Letters

Edmonds

Ferry plan OK is a rubber stamp away

At the Edmonds May 2 City Council meeting the Washington State Ferries Long range Strategic Plan will be presented. It was advertised as a public meeting which invited residents to give their opinion on proposals related to the Edmonds/Kingston run. The WSF allotted an hour for presentation and discussion. The Edmonds Mayor and City Council scrapped the public discussion and allowed 30 minutes for the WSF presentation. At the other 10 port towns around Puget Sound the public meetings are scheduled for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours in length, and aren’t conducted before city councils.

As you know, Edmonds City Council hearings are a tightly controlled mechanism and not conducive to public discussion. It’s a bad forum style but the Council has found one even worse that they like better – don’t have public testimony at all.

Had residents been allowed to address comments to the WSF they might have questioned the proposal to put a third ferry on the Edmonds/Kingston run in 2010. Part of the justification was the anticipated increase in recreational and commercial traffic diverted from Bainbridge Island. Can it be that Edmonds gets what Bainbridge doesn’t want because Bainbridge is an upscale community that fights to keep its rural environment and has the political clout to shape ferry system policy?

What would you think of new terminals in conjunction with new routes that would “spread the flow of traffic across more corridors in the Puget Sound region?” Any suggestions as to location?

Although you won’t be allowed to question the WSF representative, you may address the Council during the audience participation portion of the agenda. Of course the Council, in its usual passive reaction to anything that requires thought, will already have endorsed the Long Range Plan – no questions asked.

NATALIE SHIPPEN

Edmonds

Immigration

A border fence is a drastic, needed move

Re: Petitioners promote intolerance by Evan Smith in the April 7 Enterprise. An initiative would deny government benefits to illegal immigrants and their children. This would hurt children who have done nothing but have the wrong parents. Let’s hope compassion trumps intolerance.

So, Evan is for illegal immigration. At least I haven’t read a word from him to the contrary. Not only that, but Evan states that illegal Mexicans and others have the right to demand benefits from the taxpayers who came to America legally or were born here. Evan would demand that the taxpayers pay more taxes if necessary to supply plenty of benefits to the illegal Mexicans.

Evan does not like the good American Minutemen who try to stop illegal Mexicans and others from crashing our borders. Evan has more respect for the illegals than for the Minutemen who try to protect America from an invasion of illegals.

I don’t have much faith in the federal government halting illegal immigration. Most are more interested in how it may affect them in the voting booth. Sen. Maria Cantwell and many others in Congress call them undocumented immigrants instead of illegal immigrants. That tells me Cantwell hasn’t got the will to stop illegal immigration. But we do have a few good Representatives like Tom Tancredo, J.D. Hayworth and others. Good people of America, please support them any way you can because they will stop illegal immigration.

We must stop illegal Mexicans and others from crashing our borders and then we must deal with the illegal Mexicans and others who are already here.

We must erect a fence between Mexico and America like the Israelis are building between them and the Palestinians. It is unfortunate that unscrupulous Mexicans, others and their supporters, like Evan, force us to spend billions on such a fence, but in the long run it will be cheaper.

PETER BOONSTRA

Lynnwood

Community

Neighbors’ support helped event plans

We have often heard the question asked; why don’t our neighbors help each other out as they did in the-good-old-days? Well, from our wedding experience the good-old-days have never left us.

While both of us were planning our wedding celebration we had an appointment with a caterer some 45 miles away. After verifying this appointment the day before our planning meeting, we arrived the next day at the caterer’s office, but to our dismay she wasn’t in her office. Using our cellular phone we called her number, but could only reach her answering machine. After staying around for more than 40 minutes and three calls we decided to go back home. To this day we still have not heard from this small businessperson.

After this frustrating experience, Karen decided to become our wedding caterer. However, when our neighbors heard about this several of them contacted Karen and offered to help cook, decorate the house, to become a general maid and help serve food, drinks and then clean up after our special day.

With our many neighbors and friends coming forward with their help and support, our wedding celebration would not have been such a great success. And for this community coming together to help us out, we are extremely appreciative.

From the bottom of our hearts we say thank you to all of our neighbors and friends who stepped forward and showed that our community does care about its citizens.

CHUCK WRIGHT

and KAREN BRANDON

Mill Creek