Family of armed Malhuer occupier files wrongful death lawsuit by H. Pike Oliver

Lavoy Finicum participated in an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, OR, that took place during January and February of 2016. Mr. Finicum was shot to death on January 26, 2016, when he tried to drive past a roadblock on U.S Highway 395 and crashed into a snowbank. Upon exiting the vehicle, law enforcement officers said Finicum appeared to be reaching for a weapon and shot him. The officers found a 9-millimeter pistol in his pocket. 

As reported in an article by Sean Hart posted on January 29, 2018, by the Blue Mountain Eagle, a newspaper based in John Day, OR, the family of Lavoy Finicum has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government, the State of Oregon and local governments. The complaint claims Mr. Finicum was shot "assassination style'' by the Oregon State Police and/or FBI as he was trying to drive "across the county border'' to seek the protection of  Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer on Jan. 26, 2016. And, oddly, as reported in Mr. Hart's article, " .  .  . The suit compares Finicum’s shooting in Harney County to a defector who was shot by North Korean officials in November as he crossed the demilitarized zone into South Korea, stating '... in the American psyche, the idea of being shot in the back by your own government for trying to cross a border — is unthinkable'.”

The lawsuit identifies Mr. Finicum’s widow, Jeanette, their 12 children and the estate of LaVoy Finicum as plaintiffs and seeks at least $5 million for each from a collection of defendants: the United States of America, FBI, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), BLM employee Daniel Love, BLM law enforcement director Salvatore Lauro, former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the refuge occupation Greg Bretzing, FBI agent Joseph Astarita, the state of Oregon, Oregon State Police, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, Harney County, Harney County Sheriff David Ward, former Harney County Judge Steve Grasty, the Center for Biological Diversity and “John Does 1-100” — described as other unknown federal and state employees — according to the complaint.

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Reinforcing urban innovation in Cascadia by H. Pike Oliver

Jonathan Fink, a geographer affiliated with Portland State University and the University of British Columbia has posted an article entitled "Cascadia Showcases How a Coordinated Corridor Strategy Can Reinforce Urban Innovation", at the Meeting of the Minds blog. The article describes efforts to share innovation in managing urban growth, transportation and climate change amongst across three metropolitan areas of Cascadia--two n the northwest of the USA (Portland, OR and Seattle, WA) and one in the southwest corner of Canada (Vancouver, BC). It will be interesting to see if anything significant results from this effort to share innovation.

Map of Cascadia showing three main metros (Citynoise, 2006).

Map of Cascadia showing three main metros (Citynoise, 2006).

Out in front landscape leading by H. Pike Oliver

On January 22, 2018, I came across an exhibit on display in Gould Court, the ground floor of Gould Hall, which is the building that houses the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. The exhibit offers a reprise of recent work by landscape architects who work out of offices based in Seattle and nearby cities of the Pacific Northwest.

The following are selected images from the exhibit emphasizing recent landscape design work in the Seattle area.

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Innovative construction in Seattle by H. Pike Oliver

Articles in Architects Newspaper call attention to two stuctures in Seattle. One is a recently completed mid-rise science building on the University of Washington campus. The other is a tall (58-story) mixed-use structure soon to be built in downtown Seattle on land owned by the university.

The structure on campus is the 90,000 square foot Nano Engineering and Sciences Building designed by Seattle office of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects (ZGF.) The innovative aspect of this building is custom-engineered products from Wausau Window and Wall Systems as described in this article.

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The downtown structure designed by NBBJ is a complicated mixed-use building that will rise to a height of 850 feet. It will feature a steel plate system in lieu of a traditional concrete-and-rebar core as described in this article. The structural engineer is Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) and the developer is Wright Runstad & Company.

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Demand for quality income properties remains strong in Seattle by H. Pike Oliver

The demand for newly developed real estate assets in good Seattle locations remains strong. The sale of an apartment building on Seattle’s First Hill Illustrates the strength of the market. The recently completed property called Zig is located near hospitals and Seattle University offers an example of the premium that investors are willing to pay for a new high-quality income property.

The 117,000 sure foot structure houses 170 residential units and some retail space. As reported by Marc Stiles in the Puget Sound Business Journal, the price was 60% greater than the development cost. The building sold for $68.5 million—or $585 per square foot. A Loopnet listing of the commercial space contains additional property details.

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Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation two years later by H. Pike Oliver

An armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Reserve in the southeastern portion of the State of Oregon in the USA took place between January 2, 2016, and February 11, 2016. I became fascinated with this test of governmental authority over public lands and followed the occupation and the aftermath as reflected in prior postings on this blog, which include:

MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE OCCUPATION /FEBRUARY 12, 2016

A LINGERING EFFECT OF THE MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE OCCUPATION /OCTOBER 18, 2016

PERSPECTIVE ON THE MALHEUR WILDLIFE PRESERVE OCCUPATION COURT "VICTORY" /NOVEMBER 9, 2016

ARMED MALHEUR WILDLIFE PRESERVE OCCUPIERS MADE FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT HISTORY /NOVEMBER 13, 2016

MALHEUR OCCUPIER RECEIVES A PRISON SENTENCE /NOVEMBER 17, 2017

MALHEUR OCCUPATION REFLECTED AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF GOVERNMENT LAND MANAGEMENT /NOVEMBER 23, 2017

ANOTHER MALHEUR OCCUPIER GOES TO PRISON /NOVEMBER 23, 2017

On January 18, 2017, an article by Jennifer Percy appeared in the online version of the New York Times Magazine, entitled "Fear of the Federal Government in the Ranchlands of Oregon" This article offers extensive background and perspective on the mindset of folks in this part of the American West. Ms. Percy concludes that two years after the standoff at the Malheur Refuge, many people in the region remain convinced that their way of life is being trampled.

The slag of Anaconda by H. Pike Oliver

My interest in the small town of Anaconda, Montana is somewhat personal. In 1911, two years before my father was born, my mining engineer grandfather moved his family to Anaconda. He went to work at the copper smelter, which was the economic engine of the community. My grandfather relocated to San Francisco in the mid 1930s when the demand for copper declined during the Great Depression.

Copper smelting revived during the 1940s to meet the demands of war production. And the dominance of US industry during postwar decades kept the big copper smelter going through the 1970s. In 1977, the Anaconda Copper Company, sold the smelter and other assets to the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). And just three years later, ARCO abruptly shut the smelter that had been in operation since 1905. The closure immediately put 25% of the town's population out of work. And since then, the community has struggled with a massive economic decline as well as a copper smelting legacy--a huge environmentally contaminated slag pile (see photo below.) 

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More recently, Zachariah Bryan wrote about Anaconda in an article posed at the High Country News website on January 18, 2018, Mr. Brayan reviews in some detail how Anaconda has tried to restore its economy and mitigate the slag pile during the nearly four decades that have passed since the copper smelter closed. It is not a pretty story. 

Jonathan Rose Companies sells "environmental" buildings in Seattle by H. Pike Oliver

As reported by Marc Stiles in the Puget Sound Business Journal on January 18, 2018, the Jonathan Rose Companies sold the adjacent Joseph Vance and Stirling buildings in downtown Seattle on Third Avenue between Pike Street and Union Street. The Following acquisition in 2006, the Rose firm, which advocates environmental sustainability and social responsibility, restored the Vance building. The $3.5 million of retrofits included enhancements to operable windows--a rare feature in a downtown high-rise building. Numerous environmental oriented organizations were attracted to the building, including the Washington Environmental Council, Climate Solutions and Progress Alliance of Washington. It looks like the Rose firm also did reasonably well by doing well as the buildings sold for 87 percent more than the purchase price.

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State Farm leaving Tacoma, WA by H. Pike Oliver

Marc Stiles of the Puget Sound Business Journal reports that at the end of 2018, State Farm is shutting is call center in downtown Tacoma, 33 miles south of downtown Seattle. 

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It was only a little more than four years ago that State Farm came to Tacoma in the fourth quarter of 2013 to occupy two buildings that Russell Investments had vacated when that firm relocated to downtown Seattle.

The bad news is that Tacoma will lose about 1,400 jobs. The possible good news is that the office space is high quality and could attract firms that offer higher wage jobs than the relatively low-paid positions at the call center.

Geometria del espacio by H. Pike Oliver

In the exhibit Geometria del Espacio (Geometey of Space) at the San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts, Alejandro Laviado (b. 1980 in Mexico City), uses montage and multiple exposure techniques to create spatial compositions without digital manipulation. 

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Magenta (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper

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Blue, Yellow Intersection (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper

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Purple, Orange, Yellow Circles (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper

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Triangle Variations (2014) - inkjet on cotton papery

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Spatial Triangles (2014) - inkjet on cotton paper

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Red, Yellow Composition (2014)  - inkjet on cotton paper

Metropolis II at LACMA by H. Pike Oliver

Chris Burden (1946 - 2015) created Metropolis II in 2010. This intense kinetic sculpture is on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art complex on the first floor of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. A video of this fascinating installation is available here and you may learn more about it here

Christian images from LACMA by H. Pike Oliver

Here are several images of 20th century Christian religious art seen on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art during a visit on December 26, 2017.

Head of Christ (1932 -38 - oil on panel) by George Rouault (1871 - 1958) of France

Head of Christ (1932 -38 - oil on panel) by George Rouault (1871 - 1958) of France

Christ (1918) by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976)

Christ (1918) by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976)

Christ and the Flight into Egypt (c. 1917) by Arthur Segal (1917)

Christ and the Flight into Egypt (c. 1917) by Arthur Segal (1917)

Temptation of St. Anthony (1946) by Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) of Spain

Temptation of St. Anthony (1946) by Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) of Spain

More from LACMA by H. Pike Oliver

Here are some more images from a visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on December 26, 2017.

 

Triangle with Clouds (1929 - gouache on paper) by French artist Fernand Léger (1881 - 1955)

Triangle with Clouds (1929 - gouache on paper) by French artist Fernand Léger (1881 - 1955)

Gemini (1962 - acrylic on canvas) by Morris Louis (1912 -1962) from the United States

Gemini (1962 - acrylic on canvas) by Morris Louis (1912 -1962) from the United States

Composition in White, Red, and Yellow (1938) by Piet Mondrian ( 1872 - 1944) of France and the USA

Composition in White, Red, and Yellow (1938) by Piet Mondrian ( 1872 - 1944) of France and the USA

2017-12-26  Photo 15  Red-Blue Chair (designed in 1918 and manufactured in 1950) designed by Gerrit Rietveld (1888 - 1964) of the Netherlands

2017-12-26  Photo 15  Red-Blue Chair (designed in 1918 and manufactured in 1950) designed by Gerrit Rietveld (1888 - 1964) of the Netherlands

Centaur (1955 - painted wood) by Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) of Spain

Centaur (1955 - painted wood) by Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973) of Spain

Circles in a circle by H. Pike Oliver

This image is a 1923 watercolor study for a painting called Circles in a Circle by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944). It was on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in December 2017.

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