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Where there’s smoke, there’s fire – and political unity
哪里有烟,哪里就有火—和政治团结
The acrid smoke from massive wildfires that ignited in rural eastern Washington last Labor Day weekend drifted over the Cascades before blanketing the state’s populous western flank. Ashen clouds darkened the skies above Seattle, Tacoma, and the capital, Olympia, looming like a rebuke of state lawmakers for failing to alleviate a worsening wildfire crisis. The memory of that spectacle lingered after the haze cleared, and when the Legislature convened in January, a sense of urgency – and unity – prevailed in the statehouse.
上个劳动节周末在华盛顿州东部农村地区点燃的大规模野火产生的刺鼻烟雾飘过喀斯喀特山脉,笼罩了该州人口众多的西翼。灰暗的云层使西雅图、塔科马和首都奥林匹亚的天空变暗,就像对州立法者未能缓解日益恶化的野火危机的责备。即使阴霾散去后,人们还是对这一景象的记忆挥之不去,当立法机构在1月召开会议时,一种紧迫感—和团结气息—在州议会中出现。
Republicans joined with Democrats to unanimously approve a wide-ranging wildfire prevention bill, resolving differences that had derailed similar measures the past two sessions. The show of bipartisan support marked a victory for Hilary Franz, a Democrat and Washington’s commissioner of public lands. Since taking office in 2017, she has prodded lawmakers in both parties – Democrats control the House and Senate – to work together on wildfire legislation “before the Evergreen State turns charcoal black.”
共和党人与民主党人一起一致通过了一项范围广泛的野火预防法案,破除了在之前两次会议上因为分歧而没有通过的类似法案。两党支持的表现标志着华盛顿州公共土地专员、民主党人希拉里-弗朗茨的胜利。自2017年上任以来,她一直敦促两党的立法者—民主党人控制着众议院和参议院—在 "常青州变成炭黑之前 "共同制定野火立法。
As infernos ravage the West again this summer, adding to the vast destruction witnessed in recent years, Democrats and Republicans in several states have embraced collaboration on wildfire bills as they seek to save lives, land, and homes. At a time of national polarization, when pragmatism can seem a lost art, the towering flames in Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, and elsewhere have forged consensus among legislators to confront a perennial threat.
今年夏天,地狱之火再次肆虐西部,让近年来已经造成的巨大破坏更加严重,几个州的民主党人和共和党人为了拯救生命、土地和家园,已经接受了野火法案的合作建议。在(国家两极分化的)时候,当实用主义似乎是一门失传的艺术时,俄勒冈州、加利福尼亚州、亚利桑那州、科罗拉多州和其他地方的高耸的火焰在立法者中形成了共识,以应对一个长期的威胁。