Sounder The Islands’
Vikings
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, April 11, 2012 n VOL. 45, NO. 15 n 75¢
Viking Alicia Susol (right) tagging out a Friday Harbor Wolverine. Chris Gill photo
Coverage of Orcas sports – PG 7
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Ghostly remnants emerge from sea Changes for liquor Islander finds what could be debris from tsunami devastation in Japan
is a common problem for our ocean and seashores everyday, especially around the Pacific.” The Japanese government estimated that the tsuWhen Tom Averna looked down into the water next to his boat, he saw an object that looked out nami swept about 5 million tons of debris into the of place. He fished it out, and was surprised to find ocean, but that 70 percent sank off shore, leaving 1.5 million tons floating. There is no what appeared to be a survey stake estimate of how much debris is still with Asian characters on it – a posfloating today. sible remnant from the tsunami that It’s highly unlikely the debris is ravaged Japan last year. radioactive – most of it was miles “Just goes to show the power of the away from the damaged reactor, and ocean currents,” said Averna, owner the leak of contaminated water from of Deer Harbor Charters. the reactor into the sea started days And it’s not just small items that to weeks after the debris was washed are floating toward Pacific Northwest out to sea, according to NOAA. shores. A rusty 150-foot Japanese Also, vessels coming into the fishing ship was spotted adrift off U.S. from Japan were monitored for the Coast of British Columbia’s radiation, and readings were below Queen Charlotte Islands, north of Tom Averna photo the level of concern. Vancouver Island, in late March. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell recently The vessel is one of several being The survey stake pictured above may be a remnant of the March issued a statement saying that with tracked by authorities after the flotsam reaching the West Coast March 2011 quake, which regis- 2011 tsunami in Japan. sooner than expected, the U.S. can’t tered magnitude 9.0, and tsunami. Together, the events killed more that 15,000 people afford to cut funds from NOAA’s marine debris program. in northeast Japan. Belva said the program is working with fedThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its partners have identified eral, state and local partners to collect data, assess three vessels, including the one in Canada, which the debris, and reduce possible impacts to natural were likely set adrift because of the tsunami. But the resources and coastal communities. NOAA originally predicted items from the tsunaorigins of smaller objects, like the survey stake, are mi would begin washing up on shores in the Pacific harder to track. “It is difficult to confirm whether or not marine Northwest in 2013. Those were rough estimates debris, even with foreign writing, is from the tsunami,” said Keeley Belva of NOAA. “Marine debris See japan, Page 6 by Cali Bagby Staff reporter
sales on the horizon by Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
The times, they are a-changin’ when it comes to liquor sales. Because of the passage of Initiative 1183, Washington state is getting out of the liquor business, but many of the current stores, including liquor stores on Orcas and Lopez, plan to stay in business. Others, such as King’s Market and the Marketplace in Friday Harbor and Island Market on Orcas will be getting into the business of selling liquor for the first time and preparations are already under way. “We’re going to be ready on June 1,” said John McBride, general manager of King’s and the Marketplace, locally owned by Valmark. Meanwhile, state-owned stores, including the one in Friday Harbor, are being auctioned off. Privately owned stores (“contract liquor stores” under state law) such as Trina Olson’s Eastsound Liquor and Wine, Russell’s Liquor Store at Orcas Landing and Lopez Liquor Store can continue in business under the initiative’s “grandfather clause,” which allows con-
tract stores to stay open regardless of size. The sale of liquor at what’s now the state-owned store in Friday Harbor remains possible: the store has attracted 12 bids on the internet auction site Public Surplus. The current high bid, by someone using the bidding name “Altruism,” is $2,650. Bids are expected to rise significantly between now and April 20, when the auction ends, according to Liquor Control Board spokesman Brian Smith. Many stores in metropolitan areas are attracting bids in the tens-of-thousands of dollars, and one bidder has placed a $500,000 bid for operating rights at all stateowned liquor stores. King’s Market and Marketplace, both of which exceed the 10,000 square feet required by Initiative 1158, have applied for spirits retail licenses under the new law and intend to sell hard liquor in addition to beer and wine. Island Market also meets the minimum size requirement. It intends to get the spirits license and start selling booze on June 1, the first date for private sales permitted under the new law, a company official said. But Aaron Dye, owner of Lopez
See LIQUOR, Page 6
Baby goats of Pi Valley Farm
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Cali Bagby/ staff photo
The five baby goats at Pi Valley Llama farm spend their days frolicking and playing in the green grass. The goats are just a month and half old and in three weeks they will go to their new homes. For now, owner Margi Miles and her mother Jane Bristow will enjoy helping to get these “toddlers” on their feet. “They have brought so much joy into our lives,” Bristow said.
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