We've reached the "I can leave salad greens on the porch" season!

Decisions, decisions.... Listen to the Supreme Court's IEEPA tariff oral argument *OR* My law school homework?

Good News Update: www.opb.org/article/2025...

My hot take: I think the state of Oregon should backfill the SNAP fund, even though it is the responsibility of the federal government. People need to eat. And Oregon has the money.

LAWSUIT UPDATE RE: NATIONAL GUARD IN PORTLAND: District court just extended both TROs and confirmed that an expedited trial on the merits will start on 10/29. Ninth Circuit has not yet ruled on the first TRO stay motion. Read more about what happened & what's next.

First frost on the Island!

Yesterday was a dirty day in the Coast Range.

It's that* time of year! * Bear's Head, hericium mushroom time

TLDR: Judge Immergut GRANTS a 2nd TRO blocking the Trump admin from sending ANY federalized troops from ANY state into Oregon/Portland. (Full hearing thread below)

I just got to share with the 15yo Jimi Hendrix's performance of the national anthem at Woodstock (because their cello piece sounds just like Hendrix's performance). So good. Both of them.

The most expensive violations were for illegally sending thousands of tons of hazardous waste to landfills not permitted to accept it and for releasing polluted stormwater into a river that's the source of drinking water for a northwest Oregon town of 6,000.

I agree...this essay is important. The effects of bullying, of institutions supporting censorship, and of self-censorship are far-ranging and often unconscious. Your perspectives are important. Your opinions make our community better. And they hold accountable people in power.

I think I just learned part of this in Civil Procedure... Article III, § I says you cannot cut the compensation for sitting federal Judges and Justices. There might be more detail in case law about funding the court operations, but that's all I see in § I.

Sobs What a time to be in law school. www.opb.org/article/2025...

So much lightning So early this morning

A moment of fun! (The climbing trail at Big Creek in Newport, Oregon.)

Important and deeply unsettling reporting from @ximenabustillo.bsky.social and colleagues. If you, too, are troubled, consider supporting Innovation Law Lab. innovationlawlab.org They are on the frontlines of protecting people and our rights. @innovationlawlab.bsky.social

"Immigrants deserve to be treated with dignity. Communities deserve safety from wildfires, and first responders deserve protections from federal immigration officials while they are putting their lives on the line to protect our Pacific Northwest communities." - Congresswoman Andrea Salinas

1. Congress passes the CHIPs Act in 2022, investing $$ for chip makers to build in the US. 2. Intel requests receives $2.2 B to build in the US. 3. The current President bullies Intel's CEO. 4. Intel agrees--clearly under duress--to give US $8.9 B ownership stake. www.opb.org/article/2025...

Firewood for the next *two* years is split and curing. Walnut from limbs trimmed by the county road crew and cherry thinned from our little firewood patch behind the shed.

Terry brings the context for Oregon's longstanding sanctuary law, which at its heart is about not doing the federal government's work for them.

“Our state’s sanctuary law has coexisted with 7 presidential administrations, including the first Trump administration. It has been upheld by a federal court,” [OR AG] Rayfield said in a statement. “It is my job to defend Oregon’s laws in court and that is what I intend to do.”

There are few things as sweet as the first steady west wind that breaks the heat during summer in Oregon. (with thanks to the ocean for that one.)

Diversity of food on the farm these days: late-planted watermelon plants with baby fruit; dry beans just starting to dry down. And carrots for the winter!

The fire hose of chaos and cruelty directed at all Americans gets me feeling powerless. But, here in Oregon, you can do something right now to protect your rights, expand protections for vulnerable people, and give yourself some hope... Get involved in the Equal Rights for All campaign!

This is awful. And it will continue to be awful. Snatching people on their way to work? Awful. Not letting them contact lawyers? Awful. www.opb.org/article/2025...

Good work by @robwdavis.bsky.social

It is amazing how much respite you can get from one day of slightly rainy weather in the middle of a dusty, diesel-y, hot, dry summer

Here's the news. Special session announced.... www.opb.org/article/2025...

States can make it possible to sue ICE agents for violating constitutional rights. So far as I know, only New Jersey has done it, and I’m not sure that law has gotten a good workout yet. It’s unconscionable that a liberal state like Oregon hasn’t joined the fray.

Access to free public media is important for poor Oregonians, rural Oregonians, urban Oregonians. I realize that Republicans in Congress feel the need to be obeisant to the President, but I hope they understand they are hurting people by cutting off access to news. www.opb.org/article/2025...

Actually, Moises needs to be returned to our community by the federal gov't.

This is one good step.

This is absurd and horrific. And it needs to stop.

Join Katie for an awesome book event in Bellingham Aug 3!

From @sifill.bsky.social "If we are to create the conditions that will make the conservative majority...hesitate....We must create an atmosphere of expertise about birthright citizenship, and about the 14th Amendment, and about its significance in our lives." sherrilyn.substack.com/p/facing-thi...

On these endless hot days, super-grateful for irrigation and the Home Orchard.

"When asked if immigration is generally a good thing or bad thing for the country, a record-high 79% of U.S. adults call it a good thing; a record-low 17% see it as a bad thing." - Gallup poll, June 2-26, 1402 Americans news.gallup.com/poll/692522/...

Oh look, transit advocates in Illinois are demanding a special legislative session to fund transit. Anyone in Oregon organizing like this? Where’s the pressure on Kotek to get folks back in the Capitol?

Riding the bus is cool. Riding the train is cool. Making both better for everyone is cool.

The Glacier Peak Wilderness is looking so good. (Standing at Larch Knob high above Spider Meadow.)

Oregon could lose enough renewable energy to power 1 million homes. Sadly, the Big, Ugly Tax Scam does more than strip away health care and SNAP — it'll hike up energy costs, hurt businesses, and take a huge step back in curbing the climate crisis.

"Regardless of what their plan is, the legislature’s shocking abdication of responsibility has sent shockwaves through ODOT and PBOT and unless Governor Kotek can pull a rabbit out of her hat in an emergency session, we’ve got at least a year or two of very choppy waters ahead."

This needs to be fixed. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/07/01/o...

Plants keep growing. Immigrant family, friends, and neighbors are still important.

This is how you do it.

I read Marisa's newsletter first thing this AM. Hats off to The Onion for working with Marisa.

Here's another spotted we visited in the last month, Whitewater Creek Trail. Also on the list of special places...

These are a handful of the special places I've visited just this spring that Congress wants to sell... Water Tower Mtn, Dome Rock, Tumble Ridge, and Cheat Creek.

Check out this map for your special places that Congress wants to sell: www.wilderness.org/articles/med...