Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Bellingham, will have a challenge in the primary. Larry Kalb, 55, announced his candidacy Jan. 15 for the 2nd Congressional District seat, to which Larsen was elected in 2000. Kalb lives in Bellingham, works for the Whatcom Transportation Authority finance department, and is president of Health Care for All, a statewide organization advocating single-payer health care.
In a 5-1 decision, the council endorsed the combination of higher rates and new fees, and directed county staff to craft an ordinance for review at its Jan. 26 meeting, and for possible adoption at a public hearing on Feb. 9.
Calling Class of 2027 high school graduates! If your child was born between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009, bring your baby for a group photo on Feb. 27, 2010 at 10 a.m. in Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church.
In a special board meeting Jan. 15, the San Juan Island School District Board of Directors voted to invite Lynden Schools Superintendent Rick Thompson to apply for the position of superintendent.
Splash Kitty, 25 years, died Jan. 13, 2010 at 1 p.m. She was ready to go. I asked Annie to check and she said that she is ready. Susan Besel agreed, so Splash went to play with all of the dogs she knew: Barney, Tucker, Bogie and, last but not least, Humphrey.
Juanita Rouleau, a retired teacher on Stuart Island and in Friday Harbor who was active in preserving San Juan Island history, has died. Mrs. Rouleau died in her Argyle home Saturday afternoon (Jan. 15). She was 93.
Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday honoring the late civil rights leader. Today, any islanders will commemorate the day by participating in a Day of Community Service at Mullis Community Senior Center.
Walt Wegener could become the San Juan Island School District’s Jim Mora. Hired last summer from Toppenish, where he was student services coordinator earning $106,000 a year, Wegener was brought on as interim superintendent to succeed Vashon Island-bound Michael Soltman. Since then, Wegener has managed the district during the sixth-grade’s move from middle school to elementary school, the transfer of management of the Experience Food Project, and voter approval of a tax levy that funds school sports through Island Rec, relieving the cash-strapped school district.
Robert W. Hutton died peacefully at home in Seattle on Jan. 5. He was 88. Bob was a native of the Northwest, a member and supporter of numerous local civic organizations, a successful business executive and a dedicated husband and father. With his wife Charlotte, Bob lived much of his life in the Seattle area, in addition to 25 years in Greenwich, Conn.
If you want to help those affected by the Haitian earthquake, the simplest way is to make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.
Proponents of PeaceHealth Medical Center expect the state Department of Health to issue a certificate of need by the end of February. The certificate is a determination that there is a need for a hospital on San Juan Island. Once that certificate is obtained, proponents will complete their fund-raising, the purchase of the property will be completed and design of the new hospital, proposed near the airport, will begin. The hospital is expected to open in 2012.
The Friday Harbor Port Commission meeting could have been a segment of “Late Night” with Conan, Dave or Jay, Jan. 13 in Ernie’s Café.
First, reelected Port Commissioner Greg Hertel was asked if that was a new Hawaiian shirt he was wearing to his swearing-in. “It’s not new. I just washed it,” he replied. (Ba-doom-doom-ching!)
Snohomish County Councilman John Koster has announced he is running for Congress against Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett. His campaign Web site is www.KosterCountry.com. The two last faced each other in 2000, when both sought to succeed the retiring Jack Metcalf. Larsen led Koster in San Juan County 2,098 to 1,098, or 56.25 percent to 36.47 percent.
