School Bells
Family Ties
Wild Places
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Students are back in the classrooms Thursday
Laura Veirs on stage Saturday
Inner journey revealed on the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, August 27, 2014 Vol. 107 Issue 35
Legion files suit over mural decision by Town Council San Juan County Superior Court hearing Aug. 29 By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
Journal file photo
Residents living on the San Juan Islands were without telecommunications service for 10 days in November following an undersea fiber optic cable failure.
Investigation reveals CenturyLink violated commission rules during November outage Commission staff asks for fines and formal complaint to be filed
By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
State regulators are calling for $173,000 in fines and a formal complaint to be leveled against CenturyLink for its handling of the 10-day telecommunications outage that left the majority of the San Juan Islands without telephone, internet and cell-phone service in early November. On the heels of an eightmonth long investigation, staff of the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission cited 15,935 violations of UTC rules and laws governing “major outages” in a report released
Tuesday, Aug. 19, and recommended the commission issue a formal complaint and $173,210 in fines against the company, the single-largest provider of telecomm services in the San Juans. “What the investigation found was the company failed to communicate with the commission, that it failed to communicate with the 911 operator and that it failed to communicate effectively with its customers,” UTC staff spokeswoman Amanda Maxwell said. The San Juans were struck with a near total collapse of communication services, voice and data, when an underwater fiberoptic cable in San Juan Channel, which separates Lopez and San Juan islands, was severed in the early morning hours of Nov. 5. The cable, 280 feet below the surface, was most likely severed
by strong tidal exchange just prior to communications crash, according to the investigation. The fiber-optic failure isolated CenturyLink’s Friday Harbor “switch” from the rest of its network. Communications were fully restored by Nov. 15 after the broken cable was replaced by the company, reportedly at a cost of roughly $2 million. “While CenturyLink did not cause the undersea fiber cable outage, our crews worked around the clock and dedicated more than 1,000 hours to repair San Juan Islands’ service,” CenturyLink spokeswoman Meg Andrews said. “During the outage, we provided the (WSUTC) and other affected state agencies with daily reports, and we kept residents informed through town hall meetings, door-toSee FINES, Page 4
The Friday Harbor Town Council may have expected to see a second attempt at creating a very large mural, toned down and with perhaps a little less personality. What it got was a lawsuit instead. “I didn’t want it to come to this,” American Legion Post 163 Commander Shannon Plummer said of the legal challenge. “My hope was that the colors red, white and blue wouldn’t be considered ‘offensive’ and not relevant in the U.S.A. or to the town of Friday Harbor.” Plummer said that without any assurance that an alternative design would not be rejected as well, the Legion opted to take the town to court over its denial of a conditional-use permit for a 1,200-foot mural, as first proposed for approval. The hearing gets under way Aug. 29 in San Juan County Superior Court. Designed by Friday Harbor artist Mike Scott, the mural, described by some as “jarring” and by others as a “bright billboard,” is intended to cover the concrete retention wall behind the Legion’s First Street building, below the back deck, facing the harbor. It would overlook the parking lot, public marina and offices or the Port of Friday Harbor, which let its objections be known when a permit application was first considered and then rejected by the council May 15. Port Commissioner Mike Ahrenius said the mural and its large-scale bright colors and
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
abstract design are “out of keeping” with goals of the town and the port, and others, for the waterfront. “It will be at odds with the relaxed, historic feel and look that is currently being promoted by the city, byways, port and visitors bureau,” Ahrenius read from a letter submitted by the port. “If the town grants this application it will set a precedent in the town core and historical district for other installations of this type.” In a 4-1 decision, the council rejected the application. Councilman Noel Monin, who cast the sole vote in favor of the permit, cautioned against putting See SUIT, Page 3
WHALE This inform
ational mess
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n previous editions of the Whale the distincti Pages, we made on Killer Whales between our Souther border as critical n Resident (SRKW’s in – Orcas in habitat under our local jargon) government jargon the whales (T’s Species at and Transien Risk Act in our local t killer jargon). It is Orca populat the SRKW/ (SARA). It is importa ion of these nt whales that frequented to note that the Salish Sea historically these critical habitat from tember each designations were year, followin May through SepChinook salmon for the survival based upon legitima g the once te concern abundant of this beleague “runs” to the this region. whales, but AUTOMOTIVE • red populat It was in response spawning rivers in SERVICE • CENTER they are really ion of lation graphic just words to the Orca decline beginnin coordinates 378-62 and geopopu– g in 1996 that 325 Carter Ave 83 population ur “local” Orcas not food that whales need. 4/077-091Heard Friday Harbor was the travel as necessar . a critical habitat listed as Endangered in SRKW their preferre 2005, and y to find pdf). for more informa d prey species waters. Canada area (see inset) was defi on – and we ned in US know that some – Chinook salm- tion. The Fraser River subsequently Unique area of the as far south “run” of of the Orca designated Items Salish as Central pods go Chinook salmon is in a large Sea to California and north of the remember deep trouUS/Canada as Southeast Alaska in as far north ble with test fi whale experyour their winter sheries currentl food. In fact, search for this indicating a y the entire eastern ience! near collapse Souvenirs, North Pacifi tinental shelf of Jewelry Tee-shirts, c con- the spawning populat in Sweatshirts ion Chinook salmonthis area is habitat for the – a major food Jackets, Gifts for our Orcas source available year-rou that were historica 378-4013 • lly Hours: 10–6, in the nd in feeder Next to the Daily Friday Harbor and river-bo schools Salish Sea. Ferry und ping schedule migrants with overlaperhaps U.W. FRIDAY the abs (spring, winter, mer, and late-fall, sence of our fall, bewith summer sum- loved LABORATORI HARBOR runs predom Orca around and fall ES inating). Th Over 110 e coastal biomass San Juan of this species years Island was enormo Marine Scienceof year is related this us, supporti a commercial Excellen ng ce troll fishery to the Benefiting people dispersal of 1979 yielding as recently food through contribut worldwide as a quarter of a million 15-45 River Chinook – Fraser pound Chinook science, medicine ions to salmon, salmon each and education the Washing year from in particular. It ton coast, and is approximately doubtful that one million Friday Evening similar sized more Chinook from words of SRKW the British August 22, 5-7pm Columbia coast. Enjoy Summ Field Boats were headed er Concer These fish critical habitat ts to the river Sunday Afternoon designation watersheds Puget Sound of and Georgia and August 24, geograp 2-4pm Strait, big one – the Columb and the hic coordiCedar Suede ia River. Th major river …Concert is latter nates will sufficiently s thru August system alone saw the return address this of five to nine 360-378-26 situamillion big PO Box 88988 • VHF66A tion. What adult salmon in the • Friday Harbor we need • PortFriday mid to late 1800’s Chinook Harbor.org construction), (pre-dam to do is encoura and returns ge a much- heralded dwindling to (if not demand FRIDAY HARB ) projection wild salmon OR DENT lion this fall; Michae l popuonly a slight of 1.6 milISTRY T. Horn, over the near improvement lation recovery DDS collapse in in all watersh 2012 (http://wdf eds w.wa.gov/news/m and 2013 the Salish Sea, of See also (www.nmfs.noaa.g ar0314a/). and cies/fish/chino ov/pr/spe- enthus iastical Gentle, caring oksalmon. htm, ly Following the dentistr y Map by National 530 Spring npafc.org/new/p for all ages. and www. applaud the Elwha Marine Fisheries endangered listing of the Southern Street • Service in Resident killer more informa ub_bulletin.html) for dam removal (360) 378-49 ignated much 2005, the National Marine whales for the tion. See also 44 of the inland Fisheries Service as noaa.gov/pr/sp (www.nmfs. return of spawnin termed the waters of desSalish Sea, as ecies/fis g h/chino critical habitat. Washington State, now habitat on.htm, and www.npafc.org/n oksalm- legendarto that river’s Roche Harb lications/Bullet ew/puby Chinook. or in/Bulletin%20N Marina (800) o.%20 www.wh 451-8910 aleresearch.com Lodging & Dining (360) 378-215 5 PO Box 4001 • Weekends on Roche Harbor, roche@rocheharbo Lopez r.com • www.roch WA Open For route info: & Orcas, daily on San Juan eharbor.com Labor SanJuanTrans 378-8887 • Serving “Explore the Day! it.com sjtransit@rocki Possibilities sland.com All & live the dream… Islands! 22 Web St. ■ ” Exclusively Friday Harbor at clothes you’ll Be Chic Boutique ■ 360.378 Broker love .6071 Open Labor 360.378 360.378.6 .6454 day open daily, open daily check9website am
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All about whales Look on the back page for the fourth of five installments of the Journal’s annual ‘Whale pages’, cosponsored by the Whale Museum.