Washington

Ban foreign entities from buying Washington forest and farmland, lawmaker urges

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2023

Ban foreign entities from buying Washington forest and farmland, lawmaker urges

Legislators in Washington state are becoming a member of greater than a dozen different states which are contemplating whether or not to limit or ban international entities from shopping for farmland. The preliminary listening to on Olympia’s model of the international possession restrictions drew extra criticism than help on Tuesday, nevertheless.

The invoice sponsor, state Rep. Clyde Shavers (D-Oak Harbor), represents a part of the fertile Skagit Valley. He asserted that international possession of agricultural land threatens water provides and the state’s meals safety.

“Shopping for and investing in water rights leaves a pathway for international entities to step by step deplete native water provides from our native farmers,” Shavers advised the state Home Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee as he offered his proposal.

As drafted, the laws would bar international firms, governments and foreign-controlled American subsidiaries from buying land in Washington used for farming, ranching or timber manufacturing. Starting in 2024, the state Division of Agriculture must overview each transaction involving business timber or farm land to verify the client was authorized earlier than property might change arms. Present international possession of land wouldn’t be affected.

Conversations with farmers within the Skagit Valley, seen right here from Samish Overlook, impressed a Democratic state legislator to suggest to bar international entities from shopping for Washington croplands.

Tom Banse / NW Information Community

Everybody who got here to the mic after Shavers on the legislative committee listening to poured chilly water on the proposal. A lobbyist for personal timberland homeowners, Tom Davis of the Washington Forest Safety Affiliation, questioned the broad sweep of the restrictions and whether or not it addressed an actual drawback.

“I do know that lots of people are involved about China proudly owning ag lands in the USA,” Davis stated, earlier than noting that Canadians had been truly by far the highest international buyers in rural American counties, adopted by a gaggle of European entities from Italy, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Germany.

Chinese language firms or people held an curiosity in lower than 1% of U.S. cropland, pasture land and forest land, in keeping with USDA figures Davis cited that had been present as of late 2021. The USDA reported that about 7% of agricultural land in Washington was foreign-held general, which ranked the Evergreen State third highest behind Maine and Hawaii when judged by share. Oregon ranked ninth (4.8%) and Idaho sits close to the underside with negligible international possession of personal ag lands.

“I ask that you simply have a look at this extra rigorously,” Davis stated. “The underside line, should not the consideration of limitations on land possession be directed at these international nations that we imagine to be hostile to the U.S., and to not the Netherlands, to the UK and Germany.”

Diana Carlen, a lobbyist for the meals processors commerce group Meals Northwest, additionally weighed in with criticism. She predicted that passage of international possession restrictions would wreak havoc within the manufacturing sector as a result of the area’s main meals processors generally personal cropland to be used in recycling wastewater. A few of these firms are foreign-held.

“Underneath this invoice, these members wouldn’t be capable to construct new vegetation on this state, jeopardizing the long-term viability of those operations — or increase their present ones,” Carlen stated.

Final yr, the California Legislature unanimously handed a invoice to bar international governments from buying or leasing agricultural lands, however Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it as a result of he stated it could create “new and arduous obligations” for the state agriculture division. In January, a state senator from California’s Central Valley reintroduced the proposal. Not less than 13 different states have restricted gross sales of land to international buyers by various levels, in keeping with USDA.

It’s unclear how a lot help Shavers has within the Washington Legislature to advance his proposed ban on farmland purchases by international entities. The invoice is scheduled for an preliminary vote on Friday. A number of lawmakers on Tuesday hinted the committee would at a minimal considerably slender the scope of the proposal.

Shavers stated in an interview that there wasn’t any explicit incident or land sale that prompted him to introduce the laws. He stated he was impressed to behave after the subject got here up repeatedly in conversations with farmers and environmentalists throughout his fall marketing campaign and extra just lately.

The rising pressure with China and broader suspicion of international farmland purchases has additionally drawn the eye of Congress. Earlier this month, Central Washington GOP Congressman Dan Newhouse reintroduced a invoice to ban the acquisition of crop and ranch lands by any entity related to the federal government of China. Fellow Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane rapidly signed on as a co-sponsor.

“After I communicate to the farmers and landowners in Central Washington, they’re deeply involved about our international adversaries buying American farmland,” Newhouse wrote in an op-ed final week. “This poses a direct risk to our meals provide chains and nationwide safety, and we should take a defensive stance towards their encroachment of our land.”

Chinese language Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu stated in response to a associated invoice introduction that financial commerce and funding shouldn’t be politicized.

“We hope that the U.S. will present a good, simply and non-discriminatory setting for international companies, together with Chinese language firms, to speculate and function within the U.S.,” he advised the Wall Avenue Journal. “Enjoying the China card and sensationalizing the ‘China risk’ is irresponsible and harms the U.S.’ personal pursuits as effectively.”

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Washington

Crews fighting fire at scrap yard in Washington County

Published

7 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Crews fighting fire at scrap yard in Washington County

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ohio (WTAP) – First responders are on the scene of a fire at a scrap yard in Washington County.

Not much information is known at this time, but what we do know is the fire is at Guernsey Scrap Recycling.

According to the Reno Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Jon Bradford, departments from Reno, Williamstown, Devola, Salem, Little Muskingum, and Marietta are on the scene. All of those departments are shuttling water to the scene.

Scrap yard fire(none)

The fire is contained in one area of the facility. Reno VFD is using the MOV Drone Works drone to help fight the fire. The owner of the scrap yard is in a crane helping to move items to assist firefighters.

It is not known what started the fire. And Chief Bradford says nobody was injured, and nobody is at risk.

WTAP has a reporter on the scene and will have more information as it becomes available.

See an error in our reporting? Send us an email by clicking here!

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Washington

Jayden Daniels Will Keep Commanders Competitive vs. Lions

Published

15 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Jayden Daniels Will Keep Commanders Competitive vs. Lions

The Washington Commanders have made many changes to go from a four-win team to three wins away from winning the Super Bowl, but none have been more impactful than drafting quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick.

Daniels may be a rookie, but he plays like an established veteran. That’s why Bleacher Report writer Maurice Moton believes that the Commanders will be competitive this weekend against the 15-2 Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.

“The Commanders slowed down the Buccaneers’ third-ranked offense in a road victory last week, and Daniels helped position them to kick the game-winning field,” Moton writes.

“Head coach Dan Quinn and coordinator Joe Whitt have molded the team’s defense into a respectable unit throughout the season. In clutch moments, Daniels is far beyond his years.

“Washington won’t shut down the Lions offense, but along with Daniels, it can do enough to keep the score margin in the single digits.”

The Commanders are still underdogs since the Lions have arguably been the best team in the NFL this season, but Daniels won’t allow Washington to fold. He hasn’t done so yet, so there’s no reason why it would happen now.

Kickoff between the Commanders and Lions is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

• Commanders Preparing for Lions OC Ben Johnson Who Will ‘Test Your Discipline’

• Dan Quinn Details Commanders Rookie’s Performance in Playoff Game, He Was Impressed

• What Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown Said About Commanders WR, It’s Come Full Circle

• Analyst Predicts Commanders Upset vs. Lions

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Washington

George Washington stays unbeaten with 68-41 victory at Capital – WV MetroNews

Published

23 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

George Washington stays unbeaten with 68-41 victory at Capital – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Capital team short on experience and playing for the first time since New Year’s Eve faced quite a challenge Thursday night as it welcomed one of the state’s most polished teams in nearby rival George Washington.

The Patriots showed no sign of letting a nearby rival hang around and continued their stellar start to the season by never trailing in a resounding 68-41 victory.

“Shooting takes pressure off how we have to defend, but our defense has been the key to everything we’ve done to this point,” veteran GW head coach Rick Greene said.

The result prolongs GW’s unbeaten start to the season through at least its first eight games.

This one was never in doubt as the Patriots’ combination of efficient offense and lockdown defense left the Cougars playing catch-up throughout.

GW’s Chuck Kelley accounted for the game’s first two field goals and scored his team’s first six points, before Gale Lamb got in on the action and went on a personal 7-0 run that upped the Patriot lead to 14-4.

David Robinson, who led Capital with 17 points, scored five in the opening frame to keep his team within striking distance as it faced a 14-7 deficit entering the second.

After Capital’s Grant Barclay provided a bucket to start the second quarter, it was all GW the remainder of the opening half.

Lamb hit a pair of three-pointers around a Kelley transition layup, forcing the Cougars to call timeout 5:05 before halftime as they trailed 22-9.

At that point, Lamb was 5 for 5 with 14 points.

“He didn’t take a shot he couldn’t hit,” Greene said. “He is a really good shooter and he’s shooting with a lot of confidence. The kids want him to shoot the ball, so if you’re a shooter and you know your teammates want you to shoot it, it gives you that little bit of freedom and relaxation.”

Out of the break in the action, GW’s Noah Lewis scored inside twice, with teammate Sai’Vyon Brown knocking down a three in between. It was 29-9 at that point, and Kelley accounted for the final points of the half on a follow-up basket to send the visitors to the locker room with a commanding 33-11 advantage.

While Lamb and Kelley were both 5 for 5 with 24 combined points through two quarters, the Cougars were shooting 5 for 16 and being out-rebounded, 15-5.

“The guys coming off the bench are trying to match the defensive intensity of the first five, and that’s making us really good,” Greene said.

Kelley picked up where he left off to start the second half, scoring five points over the first 1:03.

Capital (2-4) upped the pace itself and Trevaun Tyson was the main beneficiary, scoring all nine of his points in the third quarter.

The Cougars doubled the first-half field goal total in the third period alone, making 10-of-15 shots to keep pace with the Patriots for that 8-minute stretch.

“It was a nice conversation at halftime,” Capital head coach Cookie Miller said. “We got them going a little bit and we have to come out like that at the beginning. It was a rough 18 days, but that’s not excuse. We had great practices for us to give that showing, but at the end of the day, hats off to them for knowing their plays and getting into things. They’ve been together for a long time.”

Unfortunately for Miller’s team, Lamb maintained his efficient play and scored nine points in the frame to spark GW’s 22-point quarter.

That allowed the Patriots to lead 55-32 entering the fourth, and they cruised from there.

GW made 25-of-44 shots to shoot better than 56 percent. Lamb led all players with 24 points and made 7-of-8 shots. Kelley was also 7 for 8 and scored 15.

Noah Lewis chipped in with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Jeff Harris added five points and eight boards. That duo was instrumental in allowing GW to finish with a convincing 36-16 rebounding edge.

Tyson had half of his team’s boards.

The Cougars made 18-of-45 shots, but only one three-pointer to the Patriots’ five.

“Those guys have been together for a long time. Kudos to them,” Miller said. “Greene has them moving and doing what they’re supposed to doing. We’re trying to get on their level and soon we will be on their level.”

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