http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/kevin-klinkenberg/21610/do-you-really-believe
Because of the scale of towns and cities in Skagit, we are in a better position to choose smaller scale development over large suburban sprawl.  And we have done that and reflected those values in the Comprehensive Plan, countywide policies and codes.  Now can we keep it that way?
Ellen

Want to know what is up in the Transportation Planning Department?

Here is a link to the audio from the last TPB meeting, and meetings going back to January: http://scog.net/boards-committees/mportpo/mpo-rtpo-materials/
 
Take care,
Mark Hamilton, AICP
Transportation Planner
Skagit Council of Governments
204 West Montgomery Street
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
 
markh@scog.net
(360) 416-7876

Shell loses appeal of oil train project in Skagit County 
Skagit County Superior Court agrees that environmental and public health risks of dangerous oil rail project should be assessed 

Mount Vernon, WA – Today, Skagit County Superior Court dismissed Shell Oil Refinery’s appeal of a decision that required an environmental impact statement for their proposed oil-by-rail expansion. This decision follows the Skagit County Hearing Examiner’s February 2015 ruling that Shell’s proposed project posed a significant risk of harm to people, water and wildlife.
“It’s time to stop suing each other and get down to work,” said Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice. “The community deserves an honest conversation about this project and the court has said we are entitled to one.”
The proposed expansion would route six more mile-long oil trains per week through Washington, adding at least one hour a day of more traffic in Skagit County. Increased oil train traffic already puts Puget Sound, Padilla Bay, the Skagit River and communities at risk. More oil spilled from trains in 2014 than in the last four decades combined.
“This is a victory for Skagitonians,” said Tom Glade of Evergreen Islands. “They refused to let this project move forward without a full review of the impacts. And now, we will get one.”
In Skagit County, the oil trains pass right through the downtowns of Burlington and Mount Vernon. The oil trains also cross the old Burlington/Mount Vernon bridge spanning the Skagit River immediately above the Anacortes Water Treatment Plant and the old swing bridge spanning the Swinomish Channel directly adjacent to the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. 
This decision comes as Shell faces increasing public resistance to their plan to harbor their Arctic drilling rigs in the Port of Seattle. 

“The oil industry needs to realize that Northwesterners value our health and environment more than their expansion plans,” said Rebecca Ponzio of Washington Environmental Council and the Stand Up to Oil Campaign. “We’re not just going to let them risk our health, water, and safety. We are pushing back hard. And I think that’s starting to get through.”

RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, Friends of the San Juans, ForestEthics, Washington Environmental Council, Friends of the Earth, and Evergreen Islands filed the Shell appeal, represented by Kristen Boyles and Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice.


~Carolyn Gastellum
 

Surge Festival Call for Artists
Deadline for proposals through online application - July 1
Museum of Northwest Art
 In partnership with the Skagit Climate Science Consortium and the Skagit Watershed Council, MoNA will launch an event to draw attention to climate change and its impact on the Northwest’s coastal communities. The Surge Festival will engage artists to work with environmental researchers and educators to present the public with new perspectives on issues such as flooding and storm surge through participatory art activities. The festival is scheduled for the weekend of September 26-27, 2015 at MoNA.  

Call for Artists
MoNA announces a call to artists to participate through the creation of a project to be exhibited at MoNA. Artists may propose projects with scientists on the website or with others. Projects should focus on the geographic area of the Pacific Northwest. There is no fee to apply. more

Timeline
July 1                     Artists submit brief project proposal
July 15                   Project proposals accepted
August 15              Updated project description and photos due for marketing
September 11        Projects completed
September 25        Projects installed at MoNA
September 26-27   Festival 
September 28        De-installation

To apply of find out more information go to the MoNA website.

Chuckanut Transition Tent at the Bow Little Market Garden Swap & Sale - What a beautiful day!  Sun was out, and our community was shining.  Many flowers, herbs, vegetable starts, seed, fruiting and flowering shrubs were swapped, sold and given away.  If community is our garden, then we definitely propagated and nurtured many fruitful connections, and it looks like we'll have another bumper crop this year!  Cheers to building resilient community and learning to live more cooperatively with one another and our natural world.  Thanks to the hard working Bow Little Market volunteer crew for hosting another great Swap & Sale.  Thank you to the Alger Community Hall for hosting us.  Thank you to Sue Mitchell of Friday Creek Habitat Stewards and Kristi Carpenter of Skagit Conservation District for giving away plants and sharing information on conservation, native plants and backyard habitat.  Thank you to Chuck Nafziger and Jill Backus for putting together all the beautiful pictures and information on early spring pollinators.

Happy Gardening,
Sarai Stevens