7/18 Death caps, BC pipe, Tacoma politics, octopus, Aurora borealis

Death cap [PHOTO: Adolph Ceska/CBC]

Death cap mushrooms beginning to return to Victoria
Lethal death cap mushrooms [Amanita phalloides] are beginning to return to Victoria for the summer. The fungi pop up in the capital city and around Vancouver every year, usually around August. Experts on Vancouver Island said a couple stumbled on a cluster of deaths caps in the Uplands near Victoria on Sunday, the first reported sighting of the season. (CBC)

What is the Trans Mountain pipeline? 
It may have taken some time but eventually B.C. Premier Christy Clark gave the green light to Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline. Now, with a new NDP government taking power on Tuesday, pipeline politics could once again come to the forefront with B.C. and Alberta on opposing sides.  Premier-designate John Horgan and Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver are opposed to the project. In announcing their alliance, both have said they would use every tool they can to stop it. On the other side is  Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and the federal government who say the expansion of the pipeline is in the national interest.  Tamara Baluja reports. (CBC)

Tacoma Mayoral Hopefuls Answer To A Growing Environmental Movement
Environmental activists are the most vocal group in Tacoma politics today. That's a new development in a city known as a hub of heavy industry. But growing concerns about fossil fuels and pollution are already shaping the race for the next mayor. Protests by Tacoma environmentalists helped kill plans for a methanol refinery in the city last year. Activists have since set their sights on a planned liquefied natural gas plant. Will James reports. (KNKX)

Guess what’s new at the Marine Life Center in Bellingham
There’s a new resident in the Marine Life Center at the Port of Bellingham. It’s a giant Pacific octopus, a female that was caught in a commercial shrimp pot and brought to the center for display, said Casey Pruett, center director. Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)

If you like to watch: Hansville webcam captures Aurora Borealis views 
Hansville’s Greg Johnson, who runs a weather webcam website called SkunkBayWeather.com, captured a great view of the early morning lights. (Kitsap Sun)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  240 AM PDT Tue Jul 18 2017  
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 2 ft at 8 seconds.
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding to 1 ft or less after midnight. W  swell 2 ft at 7 seconds.

--
"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