Fletcher Landing

BHS Brain Police

From the Bainbridge Buzz and confirmed by BHS students Kaitlin Chester and Taylor Hinderer:

Approximately 40 male BHS students were called out of class this week for a session with principal Brent Peterson. Their misdeed? Membership in a group on the website, Facebook.com, named "Men Are Simply Superior To Women."

Even though the students weren't disciplined, they were pulled from class to receive the  lecture,  called by name over the intercom system.

According to Chester and Hinderer (both female), and the comments of other BHS students posted at the Buzz, the facebook group was purely satirical. But that doesn't matter. Even if the 40 students who were pulled from class are misogynists, they were not engaged in a school activity. It is not the school's job to police the private lives of US citizens.

This Orwellian bit takes the cake:

But he [Principal Brent Peterson] told the students that if this information could get to him, there is no reason why it couldn't be sent to anyone, including every college admissions office in the country.

Associate principal Dean Fritts adds, "Admissions offices and prospective employers are telling our guidance counselors that they are increasingly looking at the Internet and social sites for data on applicants."

The problem is a lot larger than BHS though, because I suspect that Fritts is correct.

As for the get-a-life college students (purportedly from Columbia University) who ratted to BHS : You got pwned!

Fact-Checking Gary Tripp

Last week property rights advocate Gary Tripp sent a mass mailing soliciting donations for his organization Bainbridge Citizens.  Tripp makes two claims that I intend to fact-check:

 Claim 1:

The City of Bainbridge Island spends more, per capita, on legal costs and settlements than any other city in the state.

This should be simple to confirm since it is a quantifiable fact.

Claim 2:

You don't read about this stuff in the Bainbridge Review. Every time the Review  tries to cover the dark side of city hall, they get threatened with loss of advertising revenue from the city.

This is a serious allegation, and more complicated to fact-check. If the City and the Review actually engaged in these behaviors, I can't imagine they will readily admit so.

(Of course the Review is already not on record regarding the mayor's shenanigans during the last election. )

What Blair Said

Today's edition of the Bainbridge Review covers the story. I'm sorry to learn that it will take another 120 days to remove the fence,  however I'm pleased to read the part I underlined...

The State Court of Appeals is expected to issue a mandate within the next few days. After that, Burroughs [the attorney who represented the city] said, Fletcher Landing neighbors will have 120 days to take down the gate.

Burroughs said neighbors have no further recourse short of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, a move he said was highly unlikely.

Even if such a maneuver were attempted, he said, the gate would come down in the meantime.

Of course, nothing prevents the libertopians from voluntarily removing the gate immediately -- it would take about 10 seconds to remove the lock.

And in any case, the public is free to enjoy the beach in the interim seeing as it is easy to pass through the hole in the fence, and Fletcher Landing is officially public. Right?

__________

And hey, Bainbridge Review, I'm mildly disappointed not to see  "as first reported by..." The story wouldn't have even made the Saturday edition had I not alerted you. [Rodney Dangerfield impersonation goes here.]

Court Denies Libertopians

Today the WA state supreme court denied the appeal by the libertopians. At long last, Fletcher Landing is officially a public beach.

Ethics Rules

The Review reports in the March 8 edition that the city council is still hammering out the long-awaited ethics rules, which leads to a question and a comment...

Will this sort of shenannigans be against the rules as drafted?

If not, the public interest is being poorly served.

Supreme Court, May 30

Fletcher Landing (docket number 77713-6) is tentatively scheduled to be considered by the state supreme court on May 30.

If they decide not to hear the case, the libertopian land grab is officially done with. And just in time for kayaking season.

One Response

I received exactly one reply to my questions posed to the city council  -- from councilman Bill Knobloch. According to Mr. K, he has been trying to implement ethics  rules for some time now, to no avail.

If more people were to speak out, ethics rules may not even be required and blatant shenanigans such as the mayor's would be less likely to occur.

It doesn't exactly help that the local press is asleep at the wheel. But hey, who wants pesky news about misappropriation of public funds getting in the way of the real estate ads.

Bainbridge Island, aka Libertopia, a place where posing as progressive has been honed to a lifestyle.

Questions for the Council

In the weeks leading up to the November election the city spent $11,146 advertising Winslow Tomorrow in the form of a newspaper ad and a glossy brochure. Both advertising pieces featured a picture of the mayor and a letter touting her leadership, raising the following questions:

1. Did the council question the timing of these expenditures?

2. Will such expenditures be allowed under the new ethics rules, as envisioned?

3. What financial data are citizens allowed to access and what is the mechanism to gain access? (I would like to see all transactions -- in detail -- involving the promotion of Winslow Tomorrow so I can understand if the October expenditures were par for the course. This is data the city has failed to provide despite two requests.)

4. Due to the unseemly appearance and regardless the legality, will each of you go on record as to whether it's in the best interest of democracy for taxpayer money to be spent in this manner?

Thank you.

Nemobius Fasciatus

Listen. Can you hear it? It's a cricket. Specifically, it's a female Nemobius Fasciatus, found in western Washington.
__________

Has the Bainbridge Review covered the story?

Has the Kitsap Sun covered the story?

Has the Bremerton Sun covered the story?

Has the Bainbridge Buzz, who did such excellent reporting on Peddygate, covered the story?
__________

All I hear is the sound of crickets.

$11,145.67

The newspaper ad cost the taxpayers $1,200 and the glossy brochure cost $9,945.67 for a total of $11,145.67. Here is part of a report that was provided to me by the city:

(click image to view larger size)

Timeline v.1

Once I receive answers from the city, I will be able to fill in the blanks for this timeline of events:

"I am a champion of active citizen involvement in government decision making."

- Mayor K
(from the brochure and the newspaper ad, in the Dear Islanders letter beaneath her picture)