidler reports. (CBC)

Montana, Idaho, Wyoming Want To Be Heard On Longview Coal Terminal Permit
Dozens of people drove hundreds of miles from Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to Spokane Thursday to weigh in on a proposed coal export terminal. The terminal would sit along the Columbia River in Longview. But the permitting agencies want input from inland cities along the train tracks. If the project is approved, up to 16 trains will travel from the far corners of Montana and Wyoming to deliver coal to the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview, Washington. Corinne Hart of Billings, Montana, said the environmental review needs to take into account effects on rail-side communities like hers, Missoula, as well as Sandpoint, Idaho.  Emily Schwing reports. (NW News Network)

Greenhouse gas emission rule to add millions to Trans Mountain cost: Kinder Morgan
It will cost millions of dollars more to build the Trans Mountain expansion because of an unprecedented requirement to offset greenhouse gas emissions from pipeline construction, the project's proponent says. But Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada, said Thursday he has no objections to the unexpected provision because it gives the company a chance to reduce its environmental footprint. Dan Healing reports. (Canadian Press)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PDT FRI MAY 27 2016  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM PDT THIS MORNING  

TODAY  W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT DURING THE  MORNING. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT  AT 7 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN A SLIGHT  CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT  W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT  AT 7 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
SAT  S WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT  9 SECONDS. SHOWERS.
SAT NIGHT  W WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND  WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
SUN  W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS.

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