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Greetings!
I hope your new year is kicking off with moments that exceed expectations. We certainly all deserve it. These ongoing doldrums have taken their toll and I believe it's due time for the winds to stir up.
Personally, I'm going to do all that I can to foster a growing breeze because I've come to learn, as many of you know, that "a rising tide lifts all boats."
Here's to a year of exceeded expectations for all!
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 Lights On in Olympia The 60 day regular session for our State Legislature began January 9, 2012. My January 12th North West Clean Air Agency meeting was canceled, so I decided to drive to Olympia and be counted in a couple of public hearings on active bills.
HB 1313,  is a bill attempting to water down the expertise needed to declare wetlands. You could also say it's about certifying, and thereby giving credibility to, those unlicensed scientists that governments and agencies are using to "muddy the waters" of best available science.
I told you last March about an event I attended in Tukwila where we found that property owners throughout the state were being jammed up with critical area violations that appeared unreasonable. In most cases, when an actual state-licensed scientist was brought in, the violations were not only unreasonable but inaccurate.
I testified with a panel against HB1313 before the General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee. Then I followed up with a more thorough e-mail message to the full board. You can read that message clicking here.
HB 1508 is about protecting sport shooting ranges. This is a hotly contested issue in Kitsap County and something I certainly don't want to see become an issue in our county, so I was there in support of the bill. HB 2291, the prime sponsor is our 10th District Legislator, Representative Norma Smith. It concerns the creation by petition of Local Improvement Districts in water-sewer districts. Seeing first hand how the RCW (Revised Code of Washington, our State Legislative Statutes) pertaining to this issue affected our county this last year, I wanted to offer some support for this extremely appropriate bill. You can read the letter I sent to the co-sponsor and Chair of the Local Government Committee, Representative Dean Takko by clicking here. I did take the time to visit all three of our legislators' offices while I was in town. Here, in the background is a picture taken by first grader Mira Bouton of Langley who won first place for her photo in the Youth Division Competition at last year's Island County Fair.
Congratulations Mira!
It hangs proudly on the wall at Representative Bailey's office.
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2010 Events to Remember
This photo was taken at a Washington Policy Center event in Bellevue last October. That is former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton on my left and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels on my right.
Here I am with Michael Reagan, son of the late President Ronald Reagan. Hey, it's all about the relationships, folks, so I'm working hard to make the right ones.
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