Heraldnet.com
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2009 10:24 pm
LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
Herald Editorial Board

Bob Bolerjack,
Opinion Editor
bolerjack@heraldnet.com

Carol MacPherson,
Editorial Writer
cmacpherson@
heraldnet.com


Allen Funk,
Herald Publisher
funk@heraldnet.com

Kim Heltne,
Assistant to the Publisher
heltne@heraldnet.com

Send letters to the editor by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Sunday


Swine flu lingers, making traditional flu seaso...
Two vie to serve as Snohomish County prosecutor
Families get an early gift: free Christmas trees
Saturday


Gift charity draws Snohomish County families in...
Fears over commercial air service at Paine Fiel...
Donated safe gives Marysville museum a mystery
Friday


From behind bars, pal tells Colton Harris-Moore...
Commercial airlines would cause few problems at...
Fund set up to benefit children of couple kille...
Thursday


5 die of swine flu in Snohomish County
Red Cross honors acts of heroism, many by ordin...
Barista clothing rules delayed by County Council
Wednesday


Father gets 13 years in 6-year-old's fatal shoo...
‘One bad choice' blamed in death of 4 fri...
Reps. Larsen, Inslee split on Obama's plans for...
Tuesday


Lynnwood swimmer turns therapy into competitive...
Highway 9 crash is worst alcohol-related accide...
Crash victim warned his students against DUI
Monday


Victims of Highway 9 crash ID'd; suspect booked...
Suspect in officer killings eludes law in Seattle
New laws for Snohomish County bikini baristas?
 

ADVERTISEMENT

Editorials   Print This Article  Email This Page  Subscribe Now! facebook digg reddit del.icio.us fark stumble

 
ADVERTISEMENT

 
HAVE YOUR SAY
Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor.
You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another.
Send it to:
E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com
Mail: Letters section
The Herald
P.O. Box 930
Everett, WA 98206
Fax: 425-339-3458
Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).
 
Published: Friday, December 14, 2007

Governor's decisiveness should save ferry run

Gov. Chris Gregoire's decisive action Thursday regarding the Port Townsend-Keystone ferry run was refreshing. We hope she, Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond and legislative leaders will take similar steps to pin down how this preventable crisis unfolded, with the goal of reforming a ferry system that clearly needs it.

Gregoire and Hammond inherited a nightmare regarding the system's 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries, vessels that had been running under waivers from modern safety rules for years. Hammond made a gutsy and necessary call to pull the ferries from service late last month after close inspection showed they had deteriorated beyond any semblance of seaworthiness. Gregoire on Thursday addressed the massive inconvenience and economic harm that followed, announcing immediate and long-term plans to save the run between the Olympic Peninsula and Whidbey Island.

Gregoire said the state will lease a replacement ferry from Pierce County, resuming auto service to the route in January. She proposed moving $100 million from other ferry projects to build three new ferries to serve the run, vessels small and nimble enough to navigate Whidbey's shallow, narrow Keystone Harbor. Bids would be taken early next year.

And, in a welcome effort to salvage some of the Christmas shopping season for Port Townsend merchants, temporary passenger-only service from Seattle will start today.

The downside: Some $36 million of the cost for new ferries would come from money earmarked for a new Mukilteo terminal, a project that's already been delayed. But perhaps a silver lining could emerge there, too. Why not explore moving the ferry landing to Everett, opening potentially grand new development opportunities on Mukilteo's downtown waterfront and easing the town's daily traffic headaches? We don't know how logistically, politically or financially feasible such an idea is, but it seems worth discussing.

For now, we applaud the swiftness and soundness of the governor's initial actions. There's more to be done, though, to get to the bottom of why the safety of ferry passengers was allowed to be so compromised. Lessons clearly must be learned, and corrective action taken. Future governors should never be handed such a mess to clean up.

1. Good grief!
2. Swine flu lingers, making traditional flu season unpredictable
3. Two vie to serve as Snohomish County prosecutor
4. Last hurrah for Huskies’ Locker?
5. Koster for Congress? He’s still undecided
6. Here’s how home foreclosure sales really work
7. A store credit card can save you cash, but is it worth it?
8. New site sought for Snohomish pool project
9. Families get an early gift: free Christmas trees
10. Prep Roundup: Lake Stevens wins two wrestling meets
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
Wildcats fall to familar foe in semis
‘Nutcracker' times three
Road warrior
Mavericks reloading
Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings
Cities prepare for winter blast repeat
Wolfpack duo takes last shot at state tourney
This Weekend in Your Town
Tips for the stormy season
The Enterprise Online Newspaper


25% off Bath & Groom
New Customers

Holiday Getaway
$99 dbl Occupancy

Over 1 Million Lights
Lights of Christmas

Buy 1 Get 1 FREE
Lube Oil Filter

$5 Off
Stylecut

FREE 6 lb. Pad w/
30yd Carpet Purchase

Buy 1 Dinner Entree
Get 2nd 50% Off

$2.99 Chili Dog
$3.99 Fish Burger

Nutcracker
Family Packs Available

20% Off Dinner
Up to $75 Value!

20% Off Re-Upholstery
or Custom Furniture!

Always Free
Transmission Diagnostic

$95 Dryer Vent Cleaning!
$99 Whole House Duct Cleaning!

$2 OFF
at Box Office

15% Off
All Repairs!

Holiday Specials
up to 25% off!

75% OFF
Many Items. Hurry!

Oil - Snohomish County
Low Prices - Fill Now!

Special Rebate Offers!
Plus Additional 30% OFF!

20% Off Re-Upholstery
or Custom Furniture!
Flick's Upholstery
TODAY'S TOP JOBS
 View All Top Jobs 
Top Cars
Top Homes

ADVERTISEMENT