Just a few questions for those who are involved in the “movement” against the SJISD School Board and superintendent: First,…
Eureka! I remembered something that happened during the Great Depression.
Senator George W. Norris, a great legislator during the New Deal years, had long felt there was no need to have two legislative bodies in government.
The decision to accept principal Pfleuger’s resignation was neither a decision made lightly, nor a reaction to a single event. The decision was made by board consensus, not by any individual board member.
Here at The Journal, we’d like to kick off 2011 with another installment of one of our editorial page favorites: Roses & Thorns. Let’s begin with an easy one.
2010 was a tough year. We have reason to believe 2011 will be better.
As of this writing, our county jobless rate is 6.9 percent. That means about 550 of our friends and neighbors are collecting unemployment checks. And the actual unemployment rate could be higher.
The San Juan County Citizens Salary Commission has voted to give Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord a $19,000 pay raise, putting him in a tie for the title of highest-paid public employee in the county.
Bad timing. The commission should know that just because it can approve a raise, it doesn’t mean it should. Not when public positions and services have been cut and public employees are taking unpaid furloughs.
We believe public employees, even those at the top, should be paid good, livable wages. We believe Gaylord’s current annual salary of almost $130,000 is a good, livable wage. We also believe public service positions are just that; they are about public service, not the paycheck.
On Dec. 7, the San Juan County Council approved a package of recycling fees designed to help stabilize the finances of the Solid Waste Division. Come Jan. 1, you’ll pay $5 for 1 cubic yard or up to six 32-gallon cans; $25 for 1-2 cubic yards or up to 12 cans; and $50 for more than 2 cubic yards or more than 12 cans. You’ll be able to drop off a shopping bag of recyclables for free when you drop off your garbage. The $5 fee will apply to most islanders. And it troubles us to hear people say that the fee will discourage people from recycling, and that the result will mean recyclables will end up in the trash. Over $5?
Should we have franchise fast-food chains in town? Some people say we should spend our money in local businesses and remember that corporate franchisers vacuum money from the local economy. Others say, “Let the market decide.” Franchises will be built — we’re reminded they’re already here — the fuss will die down and the market will, as it does in matters of money, decide. But there’s more at stake in the fates of local businesses than where the money goes. Local businesses are the community’s base of common knowledge.
Our life here on the islands seems to revolve around the ferries, and everyone has an opinion. Schedules are never quite what we want, costs are higher than we would like (and keep going up), and vessel maintenance is sometimes embarrassing. Changes in Coast Guard and union work rules have also resulted in schedule changes over the last couple of years. Now we have a new challenge: The governor has asked Washington State Ferries to cut $16.9 million from its operating budget for 2011-12. This is 4 percent of WSF’s operating budget, but a 12 percent reduction in the state contribution. And the voters have spoken clearly on new taxes and increased fees: Whatever we want, we want someone else to pay for it.
If the County Council and San Juan Sanitation strike a deal for privatizing garbage disposal, we have one request: Don’t let the philosophy “reduce, reuse, and recycle” be thrown out with the bath water. County Public Works Director Jon Shannon told the council that, without a significant infusion of money, the Solid Waste Division will be forced to close its waste transfer stations on San Juan and Lopez. The council has reviewed a preliminary proposal from the county’s franchised trash hauler, San Juan Sanitation, which has expressed interest in taking over the trash and recycling operation if the county opts to contract it out.
Life on our islands was once described by a local writer as similar to living on a ship at sea. We are largely on our own out here in the northwesternmost county in the continental United States. With that in mind, “shop local” takes on new meaning. Money we spend here stays here. It helps pay local wages, support local public services, pay local wages, put food on local tables, pay local rents and mortgages. And it funnels through to the many non-profits by the generous donations of local businesses.
Landowners enrolled in “current use” programs receive a reduced assessment and pay less tax in exchange for managing the land as agreed. It does not mean that taxes are not collected from land in current use programs, but instead that the taxes that would have been paid on land assessed at their “highest and best use” value are shifted to other taxpayers.
This has been a tough year on the islands. Several downtown storefronts are empty. Local businesses, schools, and town and county governments have tightened their belts and/or reduced services. Local workers in the public and private sector have taken unpaid furloughs. The jobless rate was 5.5 percent in September, although some experts say the rate could be higher because that number only reflects the number of people who are receiving unemployment checks. And yet, at the risk of sounding Pollyannish, we do on this Thanksgiving eve find much for which to be thankful.