Journal of the San Juans, May 20, 2015

Page 1

Hot off the press

Our annual visitors guide, Springtide, hits the streets this week

WHAT’S INSIDE

FIND IT AROUND TOWN

Scene

See sea creatures like you’ve never seen them before at IMA exhibit PAGE 9

Guest Column

Escalating utility bills got you down? Find out how to crunch those kilowatts down to size PAGE 7

Journal

The 75¢ Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Vol. 108 Issue 20

District election draws seven

Can ‘PR’ campaign turn the tide? By Scott Rasmussen Journal Editor

Journal staff report

Contested races for public office are few and far between in 2015. One notable exception, however, is the San Juan Island hospital district commission. Three incumbents opted not to seek reelection, including longtime hospital district commissioner Lenore Bayuk, leaving the field wide open and the prospect of overseeing the district, as well as San Juan EMS, drawing seven candidates divided into three separate elections. An all-volunteer board of directors, the hospital commission sets policies for the hospital district and for EMS, and it maintains financial and operational oversight over each of the public entities and the revenue-generating property tax levies of both. The EMS property tax levy is slated to expire at the end of the year unless renewed by voters. Meanwhile, the upcoming election signals little change for the Town of Friday Harbor’s elected officials. Town Council incumbents Steve Hushabeck, Noel Monin and Barbara Starr are running unopposed, as is newly appointed Treasurer Kelli Wilson. Friday Harbor Port Commissioner Greg Hertel is also running unopposed. At the San Juan Island Fire Department commission, former Friday Harbor fire chief Bob Low will compete against See SEVEN, Page 4

Contributed photo / Center for Whale Research

The newborn orca calf, J-50, swims alongside its presumed mother, J-16. The whale was spotted for the first time by researchers on Dec. 30, and appeared to be healthy. When sighted the calf was energetic & between 4-10 days old.

Allegations fall flat over tossed tires

See TIDE, Page 3 County cleanup crews gather up and haul away 60-plus auto tires tossed over an embankment and onto the waterfront at Deadman Bay a year ago in March.

By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor

A San Juan Island man accused of dumping 66 automobile tires over an embankment and onto the shoreline of a publicly owned nature preserve is off the hook. In a decision handed down March 11, San Juan County Hearings Examiner Phil Olbrechts ruled the county lacked sufficient evidence to tie 34-year-old Richard Morgan Foley to the pile of tires discarded on the water-

The Southern Resident killers whales share something in common with Cook Inlet’s Beluga whales and the monk seals of Hawaii. And, it’s not necessarily a good thing. In fact, those marine mammals are among eight species that the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration considers most at risk of extinction in the near future. So, in its 52nd year of managing the federal Endangered Species Act, NOAA chose those eight to be the face of a new public education initiative entitled “Species in the Spotlight: Survive to Thrive.” The endangered eight represent imperiled marine creatures in all corners of the county, from East Coast to West Coast, and Alaska to the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific. “We will be reaching out to the public through various means to raise awareness across the country about these species and identifying way the public can be more engaged, by learning about these species and their threats and by identifying specific action the public can take to help each of these species,” said NOAA’s Donna Wieting, director

Real Est ate

in the

San Juan

Islands May 201 5

Steve E. Martin

photo

Published the Journal of the San Juanthird Wednesday of each month Islands, Islands’ by the Sounder and Island s’ Weekly

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0

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7

Wendy Thomas Kathryn Sherman

photo

Lisa Botiller

Wolford Mary Clure Locally Own ed and Oper ated

Victoria Shaner Asya Eberle

Contributed photo

front of Deadman Bay a year ago in mid-March and dismissed one of two notices of violation leveled against him. Foley, who filed an appeal to contest allegations of illegal dumping, faced a bill of $4,600 for

reimbursement of cleanup costs, a $1,000 fine and possible criminal prosecution if he failed to comply with “corrective actions” as spelled out in the notice. “It’s unfortunate,” county Code See TIRES, Page 4

Winner of six 1st place awards in Washington Newspaper Publishers Association 2014 BNC, 17 in all

Real Estate in the San Juan Islands

See inside for April’s real estate sales, listings and statistics.


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