Women of San Juan Island: News flash. Well, sort of, but now that I have your attention. I just want to let you know about an opportunity at Curves; they are letting women come for free for a week to check it out.
An update on San Juan Island Community Radio’s application for an FM license: Our Petition for Reapplication has been “accepted for filing.” It cleared the FCC International Board that checked it for violation of Canadian radio and found none. It has been sent back to the CRTC — Canada’s FCC — for their approval, which may take several months.
I find it unfortunate that the media keeps using the term “bailout” to describe the actions being taken to mitigate the current financial crises. I’m sure that as a result of this terminology, most people would describe what is going on as: “The government is taking our tax money to offset the financial reversals of a bunch of mismanaged companies, without any chance of seeing those funds returned.” The term bailout has exactly that connotation.
To the students and staff at Friday Harbor High and Middle schools: It has been a honor and privilege to serve you government-approved and school-budget lunches for the past 12 years. I will miss watching you grow into fine young men and ladies. I know a lot of you high schoolers will love not hearing “Wrong door, go around.”
More than 170 people attended the Transportation Summit at the San Juan County Fairgrounds on Sept. 17. By all reports, the summit achieved its objective of starting the collaborations needed to further transportation initiatives in San Juan County.
Mindy is a “freeholder” in the original sense as well. Her roots are in the soil of Orcas Island, not in real estate speculation. She understands the importance of encouraging the long-term use-value of Orcas as opposed to the promotion of ephemeral exchange-value. Her background in ecology, her knowledge of the law, and her respect for the law makes her perfectly suited to represent Orcas residents on the County Council.
A little note of good things happening at Friday Harbor Elementary School this morning (Sept. 25). Taproot Theatre Touring Group came to present their new show, a bullying prevention theme, “Alexander and the Dragon.” The sponsors are the elementary school PTA and San Juan Island Prevention Coalition.
I am writing on behalf of Lovel Pratt as candidate for County Council, District 1 (San Juan South). I have known Lovel and her family for several years and have always been impressed with Lovel’s intelligence, calm demeanor and commitment to our community.
If, after all that’s gone on, you’re still voting “Republican,” you need to get you’re head examined! (Hopefully, you’ve got some kind of radical, left-wing, Socialist health care coverage.)
Most everyone agrees that we desperately need more affordable housing, and that the Home Trust proposal is excellent.
Most everyone also agrees that annexing more land for affordable housing shouldn’t be a burden to existing town residents, many of whom would qualify for affordable housing. This would put these people into a less affordable situation.
Proponents of crumb rubber will point to industry funded studies showing the presence of known carcinogens and respiratory irritants at levels below legal thresholds. These studies look at only a small handful of samples and don’t consider the most troubling class of chemicals: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.
Please take a few minutes, old and young, kids or no kids, to walk by and/or play in the new elementary school playground. The school board recently voted on a discussion item to keep crumb rubber. I believe this is a community issue and not merely a school board decision because we all pay taxes and we also generously donate to the many organizations that support public schools.
You write the current crisis has been caused by “regulation and oversight the Bush administration has failed to provide.” Yet in 2003, President Bush asked Congress to create a new agency to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored agencies whose catastrophic practices triggered the current crisis. Two years later, the Bush administration asked Congress to enact the Federal Housing Enterprise Reform Act of 2005.
