You can tell I’m bored when I’m writing about whether to open a piece of junk mail (see screen capture) that arrived a week ago. The USPS uses a more professional term — marketing mail — and that’s likely what it is. But are there enough outward clues to decide whether it is worth opening?
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Last week Washington state Democrats introduced companion bills in the Senate (see screen capture) and House that propose to tax high earners. Dubbed the “millionaires” tax, the legislation imposes a 9.9 percent tax on annual earnings above $1 million. Although “millionaires” tax is a catchy term, it won’t apply for long, not because the tax will be overturned by a voter or legal challenge, but because of some fine print in the bills.
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Last week the school levy ballot and the Bremerton School District’s justification for passing it (see photo) arrived in the mail. It’s not the increase in property taxes I’m objecting to as I will be voting “yes.” Rather, having lived in Bremerton since the 1970’s, I have seen this movie before many times and I’m bored with it.
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While riding my bike on January 16th I collided with the mailbox cluster shown in the photo. The result was a serious hip injury. A week later I’m still using a walker to get around. Yesterday, I reported this safety hazard to the City of Bremerton. It will be interesting to see if anything comes from my request.
Continue readingPosted in Biking, Government
I live on Mud Bay. My old pickup truck has advertised my place of residence via a personalized license plate for almost two decades. However, it was only about two years ago that I was able to swap it for a license plate that spells Mud Bay correctly (see photo). That meant dealing with the Washington state Department of Licensing, never an easy task.
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Like many (mostly older?) Americans I’m bummed that penny production ended this month. Just because pennies cost several times their value to make doesn’t mean the United States should stop minting them. Lost in the coverage of this issue in both mainstream and social media is what Victor D. Brenner, the Lincoln wheat penny designer, might say if he were still around.
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The cost of Washington’s annual Discover Pass (see screen capture) went up from $30 to $45 on October 1. The price of a daily pass stayed the same. While this is the first increase since the annual pass debuted in 2011, not surprisingly the 50 percent hike affected sales, at least in the first month. This post has a few thoughts on the increase and Discover Passes in general.
Continue readingThe big news out of the nation’s capitol today is that the Senate reached an agreement that will lead to the end of the government shutdown. This post would have been more timely last week when there was still no end in sight. However, Congress is so polarized, and so clueless, that while the current shutdown is the longest in history, it won’t be the last. Can anything be done to send Congress a message that future lengthy shutdowns are unacceptable?
Continue readingJustice Delayed, posted in September 2025, described a check forgery case that I’m in involved in as a witness. Today I learned in an email that the criminal part of the case is all but over, at least for me anyway.
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Chico Creek is in the early stages of another great fall chum salmon run. It may not match the abundant 2024 run, but it won’t disappoint anyone interested in seeing lots of migrating salmon up close. That’s my observation after checking several good viewing points along the creek yesterday, including from the bridge at Taylor Road (see photo). The salmon there were already about a mile inland from where Chico Creek flows into Dyes Inlet and seemed to have enough energy left to continue their journey further upstream.
There were no salmon in Chico Creek just a week ago. Perhaps they waited for the creek to rise from last weekend’s heavy rains. Or maybe it’s the lure of being the star attractions in tomorrow’s Kitsap Salmon Tours, an annual fall event that kicks off the celebration of salmon returning to Kitsap creeks and streams. Whatever the case, the fall salmon run has begun and their timing is perfect.
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