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lanelmorgan.bsky.social
westerner
@lanelmorgan.bsky.social
400 followers 1.5K following 960 posts
Editor and writer: salish-current.org and historylink.org. Adoption reform. PNW history. Regional news. I also have a blog -- remember those? -- 100 years of family letters: morgancorrespondence.blogspot.com
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Reposted by westerner
nytimes.com
The billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is funneling tens of millions of dollars into tribal higher education, months after the Trump administration sought to cut one of the system’s most essential funding sources.
MacKenzie Scott Expands Giving Spree to Tribal Colleges
The billionaire philanthropist is steering millions of dollars toward tribal schools, after the Trump administration proposed a significant federal funding cut.
nyti.ms
November 20, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Keep local news free and accessible to all. Oh and Stay Current!

Link below!

salish-current.org/donate/
Support Salish Current
With a gift of $120 per year or more, you will receive a weekly newsletter featuring our latest news stories along with curated local stories from other news publications.
salish-current.org
November 19, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by westerner
kjhealy.co
Leaning in to “Let’s just be assholes” ithacavoice.org/2025/11/feds...
Feds tell county to cease naturalization ceremonies - The Ithaca Voice
ITHACA, N.Y. — Tompkins County officials received a directive from federal immigration officials to cease all local naturalization ceremonies. Naturalization ceremonies are typically held throughout t...
ithacavoice.org
November 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
lanelmorgan.bsky.social
Bird's nest fungi with hemlock needles for scale, growing on a chunk of old plywood. They are so tiny. I just read that the spores are spread when raindrops bounce the "eggs" out of the cups. No wonder they are happy here in November. #Fungi Friends
Birds nest fungi: Tiny little tan cups with four little egglike blobs in each, growing on a piece of plywood in the rain.
November 17, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Water recognizes no borders!
By Alexi Guddal
Water recognizes no border
Commentary: Improved water quality requires cross-border neighbors to work together.
salish-current.org
November 13, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by westerner
noncompliantcyborg.bsky.social
It’s baby octopus season 🐙🦑

Saw this little guy last night with the Salish Sea School in Anacortes, WA as part of their free community dock walk I volunteer as an interpreter for.

We can tell it is a giant pacific octopus from the single line of chromatophores on each arm.
Four shots of a baby giant pacific octopus bouncing around
November 15, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by westerner
sporks.bsky.social
ICE looks to WA tribes to house detained immigrants

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
The Nisqually Tribal Council said in a statement Friday evening it learned that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been talking to one of its staff members without consulting the council. The council said it also discovered ICE has been reaching out to other tribal governments and cities in Washington in an attempt to secure detention space. For its part, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, whose reservation lies east of Olympia and which has a 288-bed correctional facility built in part with federal funds, is telling ICE no, according to the council. “The Nisqually people are not in favor of, nor will the tribal council allow, the detention of individuals by ICE on our reservation or in our facilities,” said Tribal Chair E.K. Choke in the statement
November 15, 2025 at 7:09 PM
lanelmorgan.bsky.social
These magnolia seeds are now stratifying in my refrigerator for planting next spring. I've never seen them in the yard before -- guessing that's because we had a fire this summer that displaced our resident squirrels. I learned magnolias are among the very first angiosperms. Dinosaurs ate them. 🌱
Sensuous looking dark-brown, bendy husk containing four vivid orange-red seeds more or less pistachio shaped.
November 13, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by westerner
chrisbaraniuk.com
NEW: I wrote about British churches installing heat pumps, in some cases in 1,000-year-old buildings! Decarbonisation may not be easy, but many view it as an act of faith.

This is a special feature to mark The Reengineer’s first anniversary! Spread the word! 🥳

www.thereengineer.pro/p/let-there-...
Let there be warmth! The British churches putting their faith in heat pumps
Ancient buildings and old bones aren’t getting in the way of decarbonisation
www.thereengineer.pro
November 13, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Fire risk and the struggle to follow through with a plan.
Read the full story by Sam Fletcher at the link below.

salish-current.org/2025/11/07/c...
November 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by westerner
kptrease.bsky.social
Way way back when I worked for a local utility, a much older sewer worker told me this story, and I just assumed he was making it up.
historylink.bsky.social HistoryLink.org @historylink.bsky.social · 11d
#OnThisDay in 1957, a giant sinkhole opened up in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood. historylink.org/File/3138
November 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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marisakabas.bsky.social
wow. WOW.
November 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by westerner
brenttoderian.bsky.social
Have you heard of “The Populist Playbook?”

A few years ago, I posted what I still consider one of my most important messages.

It was about “The Populist Playbook” that I’ve watched play out often over my 33+ years of city planning.

Since then, it’s only gotten worse.

Do the steps sound familiar?
Step 1: deliberately scare people with misinformation and lies about what a proposed policy or plan will do. Step2: wait for misinformed people to complain. Step 3: say that “clearly people are concerned,“ so we should “listen to the people“ and reject the plan. The Populist Playbook Step 4: mainstream media “reports the controversy” rather than the fact it was manufactured, and the amplify the quotes of those who manufactured it.. Step5: other elected leaders who know the truth, still vote against the good plan or policy, because they’re too afraid of the “heat.“
November 8, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Asked about any existing models of long-term farm health that she takes inspiration from, Anna Martin thought for a moment, then grew serious: “I think more about where I don’t want my life to go.”

Read the full story by Hannah Swartos at the link below.

salish-current.org/2025/11/06/a...
Addressing the physical toll of farming
Local farmers plan for a healthy future
salish-current.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
From Nov. 7 to 9, Downtown Bellingham will host the first-ever Salish Sea Poetry Festival, a three-day celebration of verse in all its forms. 

salish-current.org/2025/11/03/p...
Poetry enters everyday spaces with festival
The first Salish Sea Poetry Festival opens tomorrow across Downtown Bellingham, with readings, food, visual arts and even improv.
salish-current.org
November 3, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
With the help of their community and a language app developer, two Indigenous teachers have brought Swinomish Lushootseed classes to the palms of people’s hands.

Read the full story by Luisa Loi at the link below.
salish-current.org/2025/10/29/i...
Indigenous teachers help keep ancestors’ language alive
With the help of their community and a language app developer, two Indigenous teachers have brought Swinomish Lushootseed classes to the palms of people’s hands.
salish-current.org
October 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Recovery: the trumpeter swan’s story.
Read the full story from our Artist’s Corner by Tony Angell at the link below.
salish-current.org/2025/10/21/r...
Recovery: the trumpeter swan's story
Recovery has been the work of conservation organizations, tribes, and county officials, all of whom have supported action and programs that support the natural diversity of this region.
salish-current.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Broadband access is improving across Northwest Washington — but many rural residents are still waiting for affordable, reliable connections.

Read more about who’s still offline and what’s being done to bridge the gap at the link below.

salish-current.org/2025/10/23/b...
Broadband access in Northwest Washington improving — but gaps remain
Internet options are limited and expensive for those living in "the last mile."
salish-current.org
October 23, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by westerner
meadekrosby.bsky.social
I was today years old when I learned some sea anemones can detach themselves and swim away to escape predators - and it's both adorable and terribly impressive for a creature with no brain or centralized nervous system.
Swimming anemone
YouTube video by waymire5
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:56 AM
lanelmorgan.bsky.social
Any old China hands here? My story on Col. Wilbur Peterkin, member of the "Dixie Mission" to report on/build relationships with Mao and co. in 1944-'45, just went up
www.historylink.org/File/23399

In civilian life, he was a teacher, band leader, and principal at Sumner High School, my alma mater.
Peterkin, Colonel Wilbur (1904-1996)
Col. Wilbur James "Pete" Peterkin was born in 1904 in Clinton, Iowa, and died in 1996 in Sumner. In between he spent a historically notable and personally eventful two years in China during World War
www.historylink.org
October 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by westerner
salish-current.org
Cars end up in the water, the most recent at False Bay on San Juan Island.
Read the full Community Voices article at the link below.
salish-current.org/2025/10/15/i...
It isn't always a boat
Commentary: Cars end up in the water, the most recent at False Bay on San Juan Island.
salish-current.org
October 16, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by westerner
jamespmanley.bsky.social
Wow
wychstreet.bsky.social Justin Sherin @wychstreet.bsky.social · Oct 10
When Cash had his TV show (which he quit rather than letting ABC tell him who to book) he’d constantly look like he was counting his blessings. Watch him with Louis Armstrong, he can’t believe he gets to do this - youtu.be/0nfrLIKMSI0?...
Louis Armstrong & Johnny Cash - Standing On The Corner (Blue Yodel #9) (The Johnny Cash Show 1970)
YouTube video by Kubila
youtu.be
October 11, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by westerner
sethcotlar.bsky.social
In case you’re wondering how grassroots Republican activists in Oregon are metabolizing what’s happening in the state. This person is a coordinator for two long running conservative organizations in the state: The Gathering of the Eagles and the Abigail Adams project.
Oregon Republican League ... X Bleiler Donna • 7h • G Trump is preparing to go after Antifa, waiting for them to make a move. Antifa is preparing for riots in major cities. Since Portland is their headquarters, it seems essential that the National Guard would be in Oregon. Governor Kotek is in panic mode releasing news every day on her opposition. Portland Police are working with Antifa to criminalize federal agents. "Out in Oregon, the Governor, the mayor and police are all part of Antifa." Shan Davis explains, "Once you understand that Portland police is Antifa, everything else it does and refuses to do suddenly makes sense." If they are part of Antifa, they are part of the insurrection. Antifa has been hired to create a civil war. Kotek has been telling people to stay calm, all the while she is still promoting Antifa to start a civil war. [https://rumble.com/embed/v6xoc3g/? pub=50601&start=2506](https://rumble.com/embed/ v6xoc3g/?pub=50601&start=2506) 2X22 Report Political • Geopolitical rumble.com Ep 3745b - [DS] Pushing A Hybrid War, Trump Is Using The Shutdown To Defund The [DS], Timing,... 115 16 comments 25 shares
October 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
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rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
Heed these words:

“As crimes pile up, they become invisible.”
- Bertolt Brecht -
djrothkopf.bsky.social David Rothkopf @djrothkopf.bsky.social · Oct 4
The words “terror networks” here are ominous as they can be used to implicate, intimidate and punish very nearly anyone whose views, donations, charitable work, political work, etc are defined by them as supporting those they oppose.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · Oct 4
Stephen Miller again lashes out at the judiciary, suggesting federal judges are aiding and abetting domestic terrorism:
October 5, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by westerner
audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
Kavanaugh recently suggested immigration stops are no big deal if you're a legal resident bc ICE just promptly releases you

That is not, in fact, what ICE does

He invents a fiction bc the reality of the policies he supports is too disturbing for him to imagine

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/brett...
Brett Kavanaugh’s Racial Profiling Opinion Is Looking Sillier By the Day
Kavanaugh said that immigration agents “promptly” release people after determining that they are legal U.S. residents. They don’t.
ballsandstrikes.org
October 2, 2025 at 10:46 PM