Tom Banse

Semi-retired reporter for independent, nonprofit news sites in the PacNW. I mainly cover transportation, energy, and history & culture. RTs, follows≠endorsement

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

How about putting a retired state ferry in your basket on #BlackFriday? You can even name your own price. The two ferries currently for sale are inoperable though. If you can stand the high cost of ownership, a floating waterfront mansion or cafe maybe? https://t.co/AyYVPmd5Av

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

Silhouette with The Mountain casting a fuzzy shadow into the sky from a sunrise behind it. This is a rare sight because it depends on the short, seasonal alignment of the sun, Mount Rainier and Olympia, where I’m shooting from. Plus, we need a nice cloud deck. #wawx @NWSSeattle

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

No, The Mountain is not on fire. But it looked like it this morning. Today was one of the few special days in the spring and fall when the sun rises directly behind Mount Rainier as seen from Olympia. #wawx @NWSSeattle

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

@WatchDogWa @bkheywood That’s not actually the governor‘s “private plane.” It’s owned and operated by the Washington sSate Patrol and used for many different missions — including transporting the governor sometimes. Some of those trips on the recent flight logs could be prisoner transports.

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

Another view of the smoke plume from the growing #WildcatFire wildfire in the William O. Douglas Wilderness area east of Mount Rainier. Not often that you see The Mountain dwarfed by something larger! I snapped this shot Weds. PM from Reflection Lakes in @MountRainierNPS. @NSDwx

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

@NSDwx Yes, with credit. Tx for asking.

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

The #WildcatFire east of Mount Rainier National Park is sending up a fearsome smoke plume this afternoon. This is the view from the Paradise Meadows trailhead, where people can still enjoy a hazy view of The Mountain.

[Nathan @NSDwx]

Extreme fire behavior on the #WildcatFire this afternoon. PyroCb for several hours now, cloud tops up to 37,000 feet on radar #wawx #wawildfire

[Nathan @NSDwx]

Holy cow, this is why Blewett Pass is closed, per Kittitas County Sheriff. #SwaukFire #wawx #wawildfire

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

It's been interesting to watch coastal communities debate whether and how to move critical facilities out of the #tsunami zone. A trio of Washington school districts now have money to move their most vulnerable schools to higher ground: https://t.co/2Zv5XtWzzg #waleg

[Jerry Cornfield @dospueblos]

Ferry tale: As @TomBanse reports, @wsferries got 2 bids to build new plug-in hybrid vessels - $251M from a Florida firm, $339M from a WA firm. That's for one boat. Story: https://t.co/KI6xOFcZk1 Bids: https://t.co/4VNtJDc1d1 #waleg @GovBobFerguson

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

I had a very good Good Friday trying out the free foot ferry to FridayHarbor, which runs for the next five fortnights. https://t.co/6M8QTBpfJg

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

Practically right on schedule for the start of spring, the first full rainbow of the season over the Port of Olympia. It was fleeting.🌈#wawx @NWSSeattle

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

Former WA Secretary of State Ralph Munro was one of the more likeable politicians I covered during my career. I started drafting his obituary a few years ago when Munro's health took a turn for the worse. It was time to pull it off the shelf today, sadly: https://t.co/SKx8PzftjP

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

British Columbia's premier floats idea of retaliatory tariff on U.S. #coal exported overseas through the Port of Vancouver. That's coal mined in red states of Montana and Wyoming and then passes through Washington on long trains to the BC coal terminal: https://t.co/J5X2Uex4kE

[Sean T at RCP @SeanTrende]

Best community note in a while.

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

Sunrise in Olympia with a trace of freshly fallen snow. This is our first snow of the season at sea level here. It’s sticking, but just barely, at 32°. #wawx @NWSSeattle

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

The premier of Alberta says she had “constructive” talks with President-elect Trump to defuse the threat of a trade war that could hit Canada’s crude oil exports. Washington state refineries get much of their crude supplies from Alberta: https://t.co/x7XLsSxEdZ

[Danielle Smith @ABDanielleSmith]

Over the last 24 hours I had the opportunity to meet President @realdonaldtrump at Mar-a-Lago last night and at his golf club this morning.

We had a friendly and constructive conversation during which I emphasized the mutual importance of the U.S. - Canadian energy relationship, and specifically, how hundreds of thousands of American jobs are supported by energy exports from Alberta.

I was also able to have similar discussions with several key allies of the incoming administration and was encouraged to hear their support for a strong energy and security relationship with Canada.

On behalf of Albertans, I will continue to engage in constructive dialogue and diplomacy with the incoming administration and elected federal and state officials from both parties, and will do all I can to further Alberta’s and Canada’s interests.

The United States and Canada are both proud and independent nations with one of the most important security alliances on earth and the largest economic partnership in history. We need to preserve our independence while we grow this critical partnership for the benefit of Canadians and Americans for generations to come.

[philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to announce resignation as early as Monday, Globe and Mail reports https://t.co/bKIlPAlKFL

[Ben Mullin @BenMullin]

Jimmy Carter outlived one of his obituary writers:

[Tom Banse @TomBanse]

@AlaskaAir @bethredfield Let’s go to Pittsburgh. #AlaskaHolidaySweater