Latest news with #PacificNorthwest
Washington Post
38 minutes ago
- General
- Washington Post
A logging protest in the treetops ends in terror, activists say
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — On the 40th night of the protest, a black Jeep drove up a logging road and stopped near the base of a towering grand fir. For more than a month, environmental activists had been living on a platform some 80-feet up the trunk of that tree in an attempt to stop logging in the emerald foothills of the Olympic Peninsula. They had rigged a dunk-tank platform to cables that connected to a jumble of logs and brush strung across a dirt road on state land.
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Busiest weekend for cruise ship activity
Vancouver Watch Vancouver is a popular port of call for cruise ships, and this weekend will be the busiest of this season with tens of thousands of passengers.
CTV News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
47,000 cruise ship tourists expected this weekend in Vancouver
The cruise ship Norwegian Sun is seen in Vancouver on Friday, June 27, 2025. (CTV News) Vancouver residents can expect some extra foot traffic in the city this weekend, which is expected to be the busiest of the 2025 cruise season. Roughly 47,000 passengers will be coming through the Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal this weekend, arriving on 11 ships. Chance McKee, with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, says that this will impact the local economy. 'Cruise passengers spend, on average, $450 each on things like local tours, attractions, restaurants, hotels,' McKee says. The Port of Vancouver says that every cruise ship stopping here injects about $3 million into the local economy, and that's not just from the tourists. 'Cruise lines spend an average of $660 million every year locally. That's using local businesses and suppliers to conduct maintenance on their ships, repairs in between trips,' says McKee. This comes at a time when the country is experiencing a decline in visitors. According to Statistics Canada data released earlier this week, the country saw nine per cent fewer American tourists this April than it did last year. The busy cruise weekend also means busy days for the restaurant industry. Chris Di Tomaso, general manager of Tap and Barrel Coal Harbour, says his restaurant sees double the usual volume of diners when cruise ships are in town. The tourists are not only looking to grab a bite, but also looking to take in the Coal Harbour scenery. 'When you have a business that includes a very large waterfront patio, the cruise ships provide a significant amount of energy and a lot of foot traffic,' says Di Tomaso. McKee suggests that locals offer up assistance to tourists who may need help with directions or have questions. 'Offer up a local recommendation, your favourite restaurant or local attraction,' he says. The port expects to see elevated visitor levels every weekend through the end of peak cruise season in late September.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jonathan Aranda's solo home run (9)
On the Sidelines S1E18: Cal Raleigh closes gap in MVP race, Sounders Club World Cup FOX 13 Sports Director Aaron Levine joins the show to help break down the historic run Cal Raleigh is on and his odds at winning American League MVP over Aaron Judge. The guys then rate their concern on the Puget Sound Panic Meter about the Mariners' division odds sitting 4.5 games back of the Astros with an MVP candidate on their roster. Next, Ethan, Dante, and Aaron recap the Sounders' Club World Cup experience and debate how the team will perform as they transition back into league play this weekend. Finally, the guys dive into the repressed emotions brought back to the surface for Seattleites everywhere seeing the Oklahoma City Thunder win the NBA Finals. 40:52 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB at the midway point: Cal Raleigh's HR pace could deny Aaron Judge a Triple Crown
Well, that was fast. Major League Baseball's halfway point has arrived for a significant number of ballclubs, a time to take stock and responsibly project what wild trends and paces may become reality when October arrives. Advertisement The standings reveal plenty of ambiguity, evidenced by the utterly cloudy trade deadline picture that will likely reveal a dud of a July trade bazaar. Yet there are several team and individual exploits – some ignominious – coming into view as the field reaches the turnaround point and heads for home. A look at several paces to keep an eye on this summer, be they realistic goals or something to dream on: Cal Raleigh: 66 home runs Cal Raleigh has put together a historic first half. Yeah, this remains totally irrational. For now, though, we've learned not to doubt 'Big Dumper' until the big guy stops blasting balls out of ballparks. And we're not too far away from 'Judge Watch' infographics – yes, can a previously unheralded catcher break the American League record of 62 set by the greatest power hitter of this generation? Advertisement Some signs suggest yes. Raleigh's expected slugging percentage of .593 falls short of his actual .658 mark, which, we should note, is nearly 200 points north of his full-season career high. And this is the thing: Catchers typically tail off as the summer grows longer. Raleigh's career first-half OPS of .812 falls to .754 after the All-Star break. Yet last year, when he hit a career-high 34 homers, his slug was virtually identical (.435 to .437) and his OPS also went up after the break (.734 to .767). An interesting data point to monitor: With Statcast now measuring bat speed, can Raleigh maintain his 88th-percentile 74.9 mph hack all year? So little is guaranteed for catchers, always just a foul tip away from a few weeks on the shelf. We can't even guarantee Raleigh will break Salvador Perez's record of 48 home runs for a primary catcher. We also can't set any limits on B-Dumps, either, since he finds a way to exceed them. Aaron Judge: Triple Crown Aaron Judge is in search of his third MVP award. What's the current hindrance keeping Judge from the game's first Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera in 2012? See above. Advertisement Yep, Judge currently trails Raleigh in homers (32-28) and RBIs (69-63), though their track records and the fact Judge plays right field and enjoys the occasional short-porch bonus at Yankee Stadium augurs well for the big guy. Less in his favor is whether the decent to hot starts of veteran teammates like Trent Grisham, Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger are sustainable, affecting his RBI chances. And then there's Judge's run toward what would be his first batting title. Incredibly, he was batting .400 as late as May 7, before mildly regressing to a more human .361. For once, his top competition is not Raleigh but rather Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson, batting .347, including a scorching .361 at home in Yolo County. And plenty of other spoilers lurk in the batting leaders, perhaps most notably Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña (.325), who's amid a career year, and Guardians hit machine José Ramírez (.318). A few factors could boost Judge in this chase, particularly if he sees fewer pitches in the second half and his average remains less prone to dips like the 2-for-24 (.083) he recently suffered through against the Red Sox and Angels. Yet, taking his walks would save his average but hinder his homer and RBI totals. Not easy, huh? Advertisement That's one reason the Triple Crown remains one of the game's great feats of badassery, despite what the naysayers might claim. Tarik Skubal: 9.6 strikeout-walk ratio A little esoteric, you say? Well, sue us: Nobody's on pace for 20 wins or 300 strikeouts and there's really no better way to illustrate the dominant two-year run Skubal's on. He's struck out 125 and walked just 13 this season, and that ratio is 115-9 over his last 14 starts. (The Tigers are 12-2 in those games, shockingly). Such dominance paired with efficiency has enabled all his other greatness: The 205-inning pace, the majors-leading 2.12 FIP and 0.87 WHIP, all creating such value for the Tigers that he should garner a few down-ballot MVP votes along with a second Cy Young should he maintain. Advertisement And that 9.6 ratio? It'd be second-highest in AL history, behind … Phil Hughes? Yes, the one-time All-Star produced an 11.63 mark in 2014 for the Minnesota Twins. Will Smith: .330 batting average Just three times has a catcher won the NL batting title: Buster Posey in his 2012 MVP season in San Francisco and Ernie Lombardi for Cincinnati in 1938 and the Boston Braves in 1942. Smith has a 19-point lead over teammate Freddie Freeman at the moment, scary company to keep. But the batting average only scratches the surface of Smith's value to the Dodgers. He's batting a majors-leading .426 with runners in scoring position, a testament to his ability to clean up hitting behind Freeman, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani. His .425 OBP leads the NL. And while 13 Dodgers pitchers are currently on the injured list, Smith's 3.2 WAR is tops among NL catchers and seventh overall, helping the superteam stay on track. Advertisement Like his AL counterpart Raleigh, keeping up that pace at the plate will be challenging given the work asked of him behind it. Yet unlike Raleigh, Smith doesn't get the occasional DH day since Ohtani occupies that spot, giving him more chances to truly sit on his average. Come and get him, fellas. Colorado Rockies: 125 losses This one's gonna be fascinating, in a grim kind of way. As you might have heard, the Rockies steadied the ship just a bit after a 9-50 start. Yet after a 15-game stretch of winning baseball (OK, 8-7), there they went again, losing six of seven to fall back under what we'll call the Reinsdorf Line. Yep, the Rockies need to win at better than a .253 clip to ensure they don't break the 2024 Chicago White Sox's modern record of 121 losses before the ink in the record books had a chance to dry. Advertisement It's true: The Rockies are playing much better than when they were losing 21-0 and firing their manager. Young players such as Michael Toglia are gaining their footing, and catcher Hunter Goodman is a bona fide All-Star. Problem is, the '24 White Sox only bottomed out in historic fashion after the trade deadline, when they shipped off Erick Fedde, Michael Kopech, Tommy Pham and others, leaving a ship rudderless. They went 9-39 in the immediate aftermath, cinching their spot in infamy. So how might the Rockies look, post-deadline? There's honestly not a ton to deal, unless they finally move third baseman Ryan McMahon, or spin off veteran pitchers Antonio Senzatela or German Marquez, further destabilizing the rotation. If they're so inclined, their top asset, given the incessant need for relief help at the deadline, might be right-hander Jake Bird, who gets plenty of swing-and-miss (11.5 Ks per nine) and will have three seasons remaining before free agency. Yet that might make them inclined to hold him, as well. Advertisement Either way, it's highly probable the Rockies will look different – read: worse – after July 31. And that much harder to avoid history. The big question: Will the 2024 White Sox pop champagne and light cigars if the Rockies break their record, or keep it intact? The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB stats at the midway point: Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge chase history
