A witness indicated a southbound “oversized load” struck the upper portion of this truss bridge very shortly before this collapsed occurred.
The bridge that collapsed is rated as “functionally obsolete“.
At the City Council meeting on May 21st the City Council had 2 agenda items that were tabled until the next meeting following the November election. Both of these Agenda items were brought by the Mayor and Administration in response to the “Fiscal Emergency” declared by the City Council.
One of the items was Resolution 13-12 which would have eliminated health care benefits for part time elected officials including the Mayor and the City Council.
The other was an Agenda Bill that asked the Council to make a decision on the method of reviewing and possibly reducing the salaries of Oak Harbor elected officials. Read the rest of this entry »
Saturday, May 18th is Armed Forces Day. THANK YOU for your service!
President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish this single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. The first Armed Forces Day in the US was observed on 20 May 1950.
In the United States, the longest running city-sponsored Armed Forces Day Parade is held in Bremerton, Washington.
In 2013, Bremerton celebrates the 65th year of the Armed Forces Day Parade. By way of contrast, in Oak Harbor, Washington, zero local Armed Forces Day activities exist, and today’s local newspaper editorial is about the city opting into a new animal shelter for cats and dogs. Read the rest of this entry »
Filing date for political office is over and with the number of offices filed for this is going to be an interesting election. 2 of our authors here at Island Politics have filed to run for political office and we could not be more proud of them. It is one thing to whine and complain about the way the system works as we often do here at Island Politics but it is another thing entirely to take the time and the effort that it takes to run for political office.
Hat’s off to our 2 authors that have registered as candidates. Here are the 2 candidates and the offices they have filed for:
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.”
An event calendar of upcoming conservative events on the Islands. To add an item to this calendar please use the comment form below or contact one of our authors directly.
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