Among three other protesters who sat in Washington Street on Sunday night, March 4, Jeanne McHale blocked three enormous ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil megaloads of processing equipment moving through downtown Moscow, Idaho, toward the devastating Alberta tar sands project in Canada.  City and state police jailed the two male blockaders but refused to arrest the two females whom they also dragged out of the road and detained.  In a brief interview with a KRFP Radio Free Moscow reporter, Jeanne explained why she and many others are marching, chanting, and even willing to risk arrest after protesting for numerous nights in the dark winter cold of Idaho, while contributing several supportive roles to Wild Idaho Rising Tide.  “We’re not going to be accessories to genocide and climate change and increased cancer rates and all the other ecological damages that the tar sands intends to cause…”

(By Sharon Cousins)

The Idaho Department of Transportation caused a flurry of excitement for activists in Moscow, Idaho early Tuesday, Feb. 28. The agency said the shipping company Mammeot would be transporting three of the last megaloads that night. The alert changed later that afternoon, stating it would be just one.

Has the megaload saga finally come to a close?

Read more: Has the Megaload Saga Finally Come to a Close?

(By Alex Sakariassen, Missoula Independent)

[Website Editor’s Note: The last three Highway 95 megaloads referenced in this article actually number five and will likely depart the Port of Lewiston around March 6 to 8.]

Tonight marks a milestone in the saga of the Idaho mega-loads.

In early 2010, Boise Weekly first began telling you about ExxonMobil’s plans to haul giant rigs of oil equipment across the Pacific Ocean from South Korea, up the Columbia River, through the Port of Lewiston, and slowly across Idaho highways hugging the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers along U.S. Highway 12.

When most northern Idaho citizens first got wind of the plans in June 2010, they began pushing back, taking Big Oil and the Idaho Department of Transportation through legal tussles in front of District Courts, the Idaho Supreme Court, and lengthy ITD hearings.

Read more: Final Three Mega-Loads (At Least For Now) Roll Tonight

(By George Prentice, Boise Weekly)

ExxonMobil’s strategy of paring down some of its mega-loads and shipping them up through Idaho’s panhandle may end up costing the oil conglomerate a bit more than expected.

The City of Moscow already announced its plans to bill the company hauling the oversized rigs for costs associated with escorting the loads.  And now Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch says he wants to bill for his department’s overtime costs.

Read more: Idaho Law Enforcement Wants Reimbursement for Aiding Mega-Loads

(By George Prentice, Boise Weekly)

An Imperial Oil megaload passes under the highway sign at the split between U.S. Highway 95 and U.S. Highway 12 (The Lewiston Tribune/Kyle Mills photo).

Spokeswoman for Wild Idaho Rising Tide and Moscow police chief have different views on the demonstrations

MOSCOW – More megaloads are scheduled to pass through here tonight and more protests are expected.

Meanwhile, the genesis, status, and future of demonstrations appears to be more a product of spontaneity than planning.

Helen Yost, spokeswoman for Wild Idaho Rising Tide, likened her group’s organizing efforts to “throwing a party.” Those attending protests, she said, are people with deep concerns and the right to express themselves according to individual conscience. Continue reading →

Convoy leaves Port of Lewiston about 8 pm Thursday

As many as 100 demonstrators lined a two-block section of downtown Moscow on Washington Street Thursday night to protest or support a convoy of two Imperial Oil shipments headed for Canada.

The demonstrators, the vast majority of whom opposed the loads, were warned early on by Moscow police that they would be arrested if they tried to impede the loads.

The two megaloads passed through Moscow at about 10:30 pm without incident – other than garnering a few shouts from both protesters and supporters. Continue reading →