North Bend fire station shielded from EFR cuts
November 10, 2010
Planned staffing reductions at several Eastside Fire & Rescue stations will not affect North Bend’s Station 87 and three other stations. The cuts are EFR’s response to a budget shortfall.
The stations are being shielded from staff cuts due to the number of calls the stations receive, remote location or strategic position.
Still, fewer responders at other stations in Issaquah, Sammamish and other communities could mean slower response times for back up in North Bend and Fire District 38, which jointly staff Station 87. Assistance could be delayed because help could have to come from more distant stations.
“Somewhere down the line, the system gets weaker,” Deputy Chief Jeff Griffin said.
Help will also continue to come from Snoqualmie, which has a mutual aid agreement with the agency. Snoqualmie is usually the first to respond when needed, Griffin said.
The agency has a policy to maintain three responders on duty at all times at nine stations throughout the EFR coverage area. Under the plan announced Nov. 5, the agency plans to drop a station per day from three responders on duty to two.
If more savings are needed this year, EFR plans to reduce staffing by two responders and close a single station on any given day. The agency said the station is to be selected after considering workload, overall operation and location.
Snoqualmie finishes phase one of downtown facelift
November 10, 2010
Less than eight months after breaking ground, the city of Snoqualmie has completed Phase I of its downtown rehabilitation project.
A ceremony to celebrate the end of Phase I is planned for 4 p.m. Nov. 18 at 38767 S.E. River St.
The $3.6 million project was undertaken to revitalize the downtown area and replace aging infrastructure.
“The area has a worn, tired look,” Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson said when ground was broken in March.
Now, the downtown area has new sidewalks, new street lamps and a laundry list of other improvements.
Despite some minor problems, the work has come along quickly, said Dan Marcinko, Snoqualmie’s Public Works director.
“It will be a great asset for current businesses,” he said.
The project is part of the city’s efforts to market itself as a tourist destination and a live/work/play community.
The city is currently in the planning and design stage for Phase II.
Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
National Republican tide ebbs in Eastside races
November 10, 2010
The national GOP tsunami that swept Republicans into statehouses across the nation on Election Day was gentle surf in Washington.
Buffered by large majorities, Democrats kept control of both the state Senate and state House of Representatives. However, candidates from both parties stressed fiscal responsibility in their campaigns.
Republicans held onto the 5th Legislative District and picked up some seats in East King County, but fell short of the seven seats they needed to retake the state Senate.
“We were aligned well with the desires of the people this year,” state GOP Chairman Luke Esser said. “They were not in the mood for any more taxes, they wanted a government to live within a budget, they did not want government to grow — and that was the message you were hearing from our party and most of our candidates.”
State Sen. Ed Murray, Senate Democratic Campaign Committee co-chairman, said the party eked out successes despite the odds.
“Given the amount of money they spent, and given what a bad year it was for Democrats, that we did really well,” he said.
Todd Donovan, a political science professor at Western Washington University, saw the results as predictable.
“There was nowhere the Democrats could go but down,” he said.
After making big gains in formerly conservative-leaning districts in 2006 and 2008, many one-term Democrat incumbents were vulnerable to voters’ frustration with the economy.
Legislature faces tough budget balancing act
November 10, 2010
Washington state legislators are reading one clear message in the results of the Nov. 2 election — no new taxes.
That won’t make the Legislature’s job writing a balanced budget for 2012-2013 any easier when it meets in Olympia in January. The state is expected to be short by about $4.8 billion.
Raising taxes is a nonstarter for many politicians after voters rejected new taxes and repealed an existing tax in several statewide tax initiatives. Voters also approved an initiative that makes it harder for the Legislature to raise new taxes.
“Those were clear, unambiguous statements from voters that we want you to live within your means,” said Rep. Glenn Anderson, a Fall City Republican who was re-elected to his seat in the 5th Legislative District.
Washington Republicans were reinvigorated by election results. The GOP picked up several seats in the state House of Representatives and in the state Senate. With several races too close to call, final numbers are not available. But Republicans certainly reduced the Democrats’ majority in Olympia.
Study explores Snoqualmie Valley’s use of public transit
November 10, 2010
Transition Snoqualmie Valley recently conducted a nonscientific survey to gain insight into residents’ use of public transportation.
The group is part of the transition movement, which began in the United Kingdom. The movement focuses on developing local, sustainable communities. Each group is autonomous.
Among the group’s key concerns is peak oil — the theory that oil supplies will reach a maximum point of production. Decreasing production will lead to rising prices, which will significantly hurt the global economy, according to Matthew Simmons, an advocate of peak oil theory and an energy advisor to former Pres. George W. Bush.
With the goal of better understanding local use of public transit, Transition Snoqualmie Valley designed and distributed a survey to Valley residents in September and October.
The survey results consist of voluntary responses and are not scientific.
Of the nearly 70 responses that were returned, 43 percent of respondents said they use public transportation.
Dino Rossi falls short in U.S. Senate bout
November 10, 2010
Republican Dino Rossi, a Sammamish resident and former Issaquah legislator, faltered in a hard-fought U.S. Senate race to the incumbent, Democrat Patty Murray.
“I ran for the Senate because I believe we need a basic course correction from where Washington, D.C., has been taking us and to make sure this country is as free, as strong and as prosperous in the future as it has been in the past to preserve the best of America for future generations,” Rossi said in a concession statement released Nov. 4. “That was a message that found a very receptive audience all across this state, though not quite receptive enough.”
Rossi campaigned as a fiscal conservative, and used the years he spent as a budget architect in Olympia as a touchstone in the U.S. Senate campaign.
Murray, bolstered by strong turnout in true-blue King County, built a slim lead on Election Day until more than 60,000 votes separated the candidates.
Rossi stumbled in the 2004 and 2008 races for the Governor’s Mansion to Democrat Chris Gregoire. He offered no hints about future political plans.
“The lesson I leave you with is one we learned as kids: We’re all in this together,” he said in the statement. “If Washington, D.C., doesn’t act to help the economy grow and solve this massive spending and debt, it’s going to hurt us all. It won’t distinguish by political party.”
Democrats likely keep control of congressional delegation
November 10, 2010
Republicans had hoped to pick up two congressional seats, giving them control of the state’s nine-seat delegation for the first time since 1998.
The GOP gained one seat in the 3rd Congressional District. In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen declared victory, but his Republican challenger had yet to concede the tight race that could go into a recount.
Rep. Dave Reichert cruised to re-election in the 8th Congressional District, which includes North Bend and Snoqualmie.
Veterans Day history is worth understanding
November 10, 2010
Thursday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day. At precisely 11 a.m., a wreath will be laid at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery to honor and thank those who have served in the armed services of the United States.
The time, 11 a.m., is symbolic. It was at this time on Nov. 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month), that a cease-fire agreement was signed, bringing an official end to World War I, “the war to end all wars.”
Tonight, the Snoqualmie Valley Veterans Memorial Committee is hosting a fundraiser in Fall City to raise money for a memorial planned in downtown Snoqualmie. The memorial has been long in the planning stage. The community’s support is needed to turn proposed drawings into brick and stone. The event and dinner is from 3-8:30 p.m. at the Fall City Roadhouse, 4200 Preston-Fall City Road S.E., Fall City. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.
Being a veteran is “an experience that stays with you all your life,” writes one veteran, “both the good — the closeness and respect and camaraderie that develops with your brothers and sisters in arms — and the bad. The horrors of war are well-documented and affect each individual soldier differently.”
There are many other good ways to honor our soldiers on Veterans Day. Make a visit to the VA Hospital. Send a quick note to a veteran you know and say thanks. Check out a library book and read about veterans or the history of our country’s battles. Collect information about a veteran and submit it to the Veterans History Project at www.loc.gov/vets. Put out your flag, or take a minute to notice the flags on the city’s flagpoles.
Just think of how much good one person can do by thanking a veteran today. And tomorrow. And the next. Every day is worthy of being Veterans Day.
Letters to the Editor
November 10, 2010
Politicians should reflect on election results
The Nov. 2 elections showed very clearly how Americans across the country repudiated the policies forced upon us from Washington, D.C., on health care, cap and trade, et al. Washington state should take notice of how the national mood is reflected here in the Pacific Northwest.
I hope those who voted for I-1098 realize that after two short years, the Legislature, still controlled by Democrats, would have reduced the income trigger down to a lower level. And then silently dropped it further until all of us, even those who voted for I-1098, would be paying a state income tax. Why would anyone in a state with one of the highest overall tax rates vote to have their tax burdens increased?
The real solution for Olympia is to cut back on spending. State Auditor Brian Sonntag clearly indicated where these cuts should be made, but was ignored by Gov. Chris Gregoire. In 2009, in just King County, a police officer was paid more than $356,000 and a nurse $294,000. The King County employee payroll alone is nearly $1 billion. And Gregoire can’t see anywhere to cut?
Police Blotter
November 10, 2010
North Bend police
Vehicle break-in
At 8:15 a.m. Nov. 4, a man called police to report one of his vehicles stolen and a second vehicle broken into in the 45000 block of Southeast Tanner Road. An MP3 player and a pair of sunglasses were missing. Both vehicles were unlocked.
Vehicle break-in
At 3:03 p.m. Oct. 29, a man reported to police that someone had broken into his unlocked vehicle in the 1000 block of Hemlock Avenue Southwest. Twenty minutes later, someone else called to say his car had been broken into in the same block and that a headset was missing. The second vehicle was also unlocked.
