Although boat owners may not know where their $10.50 boat-registration fee goes after they finish writing the check, the state Legislature is considering adding the cause against saltwater algae to the beneficiaries of these fees.
SB 5412 would allocate 25 cents from each registration fee for a saltwater algae control account that specifically targets sea [...]
As our climate is changing, do you think architects in Washington should take responsibility for the impacts of the buildings they design?
Well according to the “2030 challenge”, the Architects American Council believes that state buildings should be using “net zero” fossil fuels by 2030.
During the month of March, decisions regarding the state energy [...]
By Sound News reporter Jeanne Fulcher
Controversy has surrounded Glacier Northwest’s proposed gravel mine on Maury Island for several years. Maury Island’s aquifer provides clean water for homes on the island, and citizens are worried that the gravel mine has the potential to pollute the groundwater or use so much water that neighboring wells will dry [...]
By Sound News reporter Lyndsay Gordon
For the last ten years a rescue tug has been posted at Neah Bay and for the last ten years it has cost taxpayers approximately $3.5 million of tax payer money annually. This new bill would requires the oil, cargo, and cruise industries to pay for the tug boat [...]
By Sound News reporter Erica Petru
For an introduction to HB 1490 and the corresponding Senate Bill 5687 see blogs by Sound News reporters Maggie Murdoch and Tye Rogerson.
The goals listed in section one of House Bill 1490 are numerous and admirable:
- Increase and improve urban development
- Reduce sprawl
- Encourage the increased use of efficient transportation
- [...]
By Sound News Reporter Emilia Ptak
“Tug on anything and you will find it connected to everything else.” The message of interrelatedness, adopted from the writings of the naturalist John Muir, welcomes you upon entering the expansive lodge at the outdoor learning center IslandWood. Written in a flowing cursive that weaves around a vast, steal, infinity [...]
by Sounds News reporter Maggie Murdoch
OLYMPIA - It was a beautiful, sparkling day at the capitol. Hundreds of environmental activists gathered for Environmental Lobby Day to let legislators know that the people who vote for them demand courageous action on our most pressing environmental concerns. Suits mingled with hippies, students with politicians. Four priorities were [...]
By Sound News reporter Scott Nordquist
OLYMPIA
“Tidal hydrology.”
It’s a term I don’t throw around loosely. Ok, I admit it. I’ve never uttered the phrase in my life and especially not before I’ve had my morning tea. Yet, it came as no surprise considering my company. I spent Thursday morning on an oversold bus with the most [...]
By Scott Nordquist
The beach marches, kayak protests, and human barricades have disappeared from Maury Island. The same people who protested throughout the last month can now be found near the State Capitol trying to reform what they view as a faulty permitting process.
In a battle lasting over a decade, Glacier Northwest leaped a crucial hurdle [...]
The oil, cargo and cruise industry soon might have to pay for a tug to be stationed year-round in Neah Bay. The tug would be used to prevent vessel oil spills.
There has been a rescue tug stationed in Neah Bay for 10 years, but it is only there on a seasonal basis. Funding for the [...]
