||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE |||
Inslee affirms support of high-speed rail corridor with Oregon & B.C.
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee joined leaders from British Columbia and Oregon to announce partnerships to promote business expansion, collaboration and sustainability.
As part of the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference, Inslee along with Gov. Kate Brown and Premier John Horgan, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish ultra-high-speed transportation as a priority in the region.
“The Cascadia Innovation Corridor reflects our shared belief that regional challenges and opportunities require regional solutions. We know that exchanging ideas and entrepreneurship across borders will build our economies and improve our quality of life in Washington state, British Columbia, and Oregon,” Inslee said. “We intend to do just that with the memorandum of understanding that we signed earlier today. We will coordinate with our partners on pursuing federal funding for high-speed rail and engage communities throughout our region.”
Inslee tours flood impacts in Whatcom County, pledges to seek federal aid
Gov. Jay Inslee met with local leaders, first responders, and families in Whatcom County Wednesday to view impacts from extreme flooding in the area.
This week Washington state has had at least 12 rivers flooding throughout the state, most heavily affecting counties in the northwest and southwest Washington, including Whatcom County. The most impacted communities in Whatcom County are Everson, Nooksack, and Sumas.
“The damage is significant.” Inslee said during a media availability. “We talked to families who recognize this community has been hit by the strong currents of the Nooksack River, but they have been saved by the strong currents of community strength we have seen from this community.”
See more on the governor’s Twitter page.
Inslee provides updates at weekly presser, honors retiring journalist
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Gov. Jay Inslee provided updates on the flooding around the state, debriefed the media on his trip to COP26 in Glasgow, and gave an update on COVID-19 pandemic response.
The governor also addressed the OSHA rule regarding vaccine mandates.
“Assuming the federal rule stands, I want to make clear, our intention is to retain OSHA’s 100-employee threshold and the option for testing-in-lieu-of vaccination; except where changes are necessary to align with state law. These new standards are coming, and employers and workers should prepare,” Inslee said.
Inslee also named longtime KIRO 7 reporter Essex Porter as Washingtonian of the Day. Porter is retiring from the station after 39 years of distinguished work.
“I have always been impressed by Essex’s professionalism, thoughtfulness and commitment to accuracy for his viewers. Essex is Washingtonian of the Day,” Inslee tweeted.
While I applaud the regional cooperation of this memorandum of understanding and even see it as a baby step towards a non-nationalistic Cascadia, I question the wisdom of a “high-speed” rail corridor. I suggest that instead of shipping a few humans back and forth between the three major cities in the region at “high-speed”, which you know means HIGH expense and few, if any, stops along the way, that instead the money be spent on an extensive SLOW RAIL system.
I realize that this runs counter to the modern day myth of ‘faster is always better’. I contend that for the cost of two high speed lines, which by definition won’t be stopping in Mt. Vernon or any other points in between Vancouver, Bellingham, Seattle and Portland, we could have an extensive SLOW RAIL system that connects communities with many, small, 50 mph trains that have proven to be cost effective at transporting people and goods since the Victorian era. More critically even is that SLOW IS EFFICIENT. And slow is resilient. Slow is less dangerous if anything goes wrong. Slow is more humane. A regional rail network similar in extent to that of the late 19th century in Britain could be largely powered by electric locomotives on affordable, easily repaired tracks. And sure, have a direct run between the major cities for those who think they have to be there quickly, but really, wouldn’t it be even faster to develop holographic ‘zoom’ systems for those oh-so-important face-to-face business meetings?
The KEY word for a livable future is DECENTRALIZED. A high-speed rail corridor will be an expensive toy that benefits only the uber-wealthy business interests of the urban centers, while ignoring the actual needs of all the rest of us and most importantly, misses an opportunity to begin a truly 21st century, ecologically sane transportation system for ALL the members of the Cascadia Cooperative Region.
Ken, excellent comments, thanks!
Newer and faster not always better. The digital zoom corridor may have put light rail on a side-spur.