Around Town
Problems with plants? Master Gardeners got you covered PAGE 11
Island Scene
Memorial Day? Nope, Lopez bicycle tour signals start of tourist season PAGE 9
As I See It
There’s value in paying for the things we want by not relying on taxes and government PAGE 7
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Vol. 108 Issue 16
Co-op flooded by fiber requests
Wealthy target of tax plan
Eighty neighborhoods in design phase for broadband installation By Colleen Smith Armstrong Group publisher
Since Orcas Power and Light Cooperative launched its full-scale broadband project in San Juan County this winter, the work has been non-stop. “We can’t keep up with the demand,” said Gerry Lawlor, executive vice president of Rock Island Communications, the new for-profit subsidiary of OPALCO. “We can’t get it out fast enough; we are a small team. We figured most early adaptors would want it cheap and easy by using a wireless adaptor, but most neighborhoods are opting for fiber installation.” Since the co-op’s acquisition of Rock Island, Lawlor has been working 100-hour weeks. He spends a lot of time speaking to homeowners’ associations (there are 130 in the county) and property owners about the broadband process. There are currently 80 neighborhoods at various stages of the design process.
Broadband history
In 1999, in order to improve electric system reliability, OPALCO started installing fiber optic lines connecting its offices to field devices and the mainland. Since then, it made high-speed data connections available to instiSee REQUESTS, Page 4
Journal file photo
Recently deployed to the San Juans to allow other boats to undergo maintenance, the Sealth, above, will remain in the islands for the spring sailing schedule, reducing capacity for Lopez and San Juan by a combined 500 cars per day.
Capsized by peak demand Reservation system buckles under surge for summer travel By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
Washington State Ferries fell victim last week to its own… success? The demand for making reservations for summer sailings in the San Juans proved so great that WSF’s reservation system buckled under the weight of the volume and then collapsed shortly after reservations first became available online and by telephone with release of the summer schedule, on April 14. Of the 4,400 reservations made April 14, 1,850 were for summer sailings before the deluge of activity knocked the summer reservation system off-line. Ferries reportedly received tens of thousands of online reservations requests and handled more than 3,000 phone calls that day as well.
“I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience this causes our customers and the frustration that many folks felt this morning when they tried to make a reservation,” WSF Assistant Secretary Lynne Griffith said later that day in a press release. “Whenever we launch a new program for the public I expect it to work, so I am looking into what happened and how we can ensure this does not happen again.” Troubleshooting and repairs were expected to take at least one week, but according to Brian Churchwell, vehicle reservations program manager, reservations for summer sailings are not expected to be available until at least next week. WSF plans to make summer sailings available in increments and roll out reservations for the summer schedule in “waves” to avoid being overwhelmed by demand, Churchwell said. Meanwhile, the 90-auto-capacity Sealth is expected to remain in the San Juans through the remainder of the spring schedule, reducing See DEMAND, Page 5
Winner of six 1st place awards in Washington Newspaper Publishers Association 2014 BNC, 17 in all
Senator Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, unveiled a plan to tax 7,500 of the wealthiest in the state in an effort to solve Washington’s school funding crisis and combat income inequality. He also introduced a constitutional amendment which will prevent the capital gains threshold from dropping below $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a household without a vote of the people. Ranker’s high-earners tax is part of a larger plan by Senate Democrats to fully fund Washington’s schools. “Without question, and we have the research to support us, Washington’s tax system is the most unfair in the country,” Ranker said. “We also must sigSee PLAN, Page 5
Earth Day Wednesday, April 22, marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Get out and about, and make yours a memorable one