A MIDSUMMER STROLL There’s much to see around town this weekend. Page 11
COMMUNITY | Lou Engels tapped to serve as grand marshal [3] NEWS | An effort at summer school falters after teachers object [5] OPINION | Let’s take a close look at teen substance use [6]
RUNNERS CONVERGE An Island race draws athletes to the woods. Page 15
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 2012
Vol. 57, No. 27
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
Financial complexities slow Island solar projects
A love affair with fireworks
By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
property owners who have failing systems or had not let the county know the status of their system, whittling the list to 28 after the county discovered some of the names on the list were in error. Larry Fay, manager of community environmental health in the county’s health department, said he’s actually encouraged by the numbers; in February, 133 homeowners appeared to be in violation. “There’s a lot of good news here,” he said. According to a list of the properties obtained
The Backbone Campaign and King County have reached a tentative agreement about the location of the county’s first community solar project, a crucial step in the complex process of erecting a large, investor-funded solar array. The $550,000 project, should it come to fruition, would be a ground-mounted system based at the county’s Transfer Station on Westside Highway. It would produce 65 kilowatts annually, or enough to fully power seven average-sized homes for an entire year. The Backbone Campaign has been working for months to iron out the details of locating the project at the publicly owned site in what has become a race against time. The sooner the project gets built, the more opportunity there will be to take advantage of state incentive funds — and thus the more likely it is the organization will find investors willing to pony up $1,000 or more to fund the array. But those behind Vashon Community Solar, as the project is called, acknowledge that it’s been a far tougher and more complex process than they realized when they first articulated the dream of creating a community-backed solar project on Vashon Island. “This has been hugely more complicated than I think anyone ever anticipated,” said Bill Moyer, the executive director of the Backbone Campaign. “I’m not an easily frustrated person, but this has definitely pushed me.” At first, he said, “It seemed so clear and easy. And it’s anything but clear and easy.” Moyer brought in Carol Eggen, an Islander with a background in finance and a past career as an
SEE SEPTICS, 18
SEE SOLAR, 19
A Vashon man finds a way to fuel his passion By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
Islander Gabriel Felix doesn’t like loud noises or explosions, and to meet him it’s no surprise. The calm and deeply religious engineer preaches kindness, promotes safety and has even earned a reputation around town for looking like Jesus. But once a year, Felix, 30 and a self-professed geek, leaves his day job for nearly a month and delves into his true passion: fireworks. This Fourth of July, Felix marks his fourth year sharing that passion through his own fireworks stand, Vashon Fireworks Co. “It’s not so much the explosion. I love the science of it,” Felix said one day last week as he prepared to open his stand by Sound Food. “I specialize in products that have unusual special effects or unbe-
75¢
Natalie Johnson / Staff Photo
Gabriel Felix, who has loved fireworks since he was a boy visiting his grandparents on Maury Island, began selling fireworks four years ago. lievable colors. That’s what gets me excited. It’s like an art form for me.” Felix, a friendly and easygoing man with a long ponytail and a full beard, says that while he loves pyrotechnics, he’s not blind to the fact that fireworks cause injuries, scare animals and both-
er neighbors. But unlike most fireworks dealers, Felix uses his position to try to make a difference. Each year Felix — who has yet to make money on his business — donates to Vashon Island Pet Protectors to help the nonprofit cover the cost of finding
and caring for animals frightened by explosions. And last year he began to offer free fireworks safety classes in conjunction with Vashon Island Fire & Rescue. What’s more, Felix refuses to sell products he calls legal but SEE FIREWORKS, 12
A handful of Islanders face fines for failed septic systems After a five-year push, the county says 28 property owners have yet to step up. By LESLIE BROWN Staff Writer
Twenty-eight waterfront property owners — most of whom live in Seattle, Tacoma and California — are being fined $25 a day for failing to get their septic systems inspected or repaired after a five-year effort by King
County officials to force them to do so. The fines, which began July 1, are the latest step in the county’s effort to address failing septic systems, considered sources of pollution that are fouling beaches and closing geoduck beds to tribal and commercial shellfish harvesters. The county began its effort in 2007, identifying 263 homeowners in six different waterfront neighborhoods who needed to either prove to the county that their systems were in order or begin the process of figuring out if their system works. Last week, the county sent out notices to 33