I have lived on the island for more than 20 years. I enjoy the ambiance of the island and its varied wildlife, and would like to see it continue the same way for the rest of my life. I do not believe the increased buffers outlined in the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) Guidelines are needed. In fact, they constitute an illegal taking of property.
I spent a career in Alaska, watching clear-cuts take place. And sitting in lectures in which “biologists” told us that clear-cuts were GOOD for deer. Yeah. With slash 8 feet deep, hillsides eroding into the streams in the rain, and drying up when it was sunny. Unhappily, similar things are happening around here. Not as bad as clear-cuts, or maybe they are as bad, everything considered.
Think about the values that brought us here. If we value salmon or orca, then perhaps we should not place a bulkhead on a forage fish spawning beach, or place a dock over eelgrass, or allow toxic chemicals or bioactive hormone mimics into our waters.
There are many ways to thank someone for their brilliance at expressing an innate passion for people and their work, and often I find that cookies and pizza work wonders.
The impact of a 100-foot setback for most properties will effectively reduce the value by 40-60 percent, or more, which will therefore shift the tax burden onto the interior properties, many of which will also suffer dramatic loss of value as result of the proposed rules.
On behalf of Island Rec and its Board of Commissioners, I want to thank Joyce Sobel, director of the San…
This is the first time in 17 years that the government has not given a cost of living increase to those on Social Security…yet our county council, while cutting their budget elsewhere, has given into the unions once again and increased their pay and the burden on the taxpayers here.
On behalf of patients in our community’s hospitals, I wish to extend our thanks. During your blood drive on June 3, Puget Sound Blood Center registered 85 donors and collected 76 units of blood. This will benefit up to 228 patients.
Each month, volunteer pilots from Angel Flight West fly patients needing specialized medical care, including chemotherapy and dialysis, to hospitals throughout Washington. Many of these patients are from rural areas and would otherwise be hard-pressed to receive the care they need.
Thanks to everyone that had a hand in my nomination and most importantly the selection of Argyle Suites to receive Thew Village Stewardship Award. I think it is an important distinction to make that property can be developed and historic structures can be restored in good taste, all the while maintaining the historic character of our wonderful town and its historic structures. All this is possible by using sound environmental and economic principals.
Regarding the story, “County health officer warns of contaminated street drugs,” June 4 SanJuanJournal.com: San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James’s warning about contaminated street drugs is just another counterproductive aspect of America’s long failed drug crusade.
I have served as one of nine appointed members of the GMA Critical Area Ordinance review committee for two years. A polarizing and contentious issue during this entire process has been whether the committee should address the shorelines.
I had the pleasure of meeting Alex and Margaret McRea three years ago when he was a patient at San Juan Physical Therapy. Two things stood out from that initial encounter: The first was that, after 60 plus years of marriage, they were as courteous and solicitous of each other as a couple on a first date. The second was the sense of purpose and determination that Alex exhibited throughout his therapy. (He was a mere pup of 91 at the time).
