The State of Education

This comes from a UPI dispatch...

Students Get Proof Of Their "Education"

A Cleveland area principal says he is embarrassed his students got proof of their "educaiton" on their high school diploma.

Westlake High School officials misspelled "education" on the diplomas distributed this weekend. It's been the subject of mockery on local radio and TV. Principal Timothy Freeman says he sent the diplomas back once to correct another error.

When the corrected diplomas came back, no one bothered to check the things they thought were right the first time. Publisher Jostens (The Yearbook Company) has reprinted the new diplomas — the third attempt — and sent them to the 330 graduates.

Guess they don't have anything like the WASL back there in Ohio...

Hearings Board Gets One Right

The Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board (CPSGMHB) finally got one right when it dismissed the Sept. 13, 2007 appeal of Kitsap County’s Comprehensive Plan regarding its Capital Facilities Plan, which had resulted in a sewer planning remand. As a consequence of the ruling, the Kitsap County Commissioners had imposed a development moratorium on all land inside the proposed Urban Growth Areas (UGAs).

The process which defined the UGA expansions were the result of citizen's committees from each specific area coming together over a period of about three years and outlining the proposed boundaries. The plans were completely vetted by county staff, the Planning Commission, and the public, at numerous public hearings.

The arguments of the appellants, the Suquamish Tribe, Kitsap Citizens for Responsible Planning (KCRP), Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and South Kitsap resident Jerry Harless, were all rejected. The CPSGMHB ruled that the county’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan is compliant with the state’s Growth management Act (GMA) and that all the expanded Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) outlined in the plan are valid.

What annoys me specifically about this appeal is the fact the Suquamish Tribe was personally invited to participate in the joint Kitsap County/City of Port Orchard process for the South Kitsap UGA by it's chairman — yours truly. The idea was for our group to be able to address the Tribe's issues on the front end of the process, and hopefully avoid an appeal.

Tribal chairman Leonard Forsman rejected that idea saying, "We're a sovereign nation. We only deal on a government to government basis." When I gave him the option of being an equal partner and making it a joint County/City/Tribal process, he changed his tune, stating, "It's basically a manpower issue for us. It's cheaper for us to appeal on the back end than to staff it on the front end." When I asked about the fact an appeal costs the citizens of Kitsap upwards of a million dollars to defend, and ties up landowners for a year or more, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "Not my problem."

He did this in front of at least 10 witnesses. I also wrote an editorial in the Business Journal at the time, telling this story. Forsman responded with a Letter to the Editor, which we ran, talking about how much the Tribe contributes to the local economy. However, he didn't refute the above details which were also contained in that editorial. And as reaction to the editorial, the tribe canceled its long-running full-page ad in the paper as well.

The Tribe's track record is to appeal land use decisions as a matter of course — in spite of the fact it hypocritically refuses to adhere to the very same rules in its own developments on tribal land it legally tries to force down the throats of the rest of us. It is also rumored to have financed the appeals of other groups. And as its commercial enterprises — the casino, hotel, Kiana Lodge, et. al. — continue to grow and prosper, we are feeding the tribe the very dollars it uses against us that has helped drain the county's coffers fighting its land use appeals. That's why I personally refuse to attend any function held on tribal property that requires me to spend any of my own money.

This decision also directly impacts appellant Harless, a former Kitsap County planner, who has been fighting the expansion of the South Kitsap UGA for the past five years or so. He lives on 5 acres of land situated in the triangle between Old Clifton Road, Berry Lake Road, and Highway 16, and is adamantly opposed to his property being included inside the UGA. As someone who has made a living in the planning field and has an excellent working knowledge of the GMA, Harless has become very skilled in the mechanics of working its processes to delay that inclusion.

Harless served on the Citizen's Advisory Committee for the South Kitsap UGA expansion, as did KCRP member Tom Donnelly. Harless chaired its Reasonable Measures Committee, and both voted in favor of the final version of the plan.

As a result of the ruling, the Board of Commissioners voted to lift the development moratorium at its June 9 meeting. This will open up all of the County's expanded UGAs for new subdivision and development permits. It will also allow land inside the contested UGA’s to now be annexed by the cities.

Lifting the moritorium also opens the door for a possible incorporation of Silverdale, as well as annexation of several areas of South Kitsap by the City of Port Orchard — most notably the Bethel Avenue corridor and the portions of Sidney Road/Pottery Avenue between Sedgwick Road and Tremont Street that are not currently inside the city limits. Both areas are inside the expanded UGA boundaries and targeted for commercial development in the comprehensive plan. A number of property owners in those areas had previously indicated they would petition the city for annexation once the moratorium was lifted.

Annexation of Bethel Road between Lund Avenue and Sedgwick Road would also eliminate the onerous Bethel Corridor Design Standards. The restrictions on development contained in those regulations — which were imposed at the insistence of former county commissioner and current commission candidate Charlotte Garrido — are blamed for making development on Bethel completely unfeasible financially.

Could that be why NO development has occurred on Bethel since they were imposed over a decade ago? It looks like they worked exactly like Charlotte intended them to.

Observation on Obama and Clinton

What appears below is an interesting — and accurate — synopsis of why Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton. It originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune. Read it here.

5 reasons Obama won, 5 reasons Clinton lost ... and 5 differences between Obama, McCain

5 reasons Obama won
1. He owned the word "change" when voters were fed up with the status quo. In a field of older, better-known candidates, he represented "the new."
2. He opposed the Iraq War when others were equivocal. The issue was a clear winner against Clinton, who had voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion.
3. His oratory was electrifying. While his early debate performances seemed halting and uncomfortable, he steadily improved. His stump speeches were assured, and he drew crowds as large as 75,000.
4. His campaign was better strategically and operationally, particularly in taking the long view and focusing on caucus states and primaries beyond Super Tuesday.
5. He won the Internet, notably in raising record amounts of money and building networks of supporters through non-traditional methods.

5 reasons Clinton lost
1. Her campaign was too corporate and hierarchical. It spent too much on staff, was too slow in decision-making and had too little independent thinking.
2. She didn't recognize the threat Obama posed early enough, and went straight from "inevitable" to in trouble.
3. She invested heavily in Iowa, then lost to Obama there. Her deputy campaign manager had urged her to skip the opening caucuses, which her husband, Bill, had bypassed in 1992.
4. She had no coherent post-Super Tuesday plan. While she held her own in the Feb. 5 primaries, including a big victory in California, she lost the next 11 contests.
5. She failed to connect with African-American voters, a demographic that had always been in her corner. Early in the race, poorly timed comments by Bill Clinton hurt her among blacks.

5 major differences between Obama and McCain
1. McCain supports the Iraq War; Obama opposes it.
2. McCain opposes abortion; Obama favors abortion rights.
3. Obama favors talking with hostile regimes; McCain does not.
4. McCain would make the Bush tax cuts permanent; Obama would not.
5. Obama favors more restrictions on gun ownership than McCain. 

Republicans Field Challengers

In spite of itself, it appears the hapless Kitsap Republican Party has actually recruited folks to run for every elected position available in November except County Auditor and North Kitsap Commissioner.

Is it too much for voters to hope that they’ve inadvertently uncovered some pragmatic moderates who will be able to work well with others and articulate a common sense message — people who will offer a real choice to everyone except the die hard party faithful?

Some Thoughts On Armed Forces Day

Today is Armed Forces Day. I hope the following serves as a fitting tribute to those we honor, and who, no matter what your politics or your views on the Iraq War, deserve our respect.

Definition Of A Veteran...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in one's life, wrote a blank check made payable to:

"The United States of America" For an amount of "Up to and including my life."

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

— Author Unknown

_____________________________________________________________________________________

May we always remember the General...

Unfortunately for our detractors, the true core of the American people comes shining through loud and clear. Bravery and selflessness off the charts, is alien to all but a few. However, the following, although it a gem that’s been around, is the perfect bitch slap. Yes, we’re an imperfect country, and many of the media delight in pointing it out to us repeatedly. But here’s a pleasant read about America, and our unselfish motives around the world. Enjoy.

When in England at a large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."

It became very quiet in the room.

Finally, a couple of videos that perhaps say more than I know how to.

A Tribute — Please Don't Forget Them

If you appreciate our men and women in the service, but either don't know how, or feel awkward about expressing your feelings of appreciation for what they do, this is for you. It's called The Gratitude Campaign — and believe it or not, it started in Seattle.

A Disappointment...

I have worked very hard over the years using my column in the Business Journal to promote local business. I have been especially hard on local governments, insisting they purchase locally at every opportunity. I've never advocated that local businesses should just be handed business by the government if they aren't price competitive, but that they should always be given the opportunity to compete — which hasn't always happened.

In fact, when it comes to buying services, Kitsap County and some of our other quasi-governmental agencies, seem to have a belief that there isn't the knowledge and/or expertise here to make it even worthwhile to look within our county. They also appear to think that if they don't pay big money (our tax dollars) for something, it must not be as good as what's available elsewhere else. My experience has been just the opposite. What I have found is that many service providers located here originally came from Seattle — and in many cases California — in search of a better quality of life. It hasn't diminished their ability to deliver high quality services, but it has in many cases reduced the price. Understanding Kitsap isn't Seattle and doesn't command the prices most service providers there can charge, many of those people have willingly traded money for quality of life.

In Port Orchard, I have instituted a simple purchasing policy. Assuming cost competitiveness, our purchasing priorities are to look first within the City itself (that way, we can at least recapture a portion of the sales tax we pay), then South Kitsap, Kitsap County, Washington State and then elsewhere — in that order.

So it was a major disappointment to me when the City posted an RFP to redesign our Web site and out of 28 bids received, only three were from Kitsap-based firms and two from Seattle. The rest were from out of state and came from as far away as Atlanta, New York City, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, and of course, California. We also directly contacted a number of local Web designers whose work we were familiar with, encouraging them to bid as well. Not a single one of them did.

After reviewing the bids we did receive, we decided to revise the specs somewhat and will re-advertise the project hoping to draw additional bidders. Hopefully, this time some will be local.

Talk About Chutzpah...

It's a good thing the Washington Supreme Court ruled several years ago that lying in a political campaign was an acceptable form of free speech. I received the following as part of a campaign donation solictitaton press release from our esteemed governor...

"In 2005, when I was elected, Washington had the highest unemployment rate in the country, a government with too much red tape and a $2.2 billion deficit. But I entered office ready to take on challenges and get results."

Excuse me??? Dino Rossi — NOT Governor Gregoire — was the architect of the budget that solved that nasty little $2.2 billion deficit problem. To try and take credit for what Rossi accomplished shows an enormous amount of chutzpah, if for no other reason, than because it's a outright lie.

In fact, in the four years she's been governor, state spending has ballooned over 33 percent and we are projected by Gregoire's own budget office to have an even BIGGER budget deficit next year. And she'll solve that problem how??? Most likely, by new and increased taxes (Say, "Goodbye one percent property tax increase"). That's because she isn't about to anger the education and state employee unions, which along with the environmental lobby, are the backbone of her financial support, by making any meaningful spending cuts.

On the other hand, Rossi's campaign continues humming along, attracting people new to the political process — or at least new to donating to candidates anyway — which should worry Gregoire. Many are moderate Democrats, which Rossi calls "Dinocrats." In fact, over 40 percent of Rossi's donors have never donated to a candidate before, and his campaign logged its 30,000th campaign donor yesterday.

Meanwhile, independent polls continue to show the race as a dead heat that's too close to call. That too, at this point in the campaign, should be a major concern to Gregoire — who has never polled 50 percent in the entire time she has been governor.

Intentional Misinformation or Sloppy Reporting?

I was dismayed to read the Sun's April 24 editorial concerning SKIA, because of its obvious bias against Port Orchard. To call the approach Port Orchard has presented for the development of SKIA "convoluted," is not only misinformed, it does a disservice to the paper's readers who most likely aren't familiar with the proposal, by representing what appears to be misinformation, as factual.

What Port Orchard has presented is a balanced proposal based on what is clearly spelled out in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Port, the County, and the cities of Bremerton and Port Orchard. This is a legal contract which Port Orchard believes the parties have an obligation to fulfill.

As far as any "threatened lawsuit" is concerned, there have been NO threats issued by the City of Port Orchard. Our City Attorney did send a letter to the parties signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding reminding them of their obligations under the agreement — and nothing more. Perhaps the Sun should have checked with Port Orchard before implying to its readers in that editorial it was the potential plaintiff. It is our sincere belief that cooperation is preferable to litigation. Meanwhile, the City has been informally approached to partner with a group interested in using litigation to stop the annexation of SKIA by Bremerton. We have declined to participate because of our obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding.

In the future, perhaps before casting the City of Port Orchard in any kind of negative light editorially, it would be better if the Sun's editorial writer(s) simply picked up the phone and made sure they had all the facts first.

Governor's Race Heating Up

The governor’s race is beginning to heat up in a big way. Governor Christine Gregoire has been on a whirlwind tour of the state — riding around in a fully equipped luxury motorcoach. Although the coach is rented from a Seattle company, it's licensed in Oregon (avoiding the sales tax?), which seems to me to be a major faux pas on the part of her campaign managers. The tour included a stop in Bremerton, where she met with local elected, business, and community leaders (including yours truly) to listen to our concerns, tell us what a great job she’s done as governor, and remind us of all her accomplishments, before holding a fundraiser in another part of the building.

Meanwhile, challenger Dino Rossi has caught up to her in fundraising, surpassing 27,000 individual donors — of which, over 40 percent are new to the Rossi campaign. If I were Gregoire, that would be making me nervous. Rossi has also unveiled a transportation plan with 71 percent of the proposed spending going towards nine major unfunded congestion relief projects. Democrats are having difficulty refuting his plan because the cost projections for eight of those projects were taken directly from DOT and RTID numbers.

In spite of Gregoire’s bravado, saying, "In November, we will win, election night, within the first 10 minutes, by a large majority," a couple of independent polls show Rossi neck and neck with Gregoire — who has never polled over 50 percent the entire time she’s been in office.

In my view, it’s still way too close to call, but Rossi has a legitimate shot at unseating Gregoire, who he arguably beat four years ago.

Local R's Finally Recruit a Candidate

The local Republican Party has finally found a candidate to run for the South Kitsap commissioner’s seat — Tim Matthes.

Matthes is actually a pretty sharp guy who is well-informed, thoughtful and pragmatic. However, as a member of the militant Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners (KAPO) you can look for most local news reports concerning him to begin with something like, “County Commission Candidate and KAPO member Tim Matthes said…” Hopefully, the local media can restrain itself where this is concerned, but honestly, I don’t have much hope about that.

As happened with NASCAR, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see an environmental reporter covering at least a part of Matthes’ campaign — instead of a political one. That’s too bad, because it will unfairly color the debate on many of the real issues facing the county.

KAPO, for the uninformed, is a politically active property rights group with about a thousand local members. Led by Vivian Henderson, who is a fixture at most public meetings, it has a reputation as a take-no-prisoners organization that’s been a continual thorn in the side of the county commissioners where land use issues are concerned. The mere mention of its name has a tendency to infuriate local environmental activists.

If Matthes can overcome KAPO to actually get his message out, it may resonate surprisingly well.