5/22 Saving bees, WA budget, feeding orcas, BC gas, reef-net fishing

Bee in action [Laurie MacBride]

Taking Action for Bees
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "Today, May 20, is World Bee Day, which is why I’m sharing an image of some of these industrious pollinators hard at work in my garden. The flower is Papaver somniferum, a poppy species which self-sows freely each summer, thanks to the effort of the many bees that visit our garden throughout the growing season. World Bee Day was first proposed on the international stage by Slovenia, and after three years of work by that nation and the world’s beekeepers, it was proclaimed unanimously by the United Nations – giving bees and other pollinators the recognition they deserve. You can learn more about the initiative here ...."

Inslee signs $52.4 billion budget decried by Republicans 
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed into law a $52.4 billion, two-year state budget that he said "rises to the needs of our time," but that minority Republicans quickly criticized as a "tax-and-spend home run."  To help fund the budget, Inslee also put his signature to a tax package worth at least $830 million over the next two years. It will raise taxes on big banks and other businesses, as well as end point-of-sale tax-free shopping in Washington for Oregon residents. The tax and spending bills were among dozens of pieces of legislation Inslee signed Tuesday during a final round of bill signing ceremonies at the Capitol following the 2019 legislative session. Austin Jenkins reports. (NW News Network) See also: Inslee signs budget, tax bills and orders $175M more to help salmon  Gov. Jay Inslee, determined to put more money toward helping salmon survival, on Tuesday directed the state to boost funding for court-ordered culvert repairs by $175 million over the next two years. Joseph O'Sullivan reports. (Seattle Times)

Lummi Nation wants to feed endangered southern resident orcas
Following news that two more southern resident orcas are struggling, one Washington tribe is calling on the federal government to help physically feed them. Lummi Nation calls the southern resident orcas qwe 'lhol mechen, which means our relatives under the water. They say they have a sacred obligation to take care of them and feed them like they would any other member of their family. Simone Del Rosario reports. (KCPQ)

Regulator investigating high gas prices in B.C. has power to examine gouging
British Columbia's independent energy regulator will have the power to call oil company representatives as witnesses into an investigation of high gasoline prices in the province. Premier John Horgan has tasked the B.C. Utilities Commission to examine the market factors that affect wholesale and retail gas prices, and he wants a report by Aug. 30. Gas prices hovering around $1.70 per litre in the Metro Vancouver area have been the highest in Canada for several months. (Canadian Press)

Reviving an outlawed fishery: 'the backbone of our Nation'
It was daybreak on a clear summer day. Nick Claxton stood at the boat launch with other members of the WSÁNEĆ Nation. They were on Pender Island, BC, at a W̱SÁNEĆ hereditary fishing location. The winds were calm, recalled Claxton. "A perfect day for fishing." Their ocean-going canoes were setting out onto the Salish Sea. They were ready to drop a full-size reef net, for the first time in a century. Claxton, who is from the Tsawout Band and is an assistant professor at the University of Victoria, had been thinking about this moment for almost a decade. Zoe Tennant reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Wed May 22 2019   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 8 ft at 11 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 7 ft at 9 seconds.

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