Sports
Wolverines upset La Conner, grab lead in league title chase page 20
Island Scene
Guest Column
Pen & deliver: island playwrights shine in the spotlight
PeaceHealth calls its own shots; medical center offers more to its patients, community — not less page 7
page 13
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Vol. 106 Issue 5
of the San Juan Islands
www.sanjuanjournal.com
OPALCO awaits consumer buy-in High-speed internet price tag: $90 a month By Cali Bagby Staff reporter
Contributed photos
Top row, from left; County Council District 1 candidates Marc Forlenza, Bob Jarman, Lovel Pratt. Bottom row, County Council District 2 candidates Greg Ayers, Lisa Byers, Rick Hughes.
Four advance, two will fall Challengers battle incumbents in Dist. 1, Dist. 2 primary races By Colleen Smith Armstrong Editor/Publisher
It’s all about to change and it’s in the hands of county voters. With the Charter Review changes now in effect, the council will consist of three members – one from each district. Before those candidates are chosen, there is a primary and a general election. The primary is on Feb. 12 and ballots are out now. There are six candidates total: Greg Ayers, Lisa Byers and Council Member Rick Hughes from Orcas and Council Members Bob Jarman, Marc Forlenza and former Councilwoman Lovel Pratt from San Juan.
All voters, on all islands, will cast their ballot for these six candidates. Two from Orcas and two from San Juan will go on to the general election on April 23. Council Member Jamie Stephens and Brian McClerren are vying for the seat from Lopez. Two weeks later, on May 7, the April election would be certified, and the new council members would take office the following Monday, May 13. At that time, the terms of the six sitting council members would end. Bios for each candidate District 1, San Juan and surrounding islands Marc Forlenza Economic development and job growth top Friday Harbor businessman Marc Forlenza’s list of priorities. He intends to meet with business leaders locally and in Seattle, and with representatives of state government, as a means to help create new economic oppor-
tunities in the islands. He supports expansion of the broadband initiative, spearheaded by Orcas Power and Light Cooperative, to foster new educational and telecommuting opportunities. Part-owner and manager of the Technology Center on Mullis Street, Forlenza claimed a seat on the county council in the November election, defeating twoterm incumbent Howie Rosenfeld by 99 votes. In the race against Rosenfeld, Forlenza opposed the Charter Review Commission’s proposed changes to the charter, Propositions 1-3, and along the way drew the endorsement of Local 1849, the largest labor union of county employees. His campaign website is http:// www.campaignforlenza.com/. Bob Jarman A San Juan Island resident of 38 years, Bob Jarman is a two-term See Election, Page 4
The future of OPALCO’s Broadband Initiative to bring high-speed Internet to the islands is in the hands of the co-op members. OPALCO’s Board of Directors has the power to make the decision of whether or not to move forward with the initiative, but they have decided to hand over that choice to the people. “The resulting system would be owned Foster Hildreth by the membership, just as the membership owns the electrical system, thus all members would contribute to buildings that we will own,” said J. Foster Hildreth, OPALCO’s assistant general manager, in a recent letter to co-op members. “The monthly broadband subscription fees would cover the cost of operating the system and thus would be borne only by those who use it. For that reason, we are leaving the decision about whether or not to build the system to our members.” If about half of OPALCO members support the plan by making a “pre-subscription commitment” then the board will move forward. In order to help people reach this decision, OPALCO is launching a six- to nine-month member engagement effort to explain the plan, get input and measure response. Suzanne Olson, communication specialist for OPALCO, said that
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
people should be able to “presubscribe” or say no thank you on the co-op’s website in about a month. “The benefits are not just broadband – that’s just the frosting,” said Olson. She said the main advantages are system reliability, public safety communication and the potential improvement of cell phone signals. History of the local initiative Three years ago, the San Juan County Economic Development Council and the San Juan Island Community Foundation took on the task of researching what improved broadband speeds could do for the economy and community. An OPALCO member survey See Broadband, Page 3