PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 6/ 17 (link source)
Washington D.C. – U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) – along with a bipartisan coalition of 34 current and former Members of Congress – submitted an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court late Monday night in a pending case before the court that could stop the undemocratic partisan gerrymandering of political districts.
The case before the Court, Gill v. Whitford, involves a group of Wisconsin voters who in 2015 challenged the Wisconsin state legislature’s 2011 redistricting map in federal court as an excessively partisan gerrymander barred by the Constitution. A lower court ruling last year found the map violated both the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the plaintiffs’ First Amendment freedom of association. This fall, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the appeal to the lower court ruling.
“Voters should choose their elected officials rather than elected officials choosing their voters,” said Kilmer. “For too long partisan gerrymandering has exacerbated partisan divisions while weakening participation in our democracy. I’m proud to be part of a bipartisan push to bring people-power back to our political system.”
“I think that the bipartisan nature of the amicus brief took great courage, particularly with the Republicans, since they are currently in the majority,” said Lowenthal. “This bipartisan support shows that we agree—members of both parties—that excessive partisanship is putting a barrier between Members of Congress and their constituents, as well as contributing to the gridlock we see in Washington, D.C. It is time to bring some fairness back to the system.”
“Extreme partisan gerrymandering harms our political system, and harms the functioning of the House in particular,” wrote the Members in the brief. “Extreme partisan gerrymandering is undemocratic, and cannot be reconciled with the Framers’ idea of a House of Representatives that would be directly accountable to the People through competitive and broad-based elections. Partisan gerrymandering makes it more difficult for Members to do the one job voters expect above all: delivering results for their constituents.”
In the brief, the Members point out that the Supreme Court explained in 2015: “[T]he core principle of republican government [is] that voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.” When legislators’ draw districts that ignore traditional criteria such as representational fairness, natural geography, and cohesive communities of interest, in favor of pure partisan gain, the brief explains, that “core principle” is violated.
At First Bipartisan Health Care Hearing, Sen. Murray Calls for Finding Common Ground to Undo Uncertainty in Markets, Lower Costs for Patients & Families in Washington State and Nationwide
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 6/ 17 (link source)
(Washington, D.C.) – Following an agreement between Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) and Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), today the Senate health committee held the first of four scheduled hearings on bipartisan steps Congress should take to stabilize the individual insurance market. If Congress doesn’t act as soon as possible, 18 million Americans will face higher premiums and fewer coverage options in 2018 as a direct result of President Trump’s actions to implement Trumpcare by sabotage. In advance of these hearings, last month Sen. Murray travelled across Washington state and heard directly from patients, providers and families to learn more about their challenges accessing life-saving care and what changes they would like to see to improve health care for their communities.
The Senate health committee today heard testimony from state insurance commissioners representing all parts of the country: Commissioner Mike Kreidler from Sen. Murray’s home state of Washington, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Theresa Miller, Alaska Division of Insurance Director Lori K. Wing-Heier, and Oklahoma Department of Insurance Commissioner John Doak.
At the hearing, Sen. Murray criticized the Trump Administration for its repeated efforts to sabotage health care by undermining outreach and consumer assistance efforts, putting forward executive orders designed to inject uncertainty into the markets, and threating to cut off payments to reduce coverage costs for low-income people. Sen. Murray called on her colleagues to work toward a multi-year solution for out-of-pocket cost reductions in order to provide the kind of certainty that will have the most impact on families’ premiums and choices in the marketplaces, and presented a number of ideas by Democrats that would help stabilize markets and lower costs in the near term.
Key Excerpts from Ranking Member Murray’s Opening Statement:
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done to undo the damage this Administration has caused within our health care system because President Trump is still trying to create Trumpcare by sabotage. Our health care system is more stable than President Trump’s tweets would have you believe—but it is weaker as a direct result of steps his Administration has taken. The President has undermined outreach and consumer assistance efforts and put forward executive orders seemingly designed to inject uncertainty into the markets. Just last week his administration cut funding for outreach by 90 percent and funding for consumer assistance by over 40 percent.”
“And another pressing example is the Administration’s ongoing threats to cut off payments to reduce coverage costs for low-income people. Should these out-of-pocket cost reductions be discontinued, independent analysis suggests that premiums could be an average of 20 percent higher next year for the most popular plans on the exchanges. There will be even more uncertainty in the markets—and patients and families will likely have fewer options when they go to pick their plans. That’s unacceptable. It’s also avoidable. Congress can act right away to confirm once and for all that out-of-pocket cost reductions will continue—and we have a narrow window to do that before insurers finalize their plans for 2018 later this month.”
“I’m glad there are members on both sides of the aisle who agree we need to take this step, and I believe it is critical that we work toward a multi-year solution in order to provide the kind of certainty that will have the most impact on families’ premiums and choices in the marketplaces. It takes plans months to develop their rates. If we don’t find a multi-year solution, we’re just going to be back in this room trying to patch the same problem a few months from now. And that’s simply not what certainty looks like.”
“We’ve put forward a number of ideas that would help stabilize markets and lower costs in the near term. And as I’ve said before, as we work together I’m more than ready to consider additional ideas from the other side of the aisle to make our health care system work better for patients and families. But to be clear, this means moving forward, not backward, on affordability, coverage, and quality of care. I think we’re all well aware threading this needle won’t be easy. But I do believe an agreement that protects patients and families from higher costs and uncertainty, and maintains the guardrails in our current healthcare system, is possible.”
Murray, Cantwell, and Colleagues Push for Resources to Address Water Contamination near Military Bases
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 5/ 17 (link source)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Bob Casey (D-PA), to write a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to investigate and clean up chemicals that have contaminated drinking water sources across the nation.
"Residents of our states are concerned about exposure, and what this means for their health and safety," the senators wrote. "We urge your support for programs that address the unregulated and emerging water contaminant."
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals found in firefighting foams that had been used at military installations and civilian airports. The chemicals have been detected in groundwater and drinking water wells near these entities. While the health effects of these chemicals are still being determined, studies have linked PFAS exposure to developmental damage, certain cancers, and immune system dysfunction.
In the letter, the senators urge the Committee to fully fund a study included in the Senate Version of the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on the cumulative health effects and impact of PFAS exposure in water sources. The letter also encourages the Committee to direct DoD and military services to robustly budget for assessment, investigation, and remediation activities. Finally, the letter requests investments to eliminate the current use of this generation of contaminants, which would reduce the cost of future remediation efforts, and to research firefighting alternatives that do not contain PFAS.
DoD has identified over 400 installations with a known or suspected release of PFAS that requires additional investigation. Three Washington state military facilities, Fairchild Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and Join Base Lewis-McCord have detected elevated PFAS levels in groundwater wells used for drinking water. In the case of Join Base Lewis-McCord, contamination was contained and did not spread off the base.
OUR FOREST AND PARKS...
US DEPT. OF INTERIOR PRESS RELEASE: National Park Service Releases Review of Chimney Tops 2 FireISSUED 8/ 31/ 17 (link source)
GATLINBURG, Tenn. – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued an independent review of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that burned 11,410 acres in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in November 2016 and merged with other area fires, which caused 14 deaths and millions of dollars in damage in the Gatlinburg area.
The report outlines the origins and growth of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It identifies a number of factors that contributed to the growth of the fire over the course of six days within the park before the fire moved beyond the park boundaries to merge with other fires and become the Sevier County fires. The report also provides a summary of findings and recommendations regarding the park’s fire management planning and response capabilities.
“While visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park last week, I met with park staff, local officials, and members of the Gatlinburg community that were impacted by this devastating fire,” said Secretary Zinke. “Based on those meetings and my review of the report, I am satisfied that it accurately describes the unusual and unexpected conditions that resulted in the largest fire in the park’s history and a series of other fires around the park, which caused so much devastation to the community of Gatlinburg. I am committed to leading efforts to ensure that the National Park Service, along with other land management agencies, state and local governments take the lessons learned from this horrific fire and make changes that will help us prevent tragedies like this in the future.”
This report will be combined with other reports and investigations to ensure that every action can be taken to prevent similar fires in the future. Among next steps, the National Park Service is working to:
Upgrade Great Smoky Mountain National Park’s radio communications system to ensure interoperable communication between the park’s emergency responders and local cooperators, with capacity to accommodate multiple simultaneous incidents. This is a $2.5 million initiative through a public-private partnership with the Friends of the Smokies and the National Park Service.
Issue seven neighboring fire departments portable radios and personal protective equipment this fall with funding through the Department of the Interior Rural Fire Readiness program.
Implement the goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy, which prioritizes healthy and resilient landscapes, fire adapted communities, and safe and effective response. This includes efforts to actively manage vegetation and fuels effectively, removing dead and dying trees.
Assemble a Management Action Team of fire and leadership experts to take immediate action at the local, regional and national levels based on the findings and recommendations from the report.
Participate in a review of the broader Sevier County fires with local, state and other federal officials.
“We see this report on the Chimney Tops 2 Fire as the first steps of a journey that will help us institutionalize the lessons learned from the tragic Sevier County fires,” said National Park Service Fire and Aviation Division Chief Bill Kaage. “The review report is only the beginning of a longer process.”
The chief for the National Park Service (NPS) Division of Fire and Aviation in Boise, ID delegated the review of the Chimney Tops 2 fire to an independent team of seven interagency fire experts in February 2017. The team was charged with identifying the facts leading up to and during the Chimney Tops 2 Fire within the boundaries of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as making recommendations on planning, operational, or managerial issues which can be addressed locally, regionally, and/or nationally to reduce the chances of a similar incident in the future.
Between February and April 2017, the review team conducted research and interviews of personnel and leadership involved in the Chimney Tops 2 Fire. They used materials and information gathered during the fire cause investigation, their own interviews of involved NPS staff and cooperators, as well as fire weather data and other information to create a narrative of the event from the time it ignited on November 23, 2016 through the time when it left the park at 6:08 p.m. on November 28, 2016.
Joe Stutler, a senior advisor for Deschutes County, Oregon, led the interagency fire review team and thanked the park, local community leaders, and fire response personnel for their support during the fire review process.
“We appreciate everyone who assisted with the review effort and helped us get a complete picture of the firestorm that impacted Sevier County last November,” Stutler said.
EPA’s Top Tips for Breathing Easier in Hot, Smoky Conditions
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 7/ 17 (link source)
Doctors and researchers agree: the biggest health threat posed by breathing smoke is from the fine particles, which can lodge deep in your lungs, making it difficult or impossible for your lungs to expel them naturally over time. These microscopic particles - 2.5 microns or smaller - can get into your eyes and respiratory system, where they can cause health problems such as burning eyes, runny nose, persistent coughing and can aggravate illnesses like asthma and bronchitis.
Virtually everyone suffers from even short-term smoke exposures due to air pollution’s harmful effect on our lungs. But for the elderly, children or people with impaired breathing, breathing smoke for even brief periods can pose serious risks. Fine smoke particles can exacerbate, aggravate asthma and chronic heart and lung diseases and even are linked to premature deaths in people enduring these conditions.
Bottom line: For our lungs’ sake, it’s a good idea to avoid breathing smoke wherever or whenever we can. Everyone should take the steps below when smoke - wildfire or otherwise - is present:
1. Prevent wildfires from starting. - Prepare, build, maintain and extinguish campfires safely. Be aware of “Burn Bans” and follow local regulations if you intend to burn yard waste or woody debris. Carefully follow all state and local restrictions to prevent forest fires from starting. Be careful not to drag your trailer chains which can spark and ignite dry roadside brush.
2. Check local air quality reports. Listen and watch for news or health warnings about smoke. Watch for the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading for your community, or check the report on AirNow.gov. In addition, pay attention to public health messages about safety measures. Often, the most comprehensive information will be on your state’s wildfire blog including the latest local information and smoke forecasts.
3. Use common sense. If it looks smoky outside, it's probably not a good time to mow the lawn, dig up that old broken irrigation line, or go for a run. Anything that causes you to breathe heavier will increase exposure to fine smoke particles. It’s also a good time to encourage your children to take indoor play breaks until the smoke dissipates.
4. If you are advised to stay indoors, STAY INDOORS! - take steps to keep your indoor air as clean as possible. Avoid using wood fireplaces, gas logs, gas stoves - and even candles! And it goes without saying: don't smoke. Smoking harms your lungs and can harm people around you.
5. Follow your doctor’s advice - If you have asthma or other breathing impairment, closely follow your doctor's advice about using your medication and following your asthma management plan. Call your doctor if your symptoms worsen. Talk with your doctor (in advance) about deciding whether and when you should leave the area. Note: If you don't have an air conditioner, staying inside with the windows closed may be dangerous in extremely hot weather. In these cases, seek alternative shelter, such as with relatives or a cleaner air shelter.
For more about the health effects from breathing smoke: https://cfpub.epa.gov/airnow/index.cfm?action=smoke.index
STATE LEVEL
DNR: DNR Bans All Outdoor BurningPRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 5/ 17 (link source)
With multiple fires burning on the landscape and communities suffering from dense layers of smoke, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has expanded its burn ban to cover the entire state.
“Wildfire and smoke is affecting every community around the state as we see the hot, dry summer take its toll on our forests,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. “Without any relief from this weather in the foreseeable future and with our firefighters spread across the Northwest, we can no longer allow outdoor burning anywhere in Washington.”
DNR has been implementing burn restrictions regionally as local conditions warranted. The statewide ban means outdoor burning is prohibited on all forestlands that DNR protects from wildfire. Anyone caught violating the burn ban can face fines. Prescribed ecological burns in rare instances may be allowed if expressly approved by Commissioner Franz.
Burn restrictions on federally-owned lands, such as national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges or other areas are administered by federal agencies. Counties and local fire districts may have additional burn restrictions.
On Monday, Labor Day, DNR firefighters responded to 21 new fire starts.
Fireworks and incendiary devices, such as exploding targets, sky lanterns, or tracer ammunition, are always illegal on all DNR-protected forestlands.
A copy of the Commissioner’s Order is posted at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/burn-restrictions.
DNR’s wildfire mission
Administered by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 13 million acres of private, state and tribal-owned forestlands. DNR is the state’s largest on-call fire department and participates in Washington's coordinated interagency approach to firefighting.
In other parks and forest news...
Sale of Kuhnis Road Property to Port of Woodland Authorized
DNR PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 6/ 17 (link source)
$1.7 Million Proceeds Will Buy Other Revenue-producing Lands to Support Public School Construction Statewide
At its regular monthly meeting Tuesday (Sept. 6), the state Board of Natural Resources authorized the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to complete the direct transfer (sale) of 153.3 acres of agriculture land northeast of the junction of the Lewis and Columbia rivers in Cowlitz County. The purchaser, the Port of Woodland, will pay DNR $1.7 million based on the tract’s current appraised value. DNR will use the transaction proceeds to purchase more productive revenue-lands for the Common School Trust elsewhere in the state. The Port will assume an agricultural lease on the property that generates about $11,000 a year.
Offensive Place Names Replaced
In other action, the board in its role as the Washington State Board on Geographic Names approved new official names for two geographic features whose names were considered offensive to Native Americans:
Reef Net Bay in San Juan County. Formerly known as Squaw Bay, the new name is intended to recognize the historic and current use of the bay for reef net fishing.
Walaluuks Creek in Klickitat County. Formerly known as Squaw Creek, proponents of the new name say it honors Walaluuks, a Yakama woman, who lived most of her life along the 16-mile-long waterway.
Names approved by the Board are published in the Washington Administrative Code and forwarded to the United States Board on Geographic Names for its consideration.
View a recording of Tuesday’s Board of Natural Resources meeting on TVW at: www.tvw.org/watch/?clientID=9375922947&eventID=2017091004&eventID=2017091004&autoStartStream=true
Board of Natural Resources
The Board adopts policies, approves major commodity sales, and makes decisions about transactions of state lands managed by DNR. Its membership represents the major beneficiaries of state trust lands, including public schools, universities and prisons as well as 21 counties that use trust land revenues to support hospitals, libraries and other services. Since 1972, DNR-managed state trust lands have provided nearly $8 billion to trust land beneficiaries.
WDFW: Commission to consider listing status of 8 species at Sept. 8-9 meeting in Port Angeles.
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 9/ 1/ 17 (link source)
OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will take action on the protective status of yellow-billed cuckoos, loggerhead sea turtles, fishers and five whale species at a public meeting Sept. 8-9 in Port Angeles.
The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will convene both days at 8 a.m. at the Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St., in Port Angeles.
A complete agenda is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings.html
During the meeting, commissioners will consider WDFW's recommendation to list yellow-billed cuckoos as an endangered species in Washington and elevate the level of state protection for loggerhead sea turtles from threatened to endangered.
In 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service distinguished the cuckoo in western North America as a distinct population and listed it as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. The north Pacific population of loggerhead sea turtles has declined substantially since the last half of the 20th century.
Commissioners also will conduct a public hearing and consider state wildlife managers' recommendation to keep blue, fin, sei, North Pacific right, and sperm whales as state endangered species in Washington.
Those whales have been listed as endangered species in Washington since 1981. Populations of all five species greatly declined in the 1800s and 1900s from being severely overharvested by whalers. All five species face potentially significant threats from one or more factors, including collisions with ships, entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris, and climate change.
Additionally, the commission will consider WDFW's recommendation to keep fishers, which are mid-sized members of the weasel family, on the state's endangered species list. Fishers were eliminated from the state in the late 1800s and early 1900s. WDFW has worked with landowners to protect fisher habitat and has reintroduced fishers to the Olympic Peninsula and Cascade range. Despite these efforts, fisher populations in the state do not yet meet the criteria outlined in the species recovery plan that would allow fishers to be downlisted.
With the exception of the fisher, many of these species are found infrequently in Washington. However, WDFW's listing recommendations acknowledge the species' imperiled status, align with federal listings, and support the conservation efforts of other agencies and organizations.
WDFW's recommendations, along with status reviews for the species, are available on the department's webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/status_review/
In his monthly report Friday morning, WDFW Director Jim Unsworth will provide an update on a variety of issues, including wolf conservation and management; the recent release of Atlantic salmon from a Cooke Aquaculture net pen near the San Juan Islands; operations at the Wells Hatchery in northcentral Washington; and the agency's response to legislative direction given in the 2017-19 budget.
In other business, the commission will receive a briefing on the status of salmon and steelhead populations in the Elwha River following the removal of two dams, and discuss the extension earlier this year of a fishing moratorium on the river initially implemented in 2011.
Commissioners also will receive briefings on the department's 2018 supplemental capital budget request and monitoring and recovery efforts of the state's fish populations listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
WORLD AND NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS
From the UN News Center:
UN scales up response as 270,000 flee Myanmar into Bangladesh in two weeks
8 September 2017 – The United Nations migration agency today confirmed that 270,000 people have fled violence in Myanmar for safety in Bangladesh over the past two weeks, and the number of new arrivals continues to increase.
Marginalization, perceived abuse of power pushing Africa’s youth to extremism – UN study
7 September 2017 – Deprivation, marginalization and perceived state violence or abuse of power are pushing young Africans into the clutches of violent extremism, a groundbreaking study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reveals.
NATIONAL
WP: Category 4 storm — about 500 miles southeast of Miami — could make landfall early Sunday
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William "Brock" Long called Irma “a threat that is going to devastate the United States, either Florida or some of the southeastern states,” and he urged people from Alabama to North Carolina to monitor and prepare for the storm.
NY DAILY NEWS: Bannon says Christie didn’t get a cabinet position because he wasn’t loyal enough to Trump after Billy Bush tape
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie didn’t get a White House job because he wasn’t there in a dark moment of the Trump campaign, Steve Bannon claimed in a new interview.
Daily Bible Verse: Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Psalm 143:10 NKJV
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