The following are letters to the editor that appeared in the Aug. 26 print edition of The Peninsula Gateway. To submit a letter, e-mail gatewayeditor@gateline.com. Please keep letters submissions to 250 words.
When four letters to the editor are published on the same day regarding the same subject, readers should take notice, question the accuracy of the information and demand full disclosure regarding the writers’ conflicts of interest.
On this particular occasion, Gerry Baldwin, Joan Baldwin, Monica Faulk and Jim Groves assailed our elected state Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, for not adopting their so-called “solutions” for funding state parks.
Who are these four letterwriters? According to the state Public Disclosure Commission, Gerry and Joan Baldwin have contributed $14,097 to Democrat candidates for public office and $0 to Republicans and Independents.
Upon further examination, I discovered that Gerry Baldwin is the Webmaster and precinct committee officer of the Pierce County Democratic Party.
I could not find any donation information regarding Faulk or Groves, but I’d like to know if they’re connected to the Democratic party. If so, all four letters should be considered nothing more than rants by partisans who are still sore that the voters chose Angel over their candidate last November.
Delaney Harmond, Gig Harbor
Unemployment has reached an all-time high, employers and employees are reducing expenses, and working families wonder how they will be able to put food on the table while they pay mortgages or rent and have car payments.
Meanwhile, Gerry and Joan Baldwin think we should be alarmed because state Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, chose not to attend their politically partisan event regarding state parks. Ridiculous!
Angel is one of the hardest-working elected officials in our state. She made the right decision by using her resources to solve real-world problems, rather than waste her time attending the Baldwins’ affair.
Sheila Nesland, Gig Harbor
Monica Faulk questions whether Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, has time to meet with her constituents. The answer is a resounding “absolutely and always.”
As a Kitsap County Commissioner for eight years and now as our state legislator, Angel is known for working from early morning to late evening on behalf of her constituents, attending meetings and returning phone calls and e-mails.
The position of state representative is part-time, but Angel gives us full-time service.
Serena Blair, Gig Harbor
An Aug. 19 article on WASL test results for the Peninsula School District was rather ironic.
The article reported percent changes in PSD scores from last year, and percent differences in PSD scores from Washington state averages. However, the calculations were uniformly incorrect.
For example, the article stated that science scores for PSD 10th graders increased more than 4 percent from last year. But the percentage of PSD 10th graders who passed the science portion of the WASL was about 45 percent in 2008 and 49 percent in 2009, which is not a 4 percent increase; rather, it represents about an 8.9 percent increase.
As I learned in sixth or seventh grade (and by simple logic), one cannot subtract two percentages to get a percent increase — one needs to divide the difference by the first score and then multiply it by 100 to obtain a figure for percent change.
Similar calculation errors for other scores were reported in the article and in an editorial on the same subject in this newspaper last year.
My understanding is that the math portion of the WASL tests seventh- and eighth-grade calculation skills such as working with percents and fractions, skills needed to function in everyday life in our society.
In my mind, the fact that at least some adults who write for the Gateway seem unaware of these basic arithmetic skills shows the need for increased emphasis on mathematics education and standardized testing in our schools.
Lee Quinn, Key Peninsula
With the recent levy failure on the Key Peninsula, the firefighters are trying to better understand why and how the levy failed.
We understand there may be frustration with the elected Board of Fire Commissioners, but to jeopardize the lives of your community neighbors or the safety of the firefighters responding to emergencies is categorically wrong.
Taxes and tough economic times may play a role in the levy failure, but it is also extremely difficult to provide emergency services without taxpayer support.
We have developed a community survey that asks six questions about your priorities. We need to know what the citizens need and develop a plan to meet those needs.
Please visit www.iaff3152.org and click the “Community Survey” link on the right margin. We plan to create follow-up surveys based on your responses to better hone in on the community’s need.
You can also write any comments by clicking the “contact us” button.
Providing the best possible fire and emergency services are our primary mission, and with your help, we can do it.
Please take the time to participate in the survey. Thank you in advance for your help.
Robert Bosch, President of Key Peninsula, Fire Fighters Local 3152, IAFF, Key Peninsula
Last week, voters of the Key Peninsula made a choice. By little more than 300 votes, the fire levy lid lift was rejected; the delivery of fire and medical service for 18,000-plus people was decided by only 3,200 voters.
Take the opportunity to have your voice heard. As the Key Peninsula Fire Department, Pierce County Fire District No. 16, begins preparations for the 2010 budget, I am requesting any and all feedback from KP residents. Let me know what we need to do to gain your support and make this department great.
I am also throwing down the gauntlet — as filed with the administrative office of the fire department, until further notice, I will not take any compensation for my work done as fire commissioner. Though this amount does little to correct the budget imbalance, it is my choice to support the fire department — a much-needed resource. I then challenge the other commissioners to do the same.
In November, decisions on two commissioners will be made; don’t confuse the commissioner race with the levy lid lift.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent KP residents.
Sheila Hunt, RN, MN, Key Peninsula Fire District 16 Commissioner, Key Peninsula
Over the past few months, a developer named Randy Boss has made several requests for a Fred Meyer project he’d like to develop on Point Fosdick Drive in the vacant property once occupied by car dealerships.
I’d like to clear up some of the issues surrounding it:
It is not an application for Fred Meyer. Mr. Boss has asked for an emergency hearing to increase the building size limit in that zone from 65,000 square feet to 165,000 square feet. There is no way to limit the use simply to Fred Meyer.
Those limits were put in place to keep Wal-Mart out more than a decade ago; four years ago, they were subsequently reviewed and affirmed after much public discussion and support.
A hearing on the matter has not been refused. It is in line with every other land use issue that the city must consider and will go to the Planning Commission sometime next year.
Since the matter was so recently discussed at great length, it hardly makes sense to declare an emergency and skip all the important matters the city has on its plate to tend to Mr. Boss’ business.
Claims that the city will raise your property taxes if the project doesn’t pass are false. The mayor and council have identified cuts that balance the budget. If Initiative 1033 passes in November, we wouldn’t receive any new revenue at all from the project but would still be obligated to its burdens on our services.
Mr. Boss claims we’re missing an economic development opportunity because the project would create 200 jobs. Nothing is stopping him from developing his site to create those jobs — or any job.
There is no building size limit on office buildings in that zone, and he could site multiple retail structures there, so long as each building stayed less than 65,000 square feet.
Fred Meyer could have located a superstore in Gig Harbor North and chose not to.
If you’d like to discuss this or any other city issue, please feel free to give me a call at 253-225-5878.
Derek Young, Gig Harbor City Council member, Gig Harbor
I wish to chime in on this subject of trying to keep building sizes down.
For years, I have shaken my head when I hear businesses have been kept away because the city feels the size of the building is too large. The city should re-think this position. Big is not a bad thing. We, as a community, have been denied having quality full-service retailers because of restrictions on building sizes.
Retailers should be allowed to build the biggest and best they have to offer. It’s great that we now have Target, Costco and Home Depot, and it would be fabulous to get a full-service Fred Meyer.
By forcing the retailer to shoehorn themselves into a less-than-adequate space, they are forced to limit the types of services and the diversity of products they can offer.
Large buildings can be designed to fit in esthetically, just as well as smaller ones. Our family has been able to increase the amount that it shops locally because of the new stores at Gig Harbor North, but we still travel to Tacoma for much of our needs.
It’s my experience that Fred Meyer stores are generally clean, stylish, reasonably priced and a pleasure to shop at. Do what’s needed to get them to come; the community will benefit, not to mention the tax base.
Russell S. Bodge, Gig Harbor
The Prison Pet Partnership Program extends its sincere gratitude to all the wonderful PPPP volunteers and Gig Harbor residents for helping to recapture Indy, the service dog-in-training. Indy was on the lam last week after he wiggled away from a volunteer.
Dozens of area residents phoned to report sightings, which helped us determine his movement patterns. PPPP volunteers posted fliers throughout Gig Harbor, held stakeouts at dawn and dusk each morning and walked countless miles in pursuit of our escapee.
Special thanks to Bev Simpson and Patty Jernejcic, who allowed us to set up “safe harbors” near their homes. That enabled us to eventually apprehend the wily fugitive.
Thank you for your outpouring of support for Indy, and for our organization.
Beth Rivard and Kay Hayes, Executive director and Board president
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