Dear Editor: Yeah for Cathy Baylor! She, unlike the present president of the board, Susan Philips, understands the need to protect our children from the toxic crumb rubber fill inexplicably being installed in all the districts new playing fields. Parents need to be informed on this toxic substance. The Edmonds City Council has banned it…
The following is re-posted from the Aug. 24 Sound Transit web page, The Platform. The economic boom has benefited our region in many ways. At Sound Transit, the boom has boosted revenue and given voters the confidence to invest in new transit infrastructure. But that growth also presents construction challenges for agencies along the West…
Dear Editor: Thank you to the voters in the City of Lynnwood and Snohomish County Fire District 1 who participated in the Aug. 1 Primary Election and approved the formation of a regional fire authority. Throughout my entire career of more than 38 years, we’ve been talking about consolidating fire departments into a single regional…
“Let Obamacare fail…we’ll just let Obamacare fail. We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it.” – President Donald Trump, July 18, 2017 Own it, Mr. President. Own the deeply unpopular dumpster fire known as Trumpcare. Own that you took the helm of…
This is the first time in state history that lawmakers failed to pass a capital budget. The capital budget, sometimes known as the construction budget, creates tens of thousands of jobs across the state by investing in community construction projects. These resources build schools, colleges, state parks, dental clinics, and make improvements to our mental…
Dear Editor: Care giving can be an emotionally, physically, and financially draining role. Across Washington State there are more than 335,000 people providing unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. In 2016, these caregivers provided an estimated 382 million hours of care valued at $4.8 billion. My father took care of…
Dear Editor: I’m a small business owner and a mom of a soon to be 6th grader and future Kindergarten student at Mountlake Terrace Elementary. Education is very important to our family, but I never envisioned I’d become an education activist. However, the state of education funding in our district and in Washington State has…
If there were a book on common sense for Congress, I am sure it would include a chapter on holding public committee hearings before voting on legislation. Trumpcare would be a perfect case study: Congressional Republicans found out last week, 20 days after ramming Trumpcare through the House, how awful this bill truly is. Three…
Dear Editor: I am a disabled senior about to lose my home due to insufficient income. I’ve had less than $100 in raises from social security in the last 10 years. Now my landlord wants over $200 more for rent for a small space in an Mobile Home Park. This would represent far more than…
When an adult’s heart stops, all of us should know how to give that person the best chance to survive. I’d like to invite you to be the one who could offer someone that chance by learning Hands-only CPR. Edmonds Community College is proud to partner with the American Red Cross Serving Snohomish County and…
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Publisher’s note: We don’t normally publish submissions from people outside of South Snohomish County, but we are making an exception during Sunshine Week, the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information that runs March 12-18. People must be able to get facts from their government to make smart decisions and hold public officials accountable….
Like the “dead man” scene in the classic Monty Python film, the Affordable Care Act is not dead yet. In 2009, I voted for the Affordable Care Act after hearing from more than 15,000 constituents. Largely, the legislation worked as intended. It improved Medicare benefits for seniors, banned discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and expanded health care coverage…
Dear Editor: I urge voters to support Fire District 1’s Proposition 1 on the general election ballot. It will help the fire district to hire, train and equip more firefighters. Calls for service have increased more than 12 percent in 2016. As the chairman of the Fire District 1 Board of Commissioners, I can assure…
Dear Editor: Rico Tessandore is the most qualified candidate for judge. Here is a side-by-side comparison: Rico has 10 years of judicial experience as a Judge Pro Tem—his opponent had never worked as a judge prior to filing for judicial office. Rico was ranked No. 1 in the 2016 poll of lawyers and judges in…
It has been a very eventful 10 days for Edmonds Seal Sitters: a harbor seal pup on the Edmonds waterfront every day, one ailing seal transferred to PAWS for rehabilitation, a Seal Sitter training session that attracted 20 potential new volunteers, good citizens who helped on the beaches until our volunteers could arrive… But Seal…
Dear Editor, Last Wednesday evening, July 27th, the Lynnwood Transportation Benefit District (TBD), made up exclusively of City Council members, voted 4-2 to raise car tab fees for Lynnwood residents by $20. These funds will go to help pay for much needed road repair. This is a final vote that doesn’t go to the ballot…
I opened the door to my balcony last week and a pidgey flew in. Not a pigeon—a pidgey. Well, the digital representation of the pidgey Pokemon, a small bird-like creature known for its gust and sand attack. Because yes, I have been playing Pokemon Go. The game was released in the United States on Thursday,…
Editor: To Snohomish County Charter Review Commission: With all due respect, the last thing we need is to grow government by adding more council members. Just a little more balance and cooperation on the council is truly what is required. There is no reason in the world that the existing districts can’t be well represented…
A few months ago, I wrote about my growing frustration with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which governs high school sports in Washington state. See: From the Publisher’s Desk: The WIAA’s takeover of high school athletic broadcasts. To recap, for several years I have partnered with Mountlake Terrace High School’s journalism and broadcast programs to…
The stories are heartbreaking and all too frequent. One mother from Everett shared of her son’s struggle with addiction that led to an overdose. Another mother from Bellingham told me that her daughter is in and out of jail and the hospital as she struggles with a heroin addiction. Addiction is a ruthless disease that…
Crumb rubber has been an industry standard for almost two decades, and the placement of up to 40,000 finely ground used tires per field, acts as a cushioning agent on synthetic turf fields and playgrounds. But is it toxic? On one hand, there are many studies held up by industry, that have not found an elevated…
Editor: We want to say THANK YOU to each and every person that helped with Holly House this year. Because of all of our volunteers, donors, sponsors, and the Holly House team, this was the best Holly House Event we’ve ever had. (We say it every year, but Holly House keeps getting bigger and better,…
Editor: The use and safety of crumb rubber is an emerging national issue. Crumb rubber is made from tires, and tires contain many known carcinogens. While we can all agree that further research needs to be done, it is important to note a new development — that at a May 19, 2015 meeting of the…
The following was sent to the Edmonds School Board, and the author requested that it also be posted as a letter to the editor. Edmonds School Board Members: There is an alternative product that will allow you to address most of the concerns raised by the community while still allowing eager athletes to have a…
Dear Editor: Below you will find the letter I have sent to our school board members. You may find it of interest. Our family is very concerned about the possibility of crumb rubber being used for the field project, and hope that before the school board votes this Tuesday, more research will be done, more…
