Ryan Haas
@ryanjhaas.bsky.social
Oregon-based investigative journalist. | Co-founder thewesternedge.media Former OPB. Podcast producer, Bundyville, Dying for a Fight, and Hush. www.ryanhaas.net Tell me secrets on Signal: ryanjhaas.01
A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of allegedly starting the Old Trails fires Saturday, Aug. 1, that devastated Spokane. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
Sheriff: Man, 37, arrested on suspicion of setting Old Trails fire
A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly setting the Old Trails fire, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels announced Monday night.
spokesman.com
The front page of this morning’s Spokesman-Review, Aug. 2, 2026, the day after one of the worst wildfires in Washington state history. More than 600 structures, mostly homes, have been lost in the #OldTrailsFire. Read local news.
4 major fires affecting Spokane area today: - Old Trails Fire (largest, most evacs) - Fairview Fire - Autumn Lane Fire / Meadowview Fire For emergency updates: @watchduty.org Local News: - Spokesman Review - @kxly.com (kxly.com) - KREM (krem.com) - KHQ (khq.com) www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
'When the sun rises, we are going to be in shock': Thousands evacuated in north Spokane as wildfire crosses river into city
A wildfire driven by high winds jumped the Spokane River Saturday afternoon and burned into city neighborhoods on the bluffs above the river.
spokesman.com
Washington state lawmakers failed to pass House Bill 2515 earlier this year, which would have required data centers to pay additional utility charges, comply with clean energy requirements, and shut off power at times of peak demand. washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/07/29/w...
With 2030 deadline to cut emissions approaching, WA has a long way to go • Washington State Standard
Washington met its first emissions limit set in 2020, mostly due to the pandemic. The 2030 target will be a much heavier lift.
washingtonstatestandard.com
As a union member, fuck off. "But it also contained items that team officials deemed 'nonstarters' — including a proposed $3 million annual fee to make up for property taxes the Blazers won’t pay, and requirements that the team sign a 'labor peace agreement' paving the way for unionized staff."
OPB@opb.org · 6d agoPortland Trail Blazers officials told city councilors the city needs to do more than just help fund a renovation of the Moda Center if it wants to assure the Blazers’ long-term presence in Oregon.
This issue has long been the bailiwick of Mayor Jennifer Massey, who talks about how she thinks Cannard (formerly Tina Curry) stole money at any opportunity. Here’s a podcast with her and her friends talking all about it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6uC...
FAFODDS E2-Tourism behind the E2C Curtain- Brochures to Bullshit Part 1
YouTube video by FAFODDS Podcast: The Find Out Phase
youtube.com
Cannard planned Halloweentown for years and in the course of doing so, she claims a city staffer instructed her to open a bank account to collect revenue to pay vendors. She also retained profits from events she planned. St Helens had no access to the account, but she provided accounting for it
Last week, the longtime event planner of Halloweentown - Tina Cannard - filed a lawsuit against the City of St Helens, Wauna Credit Union, the current and former chiefs of police, and a city councillor for $2.5 million for breach of contract, and defamation.
Remember back in March when @ryanjhaas.bsky.social and I did a story on St Helens and the drama that started with the police department over Halloweentown? Well, our @thewesternedge.bsky.social story just got more interesting. Gather round: www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-shady-...
The Shady Cop Who Haunts Halloweentown
A porn-texting police chief, a mayor posting through it all and the Oregon town that can’t let go of the 2024 election.
thewesternedge.media
Chatted with former Chumbawamba member Danbert Nobacon about his blunt political music, the continued legacy of "Tubthumping", teaching high school theater, and now residing in a small town in North Central Washington. www.inlander.com/music/after-...
After topping the charts as a member of the British anarcho-punk collective Chumbawamba, Danbert Nobacon has continued fighting the power from small-town Central Washington
There aren’t a lot of televised musical moments as cheekily self-aware as the January 14, 1998, episode of The Tonight Show. After the camera zooms past guests Bob Newhart and
inlander.com
Portland State’s plan calls for $35 million in cuts to academic programs and instructional staff, despite the fact that the university during the last decade doubled its administrative spending per student while enrollment fell 23 percent. www.bizjournals.com/portland/new...
Portland State to cut 2 departments, 36 faculty amid shortfall - Portland Business Journal
Portland State University said it will eliminate two academic departments and 36 full-time positions to address at $35 million budget shortfall.
bizjournals.com
I'm not sure granting anonymity to let the Blazers management have better bargaining positions is really in line with best journalism practices.
The Oregonian@oregonian.com · 2w agoThe team official’s rebuke could be seen as an effort to push city leaders forward on the existing proposal. https://mrf.lu/2TgrB
In this story I published a few months ago, I talk about the squishy definition of terrorism, how no federal agency defines it the same, and how, specifically, Mangione is not being tried as a terrorist. www.hcn.org/issues/58-4/...
What a bombing in Nevada reveals about the nation’s appetite for violence - High Country News
There is no definition of domestic terrorism. And the reason why is complicated.
hcn.org
Ken Klippenstein@kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 3w agoMarco Rubio's speech on political terrorism references Luigi Mangione. "The share of left-wing terrorist attacks and plots has risen to levels not seen in decades ... a healthcare executive executed in cold blood in the streets."
the portland pickles are fucking unhinged and it fucking rules. kings of lents
picklesbaseball.bsky.social@picklesbaseball.bsky.social · 3w agoIT GOT HEATED
Update: Houston's local police are calling BS on the FBI's claims. www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/u...
DA says he doesn’t believe that drugs were found in van involved in Houston ICE shooting, countering FBI suspicion | CNN
Prosecutors in Texas’ Harris County believe the substances collected in the van in which Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston last week were not drugs, the district attor...
cnn.com
From @davidcondos.bsky.social @kuer.org - Trump again shrinks the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah. Reporting from a reporter based in southern Utah.
NPR@npr.org · 3w agoFlanked by Utah’s delegation, Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Speaker Mike Schultz, President Trump again reduced the boundaries and protections of the two monuments. Conservationists and tribal leaders worry it could undo years of work to protect these lands.
An unnamed ICE spokesperson responded to my request and said: "ICE is indeed pursuing all available options to expand bedspace capacity. This process does include partnering with states and local governments, and private sector partners to house detainees at existing facilities."
Dianne Lugo@diannelugo.bsky.social · 4w agoNew: Three federal agencies are being sued by @innovationlawlab.bsky.social over delayed FOIA responses concerning plans for an overnight detention center in Oregon. More details: www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/p...
ICYMI: a new @thewesternedge.bsky.social investigation we put out last week looks into sexual assault in Oregon Buddhist communities. We are 100% fueled by paid subscribers, so if you read this story and want to see more stuff like it, please subscribe! www.thewesternedge.media/p/give-your-...
‘Give Your Mind Over’: Power and Devotion Inside Oregon Buddhist Communities
Women inside some Northwest Buddhist centers say the faith has long struggled to stop predatory behavior by spiritual leaders, and in some cases brushed it aside.
thewesternedge.media
The atmosphere here is incredible, rivaling the Super Bowl parade from just a few months ago. What a year for Seattle and football.
White nationalist group Patriot Front sighted marching in DC.
Josh Chafetz@joshchafetz.bsky.social · last mo.What kind of fascist hellscape is happing on Pennsylvania Ave at the Eastern Market Metro stop? These guys—seemingly all white, all men—have their faces covered, are carrying shields, wearing brown …
"(The Oregon Department of Justice) – the lead advocate and enforcer of Oregon’s sanctuary protections – can only sit on the sidelines when law enforcement partners and fellow government agencies are accused of breaking the law."
Federal agents arrested a man at an Oregon courthouse. Why couldn’t the state investigate?
The Oregon Department of Justice lacks the authority to conduct full-blown investigations into hotline complaints about alleged violations of the state's sanctuary law by local police and public agenc...
oregonlive.com
This is incredibly well told and reported. I think my main takeaway is how much of police work before the advent of DNA was circumstantial at best.
The Wrong Man: The Bestselling Author, the Exoneration and the Rape Crisis the Police Ignored
Five years after Anthony Broadwater was belatedly cleared for the sexual assault of Alice Sebold, the questions of how he came to be wrongly convicted and how one or more serial rapists operated for y...
propublica.org
The latest story from @thewesternedge.bsky.social dives into the very gray space that exists in some spiritual communities, where one man is exalted as near god like and students are encouraged to not ask questions.
‘Give Your Mind Over’: Power and Devotion Inside Oregon Buddhist Communities
Women inside some Northwest Buddhist centers say the faith has long struggled to stop predatory behavior by spiritual leaders, and in some cases brushed it aside.
thewesternedge.media
I would think making this move would effectively choke out most of the Oregon psilocybin businesses and restrict those left to very high paying customers. Perhaps it was inevitable with the way the system was managed from the beginning.
Psilocybin businesses decry OHA's proposed doubling of licensing fees - Portland Business Journal
The costs for service centers would rise to $20,000 from $10,000 under the proposal, which would take effect next year.
bizjournals.com
I do not understand why the default Democratic position on this issue isn’t simply to be opposed to mandatory genital exams for participants in girls sports. Because that intrusive practice is how GOP policy on transgender athletes will be enforced.
Lexi Koren@lexikoren.bsky.social · last mo.We’re currently fighting an initiative in Washington State that has genital exams as part of the enforcement mechanism. www.kuow.org/stories/tran...
My kingdom for a politician who tells a sports parent the hard truth about sports: git gud. (And cry less about trans people existing)
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.Gluesenkamp Perez: "At town halls, what I saw was the people who were the most upset had spent the last 12 years driving their girls to sports practice & they view their best shot of their student going to college as an athletic scholarship. So when we rush to moralize we miss some of the nuance."
My pal @leahsottile.bsky.social is out with an outstanding story this morning. At least two Oregon Buddhist centers are facing serious allegations of sexual abuse by their top teachers. In one case, the guru fled the country when criminal prosecution was raised. Now, he's back and teaching again.
‘Give Your Mind Over’: Power and Devotion Inside Oregon Buddhist Communities
Women inside some Northwest Buddhist centers say the faith has long struggled to stop predatory behavior by spiritual leaders, and in some cases brushed it aside.
thewesternedge.media
