NEWS-TIMES WHIDBEY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 3 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
‘He’s trying us in the court of public opinion using what he calls facts with no validity.’
Kennewick makes it three
-- Anne Tarrant, WGH board president
Doctor quits over web furor
Staff reporter
Staff reporter
SEE WEBSITE, A8
City opts to appeal UGA ruling By JESSIE STENSLAND
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey General Hospital CEO Tom Tomasino is mad as heck and he’s not going to take it anymore. Tomasino announced to the hospital board Monday that Dr. Matthew Marquart, an orthopedic surgeon, quit his job because of a website that is critical of Whidbey General Hospital administration and features unflattering information about surgeons and their salaries. “I can’t allow our physicians or surgeons to leave this organization because one man has license to say what he wants about this institution,” Tomasino said. He was referring to Greenbank attorney Rob Born, who started an investigative blog, whidbeygeneralreformers.org, last year to highlight what he claims are myriad scandals involving the hospital’s administration. According to Tomasino, the topnotch surgeon felt it would be harmful to his reputation and future job prospects if he stayed at Whidbey General while Born continued publishing damaging reports. In addition, Tomasino discussed another surgeon who was so upset about the blog that he threatened to sue Born for defamation. Tomasino said the hospital’s attorneys had advised him not to get into a public debate with Born, but he said he now feels he needs to “engage” him. He said a public entity like a hospital has little legal recourse to do anything about such critics. Tomasino added that the only thing that will make Born
Sports: Former Wildcat becomes an Aztec. A10
Nathan Whalen/Whidbey News-Times
Sonny Francis, George Jones and Kelly Baze walk off the Kennewick, the newest vessel for Washington State Ferries. They are members of three tribes, the Port Gamble S’Kallam, the Lower Elwa Klallam and the Jamestown S’Klallam that blessed the new ferry during a ceremony Friday.
Latest Kwa-di Tabil ferry joins the Chetzemoka, Salish By NATHAN WHALEN Staff reporter
A dozen people drove hundreds of miles for six hours Friday to attend a celebration of the state’s newest ferry that is named after their hometown of Kennewick. The Kennewickians were among the numerous community leaders, tribal members, legislators and ferry officials who celebrated the completion of the Kennewick, the latest Kwa-di Tabil class ferry that is also the namesake of the southeastern Washington city. The Kennewick joins its sister ships, the Chetzemoka and the Salish, on Puget Sound
waters. Most importantly to Whidbey Island and Port Townsend residents, it means there are three ferries capable of navigating the difficult passage into Keystone Harbor. “And then there were three,” Assistant Secretary for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Ferries Division David Moseley said in front of a grateful crowd that gathered Friday morning on the vehicle deck of the new 64-car ferry docked at the Port Townsend ferry terminal. Officials are quick to point out the three ferries were completed ahead of schedule and millions of SEE KENNEWICK, A4
Oak Harbor officials are challenging a state board’s decision that they feel will hamper the city’s ability to plan for population growth in the future. Following an executive session last week, the city council voted to appeal the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board’s stark rejection of the city’s wide-ranging petition against Island County. The “appeal and petition for review of administrative action” was filed in Thurston County Superior Court Friday. While the city’s original challenge to the hearings board contained 16 legal issues --- and the city lost on all counts --- the new appeal argues a whopping 30 issues. County officials were disappointed by the decision to appeal. “It means additional resources will be consumed dealing with the appeal instead of getting ready for the next round of comprehensive plan updates,” Island County Planning Director Bob Pederson said. The central issue being debated is the shape of the city’s urban growth area, commonly called a UGA. It’s the land outside of city limits earmarked for future annexation. City planners wanted to expand the city’s UGA by 180 acres, including 105 acres of farmland on the west side of the city. Environmentalists opposed the request, arguing that it would amount to urban sprawl. The city submitted the request to the county since county commissioners have the final authority over the UGAs. After a five-year delay, the commissioners finally made a SEE UGA, A4