A Free-Flowing Debate
The great Pacific Northwest, home of natural splendor, and endless recreational opportunities. God’s country. Trouble is, all those recreational opportunists sometimes smudge up the splendor. Shimmering waterways that beckon irresistibly to boaters and Jet Ski enthusiasts pay the price that comes from overuse.
What price?
Maybe it’s noise that drives away wildlife - or other recreationists with a more bucolic interest in the lakes and rivers. Or maybe it’s the erosive effect churned-up waters have on fragile shorelines. Maybe it’s pollution of the water with boaters’ garbage and oil slicks.
So public officials step in and slap restrictions on the use of these treasured natural resources - as Spokane County commissioners now are considering for several free-flowing stretches of the Spokane River.
Tentatively the ban would prohibit all power boats. However, commissioners John Roskelley and Phil Harris prefer limiting it to personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis.
A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for April 1, but here’s a chance to warm up for it. What are your ideas about this idea? Quick, summer will be here before you know it.
What vice?
Vice President Al Gore says using his White House phone to help raise funds for the Democratic Party was neither illegal nor wrong. In fact, he said, “I felt like I was doing the right thing.”
But he won’t do it (even though it’s the “right thing”?) any more.
Reminds one of the frontier jury that found the suspected horse thief innocent, but said he had to return the horse. Beyond that, what does this Gory moment in American politics mean?
Day-care referrals
When a “Bagpipes” column in February raised the question of scarcity in the day-care resources available to working parents, Kathy Thamm, program manager of Family Care Resources, called to share information about her private nonprofit agency.
Among other services, she said, they provide referrals to families who need child-care. Family Care Resources is part of a statewide network of child-care resource and referral services, she said.
There is a sliding-scale cost for the service, starting at $5 for families with less than $30,000 annual income. The program operates on federal blockgrant money, Thamm said.
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