Cheers: To baseball in Portland. The Portland Diamond Project, a group that is trying to lure Major League Baseball to the region, has announced preliminary plans for a 30,000-seat stadium. The organization has an “agreement in principle” to purchase a 53-acre site from the Port of Portland for a ballpark along the Willamette River in Northwest Portland.
Much remains to be worked out. The group has not divulged all of its investors, and about $3 billion will be required to purchase the land, build a park, and procure a team. Oh, and there’s no guarantee that a team will be available, either through relocation or expansion of the major leagues. But the announcement marks a tangible step forward in the planning. And it has us envisioning peanuts and Cracker Jack at the old ball game.
Jeers: To the federal government. Federal officials have warned state officials that they might sue to block attempts to protect workers at Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Washington this year passed a law making it easier for workers at the site to receive compensation for illnesses that can be traced to Hanford.
The U.S. Department of Energy operates Hanford, which is considered the nation’s most contaminated Superfund site, and the Department of Justice claims Washington’s action violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In truth, if the feds had not spent decades ignoring the pressing issues at Hanford, the state would not feel compelled to provide protection for workers there.
Cheers: To voters. Results for the Nov. 6 election have been certified, and 71.83 percent of Washington’s registered voters turned in ballots. That marks a sharp increase from the previous midterm election and just misses the state record for the midterms, set in 1970. In Clark County this time around, turnout was 69.51 percent.
The increase reflects increased engagement on the part of voters, and we hope that continues to grow; voting is an essential part of democracy. The fact that nearly 30 percent of registered voters did not participate — and many others declined to register — remains disappointing. Yet it is an improvement, and sometimes you need to cheer the small victories.
Jeers: To a misbegotten tolling plan. Oregon continues to move forward with a proposition that will unfairly target Washington residents. The Oregon Transportation Commission will vote next week on whether to create tolls along Interstate 5 and Interstate 205. Eventually, the proposal would require federal approval, so it’s still a little down the road.
Few details have been sorted out, but there have been suggestions that eventually the tolls will extend to the state line. This would inequitably hit Clark County residents, who provide the vast majority of freeway traffic through North Portland. If tolls are used for improvements on roads where they are collected, we could grit our teeth and accept them. But until Oregon officials demonstrate that is the case, we will continue to jeer this unfair plan.
Cheers: To Jaime Herrera Beutler. Rep. Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, has led the way in trying to overturn a 184-year-old law that prevents distilleries on tribal land. The bill passed the House of Representatives in September and this week passed the Senate. It now goes to President Donald Trump.
The law banning distilleries is a relic from a different time and was brought to Herrera Beutler’s attention by members of the Chehalis Tribe. “It was clear that Congress needed to take action and repeal it in the name of fairness,” Herrera Beutler said. Washington’s Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray supported the legislation in the Senate, and we trust that President Trump will join them in overturning a fundamentally unfair law.
