5/19 St John's wort, Mt St Helens, Green R salmon, Trump's rules, real time weather, Billy Proctor, Bryde's whale WA litter law, WA CoastSavers, democracy watch

St John's wort

St John's wort Hypericum perforatum
St John's wort is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. The species produces numerous chemical compounds that are highly active. These chemicals are harmful to large animals, especially sheep, and help to deter herbivores from consuming the plant. Other chemicals in the plant, such as hypericin and hyperforin, have various uses in medicine. (Wikipedia)

Today's top story in Salish Current: La Conner passes a nuclear disarmament resolution

45 years later, Washington geologist remembers visiting Mount St. Helens the day before it blew
On May 17, 1980, geologist Carolyn Driedger stood beneath a volcano she knew intimately — and one she was beginning to fear. The summit of Mount St. Helens towered above, its graceful, snow-covered slopes gleaming in the sun. But her eyes were fixed on something else: a grotesque bulge protruding from the mountain’s north face. Ian McCluskey reports. (OPB)

U.S. Sen. Murray says Trump zeroes out $500M for WA fish passage project
Washington’s U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is raising the alarm over a new spending plan by the Trump administration that doesn’t include $500 million in funding for a fish-passage project on the Green River near Seattle. Lynda Mapes reports, (Seattle Times)

Trump orders the government to stop enforcing rules he doesn’t like
Critics say the administration is breaking the law and sidestepping the rulemaking process that presidents of both parties have long followed. Maxine Joselow, Hannah Natanson and Ian Duncan report. (Washington Post) 

Trump budget would cut ocean data and leave boaters, anglers and forecasters scrambling for info
President Donald Trump wants to eliminate all federal funding for the observing system’s regional operations. Scientists say the cuts could mean the end of efforts to gather real-time data crucial to navigating treacherous harbors, plotting tsunami escape routes and predicting hurricane intensity. Todd Richmond reports. (Associated Press)

Billy Proctor, ‘Heart of the Raincoast,’ dies at 90
Billy Proctor, a fisherman known for his work to restore Pacific salmon and his personal museum featuring artifacts gathered from a lifetime in the Broughton archipelago, died Tuesday at 90 years old. He spent his life in the remote island community of Echo Bay on Gilford Island, off the coast of northern Vancouver Island. He was a hand-logger, commercial fisherman, beachcomber and artifact collector, but more than anything, he was a wealth of knowledge and the glue that held together the community of Echo Bay, said his longtime friend, Alexandra Morton. Roxanne Egan-Elliott reports. (Times Colonist)

Rare whale washes up on Vancouver Island, in possible 1st sighting of species in B.C.
In a possible first for B.C., a Bryde's whale — a species not generally seen north of California — has washed up on Vancouver Island. Experts brought in to examine the body confirmed it as a young Bryde's whale, a baleen whale that uses filter feeding, similar to humpbacks, generally found in tropical to temperate waters, though there have been stray sightings of individuals as far north as Washington state in the past. Andrew Kurjata reports. (CBC)

New WA law increases penalties for litter, delays plastic bag requirements
A new law signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on Saturday toughens the punishment for littering and delays requirements for retailers to offer thicker bags for sale from Jan. 1, 2026 until 2028.  Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero reports. (Washington State Standard)

A grassroots movement trying to keep the Washington coast clean
Megan Juran is the coordinator for Washington CoastSavers, where she organizes the state’s largest annual beach cleanups, with the most recent one held on April 19, Earth Day weekend. In 2025, 584 volunteers removed over 13,000 pounds of marine debris from sites along Washington’s Pacific coast.  Juan Jocom reports. (KNKX)

Democracy Watch

• DHS considering reality show in which immigrants compete for citizenship (Washington Post)
  
• Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to resume quick deportations of Venezuelans under 18th-century law (AP)
  
• Trump appointee pressed analyst to redo intelligence on Venezuelan gang  (NY Times)
  
• Court lifts block on Trump order to strip federal workers of union rights  (Washington Post)
  

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  235 AM PDT Mon May 19 2025    
TODAY  S wind 10 to 15 kt, rising to SW 15 to 20 kt this  afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: S 2 ft at 3 seconds and W  4 ft at 10 seconds. Showers likely early this morning, then a  chance of showers late this morning. Showers with a slight chance  of tstms this afternoon.  
TONIGHT  SW wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Wave Detail: W  7 ft at 13 seconds. Showers.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. It is included as a daily feature in the Salish Current newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Questions? Email msato(at)salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



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