6-13-2003 MY TURN Why raising Impact Fees is the wrong approach By Alan Martin    Impact Fees. We hear about them from time to time, but what are they? The invention of the Growth Management Act of 1990 authorized cities and counties in Washington State to impose fees on property developers to mitigate the impact of new development on public infrastructure...   (Full Article) 6-13-2003 Special session is all about the economy and jobs By Don C. Brunell, President Association of Washington Business    In the 1992 presidential race, Bill Clinton’s campaign had a controversial but effective slogan: “It’s The Economy, Stupid!” As state lawmakers reconvene for a special session in Olympia, the message is only slightly different: “It’s The Economy and Jobs...   (Full Article) 6-13-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR KRCC Smart Growth    Smart growth alert! The Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council or KRCC, is planning to back door Smart Growth Policy in Kitsap County very soon. Their 60 page draft document downloadable in PDF at...   (Full Article) 6-13-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Wal-Mart    Self-proclaimed “business experts” are demonizing Wal-Mart and badgering local government to pass zoning laws or other regulations to “protect” threatened businesses from competition. That sounds an awful lot like Fascism, and is certainly a far cry from the laissez-faire competition that built this country...   (Full Article) 6-13-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Business Couple    While no one could or should dispute the success Carolyn Frame has had over the past few years (and her and her husband’s many contributions to the community), I have to disagree with one quote attributed to her in that she states her firm is the only financial company with her own underwriters and funders...   (Full Article) 6-13-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Foot Ferries    In the May edition of KBJ, I see where the predictable Adele Ferguson predicts that voters will “probably not” approve the sales tax for foot ferries...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 POLITICS Will voters approve sales tax for foot ferries? Probably not By Adele Fergusen    Under the old adage, “Lead, follow or get out of the way.” I hope that if the state abandons the foot ferries in June as threatened, it will allow private operators to have a go at making a profit...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 Texas makes a bid for Washington employers By Don C. Brunell, President Association of Washington Business    There is one group of people who hope Washington state lawmakers will raise taxes on business: The people of Cedar Park, Texas. In effect, their message is, “If you don’t want your employers, we’ll take ‘em!...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 In spite of budget woes, state payroll continues to grow    Despite so-called hiring freezes in state government over the last year, overall employment has increased by nearly 1,800 full time equivalent (FTE) positions...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Wal-Mart    I hope that the community understands that the loss of their wonderful town will be a waste. Wal-Mart will come in and destroy it. Lets look at it this way:    One job created by Wal-Mart...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Pat Lantz    I was shocked to read that an honest attorney, whose revelations ended the reign of a corrupt judge, was punished by the Washington Supreme Court for bringing the matter to light. I have noted the names of those judges and I will not vote for any of them because they have shown me that they place a higher value on circling the wagons around corrupt judges than honest open government...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Miller Closure    This is in response to your March editorial entitled “Green bureaucrats break the back of Miller Brewery.”    While your newspaper is entitled to its opinion, readers should be aware that the editorial was riddled with errors...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Ice Arena    As Bremerton Ice Arena enters the home stretch towards opening (first day of skating is Saturday, May 17th), I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank a special team from Bainbridge Island who have helped transform the dream into reality...   (Full Article) 5-2-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thanks to Kendall    Just want to thank Mr. Jim Kendall, owner of Telebyte Northwest, for his articles in the KPBJ...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 POLITICS So who’s really the horse’s ass? By Adele Fergusen    There was a letter in the Tacoma News Tribune the other day that put the whole Tim Eyman controversy about as succinctly as I’ve seen yet...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 MY TURN Where’s the outrage? By Tom McCabe, Executive Vice-President, Building Industry Association of Washington    Where’s the outrage?” asks State Senator Don Benton. Where is the outrage directed at Governor Gary Locke, Attorney General Christine Gregoire, big labor unions and big corporations who conspired to stop votes from being counted? Not a few hundred votes where there were questions of validity (example of hanging chads in the Florida 2000 election), but 1.6 million votes for and against Referendum 53, the ballot measure which increased unemployment insurance taxes on small businesses to pay for a tax decrease for Boeing and Wal-mart...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 Tough as it is, legislators must hold the line on additional taxes By Don C. Brunell, President Association of Washington Business    The bad news for lawmakers in Olympia is the state’s March revenue forecast is even worse than expected. Chang Mook Sohn, Washington’s chief economist, told the bipartisan Revenue Forecast Council that tax collections would be $200 million lower than anticipated just a few months ago, and he doesn’t see much improvement until 2004...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letter Wars    Since the beginning of this year, I have been attending the County Commissioners’ meetings with some regularity, as a concerned citizen. I feel that I must voice my concerns about the actions of Commissioner Jan Angel...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letter Wars    I am writing in response to a letter authored by Denise Hood, re: “Who is the county watchdog?” — that appeared in another local newspaper.    Ms. Hood’s diatribe concerning Commissioner Angel’s record regarding economic development efforts and the sinister implication that Ms. Angel was somehow plotting with the Silver City Group and others in secret, is both incorrect and flagrant...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Setting the Record Straight    Because I have been so widely misrepresented concerning the events of March 3, the Muslim prayer affair, I believe it is necessary for me to give the people in my district my account of what really happened...   (Full Article) 4-4-2003 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Community Service    While producing the 2003 Peninsula Home and Garden Expo at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds this year I discovered a program of our state corrections institution that is worth sharing...   (Full Article)