THE City of Gig Harbor had a vision for the Eddon Boatyard site five years ago, and representatives sold it to local voters, who approved a $3.5 million bond to help the city buy the property. Five years later — and after clearing many roadblocks — the former boat house is about to resurface as the city’s latest park, with many public features.

PENINSULA SCHOOL District Superintendent Terry Bouck is leading the administrative team by example. As the school district is facing a budget deficit of $5 million due to a number of factors, Bouck is taking a voluntary 5 percent pay cut, which amounts to more than $8,000. Other administrators are taking between 3 and 5 percent cuts in an effort to avoid as many layoffs as possible.

I was more than a little disappointed when I read the Letters to the Editor in The Peninsula Gateway last week to see that my local newspaper chose to publish two letters from folks in Seattle opposing Referendum 71.

Losing a close friend is even more painful than a nasty breakup. In a sense, we react to both situations in a very similar way: we become angry, depressed, embittered. We cut the other person out of our life, go cold-turkey, yet can’t help but be reminded of them everywhere we look.

In the past month in Kitsap County and across the state, thousands of students have graduated from high school.

King Kong returns to the big screen this week to chase girls, dodge bullets and swat aircraft out of the New York sky. KK might have defeated Godzilla, but I’d like to see how the big ape would match up against these real-life opponents.

As we get closer to this weekend’s Fourth of July festivities, Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula residents should exercise caution in more ways than one. Every year, post-fireworks stories surface that detail horrific accidents involving injuries too grisly to mention. But this isn’t a scare tactic. It’s reality.

The Peninsula School District has some outstanding people in leadership positions, but two in particular — Dan Gregory of Henderson Bay High and Jacque Crisman of Evergreen Elementary — have distinguished themselves and their schools.

The Gig Harbor firefighters would like to thank everyone who gave so unselfishly to the recent Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Fill the Boot campaign. Your generous donations totaled $10,783.

We hear so often in the news about the struggles and frustrations people are facing all across the country in these challenging economic times. But you don’t have to look very far to see these same struggles happening here in our own community. It’s very difficult, because people’s lives drastically change as they lose their homes and jobs.

Ever wondered what it would be like to move back to the town where you were raised?

Highly-paid columnists such as myself (rumored in the high one figures) traditionally count the week before July 4 as a time to goof off. There’s never any real news upon which to pontificate profoundly (nice use of big words, don’t you think?), so we generally write something inane.

The City of Gig Harbor scored a victory last week when a hearing examiner ruled against a rezone application for the Ancich property. Pioneer and Stinson, LLC, had asked for the undeveloped area at Grandview Street and Pioneer Way to be changed to allow potential buildings at the location to reach a height of 35 feet. But the application was denied, keeping the current height restriction at 16 feet.

The Gig Harbor community has been a proud supporter of Relay for Life for more than a decade, and we couldn’t be more proud. In the past, we’ve had staff members form a team for the all-night event that supports those who have been stricken with cancer — either personally or through a close family member.

May I request that any person who has visited our new city park named after Mr. Kenneth L. Marvin take the time to read the history of this outstanding man and his Wake Island Marines.

Results of a survey three or four years ago revealed Americans spent an average of $8,000 per year on each pet they own. That shocked me at the time. A quick calculation assured me I was well below that average, but it was still startling how much we actually spent on our nice little dog adopted from the Humane Society.

Mixed in with the pride of watching their sons and daughters graduate from high school, and the tearful realization that this moment marks the end of a certain era, some parents this year must be wondering if any jobs actually await their children.

Editorial Cartoon

CITIZENS who run for elected offices deserve our respect, whether we support them or not. It takes a certain amount of self-confidence and courage to stand and be judged by voters, armed only with your ideas and a willingness to serve.

THE PENINSULA School District celebrated its annual commencement ceremony last weekend by releasing more than 700 high school graduates into the world. The inspiring event signaled a fresh wave of confidence as we continue to work our way out of a nationwide economic depression.

Will the Gateway allow a real examination of judicial activism or simply continue to publish the opinion of one person (Re: Judicial activism and the progressives’ interpretation of the Constitution, The Peninsula Gateway, June 10)? Why not publish articles that provide some reason and balance?

There are many local issues that deserve more conversation, to better understand how our government relates to our individual interests and relationships.

Nationwide electric co-ops like PenLight are using the “Our Energy, Our Future” campaign to start conversations on how we will address our future energy needs. Concerns for global and regional climate change are pushing the agenda on dealing with carbon pollution. Our utility business is about to undergo major changes with new regulatory requirements from both state and federal governments.

Dear Kids, I thought about letting you write my annual Father’s Day column this year so you could tell the world exactly what you think of me.

IMPROVMENTS at Minter Creek and Wollochet Bay Estuary Park will be going ahead this year, thanks to funding secured during this legislative session by the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. The setting aside of $70 million in the state construction budget for 95 wildlife habitat, farmland preservation and recreation projects was one of the few highlights of the 2009 session.

THEY closed Stone Drive this week to complete the new tunnel that will take drivers under the Tacoma Narrows Airport’s safety landing zone. The multi-million dollar project was required by the Federal Aviation Administrion.