Island Guardian

Thursday, November 30th

Two Attorneys Join PA Team

ig_S_and_BJ_Brandli-1 (56k image) (Stephen & Bobbie Jo Brandli)

County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord has two new attorneys working for him: Stephen A. Brandli (shown with wife Bobbie Jo) and Jonathan W. Cain are both hard at work, and both began work on the 22nd; just in time for the welcoming snow storm. Stephen A. Brandli and wife Bobbie Jo are long time property owners in San Juan County, and they have a home on San Juan Island. Steve graduated from the University of Washington Law School. Steve will be handling misdemeanor cases (District Court), and appeals of those cases. Steve told the Island Guardian that "For over a decade, I have been coming to San Juan Island and have wanted to live here, but until now, my work would not allow me to. I am excited to finally move here and, as a bonus, to work in such a professional and well-respected legal office.

Jonathan W. Cain moved his family through wind and rain to made his way to work at the court house. Jon will be handling the Child Support cases and land use/growth management, code enforcement etc., Jon graduated from Seattle University Law School and brings several years of municipal land use experience. His office will be in the Patterson Building.

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Wednesday, November 15th

Saying Goodbye To SI

ig_A_SiStevens_Party-1 (66k image)
(Former County Administrator David Goldsmith honors Si Stephens at a recent dinner)

A large crowd of friends, associates, clients, county and state government officials joined Auditor Si Stephens in a farewell dinner in honor of his twenty-four years serving the citizens of San Juan County. Joining the large party of well-wishers was Secretary of State Sam Reed, who joined in the good natured "roast" of Auditor Stephens.

The Island Guardian asked Si what his plans are for now, and he said he would still be involved for sometime in the accounting business that he recently sold on Lopez, and that while they may sell the Lopez house, they plan to purchase a larger boat, which they would keep at Lopez, using it as a summer base when they return from warmer climes in the winter.

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Monday, November 13th

Project Manager Selected For SJ Initiative

The County Council and Shared Strategies has completed an interview process to select a Project Manager for The San Juan Initiative (Previous story), and have agreed to hire Amy Windrope, from Portland Oregon. Windrope is currently the Policy and Outreach Coordinator for the "Partnership for the Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans" at Oregon State University, and in that capacity one of her responsibilities is to "craft coherent messages for media and public".

Windrope's experience in crafting -as her resume states: understandable explanations for the public, may be a good sign for those in the county who want to understand why the County takes some of the paths to regulatory compliance that it takes. The Council has begun a review and implementation of a host of new policies and regulations that may have direct, and far reaching consequences for the citizens of the county, not the least of which is the updating of the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) that is required by the State Growth Management Act (GMA) The CAO will be one of, if not the major, arena within which Windrope will be working.

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Wednesday, November 1st

WSF Recommendations For FH Master Plan

WSF (Washington State Ferries) will hold a public open house on Wednesday, November 1 at the Mullis Senior Center (589 Nash Street) in Friday Harbor from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to gather input on master plan recommendations for the area around the Friday Harbor Ferry Terminal. Recommendations in the Draft Friday Harbor Master Plan were shaped in part by public comments received over the past year. Washington State Ferries wants to hear what people think about proposed improvements such as curb bulbs, overhead loading, two-lane ferry off-loading and other recommendations that will help ease congestion around the ferry terminal.

The Friday Harbor Master Plan outlines recommended improvements to help relieve congestion around the ferry terminal. The master plan includes a series of short-term, intermediate and long-term improvements that would help reduce the time it takes the ferry to load and unload in Friday Harbor. Reducing ferry "dwell time" could allow Washington State Ferries to add additional service in the future.

An Intermodal Transportation Committee has been meeting since October 2005 to advise Washington State Ferries on development of the master plan. The committee includes representatives from the Town of Friday Harbor, San Juan County and the Port of Friday Harbor. Committee members and WSF staff will be available at the public meeting to answer questions.

In spring 2005 the Washington State Legislature appropriated $250,000 for Washington State Ferries to study traffic improvements around the ferry terminal in Friday Harbor. This money is being be used for traffic analysis and development of master plan options. Additional funding sources will be needed to implement improvements identified during this planning process. At this point, no funding has been identified for any of the recommendations included in the Draft Friday Harbor Master Plan.

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