Steamboat Island Road Website Opens for Local Business and Pleasure

“Steamboat Island Road” features
an interactive map

Hi Neighbor! For many living on the Steamboat Island Peninsula, it’s hard to get to know your neighbors. Sure, you may know a few people on your street, but beyond that, how many people do you know on the peninsula? Many people spend more time off the peninsula than on it. But they would still like to know more of their neighbors, buy from businesses and garage sales on the peninsula, and attend local events.

Finding myself in similar straits, I created a website to help.

Steamboat Island Road Website – http://steamboatislandroad.yellowbearjourney.com/

This directory is for everybody in the Steamboat Island area, just outside of Olympia, WA. It will allow the people, businesses, non-profits, and communities of the Steamboat Island area to network, collaborate, and buy local.

If you want to post your business here, contact us with business title, category, and contact info. Contact info can include website, address (only if customers are coming to your door), phone, and email address. If you don’t have a website, we can help you create it.

Business listings are $72/yr. Discounts may be available. Key businesses and non-profits receive free listings, but are encouraged to support this website by purchasing their listing. All businesses listed on this website are listed in the directory. Businesses that have customers coming to their door also get listed on the map.

We also encourage you to join the Griffin Neighborhood Association, which is involved in similar efforts.

Please send us your Event, For Sale, Wanted, and Free postings. Include the Item, the Price, if you want it or are selling it, and contact info. Postings are a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $5 depending on the price. Garage sale postings are $5. All postings submitted and paid for will be posted within two weeks.

Advertise here. There is one spot on the main page that goes for $20/month – first come first serve. Additional add spots are available on a second page for $10/month. These prices are for businesses on the peninsula. Prices are double for other businesses.

Dale Stubbart dale@yellowbearjourney.com
Certified Deep Green to save energy while you surf the web.

November Science Café to Discuss Conservation Issues for Pacific Northwest Bats

November topic for the Olympia Science Café is Conservation Issues for Pacific Northwest Bats

7:00 pm, Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Batdorf & Bronson Coffee House, 516 Capitol Way South, Olympia
Batdorf & Bronson has three locations in Olympia. Science Café meets in the downtown coffee house on Capitol Way. On-street parking is available on Legion, Capitol Way, Columbia Street, and Water Street.
After 6 p.m., there is parking available at Heritage Bank on Columbia Street between 5th and Legion.

Eleven species of bats reside in western Washington and several more on the arid side of the state. Gradual changes in habitat and the use of pesticides have reduced the prey base, and in the eastern U.S., white-nose syndrome has been the cause of large numbers of hibernating bats. This presentation will cover the different life history strategies for bats in western Washington as well as things we can be doing to slow or reverse the trend toward far fewer bats in our ecosystems.

The speaker this month is Greg Falxa from Cascadia Research Collective (Olympia, Washington). He looks forward to observations and questions from the attendance.

Science Café will be taking a break in December, but we’ll be back in January, 2011.

The Science  Café welcomes comments and suggestions on topics, speakers, and how we can improve our meetings. Also, please feel free to pass this notice on to like-minded friends.

Science Café of Olympia provides an informal atmosphere where people both with and without scientific background can meet to gain a better understanding of interesting topics in science and technology. After a brief presentation by an expert in the field, the meeting will be opened to discussions. Science Cafés are found nationwide and are loosely affiliated with the U.K.-based Cafe Scientifique, an international organization promoting public engagement with science. The Sciencecafes.org website is produced by the Science Unit of WGBH in Boston in association with Sigma Xi. Support for Science Café of Olympia is provided in part by the Puget Sound Chapter of The American Chemical Society.

http://www.sciencecafes.org/event_pages/olympia.html
http://www.cafescientifique.org/

The Science Café thanks Batdorf & Bronson and its staff for welcoming the Science Café into their delightful gathering spot.

Consider Renewing or Starting Your Support of the Steamboat Conservation Partnership

Exciting news! With the support of homeowners in the Griffin area, the Steamboat Conservation Partnership has helped Capitol Land Trust conserve another 1.25 miles of coastal habitat on Eld Inlet and secure nearly $2 million in new conservation funding.

This is the start of the Steamboat Conservation Partnership’s second year. The Partnership is an agreement between the Griffin Neighborhood Association and Capitol Land Trust to help conserve special natural areas right here in the Steamboat Peninsula region, defined as the watersheds of Eld and Totten Inlets.

If you contributed to the Partnership, during its first year, thank you. Please continue your commitment by:

  • Renewing your contribution to the Partnership;
  • Spreading the word about the Steamboat Conservation Partnership to friends and neighbors who will join the effort and contribute; and,
  • Contacting Capitol Land Trust if you are interested in finding out about conserving your property.

If you have not yet made a contribution, you are invited to take this opportunity to learn more about what John Dodge, writing in the July 12, 2009 issue of “The Olympian” called, “a terrific partnership that should serve as a model to other neighborhood groups interested in the preservation of sensitive lands.” Click here to read more about the Steamboat Conservation Partnership.

Under the Partnership agreement, the Griffin Neighborhood Association solicits at least $15,000 of contributions to Capitol Land Trust each year for five years. Contributions are placed into a trust account and may only be expended on a portion of Capitol Land Trust’s operating costs within this region. Operating costs include staff time developing relationships with landowners, acquiring land and conservation easements, securing grant funding, and monitoring acquired lands. Capitol Land Trust meets and confers with the Griffin Neighborhood Association about its strategies and the focus of its activities in the region.

More than $18,000 was raised during the Steamboat Conservation Partnership’s first year.
This map shows natural areas Capitol Land Trust has acquired or preserved over the years in this region, including six miles of shoreline and more than 600 acres of surrounding uplands within the Eld Inlet watershed and nearly 600 acres within the Totten Inlet watershed. Capitol Land Trust recently completed a major acquisition on lower Eld Inlet south of Highway 101 and shortly expects to acquire Adams Cove on Totten Inlet.
Capitol Land Trust is recognized for its efficiency and unique ability to bring a diverse array of stakeholders together to accomplish its goals. For every $200 in private contributions Capitol Land Trust receives, it is able to conserve one acre of land.
This is a win/win relationship. Capitol Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax deductible. Residents benefit from conserving special natural areas, enhancing our quality of life and retaining the beauty of this region. Support of the Steamboat Conservation Partnership is truly leaving an environmental legacy that will last for generations.
We hope you will consider supporting the Partnership. Contributors committed to donating $300 or more per year for five years are recognized at the premium, Bald Eagle level. Contributors committed to donating $150 to $299 per year for five years are recognized at the Blue Heron level. Contributions of any amount are welcome. Checks should be made payable to “Capitol Land Trust.” Insert “SCP” in the lower left hand corner (memo line). Contributions may be mailed to the Steamboat Conservation Partnership, c/o Capital Land Trust, 209 Fourth Ave. E., Suite 205, Olympia, WA 98501.
For more information, visit the web site of the Capitol Land Trust at http://www.capitollandtrust.org/ or the Griffin Neighborhood Association at http://www.griffinneighbors.org/. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Peter Reid at (360) 867-0919 or Jack Sisco at (360) 866-0240.
 
 

Farms Forever Art Show & Dinner – November 6

The South of the Sound Community Farm Land Trust is hosting an art show/dinner gala affair this fall celebrating art in the world of farming.
Farms Forever Art Show & Dinner
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Loft on Cherry, Olympia
10-4 Art on display in The Loft (open to the general public)
5:30-8 Farm to Table Dinner and fundraising auctions
8-10 Music and dancing

The event will feature an afternoon public exhibit of fine art related to farming and agriculture, a farm and farmer’s market poster contest and photographic exhibits of area farms.

An evening ticketed dinner will feature local farm produce, a live art auction and silent auction. After dinner, we will have a “Hoedown Downtown” with two local bands. Please visit http://www.communityfarmlandtrust.org/ or call (360) 292-9842 for more information or for art entry information.

Illustration above and to right is “View of Barn from Small Hill” by artist Cindy Hadden, Centralia.

Click here for the flyer and ticket order form. Or, click here to register and pay online. Complete and submit the on-line registration form on the Events page. Use the Donate Now button on the website for payment and under “Designation” please write “November Fundraiser.”

Griffin School District Levy Renews a Levy Approved by Voters in 2008

Some local voters were surprised to find, when their ballots arrived in the mail last week, that a Technology & Capital Projects Renewal Levy, for the Griffin School District, appears on the ballot. The campaign signs went up, around the peninsula, this last weekend. And now we have a copy of GriffinLink, the district’s community newsletter, to help explain what’s up.

Click here to download a copy of the portions of GriffinLink which describe the Technology & Capital Projects Renewal Levy.

Perhaps the most important point to make, right up front, is that this is a renewal of an existing levy, and not a new levy. In November 2008, local voters approved a Special/Capital Projects Levy. The Renewal levy on this latest ballot is a $550,000 dollar a year levy for four years. The Technology & Capital Projects Renewal Levy was approved by the School Board this last July.

Of nine other local school districts compared, Griffin’s levy and bond collection rate is lower than seven districts.

Funds from the levy will go to technology and technology infrastructure replacement and improvements at Griffin School. Also, these funds will help our school district to pay their portion of the Capital High Technology Program.

Review the details behind the Levy and the questions and answers provided in the lastest issue of GriffinLink.

Don’t forget to fill out your ballot and get it mailed – or, better, just out it in the ballot dropbox, in the parking lot of the main Griffin Fire District fire station – by Election Day, November 2nd.

The Nordic States and European Unity

“The Nordic States and European Unity,” a free, public lecture by Prof. Christine Ingebritsen from the University of Washington will take place at the Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. at 7:30pm on Thursday October 21st.

Prof. Ingebritesen is the author of a book with the same title as her lecture published by Cornell University Press. Her four books and numerous articles focus on Scandanavia’s global role and the unique capacity of smaller states to innovate in economic, environmental and security policies. The event is sponsored by the Olympia World Affairs Council. For more information call 360-867-0919.

The Nordic States and European Unity (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)

Participate in a Brief Survey About GriffinNeighbors Online

Thank you for reading the GriffinNeighbors Blog. Or, maybe you’re visiting the GriffinNeighbors web site, which displays the most recent posts to the Blog, on the right side of the screen. In any case, thank you for using some of the online resources used to help neighbors keep in touch, in the Griffin area.

Here’s your opportunity to give us some information we’ll use to chart our future direction online.

You are invited to participate in a survey. GriffinNeighbors represents an online community within the boundaries of the Griffin School District and is sponsored by the Griffin Neighborhood Association. There is a web site (http://www.GriffinNeighbors.org/), a blog (https://www.steamboatisland.org/), a free online discussion group (send an email to webmaster@griffinneighbors.org if you would like to join), and a Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/GriffinNeighbor). GriffinNeighbors is not currently on Facebook. This survey is intended to gauge the opinions of residents in the Griffin area and to gather some information about how those residents participate in the GriffinNeighbors online community.

You may participate in the survey by going to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5VDSKGJ

You are welcome to forward this link to others in the local area.

The survey will close on October 19. Please feel free to take the survey (there are 9 questions) at any time that is convenient to you.

Thanks so much for taking the time to take our survey and tell you a little about what might be useful to you, in the way of online tools.

 

A Rundown – As Brief as We Can Make It – of Measures on the Ballot

We start our review with the Secretary of State’s 2010 General Election Online Voters’ Guide. Click on “State Measures” to see the entire listing of initiatives and referenda on this year’s ballot. Select any specific title to read the title, description, to see how it’ll actually appear on the ballot, financial analysis (where appropriate) from the state Office of Financial Management, and official statements for and against each measure.

Initiative Measure 1053

This measure would restate existing statutory requirements that legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval, and that new or increased fees require majority legislative approval.

Let’s state right up front, this measure was created by Tim Eyman. It follows on the state legislature’s suspension, during this last legislative session, of the voter-approved I-960. Interestingly, nearly $600,000 has been contributed to I-1053 by oil companies and big banks. Tim Eyman has also taken out $250,000 in loans to fund Initiative 1053. Corporations account for more than three-quarters of the financial support for this initiative. The top donors are BP, Tesoro, Conoco/Phillips, Shell and the Washington Farm Bureau.

Yes on I-1053: http://www.yeson1053.com/
No on I-1053: http://www.no1053.org/

Initiative Measure 1082

This measure would authorize employers to purchase private industrial insurance beginning July 1, 2012; direct the legislature to enact conforming legislation by March 1, 2012; and eliminate the worker-paid share of medical-benefit premiums.

The initiative was created by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) and is intended to allow employers to purchase worker’s compensation insurance from private insurance companies, rather than from the state Department of Labor & Indsutries.

Top donors are the BIAW, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford Financial, and Zurich (Farmers Services, LLC) insurance companies.

Yes on I-1082: http://saveourjobswa.com/
No on I-1082: http://www.voteno1082.com/

Initiative Measure 1100
This measure would close state liquor stores; authorize sale, distribution, and importation of spirits by private parties; and repeal certain requirements that govern the business operations of beer and wine distributers and producers.
 
I-1100 is heavily supported – and largely funded – by Costco. The other top corporate donors are Safeway and Walmart.
 
Yes on I-1100: http://www.yesto1100.com/
No on I-1100: http://noto1100.com/
 
Initiative Measure 1105
 
This measure would close all state liquor stores and license private parties to sell or distribute spirits. It would revise laws concerning regulation, taxation and government revenues from distribution and sale of spirits.
 
Odom Southern Holdings and Young’s Market Company, two privately-held distributors who would benefit from the passage of I-1105, are virtually the only donors to I-1105.
 
Yes on I-1105: http://liquorreform.org/
No on I-1105: http://www.protectourcommunities.com/
 
What are the differences between I-1100 and I-1105?
 
Tax Revenues: I-1100 preserves existing liquor taxes, I -1105 repeals all existing liquor taxes. According to the state Office of Financial Management,, if I-1105 were to pass, “Using a range of assumptions, total state revenues decrease an estimated $486 million – $520 million and total local revenues decrease an estimated $205 million – $210 million, both over five fiscal years.” If those numbers prove to be accurate, this could translate into big budget cuts in education, health, and social-services funding.
 
If I-1100 were to pass, “total state revenues decrease an estimated $76 million – $85 million and total local revenues decrease an estimated $180 million – $192 million, both over five fiscal years.”
 
Changes to the way liquor, wine and beer are distributed and/or sold to the public: I-1100 would privatize sales and allow any business to become a distributor, for a fee.
 
I-1105 is backed by the middlemen, the distributors, and preserves the state’s three-tiered buying system, whereby distributors buy liquor, beer, and wine from wholesalers; retailers then buy from distributors. And, I-1105 privatizes retail sales.
 
What happens if both these initiatives pass? “There is no rule in the state to dictate what happens when two [similar] initiatives pass at the exact same time,” says Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office. “The legislature or the courts must figure out what to do,” according to Ammons. “They could conceivably adopt an approach to say that the most popular of the two would prevail, or the legislature could try to harmonize the two.” The legislature would need a supermajority – or two-thirds approval in both houses – to work out the differences between the two initiatives, according to the state constitution.
 
For more on these two related initiatives, you may wish to read The Stranger’s piece entitled “Shut Up and Swallow; How We Ended Up with Two Flawed Liquor Initiatives and Why They’re Our Only Hope”.
 
Initiative Measure 1107
 
This measure would end sales tax on candy; end temporary sales tax on some bottled water; end temporary excise taxes on carbonated beverages; and reduce tax rates for certain food processors.
 
The American Beverage Association has contributed almost all of the funding for I-1107.
 
Yes on I-1107: http://stopgrocerytaxes.com/
No on I-1107: http://www.voteno1107.com/
 
Voices Opposing Initiatives 1053, 1082, 1107, 1100, and 1105
 
Is there a common theme behind several of the initiatives on this year’s ballot? The folks at StopGreed.org would have you think so. “Initiatives 1053, 1082, 1107, 1100, and 1105,” according to the progressives behind this site, were created by “corporate fronts trying to make a quick buck by conning the people of Washington State into voting for ill-conceived initiatives that would weaken or privatize public services.” StopGreed.org is the brainchild of the Northwest Progressive Institute.
 
Full disclosure: Much of the funding information included in this piece is from StopGreed.org, which provides a good visual depiction of the source of funds for these initiatives.

Initiative Measure 1098

This measure would tax “adjusted gross income” above $200,000 (individuals) and $400,000 (joint-filers), reduce state property tax levies, reduce certain business and occupation taxes, and direct any increased revenues to education and health.

Top donors are William H. Gates, Sr., the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Washington Federation of State Employees.

Yes on I-1098: http://www.yeson1098.com/
No on I-1098: http://www.defeat1098.com/

Referendum Bill 52

The legislature has passed Engrossed House Bill No. 2561, concerning authorizing and funding bonds for energy efficiency projects in schools.

This bill would authorize bonds to finance construction and repair projects increasing energy efficiency in public schools and higher education buildings, and continue the sales tax on bottled water otherwise expiring in 2013.

Some 45% of school space in Washington was built or remodeled prior to 1969. R-52 requires that only projects with energy cost savings greater than the cost of the project can receive funding. All spending will be subject to audits, and must be fully publicly disclosed. Schools will use less energy and save money and children will have healthier learning environments. The legislature also passed this as a jobs bill; around 30,000 new construction jobs will be created to provide these retrofits.

Yes on R-52: http://www.healthyschoolsforwa.org/
No specific web site was found which opposes R-52. However, statements in opposition are on the Secretary of State’s description of the measure.

Senate Joint Resolution 8225

The legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment concerning the limitation on state debt.

This amendment would require the state to reduce the interest accounted for in calculating the constitutional debt limit, by the amount of federal payments scheduled to be received to offset that interest.

 According to the official Explanatory Statement of this measure:

The proposed amendment would not change the constitutional debt limit. It would modify the annual calculation used to determine whether the state’s debt is within the constitutional limit. The amendment would require the state, in annually calculating the amount required for payment of interest on its general obligation debt, to subtract scheduled federal payments to be received each year in respect of bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness. Under the constitution, the debt the state may issue is based in part on the total amount of the state’s annual principal and interest payments. Therefore, subtraction of federal payments to be credited against interest on the debt could affect the amount of aggregate debt that the state may incur.

No web sites were found which specifically intend to support or oppose passage of SJR 8225. However, voters may be interested in the statements for and against the Resolution, which appear on the Secretary of State’s elections web site.

Engrossed Substitute House Joint Resolution 4220

The legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment on denying bail for persons charged with certain criminal offenses.

This amendment would authorize courts to deny bail for offenses punishable by the possibility of life in prison, on clear and convincing evidence of a propensity for violence that would likely endanger persons.

This measure, also known as the Remember Lakewood Constitutional Amendment, intends to give judges more leeway than they presently have to deny bail. Currently, there are limits on denying bail generally to those cases which might result in indictment on a capital offense. “The broader criteria in ESHJR 4220,” say supporters, “would only apply where a life sentence is possible and there is a clear showing that the defendant has a propensity for violence.”

Here again, voters may find the statements for and against, on the Online Voter’s Guide, to be useful.

Yes on ES HJR 4220: http://www.rememberlakewood.com/
No web site was found which specifically intends to oppose passage of ES HJR 4220.

What resources have you found, to help you to make heads or tails of this year’s thicket of measures on the ballot? Click here to leave your suggestions and comments.