Will I feel a bond toward Republican Dino Rossi if he upsets three-term incumbent Democrat Patty Murray when the votes are counted next week in Washington’s senatorial race? I might. I did shake the man’s hand today at a rally at the Silverdale community center. Moreover, I feel good about my vote, which I marked on the mail-in ballot last week and dropped off at the post office this morning.
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Category Archives: Government
Connecting with Dino
Posted in Government
Driving in Bremerton
It’s the first of September, the first day of the fall school term in Bremerton. That’s one more reason to be careful when driving around town. The safety of kids is of course paramount, but that’s not what I’m writing about. With red-light cameras at major intersections and a citywide emphasis on traffic enforcement, drivers already need to be especially vigilant when driving in Bremerton. The all-day 20-mph speed limit in school zones just ups the chances of getting a traffic citation.
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Fishing Sculptures
Sculptures in 2010
Can anything new be said about the controversial public art (see photo) that was installed this month at the intersection of Fourth and Pacific in downtown Bremerton? The sculptures, of a fish and a fisherman, have been criticized in blog entries, in letters to the editor, and in hundreds of online comments on the Kitsap Sun web site. The answer is probably no, but that didn’t stop me from writing about them.
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Mud Bay and the SMP Draft Report
SMP is an abbreviation for Shoreline Master Program, a comprehensive shoreline land-use plan that includes policies and regulations for the use and development of the shoreline. The Shoreline Management Act, passed by the Washington legislature in 1971 and adopted by referendum in 1972, directs local governments to periodically update their SMPs, which are the basis for implementing the state law. A task force recently issued a draft update to Kitsap County’s SMP. A section in it describes the Mud Bay shoreline.
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Posted in Government, Mud Bay & Rocky Point
“Quarterly” Payments
I have been paying quarterly estimated tax for years. Today as I made out a check for the 2nd quarter of 2010 (due June 15th), I wondered for the umpteenth why the IRS Department of the Treasury doesn’t divide the year into 3-month quarters and make the payment due on the 15th of the month after each quarter ends. While looking for the answer, I came across a blog post on the subject that was so thorough further research was unnecessary.
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Posted in Economy, Government
Managed Service Points
Location barcode
Is your mailbox a managed service point? Until a few months ago I had never heard of a managed service point. That’s when I noticed the white barcoded USPS sticker on the inside of the door to my mailbox (see photo). Yesterday I asked my mail carrier why it is there.
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Posted in Government
Banishing Fair Share
A committee at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) publishes an annual list of words banished because of misuse, overuse, and general uselessness. Entries for 2010 include “shovel-ready,” “tweet,” and “teachable moment.” Until now I haven’t felt the need to submit an entry for their consideration. They get thousands of nominations each year. But when I browsed their web site last weekend, I noticed that “fair share” has never been officially sanctioned even though the committee has been performing their invaluable service since 1975.
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Posted in Government
Random Thoughts on April 30th
Random observations about taxes, cycling, Lowe’s, and car names as my favorite month comes to an end. There is no unifying theme.
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Posted in Biking, Business Beat, Cars, Government
Of Course It’s Unconstitutional
By “it” I’m referring to the recently enacted health care legislation that requires all Americans, with a few exceptions, to buy health insurance or face a fine. With astonishing “end justifies the means” reasoning, a majority in Congress and the president set aside the oath they took to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.” Some of them argue that the general welfare or interstate commerce clause provides the legal cover they need. Get real. I think they just didn’t see any other way to enact universal health care legislation.
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Posted in Government
Getting Off with a Warning
Yesterday I got pulled over by a Bremerton black-and-white for making a “rolling stop.” At least that’s what the officer called it. Since I didn’t try hard to talk him out of a citation and don’t fit the stereotypes who sometimes escape with a warning, I was surprised when the officer abruptly let me go without even checking my insurance and registration. Bremerton is having budget problems like other cities in Washington, so you might think city policy would be for traffic officers to issue what could have been a $124 ticket whenever possible. Apparently not.
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Posted in Government
Mud Bay Blog 