A Special insert inside this issue!
THE STARS COME OUT Get set for the annual Oscar Night gala. Page 13.
A directory of medical practitioners & healthcare-based businesses.
VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014 Vol. 59, No. 09 www.vashonbeachcomber.com
Patients, providers report mixed success with Affordable Care Act
State proposes only slight ferry schedule changes, improvements at dock By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
After proposing sweeping changes to the north-end ferry schedule last year, Washington State Ferries (WSF) has put forward a more limited schedule rewrite that would only eliminate one run on the triangle route. WSF officials will host a public meeting on Vashon this week to present proposed schedule revisions and hear feedback from islanders. Officials believe the schedule rewrite, along with proposed changes at the Fauntleroy dock, will help eliminate the ferry delays that have plagued the route. The schedule changes are slated to take effect this fall, when the 124-car Cathlamet replaces the aging 87-car Klahowya. The proposed changes are minor revisions to the current weekday schedule, but will require additional staffing on the
Hundreds on Vashon have signed up for coverage Photo Courtesy WSDOT
The 124-car Cathlamet, pictured above, will replace the 87-car Klahowya this fall.
Staff Writer
earlier this month that the company will hire local, be good environmental stewards and partner with community causes. In another letter issued late Monday by K2 Sports, the president of K2 addressed some of the environmental SEE K2, 19
SEE HEALTH CARE, 18
SEE FERRIES, 12
By NATALIE MARTIN Staff Writer
Jeff Dunnicliff Photo
Scott Bergin, an owner of Bakkhos Holding, speaks at the county meeting last week. pushback at the meeting, two petitions circulating that are related to the business and a surprise announcement from the state Liquor Control Board that could limit its future pot production. On Monday, Dan Anglin, a spokesman for Bakkhos Holding, issued what he called an open letter to Vashon, repeating claims he made at a meeting
By SUSAN RIEMER
Island artist Pam Ingalls signed up for health insurance earlier this year with the help of a local volunteer, one of many who assisted hundreds of islanders with the enrollment process when the state’s health insurance exchange opened in October. Now, Ingalls and countless others across the country — patients and health care providers alike — are settling in to the new insurance landscape created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On Vashon, the picture appears mixed, with some reporting optimism and greater access to care and others saying more change is needed for the program to be truly effective. Ingalls, known to many for her oil paintings that hang in The Hardware Store Restaurant, says her new insurance plan is a welcome change. It replaced a high-deductible plan that resulted in her paying all her health care bills in addition to her high monthly insurance premiums. Now, she said, her premiums are half of what they used to be and her plan covers medical care she needs, including physician visits, lab tests and prescriptions. “I feel like I’m getting something for the money I’m spending, plus the security of insurance. I guess other people — who have had regular insurance — have felt this kind of security all along,” she said. “But it’s a new experience for me, and I’m very grateful.” With more people now insured, clinics throughout the country have reported bracing for a wave of patients. On Vashon, it appears that while physicians are busy, representatives of the island’s largest clinics say they have not been overwhelmed by a flood of newly insured patients seeking care. Vashon’s Franciscan Medical Clinic has seen a number of new patients, Scott Thompson, a Franciscan spokesman said last week, but the clinic is not tracking whether the patients are newly insured because of the Affordable Care Act. So far, he added, the state’s health exchange has not posed problems for Franciscan providers, and he noted the Franciscans support the intent of health care reform. “We know that people with health insurance
Fauntleroy dock to make the schedule work as planned, said Ray Deardorf, the planning director at WSF. “We are banking on having additional traffic control on the Fauntleroy side,” Deardorf said.
County moves forward on pot plan after mixed meeting King County is moving forward with a proposal that would allow marijuana business at the K2 building after hearing mixed reactions to the plan at a public meeting attended by hundreds on Vashon. The county’s Department of Environmental Permitting and Review (DPER) is working with the county executive’s office to complete the proposed amendment to the Vashon Town Plan, according to Lisa Verner, DPER’s legislative coordinator. It plans to send the proposal to the King County Council by Monday. The proposed amendment, Verner said, will not be significantly different than what was discussed when more than 200 islanders packed the cafeteria at Chautauqua Elementary School for a meeting last Wednesday. According to county officials, the amendment would bring Vashon’s zoning in line with other parts of unincorporated King County by allowing marijuana growing, processing and retail at properties zoned accordingly in Vashon town and at Center. “We are moving ahead with crafting a recommendation,” Verner said. Meanwhile, Bakkhos Holding says it is also continuing with its plans to purchase K2 and use the site to grow and process marijuana, despite considerable
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