We're off to a better start in 2012, with pluses in some categories, like building permits, but with minuses in others, like real estate prices.
Now that an eminently qualified candidate, Rick Hughes, has declared his intent to run for the District 4, Orcas West Council position, I am happy to announce that I will not seek a second term as a member of the San Juan County Council. On Orcas Island we are very fortunate to have people of the caliber of Patty Miller and Rick Hughes willing to represent us.
I am proud of the work of our victim advocates in the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. They reach out to crime victims, connect them to services, and advocate for them.
Avoided use? It's the greenest, "green energy" of all. The power of conservation at work.
An update to the Washington state's oil spill regulations is timely, as Canada will be increasing their oil exports and the Gateway Terminal project has been proposed. Kinder Morgan, owner of Canada’s TransMountain pipeline, just announced plans to expand its capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 850,000 barrels per day.
The indicators show that local educational and employment options are rapidly deteriorating as the rest of the world uses available high-speed internet access and assumes that we have that access. We don’t.
The Navy request was for 96 bomb drops last year (eight live MK 82's), and that was said to be the approximate annual number for the previous decade, or so. I apologize to the whales for finding that out only last week.
The basic fault of the planners approach is that it shifts from the county to the property owner the responsibility to prove that they adhere to the proposed regulations, no matter how much it may cost.
Despite progress in the Senate, legislation designating BLM in the San Juans as national conservation area is not expected to pass in the House. In light of congressional deadlock, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has shown willingness to help achieve the goal of the legislation by proposing a presidential proclamation for those lands.