Letters, March 3
March 3, 2010
By Administrator
North Bend hotel
Don’t ‘choose and pick’ a hotel
The article “North Bend City Council to consider contentious hotel” (Feb. 18), states that the lot “is currently overgrown with weeds from years of sitting idle.”
No, let’s say it like it is. The lot now has natural Northwest habitat.
As I watch the debate going on about the hotel proposal in North Bend, I can’t help but wonder when the zoning code was changed in the small area off Interstate 90, when ‘choose and pick’ came into effect.
Seems like when it was changed, it was for a reason, and not to be “we’ll change it…then ‘choose and pick’ when someone asks for an amendment.”
Why say in the future there will be stricter standards and not be willing to uphold the current standards?
Dorothy Blauvelt
Snoqualmie Valley
Snoqualmie community center
No means no
Whatever happened to ‘no means no?’ The voters have voted against the community center time and time again, yet Mayor Matt Larson seems to feel entitled to go ahead with it anyway.
It doesn’t matter if the vote was 70 percent against or 51 percent against, because that is what our democratic process is supposed to uphold. No means no.
If Mayor Larson had lost the election by 1 or 2 percent, he wouldn’t be the mayor today. But the voting process apparently doesn’t matter to him when it comes to the community center.
And apparently, my vote doesn’t matter either.
Devon McCarroll
Snoqualmie
YMCA is right partner for community center
Mayor Matt Larson is to be commended for his genius in linking up with the YMCA. This is genius for two reasons.
First, the YMCA is the finest operator in the world of these types of community facilities, bringing new opportunities to our community’s families and youth.
Second, the mayor is re-establishing in our community a YMCA that was originally founded at the Weyerhaeuser mill in 1923 and operated for nearly a half-century.
Renewing this traditional Snoqualmie Valley institution adds to the richness of our experience here.
Good job, Mr. Mayor!
Robert R. Richards
North Bend
State taxes
Olympia should close state tax loopholes before raising them
Are you paying attention to our voice in Olympia? State Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, on the Capital Budget Committee has a say in deliberations affecting our wallets and services.
He’s objecting to additions to state taxes. Gotta love that! He’s sponsoring a bill to have the state fulfill its constitutional mandate to fund public schools. Gotta love that, too! Finding revenues for funding? Forget it!
How about a look at a state tax code larded with hundreds of tax breaks inserted over decades for a multitude of businesses?
There are more than $50 billion a biennium worth of tax breaks on the books, exemptions often targeted to favor a specific taxpayer or a few taxpayers, hardly reflecting the public interest.
As a former corporate lobbyist and veteran legislator, Anderson knows the subject. If he represented our interests, wouldn’t he be trying to close a few of those loopholes to help balance the budget?
Do we hear about Anderson advocating for any combination of fair revenue sources to balance the budget?
Apparently, he’d rather, for example, participate in forcing layoffs of competent teachers.
That’s nothing to be gleeful about!
Dave Olson
North Bend
Valley tourism
Valley tourism needs more bus routes to and from Seattle
Last week, I wrote to our new King County Executive Dow Constantine regarding his “push” for more tourism into Snoqualmie Valley. He was also on KUOW’s morning show the week before giving “lip service” to this concept.
The reason I say “lip service” is that I wrote to him asking why Metro Route 209 does not operate to Snoqualmie Valley from Seattle on Sundays.
It would be a great boost to the Snoqualmie Valley communities if many King County residents that rely on public transportation, such as myself, were able to get out there on Sundays, which for many of us is the only day we have free.
But alas, there is no such service and despite many requests to many county executives, I have yet to receive any answers.
Perhaps, Metro could partner with Snoqualmie Casino and/or the Factory Stores at North Bend to provide such a service.
David J. Grech
Seattle
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