Erika Bolstad

US Supreme Court rules against Trump on tariffs:
Held: IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The
judgment in No. 24–1287 is vacated, and the case is remanded with
instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; the judgment in No. 25–

Democratic state AGs will lead opposition to Trump in new year • Stateline One year into President Donald Trump's second term, Democratic attorneys general have filed 71 lawsuits against the administration.

From Erika Bolstad: Nearly a year into President Donald Trump's second term, Democratic attorneys general have filed 71 lawsuits against the administration.

https://stateline.org/2026/01/07/democratic-state-ags-will-lead-opposition-to-trump-in-new-year/

Can You Believe the Documentary You’re Watching?

Alissa's tenure at NYT has carved out so much space for documentaries, and here she addresses the threat of A.I. on our understanding of "truth" and how nonfiction filmmakers are fighting back: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/m...

Interior department issuing hundreds of oil and gas drilling permits during government shutdown - Center for Western Priorities New tracker monitors Trump administration permitting activity DENVER—As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, a new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities finds the Trump administrati...

“In the first 3 weeks of the government shutdown, the BLM has approved 308 applications for permits to drill (APDs) on national public lands. The majority of those permits (245) are in NM, with another 38 in WY. The rest of the permits were issued in Utah, Texas, North Dakota, Montana, & Oklahoma.”

Federal judge blocks Trump from deploying Oregon National Guard to Portland • Oregon Capital Chronicle This is a breaking news story and will be updated. A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from federalizing and deploying Oregon National Guard troops to Portland following a c...

BREAKING: A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from federalizing and deploying Oregon National Guard troops to Portland following a challenge from the state and the city of Portland.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/04/f... by @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social

It’s Called America’s “Weirdest” City. But Just Wait Until You Hear What’s Going On in Its Coffee Shops. Biking is just better with a caffeine buzz.

This is an article about Portland and coffee, but every time I sat down to write it I felt like it needed to tie into right-wing threats to the city too. Then the morning it came out, Trump sent the military authorized to use "full force," so I think my intuition was right.
slate.com/life/2025/09...

States scramble to plug transportation funding holes • Stateline States are scrambling for the money to fill potholes, plow roads, maintain bridges and pay bus drivers as they face inflation- and tariff-driven cost increases and declining gas tax revenues.

From @erikabolstad.bsky.social: States are scrambling for the money to fill potholes, plow roads, maintain bridges and pay bus drivers as they confront inflation- and tariff-driven cost increases and declining gas tax revenues.

stateline.org/2025/09/25/s...

Firefighters question leaders’ role in Washington immigration raid • Stateline Wildland firefighters were stunned when federal immigration authorities last week raided an active wildfire response in Washington state, arresting two firefighters and sidelining crews for hours.

Following an immigration raid at an active wildfire in Washington state, wildland fire professionals are raising alarms that the leadership team in charge of the fire response may have sent their crews into an ambush.

stateline.org/2025/08/31/f...

States fast-track wind, solar permits and contracts to beat Trump’s deadline • Stateline Across the country, state leaders are racing to fast-track wind and solar projects before the expiration of federal tax credits to support clean energy.

States fast-track wind, solar permits and contracts to beat Trump’s deadline stateline.org/2025/08/27/s...

They Can’t Get Answers From the Oil Industry. North Dakota’s Oversight Program Hasn’t Helped. Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change. Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fail...

NEW: Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change.

Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fails to address the issue it was created to solve.

With @northdakotamonitor.com

Confederate general statue toppled in 2020 to be reinstalled in D.C. The bronze statue depicting Confederate Gen. Albert Pike, which was torn down and burned by protesters in 2020, is being restored, the Park Service said Monday.

A statue of a Confederate general that demonstrators toppled and burned in D.C. in 2020 will be reinstalled, the National Park Service announces.

Oregon law schools to receive funding for criminal defense clinics There are currently defense clinics at Willamette University in Salem, Lewis & Clark College in Portland, and the University of Oregon in both Portland and Eugene.

Now, state lawmakers have passed a bill which allocates $3.4 million to support criminal defense clinics. They had previously approved $2.1 million in one-time funding in 2024.

New signs at incarceration camps raise historical erasure concerns – AsAmNews The Trump administration’s directive aimed at historical sites stirs debate over history of Asian Americans.

New signs at incarceration camps raise historical erasure concerns asamnews.com/2025/06/19/d... via @AsAmNews

Hey, check it out! Monumental (the doc I'm directing) is featured here! Curious about it or want to contribute to its production? Click the link!

In another blow to Crater Lake, superintendent steps down, citing Trump Oregon’s picturesque but beleaguered national park suffered another setback.

Oregon’s picturesque but beleaguered national park suffered another setback.

How the Pacific Northwest’s dream of green energy fell apart Oregon and Washington passed aggressive goals to decarbonize their power supply but left it to the Bonneville Power Administration to build the transmission lines needed for wind and solar. The agency hasn’t delivered.

Oregon and Washington trail nearly every other state in bringing wind, solar and other renewable energy projects online. Its aging electrical grid is largely to blame.

I like the 1 mm Pentel Energel pens—not as thick as a sharpie, just right. (Not a lefty but I hate smears.)

Good luck with your book launch!

Boise adds two official flags in latest jab at Legislature’s new law “I don’t think we’re a city that should be so divided. We were never like this,” one protester said.

Here’s Boise’s response: www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/c...

Salt Lake City may have found a way to avoid the state’s ban on pride flags Salt Lake City adopts official versions of the pride and other flags just hours before a new Utah law banning unofficial flags from schools and government buildings takes effect.

Cities are finding some cheeky runarounds to flag bans: www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

Trump Wants Mail Votes to Arrive By Election Day. Red States Are Rushing to Toe the Line. Two more states just banned grace periods for mail ballots that are sent before polls close but arrive after Election Day. Trump and conservative judges stepped up attacks, too.

North Dakota adopted a law last week that changes state rules to toss mail ballots if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by Election Day.

Bolts recently reported on the rush of GOP-run states passing similar laws in 2025: boltsmag.org/restric...

In recent weeks, both Idaho and Utah have enacted bans that prohibit Pride flags from being displayed on government property, pitting lawmakers in the Republican-dominated legislatures against the more progressive capitals of Boise and Salt Lake City.

Meet the Pasadena day laborers who built their own media to combat Trump's immigration lies Radio Jornalera gives immigrant workers a microphone and multimedia platform and their voices are reaching millions.

“ She’s like, don’t be afraid, just document. Get a camera, take pictures, take videos and document what is going on there.”

lapublicpress.org/2025/05/meet...

Oregon, California and Florida churches sue feds to block ICE agents from places of worship The suit, filed in Oregon, seeks a court order to block ICE incursion into "sensitive locations."

www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/0...

Scientists are worried that “last year’s events could point to a kind of climate feedback loop in which rising temperatures cause natural ecosystems to deteriorate, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere and causing the planet to warm even faster.”

Hmmm, maybe it’s time to rethink the bar exam?

stateline.org/2024/07/26/l...

Where did Seattle's affordable housing go? In one decade, Seattle turned into a vastly riskier place to live for poor people. It became nearly impossible to afford even the cheapest market-rate housing.

How an influx of high-paid tech workers and a post-Great Recession building slump led to a doubling of the number of people living on the streets in Seattle. "Affordable housing didn’t physically disappear. But to low-income renters, it might as well have." www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Greenpeace ordered to pay Dakota Access Pipeline operator hundreds of millions in defamation suit A North Dakota jury awarded damages to Energy Transfer, the company that runs the Dakota Access Pipeline, after finding Greenpeace liable in a high-stakes defamation case.

"Seven of the 11 jurors chosen either worked in the fossil fuel industry or had family members who did." www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Trust government weather / Follow your pen Today: Diana Moskovitz, investigations editor, writer, and co-owner of Defector; and Jim Cooke, art director, illustrator and designer for digital journalism and print media, currently at Los Angeles ...

This time last year I wrote for @flaminghydra.com about why the National Weather Service is a treasure whose info we should all use — especially as inclement weather grows more frequent.

There are now multiple reports of mass firings at the NWS/NOAA:

flaminghydra.com/issue-20/

Love this film.

A Good Company, by Justin Nobel Searching for my publisher’s radioactive oil waste

Fascinating....

“If you think the goal in life is to make money by hook or by crook and commodify human dignity, you have valued money over love.”

harpers.org/archive/2025...