Refreshed at 7:04 AM Pacific on Thursday, March 24th, 2016

  • Welcome to Pacific NW Portal, a Northwest Progressive Institute project that simplifies the task of staying up to date with news that matters to you. Today is the eighteenth day of the 2015 Washington State legislative session, the twentieth day of the 2015 Idaho State legislative session, and the twenty-eighth day since the 114th Congress convened. The Oregon State Legislature convenes for its 2015 session in ten days.
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In Brief

Quotation

There is a realization that this is not a war you can bomb or shoot your way out of, but you have to deal with individuals who are radicalized at home, to examine the reasons that they are exploring this other identity.

— Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, speaking to The New York Times about Europe’s challenge of combating terrorists within its own borders.

# Permalink (Wednesday, March 23, 2016)

Recommended Link

Sound Transit to add longer trains to meet unexpectedly high demand for light rail

University Link only opened to the public last Saturday, but already, it’s so popular that Sound Transit has decided to begin permanently lengthening trains to accommodate a surge in ridership. Beginning next Monday, the agency says commuters can expect to see more three-car trains in regular service, alternating with two-car trains.

# Permalink (Wednesday, March 23, 2016)

Permanent Defense

Fourteen Years: Statement from the Founder

Today and throughout this month, Permanent Defense celebrates its fourteenth anniversary, marking one hundred and sixty-eight months of continuous operation. Since going live on February 15th, 2002, Permanent Defense (PD) has been a fierce defender of&nbs… (read more)

NPI thanks Senate Democrats for voting to protect Washington’s cherished tradition of majority rule

This morning, the Washington State Senate voted twenty-six to twenty-three to reject a proposed constitutional amendment (SJR 8211) to undemocratically require a two-thirds vote for passage of any bill that would raise revenue. The amendment, which itself… (read more)

NPI’s Permanent Defense ready to fight Tim Eyman’s latest assault on Sound Transit, WSDOT

This morning in Olympia, Tim Eyman announced his intention to try to qualify a second initiative for the 2016 ballot that would eviscerate state and local transportation funding by repealing vehicle fees. Northwest Progressive Institute founder and Execut… (read more)

Federal, State, and Local Levels

Coast to Coast Firehose

Northwest Kos

New York Times

  • The Imperfect Immigrants… (Filed 2 years ago) — They were ordinary only in the way of all people who left behind extraordinary circumstances, and of……
  • E Pluribus Me… (Filed 2 years ago) — Ted Cruz and the politics of selfishness.…
  • The Wilderness Next Door… (Filed 2 years ago) — Every region has a Mount St. Helens of its own -- something that does not respond to human will, som……
  • House of Un-Representatives… (Filed 2 years ago) — This Republican House is almost like a parallel government, sitting in for some fantasy nation creat……
  • Good Cops, Bad Cops… (Filed 2 years ago) — The police procedural in Boston shows what can happen when, in contrast to two other well-known case……
  • Finish Line… (Filed 2 years ago) — After such tragedies, there are only fresh starts, albeit with altered perspective.…

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Progressive Thought
  • Designing Better Accountability Mechanis....
    (Center for American Progress) — Identifying lessons from existing global and regional accountability mechanisms is key to designing accountability mechanisms that will effectively deli....
  • Congress Should Confront the Rise of Vio....
    (Center for American Progress) — Congress can fight the growing threat of anti-government militants by taking steps to keep America’s public lands safe, open, and protected for future g....
  • Emerging Fellow Reports for 2015-16
    () — Today, the Roosevelt Network is pleased to announce the launch of the Reports from our Emerging Fellows including: – Eric Wolfert– An Enviro....
  • Increasing Access to Solar in Virginia
    () — In this Report, Emerging Fellow for Energy & Environment Eric Wolfert argues that Solar energy has the potential to solve many of the most pressing ....
  • Refugees’ Right to Work in Host Countrie....
    () — In this Report, Emerging Fellow for Defense & Diplomacy Suprita Datta argues that Refugee regimes today suffer from a lack of opportunity to develop....
  • Catalyzing an Anchored Economy in DC
    () —  In this Report, Roosevelt’s Emerging Fellow for Economic Development Zach Komes argues that African American–owned businesses located in low-inco....
  • Reducing Youth Tobacco Use: Restricting ....
    () — In this Report, Roosevelt’s Emerging Fellow for Health Care Shauna Rust argues that in the 50 years since the landmark Surgeon General’s Report th....
  • Revising Ratios: Providing Government Ac....
    () — In this Report, Roosevelt’s Emerging Fellow for Education Kinjo Kiema argues that state governments should require that every public university wi....
  • Integrating Pretrial Diversion Programs ....
    () —  In this Report, Roosevelt Network’s Emerging Fellow for Equal Justice Andrew Lindsay recommends that Massachusetts pursue expanded community harm....
  • The Recent Prison-Based Gerrymandering V....
    (Demos.org) — Over the weekend, we learned some exciting news in the effort to end prison gerrymandering : a federal judge struck down a Florida county’s districting ....
North of the Border

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