3/24 Sakura, tourism threat, 'stay away,' Skagit water, Snoqualmie Tribe, Millennium coal, bailout climate, Pt Townsend stormwater, Nanimo pulp, KM pipe, squid genes,plastic hunt, Crazy Town

*EDITOR'S NOTE: Access updates on the COVID-19 virus at national and regional print publications like the CBC, the Seattle Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. 

Sakura at Arashiyama Japan [Erina Takeda]

Symbolism of Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)
Sakura, as cherry blossoms are called in Japan, are a symbolic flower of the spring, a time of renewal, and the fleeting nature of life. Their life is very short. After their beauty peaks around two weeks, the blossoms start to fall. The season of enjoying cherry blossoms is called hanami which literally “watching blossoms,” and the tradition can be traced back at least a thousand years. (Smithsonian)

Coronavirus concerns turning Washington's tourist destinations into ghost towns
Tourism in the state has essentially stopped at many top destinations amid coronavirus concerns and Gov. Jay Inslee pleading with Washingtonians to stay home...The losses are still being calculated, but the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming at all state tourism destinations, from Walla Walla to the San Juan Islands, where officials for more than a week have been asking tourists not to come. Scott Hanson reports. (Seattle Times)

Please do not come': Squamish joins small B.C. communities asking visitors to stay away
The District of Squamish, located north of Vancouver, has joined a growing chorus of small communities in British Columbia asking visitors to stay away to prevent the spread of COVID-19. On Sunday the district sent out a media release that said many people visiting the area's popular outdoor attractions weren't abiding by social distancing guidelines to keep at least two metres away from others...On Friday, B.C. Parks closed down all campgrounds and facilities at provincial parks, but some residents told CBC News that didn't stop hundreds of people from partying on beaches in the Sea-to-Sky corridor...Earlier this week, Tofino and Ucluelet urged people to cancel or cut short their trips to the west Vancouver Island towns. Haida Gwai, and island chain off B.C.'s North Coast, issued a similar plea. Maryse Zeidler reports. (CBC) See also: ‘Stay on the mainland’: Tensions grow as affluent city dwellers fearing coronavirus retreat to second homes  (Washington Post)

New water source available to property owners in Skagit, Snohomish counties
hanks to a partnership with Seattle City Light, the state Department of Ecology is now providing 340 property owners with a legal water source and has the capacity to provide water for about 1,000 more...The Skagit River Basin Mitigation Program is Ecology’s latest effort to provide legal water to the property owners in the Skagit River basin who were affected by the 2013 state Supreme Court ruling regarding the Skagit River instream flow rule. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Wash. Bid To Dismiss Tribe's Treaty Suit Gets Green Light (Paywall)
A federal court has granted Washington state's bid to dismiss a Snoqualmie Indian Tribe suit seeking to affirm that it signed a treaty giving it tribal hunting and gathering rights, saying a previous fishing rights case found that the tribe can't benefit from the treaty. (Law360)

Millennium loses appeal over shorelines permit
Millennium Bulk Terminal's years-long proposal to build a $680 million coal export export dock in Longview received yet another legal blow Tuesday when the Washington State Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a key shorelines permit. Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge Rich Melnick said the court disagreed with several of Millennium's disputes about legal procedural errors in the original denial. It thus upheld the State Shorelines Hearing Board's denial of the shorelines permit. Mallory Gruben reports. (Longview Daily News)

Climate Change Push Fuels Split On Coronavirus Stimulus
Clean energy and climate advocates say the huge stimulus bill Congress is negotiating should address not only the economy, but also climate change. But a split over that appears to have contributed to delays in passing the bill. Jeff Brady reports. (NPR)

Port Townsend stormwater project needs easement
The city is closer to finalizing an easement for a regional stormwater facility that would encourage development along upper Sims Way. The Port Townsend City Council has authorized City Manager John Mauro to execute a possession and use agreement for the final easement. The city received a $1.2 million loan from the Community Revitalization Board in 2015, when council approved a resolution to allow the city manager to award and sign all contracts regarding the design and construction of the Rainier Street regional stormwater project. Jeff Park reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Nanaimo mill working full-speed to make pulp for medical masks, gowns
Levi Sampson says while many other B.C. businesses are closing their doors, his staff at a pulp mill in Nanaimo are hard at work to meet the demands for medical supplies. Harmac Pacific produces a soft blend of pulp made from cedar, which is then used to make medical masks, gowns, drapes, screens, and other hospital supplies that are much needed during the COVID-19 crisis. Adam van der Zwan reports. (CBC)

Federal judge sides with Kinder Morgan in Hill Country pipeline fight
A federal judge has sided with Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan in a fight over building a $2 billion natural gas pipeline through the scenic and environmentally sensitive Texas Hill Country. In a 29-page decision handed down late last week, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman in Austin struck down a request to issue an injunction against the company's Permian Highay Pipeline. As part of a federal lawsuit, the cities of Austin and San Marcos, Hays and Travis counties, the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and four landowners sought a preliminary injunction against the pipeline project which is being built through Texas Hill Country and over the Edwards Aquifer, an underground reservoir home to several threatened and endangered species of salamander, fish and insects. Sergio Chapa reports. (Houston Chronicle)

New genetic editing powers discovered in squid
Revealing yet another super-power in the skillful squid, scientists have discovered that squid massively edit their own genetic instructions not only within the nucleus of their neurons, but also within the axon -- the long, slender neural projections that transmit electrical impulses to other neurons. This is the first time that edits to genetic information have been observed outside of the nucleus of an animal cell. (Marine Biological Laboratory/Science Daily)

The Plastic-Hunting Pirates of the Cornish Coast
‘We can make this work’: ecologists get creative to keep research projects alive amid coronavirus travel bans https://thenarwhal.ca/we-can-make-this-work-ecologists-get-creative-to-keep-research-projects-alive-amid-coronavirus-travel-bans/
As flights and field seasons are cancelled, some scientists see building capacity at the local level as an opportunity to keep vital work alive — and possibly reshape the way remote research is done. Jimmy Thomson reports. (The Narwhal)

If you like to watch: Welcome to Crazy Town
At first glance, the rocky shores of Calvert Island, British Columbia, don’t seem like a very hospitable place for an animal. And yet on these wave-battered rocks, we find life stacked on life layered on even more life. Here, the name of the game is to hang on, don’t dry out in the sun, and don’t get eaten. Come with us to explore a site ecologists affectionately call Crazy Town. (Hakai Magazine)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  252 AM PDT Tue Mar 24 2020   
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming NW in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. A slight chance of  showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. A slight chance  of showers in the evening.




--
"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