1/13 Sorcerer's dorid, laurel, WA lege, tire chemicals kill, air pollution, offshore wind farm, clean energy grants, PBS New Weekend.

 

Sorcerer's Dorid

Sorcerer's Dorid Polycera atra
Sorcerer's dorid is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. Polycera atra feeds on the bryozoan Bugula.

Today's top story in Salish Current:  Challenges from weather, economy, policy beset farmers

English laurel. A reader points out that Cherry laurel featured in yesterday's flora spotlight is also known as English laurel and has invaded Ravenna Ravine in Seattle. Alas, the English have also given us English ivy. What else? 

2026 Washington state legislative session begins
With the banging of gavels, the Washington state Legislature opened its sprint of a 60-day session Monday in Olympia. The proceedings were more ceremony than substance, as the state’s 98 representatives and 49 senators began their work. (Washington State Standard) 

Study finds juvenile coho salmon at risk from deadly tire chemical
When it was first identified in 2020, the deadly tire chemical 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) was seen mostly as a threat to adult coho salmon. Fish returning in the fall were found disoriented and gasping shortly after entering creeks that had even trace amounts of the chemical. In some cases, as many as 90 percent of those fish died before they could spawn, a problem that continues to threaten some local populations with extinction. Jeff Rice reports. (Puget Sound Institute) 

E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show. Maxine Joselow reports. (NY Times) 

Offshore wind developer prevails in court as Trump says the US ‘will not approve any windmills’
A federal judge ruled Monday that work on a major offshore wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut can resume, handing the industry at least a temporary victory as President Donald Trump seeks to shut it down. Jennifer McDermott reports. (Associated Press) 

Court says Trump admin illegally blocked billions in clean energy grants to Democratic states 
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants for projects in states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Matthew Daly reports. (Associated Press) 

PBS weekend newscasts shut down due to funding cuts, replaced by single-topic programs 
“PBS News Weekend,” the companion to the weekday “NewsHour” program, has signed off, eliminated due to federal funding cuts to public broadcasting. David Bauer reports. (Associated Press) 

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Here's your tug weather— 
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  316 PM PST Mon Jan 12 2026    
TUE  E wind around 5 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: W 6 ft at  13 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning. TUE NIGHT  E wind around 5 kt, veering to SW around 5 kt after  midnight. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: W 5 ft at 12 seconds. A  chance of rain after midnight.

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