Sequim Gazette, January 27, 2016

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‘What is Love’?

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Senior class play asks the big question

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B-1

For the birds

Raptor helpers seek new rehab equipment

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Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016

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75 CENTS

Vol. 43, Number 4

What’s ‘affordable housing’ in Sequim? Who qualifies, what more may be needed by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

In Sequim, $56,300 is the magic number when defining what’s affordable. That dollar amount is the area median income in Clallam County and is used to base income and rent limits for affordable housing

throughout the county. What’s considered affordable varies from place to place. In neighboring King County, for example, the median income is $89,600. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calculates the median incomes for all communities, Kay Kassinger, Peninsula Housing Authority ex-

Elk Creek Apartments, east of downtown Sequim off Rhodefer Road is one of few affordable housing properties that isn’t limited to seniors and has the highest density with 138 units. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

ecutive director, said. Based on the area median income in Clallam County, a person has an “extremely low income” if his or her annual income is $12,150, which still is above the 2015 state poverty guideline of $11,770, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “More than 50 percent of the single households we serve in our

See HOUSING, A-10

Teens fueling ballot drive

City councilors support effort to improve safety on Highway 101 Sequim staff proposes temporary shift of Happy Valley intersection

School bond sparks students’ interest in voting process

by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

Emphasis on eelgrass

by MICHAEL DASHIELL Sequim Gazette

For a number of Sequim teens, their first vote may help decided the future of their schools. A growing interest by young voters in the Sequim School District’s efforts to pass a multi-phase school construction bond issue has some Sequim High students talking to their classmates about changes they’d like to see at their ow n school and beyond. “In governWEBB ment class, we’d talked about how the bond barely missed being passed; that was frustrating to me,” SHS senior Emily Webb said. In November, a $49.3 million bond proposal fell just 0.45 percentage points short of a 60 percent supermajority needed for approval. The plan would have helped build a new elementary school, add science classrooms at Sequim High School, add classrooms at Greywolf Elementary School and complete several other projects district officials say are critical to the health of the district. “A lot of my peers hadn’t

See BALLOT, A-6

See SAFETY, A-5

Local scientists continue work to restore a critical habitat

Commissioners put SARC on back burner behind Carlsborg sewer bids

by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is recognized by the Puget Sound Partnership, a state agency tasked with coordinating a variety of partners toward shared statewide goals to restore and protect Puget Sound, as both “critical habitat” and a “vital sign” of Puget Sound because changes in its abundance or distribution reflect changes in environmental conditions. Sequim Gazette photo by Alana Linderoth

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ocal scientists are lending their expertise to offset the global decline of seagrass by studying and restoring eelgrass. “The amount of eelgrass that is being lost is huge,” John Vavrinec, senior research scientist and dive officer at the Marine Sciences Laboratory, said. “In 2009, it was estimated about 30 percent the eelgrass meadows in the world had been lost since the 1940s.” To help address this decline, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine

The City of Sequim is now officially onboard of a grassroots movement to improve safety at U.S. Highway 101 and Happy Valley Road intersection. Sequim city councilors unanimously agreed to support a resolution on Jan. 25, advocating to the “State Legislature to work with the Washington State Department of Transportation to fund safety improvements to SR101.” David Garlington, Sequim Public Works director, said the request includes improvements at Happy Valley Road, Whitefeather Way and Palo Alto Road

by ROB OLLIKAINEN Olympic Peninsula News Group

Sciences Lab in Sequim are working with the state toward a sound-wide goal to restore eelgrass throughout the Puget Sound. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is recognized by the Puget Sound Partnership, the state agency tasked with coordinating a variety of partners toward shared goals to restore and protect Puget Sound, as both “critical habitat” and a “vital sign” of Puget Sound because changes in its abundance or distribution reflect

Clallam County commissioners will open bids for the Carlsborg sewer project before committing Opportunity Fund money to the shuttered Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center. They also agreed Monday, Jan. 25, to hold a public hearing before considering a $731,705 request from SARC to replace an aging air handler for the indoor pool room, which is needed for the athletic facility to reopen through a partnership with the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.

See EELGRASS, A-2

See SARC, A-3

Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-8 • Obituaries A-10 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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