The slogan 'Experience Matters' is showing up in our Sheriff’s race. Having been with our Sheriff's Department for over 30 years, first as a Deputy then as Sergeant, I would like to offer my opinion on what 'experience' really matters.
In the early 2000s, I was the chair of the San Juan County Ferry Advisory Committee. This was shortly after the Legislature had killed the motor-vehicle excise tax, a major source of funding for ferries. As a result, fares more than doubled almost overnight and service declined, mostly because of the age of many ferries.
According to Washington State Ferries, fewer than half of all ferry sailings in the San Juans through July have departed on time. The exact number is 44.1%.
Late sailings have become so standard that the measure WSF uses to determine “late” — leaving the dock more than 10 minutes behind the posted departure — we have come to consider something of a miracle. We’re much more used to sailings being 30 to 90 minutes late, sometimes longer.
I don’t know about you, but it sure seems like ferry service in the islands just keeps getting worse. That’s also the assessment of Jim Corenman, the longtime chair of the county’s Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC), who summarized it in a note to me recently “as bad as I’ve ever seen it and almost certain to get worse.”
Court decision means San Juan County voters will get a say on 4 Charter Amendments
SAN JUAN COUNTY — After the San Juan County Council attempted to block four charter amendments from going to the voters, residents of San Juan County pushed back with a lawsuit.
Did you know the San Juan County Council proclaimed July as “plastic free”? The proclamation recognized the pressing issues around plastic waste, including the fact that plastics are the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our oceans, as well as found daily on San Juan County’s shores, with devastating effects on marine life and human health.
Recently, we were guests on your beautiful island. As a senior citizen and a novice photographer, we enjoyed the beauty of your island. We reside on a nearby island. However, we were also treated to some hostility by some well meaning, "locals". I would like to point out that not ALL of the photographers who visit the island violate the wildlife regulations.
From the editor: Readers are wondering what happened to Kate Small's letter/guest column. It was removed Monday after she told me it wasn't supposed to be a letter to the editor and that it contained many inaccuracies.
Small sent in the following letter explaining her first email. It speaks for itself.
On April 7th, our town was changed forever by an act of arson.
There are no words to describe how it felt to arrive on scene and see the scope and magnitude of the fire. It was devastating to watch our iconic downtown burn. The destruction was extensive and the unanswered questions of how and why weighed heavily on all of us. An immediate investigation into the cause of the fire quickly resulted in the identification and arrest of the suspect, giving some small closure to those questions, for which I am grateful, and we can now concentrate on healing and rebuilding.
It's been two weeks.
Two weeks ago, our lives were impacted by the single, criminal act of a lost soul. Millions of dollars in material damage is just a number, but the collective shock and personal suffering of everyone who worked in the buildings along with their families, friends and neighbors has a greater impact than cash ever could.
Thank you for all the messages we have received. It has been a very emotional week. Natalie and I purchased this property back in 2004. We were in our 20s and went into this purchase with a dream and not much else. We sold our home and most of our personal possessions and then moved into a small studio in the back of the building. We leveraged ourselves beyond what anyone thought we should and most people thought we would fail.
Greg and Natalie in 2004
There are thousands of mostly young Russians protesting Putin’s invasion of and war crimes in Ukraine.
The waters around the San Juan Islands are a summer home of the critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.
OPALCO, the islands’ utility co-op, is owned by islanders. Islanders overwhelmingly support recovering the endangered orcas.
Recovering the orcas hinges on recovering chinook salmon populations. The Snake River historically supplied abundant salmon for the whales, as the salmon migrated south along both sides of Vancouver Island on their return trip to the Snake River.
While reading yesterday’s Fox Photographer Controversy thread that was reposted here from another FB forum; I was disturbed to learn that some fox photo-perturbare’s believe that their clapping and yelling at Eagles hunting for kit foxes has prevented a single capture of last years entire prairie brood. This is yet another example of the backwards mindset held by those trying to justify disrupting South Beach Plain Ecosystem (via inundation).
Our backyard resident Ginger… Gigi to us, morning stone warming. Kyle Kittoe photo