Political comment and discussion about Island County, Whidbey Island, Camano Island and Washington State
Mike Rosenberg performing at Southampton Brook music venue in January 2013
I have to “come clean” with our Island Politics’ readers.
I have been accused of being a “hater” of one sort of another.
I admit it. I do “hate” some things, but the things I “hate” are not actually the things I am accused of hating.
So, I have chosen to provide a video to delineate some of those things that I do “hate”. Read the rest of this entry »
Whidbey News Times’ Executive Director and Publisher, Keven R. Graves wasted no time weighing in on Senate Bill 5927 saying it was “seriously flawed.” http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/opinion/206995691.html
Part of SB5927 is found below and a link to the full bill is provided:
One really does NOT need a crystal ball to predict Lance Gibbon being given the OHSD Superintendent’s post
Sometimes, pulling out one’s crystal ball and making a prediction just seems too tempting a proposition. Therefore, I predict that on May 28, the Oak Harbor School Board will crown Lance Gibbon as Superintendent for the OHSD, and they will give him a three-year, regular (i.e. “permanent”) contract when they do so.
In doing so, the OHSD will step squarely into former Oak Harbor City Councilman Bob Morrison’s prediction about Gibbon’s eventual ascent, which he made to me shortly after Lance Gibbon first accepted the job as Assistant Superintendent for the OHSD: Bob’s take: “Rick Schulte was a Roger Woehl-trained man, and Lance Gibbon will be a Rick Schulte-trained man”. Read the rest of this entry »
Keven R. Graves, executive editor and publisher for the Whidbey News-Times, commented recently:
“This always fascinates me … we have two different sides saying the WNT is favoring the other … I guess that means we’re doing our job right if both sides think that.” Keven R Graves, May 8, 2013
http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/opinion/205486181.html
If that were the case then why was a rebuttal comment deleted?
Interesting City Council meeting last Tuesday night. On the agenda there was an item that was recommended by the city Attorney Grant Weed to be placed on the agenda and brought before the council. This item was included to ensure the city was following the most recent court decisions and was placed on the agenda as a policy change to protect the city from a possible future lawsuit. We are not going to get into the details of the proposed city policy but instead the process that was unfair to the citizens that attended the meetings and also the interesting comments to the council and citizens that occurred during the meeting.
The wide majority of the crowd at the meeting was there for this one issue. It was on the agenda and information was included in the agenda package that was available to the council and the citizens on the previous Friday. The issue was never heard by the council and the citizens that attended never got a chance to participate. The council had adequate time to prepare themselves to hear this issue but instead they short circuited the process by removing this item from the agenda leaving the citizens that came to speak without an issue to speak to.
Becky Spraitzer, Island County’s APZ Czar, recently put forth her version of “facts.”
“Over 1200 properties have lost their ability to use their land as a result of the Navy’s request, so far….with no compensation…and no notification. This loss of land use is a ‘Taking” of property rights for the benefit of the Navy.” Becky Spraitzer, 7 May 2013
Now the Flip Side:
Starting with the first segment of her proclaimation:“Over 1200 properties have lost their ability to use their land.”
Along WA State HWY 20, south of NOLF Coupeville, heading north
A group calling itself “Concerned Island Citizens” has recently posted signs advising people to wear ear protection due to a sound hazard zone on Whidbey Island, WA.
Drivers heading north on Highway 20 encounter one sign just south of the Navy’s OLF Coupeville, near Squire Road.
Just north of Duguala Bay, near Jones Road, southbound Highway 20 motorists encounter the other sign. Both signs have similar construction and signage.
Along WA State HWY 20, north of Duguala Bay, heading south
“Growler Joe” was kind enough to share the documents he received from Island Transit from his recent PDR request.
The documents do show that Rick Kiser’s A Citizens Comments- article on Island Politics is substantially correct. That article can be found here:
http://www.islandpolitics.org/?p=10029
Here are the links to the documents:
Who could forget this statement made by former Island County Commissioner John Dean?
“I have friends who are deputies and friends who are Beach Watchers therefore, I must treat them equally in this budget.”
Unfortunately what taxpayers may not realize is that environmental protection programs ARE a higher priority than protecting Island County residents from criminal activity. Evidence of that is the new taxing district created by former Island County Commissioners John Dean, Angie Homola, and current Commissioner Helen Price-Johnson.
According to Island County’s list of mandated services, Salmon Recovery “efforts” is a mandatory service. One would think that in order for a service to be “mandated” that a RCW (Revised Code of Washington) or section of Island County Code would direct local governments to perform this service.
RCW 77.85.005 pertains to salmon recovery, and here is an excerpt: “To that end, the governor’s salmon recovery office should be created to provide overall coordination of the state’s response; an independent science panel is needed to provide scientific review and oversight; a coordinated state funding process should be established through a salmon recovery funding board; the appropriate local or tribal government should provide local leadership in identifying and sequencing habitat projects to be funded by state agencies; habitat projects should be implemented without delay; and a strong locally based effort to restore salmon habitat should be established by providing a framework to allow citizen volunteers to work effectively.”
Following an 18-month all-out campaign to double the local Maintenance and Operations levy, the Oak Harbor School District (OHSD) managed to convince 54.5% percent of the voters to do so.
Why 45.5% voted “no” is likely not a question of any present consequence to the OHSD, since their campaign strategy of lies, more lies, student exploitation, and thuggery succeeded.
Some of those who voted “no” have long-believed that the OHSD’s problems cannot be solved with more money. To demonstrate that point, we’ve received a series of letters containing first hand experiences within the Oak Harbor School District, along with permission to publish these letters here at Island Politics.
Finding tax dollars to adequately support Law and Justice remains a challenge for our Island County Commissioners however, what many taxpayers on Whidbey are not aware of is that Island County’s Capital Improvement Projects document includes a $150,000 expenditure of your tax dollars to fund a comprehensive feasibility study that turns Swan Lake into a salmon recovery area. Keep in mind that Swan Lake historically was NOT a salt water lake yet a small group of environmental whackos led by former Island County Commissioner Angie Homola pushed to fund this.
Since Law and Justice is a “service” required by law, and feasibility studies for Swan Lake estuary restoration are NOT is further evidence that Angie Homola and Helen Price-Johnson place environmental programs as a higher priority over Law and Justice. http://www.skagitfisheries.org/2012/10/swan-lake-feasibility-study-public-meeting/
Peter Szalai in his “educational soldiers“ red t-shirt.
The very politically ambitious Peter Szalai, president of the Oak Harbor Education Association, lost in his bid to become president of the Washington Education Association.
I suspect his own bio did him in.
In arguing for a “clear-headed” path to “change the dominant narrative arrayed against us“, he vomited:
“It is time—way past time—finally, inexorably, and unalterably to say “no”—not “no, but” or “no, and” but simply “no.””
An EA-18G Growler alongside an EA-6B Prowler shortly after arriving at NAS Whidbey Island,
09 April 2007.
The US Navy now plans to purchase 135 EA-18G Growler aircraft (21 more than was reported in 2010) and will very likely station them all at NAS Whidbey island, WA. This plan would result in the addition of at least two more Navy expeditionary VAQ squadrons on Whidbey Island. Expeditionary squadrons do not deploy on board aircraft carriers, so they do not execute Field Carrier Landing Practice sorties, such as those which occur at Navy Outlying Field Coupeville.
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