More Squirrels

My friend Rose sent me a bag of somewhat over the hill pistachio nuts in the shell for the tiny Douglas squirrel whose name, I have intuited, is Rufus.  I put a dozen of them out in a bowl on the porch in the early morning and a cup of sunflower seeds nearby on a plate.

Now that Rufus is here daily, Zoe the cat spends all her day watching him through the french doors.  I know he's shown up for work when her tail starts to twitch.  And when I went to look, there was Rufus sitting next to the bowl of sunflower seeds, eating happily away, whereas the pistachio nuts were being exported under her eyes by two large black squirrels to their places in the back yard.  To each his own.

Maybe the pistachios were too big for Rufus?  Except that he does keep fir cones in with his collection of sunflower seeds kept in Ed's shoe.  But we've had two days when he didn't give the pistachios a glance, so I have to conclude, I think, that they are not to his taste.  Zoe, after all, does not like poached chicken breast but will happily eat roast chicken breast.

I hate to discover that non-human animals are as hard to figure out as people.  Especially now that I am in my declining years.  Some ideas ought to be sacred.

Some News from Library Fundraising

This was taken a couple of days ago, but it's even more now.  The snow, by contrast, is even less....  (Cross-posted from foprl@blogspot.com, the library fundraising blog.)

And the Winner of the PREP Quilt

is Sandy Fraser who works at Sterling Bank!  Congratulations to Sandy.

Fire Hydrant Calendar, Point Roberts Edition

Did you remember to buy your Fire Hydrant calendar at the Craft Fair?  It was for sale at the first table you came to in the hallway, on the right.  So, it's possible you missed it because that's a hard space to be seeing; ie, the first table you come to.

But if you want one, I was at Brewsters yesterday (parking lot filled, happily) and they are selling them up front near the cash register.  So you can still get one or more.  Good work, Fire Guys!

I sent one to my New Mexico daughter, who had followed the fire hydrant saga on the blog and on the APB e-edition.  She received it today and wrote me: "Best calendar evah!"  That seems about right.

Feeding the Squirrels

update below.  Yesterday, I put about a cup of sunflower seeds on the porch for the benefit of the birds and whomever.  Who first showed up was a tiny Douglas Squirrel who simply spent the entire day racing back and forth across the porch, moving the sunflower seeds, one at a time, into a bucket of sawdust that also happened to be sitting on the porch.  By the end of the day, he had moved them all (with a few held out for nourishment).  And this morning, with a new cupful of seeds produced by me, he is back to hiding these on the porch underneath a table in a small bag.

I am not sure I have ever seen such continuous industry.  We can't even get a photo of him because he is moving so fast.  And oblivious to our presence.  However, Zoe the cat spends all day long watching him through the french doors that lead to the porch.  Her tail twitching and twitching.  By the end of the day, she is about as tired as the squirrel is, I'm guessing.  Fortunately, she has us and doesn't have to worry about a future supply of food.  Sort of true of the squirrel, too, but he doesn't know it.

update: he got the sawdust bucket filled up with seeds and, the next morning, moved on to filling one of ed's shoes with the next batch of seeds.  He's indefatigable, and it must be especially stressful when you're a 6-12 ounce squirrel being supervised by a 14 pound cat....

Sea Star Mystery, Again

Good blog post on the mysterious illness of sea stars all up and down the west coast.  Read the comments, too.  There was a comment here recently from someone who dives off Point Roberts and he said that he had been seeing lots of ok sea stars in our vicinity.

http://westseattleblog.com/2013/12/followup-sea-stars-starfish-still-dying-still-mysteriously/

Video of Tower Demonstrations in B.C.

Deals only with Tsawwassen demonstration, but one P.R. resident is interviewed.

 http://globalnews.ca/video/1002068/tsawwassen-radio-tower-protest  (Dec. 1 newscast, about 8 minutes in).

The Towers Demonstration

Updated, below.  And now a second update.

The weather smiled upon those organizing the Radio Towers Opposition today.  Yesterday at noon, it was fiercely grey and raining a lot.  Today, the grey lightened and the rain stayed away and it wasn't even terribly cold standing at the side of Tyee for an hour.  I had to put my mittens on and by the end my feet were noticeably cold, but it was not painful or anything.

Lots of people turned out with signs and lined both sides of Tyee up near McKenzie.    Somebody was doing an official count (at least, twice, people walked down the side of the road counting off), but i never saw them again to ask what the official decision was.  I'd have guessed around 200+.  There wasn't much in the way of committed slogan shouting, such as "Hell, no, we won't go."  Although I did hear some attempts at "People not Towers."

Alas, I saw no sign of any media taking notice of the event, which was largely the point of it, I thought.  I'm told by those who had driven through the border that the Tsawwassen residents were out in good form and that there were cameras and microphones over there, so they may make it onto the news or Youtube.  But I don't know exactly what ability the Canadians have to stop these towers from appearing in P.R.

Lots of the people coming through the border in cars had phones and Ipads and the like pointing out their open car windows.  I'll probably never get used to the idea that you can hold up an ipad and take a picture, but at least some documentation of the event exists somewhere.  If I hear where, I'll let you know.  Surely it would be worth a brief Youtube, although seeing people lined up holding signs is not exactly like watching cats or dogs do weird things.

One dog in attendance was wearing a tinfoil filter on his/her back.  Good to know she/he was prepared.  But a demonstrator's sign said the interference would be to stereos, phones, and TV's...no mention of dogs.

Update:  here's the story from the Vancouver Sun:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Tsawwassen+Point+Roberts+residents+continue+fight+radio+towers/9234438/story.html

2nd Update:  I'm jumping this up from the comments so that readers will be sure to get the following information:

Tsawwassenites and Canadians in general can help by either:

a. Contacting Minister James Moore who is in charge of Industry Canada to complain. The location of the towers is so close to the population center of Tsawwassen that it violates IC's guidelines for high-powered stations that cause blanketing interference. If IC files a formal complaint with the FCC it could result in their reconsidering their approval of the project.

b. Donate to the campaign. Go to http://notowers.webs.com/
and follow the donate link. Fighting isn't cheap. We need legal advice and counsel in our case with the FCC, experts in electrical engineering and surveying and local lawyers with knowledge of Whatcom county land-use and zoning codes.

Arthur (S. Reber), One of the Coalition Against the Towers

Nice Quilt Available

Nice, if I do say so myself since I was one of the Point Robert Quilt Group members who made it for PREP to raffle.  But I just wanted to remind folks that PREP is selling raffle tickets NOW so that they can have the drawing before Christmas and the winner can make of it a gift to him/herself or to someone else.

PREP is selling only 100 tickets at $10 each.  You can get your ticket(s) at Sterling Bank or from Henry and Esther Rosenthal (945-1711) or Virginia Lester (945-2827).  Somebody will win it: why not you?

It's 62"x78", so plenty big to keep you warm in winter and to look at and keep you cool in summer.

New Follies

I missed last week's Fire District meeting at which this year's commissioners became next year's commissioners since the election changed nothing.  Friends who did attend tell me that the big news was the the State Auditor (who a year ago announced an audit of our Fire District had lost track of all the electronic files they had received from our Fire District, and would it now send them paper copies.  It's hard to maintain confidence in government in the face of such news.

In addition, the new budget was presented.  But I'll have to wait until it's posted on the website and I have time to study it before I'll have anything to say about it.

The Towers Group Looks for Lawyers

The Oppose the Radio Towers group sent out an announcement today on Point Interface that it was looking for donations to hire a lawyer to represent the group before the Hearing Examiner in Whatcom County when the Conditional Use Permit is finally discussed.

The announcement briefly described what the group believes will be the problems associated with the towers.  One of the things they mention (and that is usually mentioned prominently) is 'blanketing interference.'  It's surely a troubling phrase, insofar as it seems to imply that the radio towers will blanket the surrounding area with interference.  And, given that radio towers are all over the place, it seemed that if all those places were being blanketed with interference, we would all have had some experience with it.  And yet, the people I talk to for the most part have no such experience.

So I Googled 'blanketing interference' to see what it means.  Mostly the definition is more technical than I can make sense of, but it does not appear to mean that the area around the towers will be blanketed (ie, smothered) with interference.  One site defines it thus: "Blanketing interference refers to the phenomena of receiving radio signals on devices not designed to do so."  This site goes on to discuss how such interference can be eliminated/corrected/remedied.

A look further about the law of such intereference problems explains that the FCC requires a new station or a station that moves to a new locale to take on the costs of remedying all interference problems reported during the first year of its operation.  (There are some exceptions, but they are described in the following excerpt from the applicable law.)

The law:

FCC Cases on Blanketing Interference – The Responsibility of Broadcasters to their Neighbors

By David Oxenford on February 23, 2008Posted in General FCC, Tower Issues

In two recent cases, the FCC discussed the issue of "blanketing interference," the interference that can be caused by a broadcaster to electronic devices that are located in homes and businesses near to the station’s transmitter site.  In the first case, the FCC rejected a license renewal challenge finding that there was no specific showing of interference to protected RF devices.  The FCC appends to this decision a guide to the types of interference which a broadcaster must resolve.  In the secondcase, the Commission also denied a complaint filed against the renewal application of a radio station based on the interference that it allegedly caused in nearby homes.  Here, the Commission published a set of Guidelines as an appendix to the decision – guidelines which help clarify the proceduresthat a broadcaster should go through to assess its responsibility to remedy interference complaints.  Together, the attachments to these two cases should give stations guidance on what they should do if they get complaints of blanketing interference.

Essentially, broadcasters are required to resolve all complaints of blanketing interference which occur within a station’s "blanketing contour" (1V/m for AM stations, 115 dBu or 562 mV/m contour for FM stations) during the first year of a station’s operation from a particular transmitter site to "RF devices."  These include radios, TVs, and VCRs with tuners in them.  Licensees are not required to resolve complaints to mobile receivers.  Telephones, phonographs, tape recorders or devices using high gain antennas also are not covered.  After the first year, stations, while not fully financially liable, do have the responsibility to provide information and assistance about how to resolve the interference to the person who is suffering that interference.  The Appendix to the second case states that licensees will have to respond to all complaints filed with the FCC and provide details of what they have done to address interference complaints.  So broadcasters should be aware of their responsibilities, and take appropriate actions based on the guidelines set out by the FCC.

Here is the link to that site.

None of this means that siting the radio towers inside Point Roberts is a particularly  good idea.  But at least it clarifies for me some of the issues that I didn't understand, largely because of the language in which it is being discussed.

Saturday Election Update

Jeff Wilmot continues to be 14 votes ahead of Craig Carter for Fire District Commissioner.  According to the Secretary of State's office (Washington State), "Mandatory recounts are required if the difference between the two candidates concerned is less than ½ of one percent and less than 2000 votes. "

Since there are only a total of 386 votes cast so far, and since it is a difference of 52% to 48%, there would not be a required mandatory recount.  A candidate can request a recount, but he/she has to pay a fixed cost per vote in order to have it conducted.  

Election News Revisited

The most recent Whatcom County Auditor figures show Jeff Wilmott ahead of Craig Carter by 195 to 183.  Could certainly change again, but the next ballot count will be posted late tomorrow afternoon.  (Today, it was posted at 5:30 pm, I thin.)

Seabright Farms Hearing: Review by Ed

Ed Park of Getthewholepicture's Bellingham Bureau filed this special news report on November 7, 2013.  He reports on the public hearing concerning development plans for Seabright Farms.

                                  Council Chambers, Whatcom County Courthouse, November 6, 2013

The public was heard, formally, under oath, Wednesday, in Bellingham, regarding the proposed development of Seabright Farms at Lily Point.  To what effect?  I would guess the answer is "precious little."

Most of the public testimony (mine included) was about what we, the public, want -- wetlands, trails, eagles, trees, setbacks.  For example: "We love the APA maple canopy, and want it protected."  For the most part, Michael Bobbink, the hearing examiner listened patiently to the testimony, but he occasionally interrupted to explain how things really work.

How things work is like this: State and County codes place numerous requirements and prohibitions on the developer.  If plans for the proposed development follow all of the dos and don'ts, the hearing examiner will (must) approve the plans.  If a staff report or public testimony convinces the examiner that the plans are out of compliance with one or more of the requirements, the examiner will order changes to bring them into compliance.

However, testimony like the following has no force: "The plans show drainfields just south of APA Road.  To construct the drainfields, all the trees in those areas must be cut down.  When the trees are cut down, the canopy trees immediately adjacent to APA will be exposed to strong southerly winds and will likely blow down in a big storm.  We want the canopy trees protected."

That testimony just begs the question "Is there anything in the code to prohibit the developer from cutting down those trees?  If so, cite the code section and convince me that the plans are out of compliance.  Otherwise, I have no choice but to approve the developers' plans."

Fortunately, in this instance, the developer shares our love of the canopy and is actively investigating ways to relocate the drainfields away from APA.  But it appears that it's all up to him to do what he chooses to do; the public has no standing to request things that are not already required by code.

If the hearing examiner's ruling ends up being reviewed by the Whatcom County Council, public opinion may carry more weight in that more-political forum.

There may be a lesson here for opponents of the proposed radio towers on MacKenzie Road.  Most of the arguments against the towers seem to be of the form "We think they will be harmful, and we don't want them built."  My experience in Bellingham yesterday makes me think such arguments are unlikely to carry much weight.

The final ruling from the Hearing Examiner on Seabright will be issued next Friday.

Community Center Levy Passes

And it passed handily with an overwhelming majority.  Good work, voters!

At the Fire District, Stan Riffle appears to have defeated Rob Dean, but Jeff Wilmot is within 4 votes of Craig Carter.  Next County Auditor count is 3:30 pm tomorrow.  Usually, it takes a week or two before they issue a final tally.

Correction: I must have misread the number 40 for the number 49, because wilmot is behind by 13 votes not 4 votes.  Very sorry about that.  I'll update after 4:00 pm.  

Update, 11/7, 5:20:  The new count still has Carter ahead, but now by 14 votes, 151-165.

Seabright Farms Hearing Examiner Hears and Examines Tomorrow/November 6

It's going to be down in Bellingham and there will certainly be a contingent of local people (mostly from the Conservation Society, I'd guess) who will be hoping that the outcome leans toward the conservation side rather than the development side.

I was surprised to hear that the project is proposing a full 62-lot project, because it appeared that providing septic systems for that many houses would be problematic.  But perhaps they have a solution that the Hearing Examiner (HE) will be able to live with.

Most people here, I think, are primarily concerned about the preservation of the tree canopy.  There is talk of a conservation easement on the APA side of the property that would preserve the maples, but perhaps not the smaller trees and brush behind them.  Although there is also talk of the developers being willing to plant new conifers in the space where the smaller trees will be removed.

Nevertheless, there is a big area at the northeast corner of the property, alongside APA, where the developer's maps show drainfields for septic.  It appears from the map that all that area will be cleared to within 20 feet of the road.  That would destroy most or all of the canopy along almost half of the development's frontage on APA.

We've marked the developer's map to show the drainfields in blue, backyard areas subject to clearing by the new property owners in green, and in red, a 125- foot conservation easement that could prevent tree and habitat destruction within its boundaries.

It's never been clear to me how much local desires are to be taken into account when dealing with private property.  This is a country that gives great reverence to doing what you want on private property as long as you meet whatever regulation exists and those on the property consent.  (Well, not so big on private property when it's peoples' bodies, maybe.)  So, sometime after tomorrow we'll see where we are.  But I do hope that the houses that may be built there will be safely out of view of those who drive by under the canopy and that the overarching, continuous maple canopy will be preserved for all of us, including people who move into the development.  They would surely not want to see its loss, any more than those of already living here want to see it.

Bring Back the 60's: Demonstration in P.R.!

Here is the word from the group that is organizing against the radio towers planned for Point Roberts:

"December 1st, 2013, at 12:00, high noon.  This means we are assembled along the streets at 12:00 pm so when the TV camera come we are ready for them.  This entire event should take about an hour.  Your job is to make the crowd look monstrous."

This demonstration is to be held on the shoulder of Tyee, beginning at McKenzie (first street to the west, south of the border).  Maybe wear tie-dye?  I guess bring signs.

REMEMBER TO VOTE

You need to do it right away if you haven't already.  Just a kindly reminder from your kindly blogger.

And please vote for the park and rec district bond levy so that the community center can get fixed for us and for the next generation...

One of Our Heart's Desires, At Least

Maybe ten years ago, I was briefly involved in a group that did a survey of what residents most wanted to see in Point Roberts that they weren't seeing.  The most popular item, it turned out, was pizza delivery.  Now, only ten years later, I see that the Pier Restaurant has a sign on a truck down on APA and Tyee announcing that it will deliver PIZZA.  Which only goes to prove that if you are steadfast in your desires, you can have whatever you want.  Or something like that...

What Was He Thinking?

I received a couple of pieces of information today (one on Point Interface) from Ron Hughes, a guy who is perhaps a solo operation or perhaps has other supporters in his opposition to the bond levy to repair the Community Center.  Only his name appears, so maybe it's just him.  (The other info was a comment on the previous blog post: see here for his meanderings.)

In any case, he has ginned up a ton of words in opposition, none of which makes much sense.  E.g., he likes to say that the Park and Recreation Dept. has "given" the Julius Fire Hall to the Friends of the Point Roberts Library rather than kept its ownership of this worthy property asset.  As someone who has been working near fulltime for almost 2 years to raise funds to renovate that building for the Park and Recreation District, so that said District can put the library in that building and reclaim the space in the Community Center, I find this mighty irritating.  When the Friends of the P.R. Library complete the fund raising, the Julius Firehall will be turned into a much more valuable building and it will be owned not by the Friends of the P.R. Library, nor by the Whatcom County Librarty Services: it will continue to be owned by the Park and Recreation District.

He seems convinced that the only problem of concern at the Community Center is the roof.  That is just flat wrong; the building has been and may still be standing in water; there is rot; there is mold.

In addition to being irritated by Mr. Hughes' misstatements, I am amused by his language.  Thus, he has named his group "The Con Committee."  I am astonished that neither he nor the committees' other members, if there are any, noticed the primary meaning of that name: This, apparently, is a committee that intends to con local voters.  Well, it's truth in advertising at a new level.  Thanks for your honesty, Mr. Hughes!

As to his substantive comments that aren't entirely confused, well...  His major claim is that the Park and Recreation Commissioners (one of whom is his wife) need to take a longer term view.  Repairing the Community Center for the next 30 years is not long enough for him?  What in the world does he have in mind?  The new library when done, will be good for probably 50 years.  Not long-term enough for him?

It's possible that he is one of that odd coterie of folks around here who think if only we tried harder Point Roberts might be more like Carmel, California, or one of those other charming, crowded, touristy towns with expensive shoppes where the tourists will buy, buy, buy, and residents will grow rich on entrepreneurship.  Or if we tried even harder, maybe it would be like some tiny New York City.  I don't think so.  And who here (besides Mr. Hughes, perhaps) would want to live in a tiny New York City, or Carmel with or without a difficult border?  So crowded; parking problems; noise; urban difficulties: and all in 5 square miles PLUS a border.  Perhaps he longs for shoppes on that second floor of the Community Center that he'd like to see built?

Vote YES on the levy, please.  We need to repair the Community Center.

Election

I went to the Candidates Night week before last.  Most of what I learned was that the County Council candidates don't know that much about Point Roberts and, even more interesting to me, that we in Point Roberts don't know much about the County Council and what they do and are interested in.  When the generous question period came for these candidates, nobody had any questions.

Even when the Fire District Commissioner candidates and the Park and Rec Board Chair discussed their various candidacies (Mark Robbins was speaking on behalf of the Levy to repair the Community Center), precious few questions were heard.  Stan Riffle (Fire District Commissioner candidate) said he was a good guy with experience (and didn't mention any of the sturm und drang that have been the hallmark of the last year+ of Fire District meetings in which he has fully participated as a safe vote for whatever Bill Meursing wants).  Craig Carter said he wanted to bring "harmony" to the Fire District Meetings (which means, I'd guess, he wants to be another vote that Bill Meursing can count on; it's worth noting that he has previously been in business with Meursing and that he volunteered that an unnamed person had asked him to run for Commissioner).

Fire Commissioner candidate Rob Dean did mention some of that disorderly mess that followed the Fire District's firing Nick Kiniski "without cause", a firing that has never been explained by Meursing/Riffle.  As well, Dean spoke about some more recent matters, including the inexplicable 20% increase in the Fire Chief's salary that was passed very recently.  This was then followed by an unexpected and very loud appearance by the Fire Chief (Chris Carleton) who is NOT running for any office but felt some need to strongly defend pretty much everything he's ever said or done in Point Roberts.  After the talking was over, one of the County Council guys asked me privately, "What's wrong with the Fire Chief?"  Indeed.  Good question.

If you vote here, you've received your ballots.  I can't prove that, if Jeff Wilmot and Rob Dean are elected, the Fire District will settle down to a wonderful performance level.  But I do know that if Craig Carter and Stan Riffle are elected Bill Meursing will have three votes instead of his current two votes (himself and Riffle).

And here's two things about Meursing that may be worth knowing:

1.  Meursing allows public comments only at the beginning of each Fire District public meeting.  However, he does not allow questions during the comment period because, as he has repeatedly advised me when I try to ask questions about what they're doing, "This is a Comment Period, not a Question Period, Ms. Ross."  Now Bill Meursing may have great powers, but he doesn't have the power to overrule the 1st Amendment to the Constitution and it's the First for a reason.  He doesn't have to answer the questions, but every member of this community has a right to ask questions about what they are doing as Fire District Commissioners.  Meursing does not seem to know that.

2. A frequent Meursing comment at regular meetings to Jeff Wilmott, who is also a Fire District Commissioner, is "Are You going to play ball here?"  Perhaps he also does not know (because he does not appear to be a native English speaker) that that phrase implies something slightly distasteful in the democratic context.  In fact, it is the heart of democracy to vote one's conscience rather than to just "go along" with what someone else pressures you to do.  Meursing apparently lives in a world where everyone else is just expected to "play ball," and in the Fire District world, that means doing whatever Meursing wants, as far as I can tell.

So, a vote for Jeff Wilmot and a vote for Rob Dean will not be more votes for Meursing and, if their candidacies are successful, it could change the atmosphere around the Fire District for the better: more open, more transparent, more accessible and accountable to the public.

That's my take on that particular election, as someone who has attended almost all Fire District Meetings in the past 14 or 15 months.

Second Election Issue:  As someone who is at least peripherally involved with the Park and Recreation Dept. (in connection with the new library fundraising), I very strongly urge everyone to vote "YES" on the $250,000 levy that will pay for major maintenance on the Community Center.  Just imagine how this community works (the community part of it) or doesn't work without a Community Center?  And if that grand old building doesn't get major repairs, we're not going to have a Community Center.  The only sensible vote is "YES," and it will cost each of us a pittance--something like $5-$10 each year--on our property taxes for the next decade to restore it to wholeness.

Jeff Downer's View of Us

Jeff, a Vancouver guy, was around last year; interested in doing some kind of grad school project on Point Roberts.  But then he disappeared.  I ran into his website this evening, which has this about the Point:

"Point Roberts, WA

A quarantined culture 
Point Roberts, Washington, the awkward little peninsula below Tsawwassen, is a space kept in isolation from the rest of it’s country, cut off from its inherent culture of the United States. It exists as an American territory solely because it falls below the 49th parallel, rendering the space, its culture, its people in a quarantine-like state, away from major sociological, technological, and economical advancements. It remains untouched from large american corporations, other than gas stations that residents from the Greater Vancouver area flock to on weekends in search of cheap gas prices, or an easy entry point into Canada by runaway criminals.
I am interested in what the culture of an area so gated (Americans have to cross two borders to access the area, Canadians, one) and so detached, yet independent, is like within a contemporary societal context. Or, like most areas, has this area too been effected by mass development, or is it a destination for retirees? Do people that work and live in a displaced landscape mimic their environment? The physical border itself, a mere cement block cylinder lines the border of the two territories. How can something so superficial hold so much weight?
As both an American and Canadian Citizen, I am personally drawn to this binary, and feel Point Roberts is probably the closest space to an area where both countries overlap and coexist in what feels like an ephemeral refuge or muster-station; waiting, just waiting." 

 www.jeff-downer.com

Although it doesn't all sound right to me (as a near 20-year resident), i do very much like the phrase: "waiting, just waiting."  But I surely don't know for what.

Truth in Advertising, Election Edition

I was out driving round the Point today and saw that 3 of the 4 the candidates for Fire Commissioner positions have election signs out on the road shoulders.

--"Elect Jeff Wilmott" (Fire Commissioner)

--"Craig Carter" (for Fire Commissioner)

--"Re-elect Stan Riffle" (for Fire Commissioner")

The problem with that is that Wilmott and Riffle were both appointed to their current seats.  We are getting the chance to ELECT Mr. Wilmott, Mr. Riffle, Mr. Carter, and Mr. Dean (Dean doesn't have any signs up) for the first time since none of them has previously been elected to the position of Fire Commissioner.

Why does Mr. Riffle think that he is being RE-Elected?

Good Citizens

On Saturday, Rhiannon Allen was bringing wonderful chard (I bought some; I speak from experience) from her garden to the Great Indoor Yard and Baked Sale for the benefit of the new library.  Yesterday, I saw her on Tyee doing the fall work on the beautiful garden created and maintained by the P.R. Garden Club.  It's people like Rhiannon that make this a community in the best sense of the word.

Local Starfish: They Okay?

News of a strange die-off of sunflower starfish off the B.C. coast comes to our attention.  You can read about it here and look at pictures, too.  I've not seen sunflower starfish down here off Point Roberts--just the purple ones--but then I don't spend a lot of time looking for them.  Anybody seeing dead ones?  Of any kind?

update:  http://kuow.org/post/mass-starfish-die-may-be-headed-washington

second update:  http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Sudden+disappearance+sardines+serious+economic+ecological/9034961/story.html
The sardines/pilchards have all disappeared too.

Second Set of Fire Hydrants, Point Roberts

A number of you called or wrote to tell us where your painted fire hydrant was located, but Ed is still missing some of the reported 147 that have been painted.  Nevertheless, here is another bunch, none of which were included in the first set he/we published.  You can click on each of the small pictures to get an enlarged version.

Whatcom County Politics

We're a little sheltered up here from Whatcom County politics, even though we are in Whatcom County.  Which may mean nothing more than that we are largely uninformed about the county politics that affect us in various ways.  I have just had my attention brought to a blogger who writes about Whatcom County politics. Worth bookmarking and reading, I suspect, especially during this onrushing election season.

See it here.

What We Do in the Fall

The Last Sunflowers of the Summer, photo by Ed Park



The off-and-on aggressive rains of the past ten days remind us of the fall that is to come.  But today there is sun to tempt us to think that summer will come back.  I don't think so.  At least not for many months.

There are many things on our plates this fall in Point Roberts.  There's the County decisions (Planning Board, Hearing Examiner) on the Cottages at Seabright Farm and on the KRPI radio tower construction; there's the election with (unusual) contested seats: in particular, two Commissioners at the Fire District (which election you may conclude safely that I have a special interest in); there's the $250,000 bond issue for the vitally-needed renovation and maintenance of the Community Center; and (for me, but really for us all) the conclusion of the two-year drive to raise money for the renovation of the Julius Firehall into a new library for Point Roberts.  All have their supporters and their opponents and we'll be hearing more about that as the weeks progress.

At the moment, I want to bring to your attention the All Community Indoor Yard and Bake Sale to be held at the Community Center on October 12, from 10-6.  Although it is sponsored by the Library Fundraising Group, it is not intended to raise money solely for them.  Anybody can reserve a table space and sell what they want of a yard-sale nature and keep the money (although everyone needs to pay a $5 table space fee for the use of the Community Center).  The Library Fund will have several tables of yard sale goods plus the baked goods sale products.  But we have already had requests for about 8+ other tables, including fall produce, as well as yard sale materials (clothing, household goods, skill saws, golf clubs, etc.)

The Library people will make some money here for the new library, they/we hope, but the decision to do this was largely based upon our experience at the Saturday Market this summer when, for 3 or 4 weeks at the end, we had a yard sale table.  That came about because a friend of Ed's was cleaning out their garage and offered him a bunch of construction materials which we decided to take to the Market for the library cause.  And that first week was so much fun, that we repeated it for the next few weeks, adding to the stores of goods from here and there.  We 'sold' things for whatever people thought they were worth, and the process itself engaged people in a surprising way.  I discovered people just like to poke around in boxes and consider adding to their own supplies of things.  And they like the bargain aspect, setting what I think of as a Platonic, which is to say, ideal price.  I believe that each of us has some firm idea about what something is really worth (as opposed to what somebody else thinks we ought to pay), and this is a process which lets you execute that 'real worth' decision.  I like it; lots of other people seemed to like it.  And the money went to the library which is a pretty popular cause.

So we're doing it one more time, all day.  Join us as a seller; join us as a baker; join us as a shopper.  But join us.  And we'll all be there having a good time.

Fire Hydrants: The Explanation

update below.

Ed took the pictures of the fire hydrants because he lives in Point Roberts and because he takes photographs of things here.  He posts them, often, on Flickr.  Sometimes he sends them to the APB, and sometimes the Editor prints them.

In the case of the fire hydrants, he drove around the Point and took pictures of the fire hydrants as he saw them.  It didn't include everyone that existed, and his photographs had nothing to do with the Fire Department's judging and all that.

As he finds or finds out about new ones, he he has taken pictures of them and added them as individual photographs on the Flickr site.  You can see the expanding set here.  As of this afternoon (9/30), there are 102 photos of individual hydrants plus the one composite/mosaic of 64 photos.  There have been almost 500 views of the composite and many, many views of the individual hydrants.

If you want you fire hydrant included, let us know where it is.  You can email us or you can let us know in a comment to this blog.

We are getting some phone calls relating to the Fire Department and the judging and I have written this largely to make clear that Ed had nothing to do with any of that.  kthksbai.

update: Fire Chief Chris Carleton is apparently going to be producing, for sale, a calendar with all the photos in it.  

Fire Hydrants: The Collectors' Edition

Here is the link to the 64 photo collection of fire hydrants as well as to the individual shots of those 64.  They're not all there yet, but Ed will be adding photos in the next week in hopes of eventually locating and photographing all of them.  If yours isn't there, email me with your address and he will get round to it faster.  (judywross at gmail.com)

You can download individual photos by clicking on the individual photo and then clicking on the three dots at the bottom right on the screen.  that gets you a menu: click on 'view all sizes'.  Then you can choose whatever size you want to download.  Enjoy!

Good Neighbors and All That...

A year ago, there was a lot of concern about the Point Roberts Beach Club Development (out on APA Road).  Now, it's become The Cottages at Seabright Farm and they've become, in some sense, our neighbors, with their Seabright signs conveniently located on our streetcorners, their open invitation to visit them and learn about what they are planning, their Seabright Farm! shopping bags, and even their organizing of a concert this past weekend to help raise money to fight off the dreaded radio towers.  (Full disclosure: The developer has also had some preliminary talks with the Library Fundraising Committee about support for that project.)

They have not yet received their permits from the Whatcom County Planning Department (which would be followed by a public hearing and a final decision by a Hearing Examiner, which could then be appealed to the County Council).  The slowdown appears to be about the need to find an acceptable balance between the number/size of the lots and the requirements for septic systems.  The property has a lot of wetlands that make that balancing a complex achievement. Without all that county action, they cannot actually sell anything.  Nevertheless, they seem to be doing an excellent job of advertising their eventual product.

Although there are still pockets of opposition on the Point to the development, my sense of it is that people have moved on.  Their very big concern was about saving the maple canopy on APA Road and, once that was assured, their confidence in the county doing 'the right thing' (whatever that might be) was if not restored at least encouraged.  In talking with people, I find that many seem more concerned that it will be a disaster for the developer than a disaster for Point Roberts.  Perhaps that's because they can't imagine that a lot of houses/lots at $400,000 are actually going to be sold.  Or perhaps because it's hard to keep up a sense of high dudgeon over a long period of time when nothing is actually happening.  Perhaps the oxygen of outrage is all being consumed by opposition to the radio towers.  Or perhaps the likelihood that the development will be smaller than originally planned (that is, fewer houses/lots) makes it seem less problematic.

Or perhaps it's because this project this time has presented a plan that people find less offensive.  The developer (Wayne Knowles), who has lived here at least part-time for many years, probably understands more about Point Roberts than outsiders usually do when they arrive with grand plans for improving our locale.  Knowles' vision of a bucolic 'development' community within a community, with vegetables growing in every yard, may evoke a calmness and serenity that we would all like to achieve in our lives.  And that outlanders will be willing to pay substantially for, while looking at the sun setting into the ocean, at least on sunny days.

Fire Hydrants as Art

The Volunteer Fire Department's fire hydrant painting contest is obviously a big success and congratulations should go to Chief Carleton for conceiving of it and carrying it out with such enthusiasm.  Every time I go out for a non-routine trip (i.e., not going on the same streets I always go on), I see something new and wonderful in the way of splendid fire hydrants.  The Chinese dragon is my favorite at the moment, but it changes from day to day.  Ed is making a photo collection of them, so my daily favorites will show up as they come in.

Employment for Cats

As regular readers may recall, we obtained for our life a 4 y/o cat last December who was named, before she reached us, Zoe.  We are extremely pleased with her.  She has spent her entire life indoors and that has given her, I believe, some unusual characteristics.  For a long time, I thought this was why she was so standoffish, so suspicious, so reluctant well, to engage.  She does consent to be petted but she would certainly not sit next to us on a couch or in a chair, nor sleep next to us in bed, or, god forbid, actually sit in our laps.  She likes to stand on the seat of a tall chair or table so that we can pet her: everyone with all their available legs firmly attached to a solid surface.

Recently, however, I think I have figured out that she has a secret job: she is a Homeland Security IED investigator.  Her job, apparently, is to ensure that nothing in our house explodes.  The best way to do this, since nothing in our house is currently exploding, is to prevent or at least discourage anything new from coming into the house.  The logic, obviously, is this: nothing is currently exploding; anything new might explode.  Prevent the new.

Zoe eating a little grass while inspecting what turns out to be a non-exploding object.

Unfortunately for her, she does not control what comes into the house because she does not ever leave the house and we do, forever bringing new things into her and our lives, things that might explode.  A new chair or lamp or even a book moved from one place to another must be investigated at great length, for several days.  Long enough either to disarm it or to ensure it is not an explosive chair/lamp/book/whatever.  Given that she sleeps 18 hours a day it is amazing how much investigating she is able to do in what is left of the remaining 6 hours of her active work day (into which she also must cram 4 or 5 meals each day--but she's a very fast eater).

You may wonder how she disarms explosive things.  Good question and we had an excellent example of it yesterday.  Zoe is very fond of oat grass and so I grow pots of it and bring a new one in every few days which she promptly consumes down to the little green nubs.  Yesterday, however, I had none growing adequately, so, upon the advice of my cat-raising daughter, I dug up some lawn grass and put it into a pot, then brought it into the house.  Zoe recognizes a pot of grass when she sees it and knows it's safe because it's food not an explosive device.  She rushed up to me and, as I put the pot on the floor, she pressed her mouth into it and proceeded to discover that it was not grass as she knew it but an explosive.  She disarmed it by rising about a foot into the air, landing 180 degrees away from the direction she had been facing, and then rushed off, racing up the stairs and immediately back down in order to discharge all that explosive energy.

And then we were all safe, although the grass was still not acceptable because it apparently still contained minute amounts of dangerousness.  So it was sent back out to the unknowable world of outside.  And we settled down to a quiet afternoon knowing that we were, once again, safe.  That's what real homeland security can do for you...

Special Fire District Meeting

I hear there's a special Fire District meeting on Monday at 4:30 pm at the Firehall, apparently called with respect to how a contract for a new septic system should be created.  Local contractors, e.g., rather than Bellingham ones?  Don't know much other than that, but if you're interested in local folks getting work for local projects, you might want to try to make this meeting.

Update: the official announcement came out this afternoon saying that the agenda was focused on the water district (which has property next door to the firehall) and their tie-in to a new septic system.  Unofficially, however, I continue to hear that those concerned with the lack of open bids will be wanting to be heard on that aspect of the project as well.

Summer Going, Going, But Not Gone Yet...

it's been a lovely summer; the best weather-wise I think in the 20 years I've been here.  And even this week, it's been more summer than fall, even though we're back to overcast today.

It's been unusual in other ways, as well.  I think the cross-border traffic must be growing by leaps and bounds.  The parking lot at the grocery store is almost always full during most hours.  The steady line of cars coming in and going out is clearly visible.  The visitors to the Saturday Market were clearly on the increase even though the number of vendors wasn't much up.  And the number of summer activities seemed considerably larger.

Part of this last increase is due to the Visit Point Roberts program initiated by Samantha Scholefield.  Her two program Interns this summer were around and visible lots of the time, and were both advertising events and conducting them (like beach walks).  They did a terrific job and it is to be hoped that this program will get enough support to make it ongoing each summer with some kind of stable budget source. (Incidentally, they will be making a presentation to the community tomorrow/Saturday at the Community Center on what they accomplished and what needs to be made more effective: 2 p.m. )

Another part of the summer events growth was the Library Fundraising which had 3 outdoor movies, 3 tables at the Saturday Market, including produce, baked goods, and garage sale materiel, and an ice-cream-and-cake-thank you Party.  And then the usual events were also there for all to partake of: the Fourth of July Parade, the Arts and Music Festival, the International Belt Sander Race, Historical Society tours, many Library programs for kids and grownups, and several concerts brought to us by Lucy Williams at Trinity Lutheran Church.

We've all seen each other a lot.  And now, our Canadian neighbors and day visitors will be around less often as the skies darken and the day shortens, and so will those of us who are permanent residents.  October vacations beckon (not to mention cruises in the Caribbean throughout our darker days).  But there will still be a bunch of us here, though less visible, doing what the off-season calls for (getting the gardens ready for winter is my priority).  The kids are back in school; the vine maples are turning red (a little late, but they're doing it), the flower-filled yards are changing to something else less colorful.  Soon the stoves will be lit all day.

Maple Beach, 2013

Still, some things do not change: the tide goes in and the tide goes out.  The earth abides throughout all the people busy-ness.  Cherish that, too.

An Expensive Night at the Fire District

In their monthly meeting, the Commissioners wandered from comedy to tragedy in their ongoing efforts to do their business in what will at least appear as characterized by responsible behavior.

It began with the approval of the minutes from the last two meetings.  The minutes of the meetings are minimal, at best.  The documents make no attempt to explain decisions or to describe central issues in discussions or (never, never) to mention what members of the public attending the meetings have to say.  So, it's mostly they voted to do this or not to do that.  But last night, Commissioner Riffle wanted some better explanations.  He didn't like that the minutes of the recent special meeting to act on the Chief's salary said only that he made a motion to increase the Chief's salary by $10,000/year.  He wanted it to say why he made the motion; ie, what justified such a position.  The following discussions were cryptic at best, but I believe they ended up leaving the minutes as they stood but agreeing in the future to perhaps provide some context in the minutes if the Commissioners would produce such context-language at the meeting when the minutes were to be approved.  Readers will perhaps be pleased to know that this decision was allegedly made in the interests of increased transparency.  I doubt it, myself.

Then, we moved on to monthly expenditures of $48,000 for some things which were never detailed, plus a $12,000 monthly payroll.  (Those two alone account for almost 10% of the annual budget.)  Then the insurance agent suggested they increase the replacement cost insurance (on the firehall) to $2 million.  Which they did.  And then there was some considerable discussion of whether the Fire District should continue to pursue several former volunteer firemen for at total of about $500-600 due to their being overpaid in years past.  A pittance, in the face of everything else, compounded by the fact that most of the scoundrels who refuse to pay back are in Canada somewhere and probably can't be reached even in small claims court.  And these are very small claims.  Pursuit will continue, however.  Emails will be sent regularly urging them to donate back.  (As a fund-raiser, I know how effective those emails are likely to be.)

And then, the grand and tragic finale:  The septic system is moments away from total failure and it must be replaced immediately and it will cost at least $40,000.  Some work was done earlier this year in hopes of improved drainage doing the trick.  But the trick didn't come off and neither has anything else.  The work will be done on an emergency procurement basis, so it won't go out for bid.

So, in total, that's over $100,000 for the evening.  An expensive night.  On the other hand, the public is very pleased with the fire hydrant painting program and the community relations program.  That's the cheap part of having a service whose primary purpose is to put out fires and provide emergency medical care.

An Introduction to Biscuit

The Point Roberts Library has year-round programs for kids, helping to make sure that kids have all the encouragement possible to become readers.  One staff person (of 3) has that as her particular responsibility.  That's a considerable commitment of resources, but why wouldn't we want to make such a commitment?  I can't think of any reason not to, surely.  If we aren't going to make readers out of kids to the greatest extent possible, what are we doing?  Just entertaining our adult selves?

Anyway, one of the events the Library sponsored this summer was having kids draw/paint book covers for a book they especially liked.  I wanted to enter this contest but I didn't have time and also I'm not a kid...I'll never be a kid again, I'm afraid.

But here is one of the winning entries that I really loved.  The name of the book is "Biscuit," but the Bis is obscured by the blue border of the painting.  I am wondering, however, if this dog will ever get up and walk around on all fours (or maybe all fives, including the tail)?  But maybe that's what the book is about: How Biscuit triumphs and becomes a walking dog!  Good job, Allie!  I love your book/dog's picture.

What Are We Eating Now?

UPDATE BELOW.

What we are eating in Point Roberts now are apples, plums, and pears, all in great abundance.  And kale and zucchini, pouring out of every backyard garden.  All very good and we will miss them when they're finished.  Which they will be very soon, although we do have one apple tree at our house whose fruits come in November.

But, the question about what we are eating is really directed to another issue.  One of the things that amazes me about recent years is the requirement that the vast public, often unprepared to apply even what they know, get itself educated on some brand new topic.  It seems only a few years ago that I was listening to riots in Seattle on the radio and realizing that I needed to learn, quickly, a whole lot more about what globalization of trade really meant for our lives.  It wasn't a few years ago, and we've certainly all learned (or I hope we have) what it meant, in terms of its implications for all our lives.  And innumerable topics similar since then.  Did you mention 'fracking'?  It's a constant feature on my facebook page because I have a long-time friend who is deeply involved politically in the issue, so she educates me along the way.

What do we need to know next?  Genetically modified organisms (GMO), I think, and the way they affect the food supply.  I don't know much of anything about it.  Generally, the public is instinctively wary of genetically modifying things.  It may be because it seems like we're messing with basic stuff.  On the other hand, when we're genetically targeting cancer cells, that seems like a good thing.  Similarly, we tend to love/trust things that are natural.  But what's more natural than malaria?  So natural/unnatural is not really a good standard for making judgments.

If you don't know anything about this, as I don't, you could try attending the movie tomorrow/Friday night at the Firehall.  It's made by those who worry about GMO's, but that's okay: it's a film with a viewpoint and it makes its viewpoint clear.  It's a starting point, not an ending point, in learning about this issue.  If you're planning to be alive for the next 5 or 10 years, it's probably worth spending an hour or two learning about GMO's.

The film, "GMO OMG" (this means "Genetically Modified Organisms  Oh, My God," in text talk), will be shown at the Firehall, 2030 Benson, at 6 pm on Friday, September  6.  There'll be a panel discussion afterwords.

Here's a brief description from the organizers:

"(T)he film seeks to educate the audience about what GMO's presence in our food means for the average consumer. The average person may not know what the term GMO means but is certainly eating GMOs, and probably at every meal. For those who may not know, Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are created when scientists take DNA from one species and insert it into another in a way that would never occur naturally." 

Update:  because of limited seating capacity, you need to rsvp if you are planning to go to the film.  RSVP by clicking the link below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dE1KY1BIZk1Ib3ZnTlVxSTU2TEM2NFE6MA

Strange Doings at the Fire District

Now, you are scarcely surprised by that title.  Nor am I.  But last night the Commissioners were faced by a conundrum.  The Fire Chief has a 3-year contract which stipulates that he will be paid $3,400 a month for a half-time 80-hour/month job as Fire Chief here at Point Roberts.  That would translate into a yearly paycheck of almost $41,000.  The Fire Chief says that full-time Chiefs in comparable districts are paid $65,000 and $85,000.  So, $41,000 for half-time is certainly in the ball park.

So where's the problem that the Commissioners need to solve?  Well, the problem is that the Chief actually works more than the 80 hours/month (150 hours, e.g., during the last month).   So, if you want to revise his contract to recognize the wonderful job he is doing (as judged in private by the Commissioners), you could change the Fire Chief's job from an 80 hours/month job to a 150 hours/month job (say a 3/4 time rather than a half-time position) and pay him accordingly at the same hourly rate.

But, for unknown reasons (Meursing says it would be dangerous to make it a 3/4 time position because "soon there would be a full-time Chief"), that is not the route they want to take.  Instead, they want to boost the Chief's half-time job to a pay rate of $53,000 per year instead of $41,000 per year.

By the end of the meeting, the Chief had announced he would accept a contract revision only if it made his half-time job now pay $50,000/year (and then promised to work many extra, unpaid hours to demonstrate his devotion to the community).  And the Commissioners voted to accept his offer.  So, now little Point Roberts with its very large (half million/year) Fire District budget is sporting perhaps the highest Fire Chief's pay rate for small, volunteer fire departments in the vicinity, or maybe in the state.  What a generous bunch we are!

The underlying part of all this kabuki is that the Point Roberts Fire Chief also has a full-time job as a fireman/paramedic at the Ferndale Fire Department.  So, he's working, in hours, two full-time jobs. He does not charge us, he says, for the hours he spends sleeping on the Point.  If he did, it would apparently be more than two full-time jobs.  But we're not going to pay him for the hours he works: just for the first 80 at the new, higher rate.  We're going to accept his extra hours as a charitable act, I guess.  I simply know no good business or management practice that would think this was a good idea.  And I would wonder whether the County endorses its public employees holding multiple full-time or near full-time positions.

The Puppets Were Here!

Yesterday afternoon, the local library sponsored a puppet show based on the characters from The Wizard of Oz, by "Welcome Marionettes."    It was a classic marionette performance, which is not easy to see nowadays, even if you live in a much bigger place than Point Roberts.  I guess because of the (well-deserved) popularity of "Sesame Street", rod-puppets are much more likely to be on view, so this was an especially wonderful treat for anyone who is a fan of this very ancient, truly classical puppet format.

The troupe, which is based near Deming, Washington, in a place called "Happy Valley" (would you have puppets based anywhere else?), is small: three puppeteers and one musician, who is also one of the three puppeteers.  Nevertheless, they travel with a large theater (filled up the stage entirely at the Community Center) that enables marionette manipulators to create one of the big magic acts of classic marionettes: as you watch the marionettes, the confines of the stage make them gradually appear to take on life-size so that when you eventually see them next to the human puppeteers, you are astonished to see how small they are.  The enclosed staged does much of the work for this and the human eye does the rest.  Throughout the performance, I was intensely aware of this size sensation.

They sang and they danced and they were much frightened by the flying witch and by the end of the performance, they were all--Dorothy in her glittering red slippers, a very bouncy Scarecrow, a glittering Tinman, a frenetically cowardly Cowardly Lion, and an adorably tiny Toto--safely and confidently on their way to see the Wizard.  And then we got to ask questions of the puppeteers, who not only manipulate the marionettes but actually make them as well.

If you missed it on Saturday, I'm very sorry that you were otherwise busy.  But you can wait hopefully: maybe they'll be back next year with "Alice in Wonderland."  Lucky us!  We live in Point Roberts where the puppets come to us.

More on the Radio Towers

Emails by the dozens are zipping round the Point on this topic.  Most are pretty negative about the proposal and I can understand that.  There is generally a feeling that this is something that is being dumped on the Point and that the project has absolutely no benefit to Point Roberts: no jobs and no improved service of any sort, but an aesthetic downside and perhaps some electronic interference to nearby houses.

Indeed, one of the reasons that it is being moved (potentially) from Ferndale to Point Roberts is that the area where the towers were located in Ferndale was experiencing more housing development.   Here, there are relatively few homes within 1,000 feet of the proposed site.  Also, those people here were all notified of the proposal around August 1, but it didn't rise to general information until last Thursday when the E-edition of the APB came out.  The suddenness of the news (and the lateness, given that the end of the public comment period is August 16, 4 days from now) also contributes to the general feeling that we are being treated shabbily by the County.

About all that can be done right now by individuals is to write to the Whatcom County Planning Department immediately if you have concerns.  Address your emails to sbosman@whatcomcounty.us and include the following information on the subject line: CUP2013-00004 and SEP2013-00032, KRPI AM Radio Transmitter Site.  Also include your name and physical address in Point Roberts.  

The Planning Dept. has already indicated that it is likely to approve this application, but there will be a public hearing, probably in early October according to Ms. Bosman, and public comments will be a part of that hearing.  Various groups in P.R. have requested an extension for the comment period, but the Planning Department says it will not be extended.  Community displeasure could be dispositive for the Hearing Examiner.


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Include the follow

More Trouble in Paradise? Will It Never End?

Update Below.  Not enough that some people are up in arms (or down in the dumps) about the possible new housing (aka cottage) development on APA Road (the cottages at Seabright Farm), now we have five 150-foot radio towers proposed in the woods off Tyee near McKenzie (by Nielson's Electric).  Many of the same people are feeling equally up in arms (or down in the dumps).  Doubtless another opportunity to see us at our best.

The towers are intended to provide access to Richmond's East Asian community for a radio station in Lynden Ferndale and the implication is that it is cheaper to do this (ie, the towers and maybe the station itself) in the U.S. rather than in Canada/B.C.  There appears to be provisional approval from Whatcom County.  You can read about it in the APB's E-edition this week.  Plus comments: at this point, there are eleven of them and they're all in opposition.

Point Roberts residents often speak in favor of Point Roberts being different in some way or another (usually this is in regard to more economic development, more entertainment, or more pizza delivery, e.g.), but they are somewhat less frequently in favor of things that are on offer, and especially radio towers, it would appear. There is a deadline for public response (August 16); details for how to make such a response in the APB article linked above.

Update, 8/11:  Someone has started a blog on this topic, and I cannot speak to its accuracy, one way or the other, but you can read it here:  http://prtowers.blogspot.com/

Bear-ly Here

A little report on Facebook about there possibly being a bear around here (to keep house with the young moose in some natureworld reproduction of The Swiss Family Robinson...stranded on a peninsula that is  in the U.S., although these animals all carry Canadian passports!)

Anyway, there has also been some concern about picking up fallen fruit to keep the bear from marauding in your yard.  It did occur to me that if the bear were here and if it wanted your fruit, it would just climb the tree and take it, so tidiness under the tree would be of no avail.  However, this afternoon, when I was picking a few ready transparent apples from my many fruit trees, I thought about the half dozen or so fallen transparents already on the ground and happily browning away, wafting their apple smells to tempt bears everywere to visit them.  And then I thought, there is maybe one small bear somewhere around Point Roberts and there are about !4,000 apple and other fruit trees with ripe fruit in the tree and on the ground in Point Roberts, and I decided the odds were pretty small that a bear, whose presence is also very unlikely, would make it to my yard to prey upon my apples.  So I stopped thinking about the entire issue.  I'm done with it, ok?

An Apple a Day

The first ripe apple from the transparent tree today.  Must be August?  A month from now, we'll be awash in apples here on the Point.  Everybody has apple trees and the "old ones" planted lots of apple trees that now grow more or less wild in fields that somebody owns but sort of nominally.  And we will never have a way to use all those apples.

By contrast, the Italian plums look to be, for the first time in years, a very small crop (at least in my yard with 4 trees), whereas the one ancient pear tree seems to be trying to push up and out a dozen or so Bartlett pears.  Last year there were 2 or 3.  But that poor pear tree is so old that it has a hole that goes clear through its trunk at one point, so it's amazing it produces anything.

And that is the agriculture report for today!

You Live, You Learn: Postoffice Edition

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the local post office (a generally wonderful place except for the frequent lines) to obtain some Mark Twain stamps.  My son had noted they were available as 'forever' stamps and suggested that we all should buy a lifetime supply and give up on the flags and like that.

I'm good with that conclusion, so I was saddened (mildly) to find that they have no Mark Twain stamps here and they can't order them for me and they're not going to get them unless by chance some get sent to them.  Nowadays, they say, they get the stamps they get.  Well, maybe things work differently in the Big City, but I live here.  So I inquired whether I could buy them on line.  'Yes,' they said, 'that is what I am suggesting to you.'  And so I did.

On line there are many stamps other than and additionally to the Mark Twain stamps so I found myself buying less than a lifetime supply of Twain and dabbling in 'Modern Art in America, 1913-1931' and 'Miles Davis and Edith Piaf' (separate stamps, not together again).  And I end up buying about $25 worth of stamps, which is probably less than a lifetime's worth, but you never can tell.  And then, alas, there is a charge for mailing them to me.

Now is seems to me that since they won't let me get them at my local post office, they might reasonably swallow the mailing costs since they own the mail.  But their financial situation is strained at this time, I know.  So I cut them some slack.

When the stamps arrive, they arrive by priority mail, in a large (12x14") white plastic envelope.  When I open the envelope, each of my three kinds of stamps is separately packaged in a glassene envelope with a sturdy cardboard backing.  Each stamp is in a different-sized package.  It seems a lot of packaging to buy $25 worth of stamps when I could just buy the flag ones or whatever else they are warehousing at the local postoffice.  And the packaging probably costs more than the handling and shipping charges I paid.  Just one more piece of a changed world that I find myself not too crazy about.  I doubt if I'll bother with buying stamps on line in the future.

I'll just have to remember and honor Mark Twain by re-reading his books, I guess.  But I was doing that anyway.

What a Summer!

It has been a so-so year for raspberries, I'm sorry to report and sorrier still to live through as we wait for Okanagan peaches to join us with local blueberries for breakfast.  I'll be lucky if we get 3 quarts out of this pack of raspberry plants at the rate they're going.  On the other hand, hydrangeas and lilies are setting new records for size.


My friend Pat's lilies are 7 feet tall, while mine are skulking around at most at 6 feet.  And the buds are huge (up to 8 inches long), and the flowers even more so.  Furthermore, the average number of buds per lily stock is surely six or more.   And hydrangea flowers are as big as my head, which is just a standard size human head, but very large for a hydrangea flower.  The individual flowerettes are, on some heads, about 4-5 inches across.

If only we could eat them for breakfast!

Couple of Meeting Matters

Last week, at the Community Advisory Committee meeting, the issue of bad or at least undesired behaviors at Maple Beach arose.  The basic problem is that Maple Beach is a County Park and a Public Beach.  It is the responsibility of Bellingham Parks and Recreation NOT Point Roberts Park and Recreation District.  Unfortunately, Maple Beach, as lovely a beach as it is, is lacking in a couple of significant areas: 1.  It has no public parking lot; and 2.  It has no public facilities in the way of bathrooms or water supply of any sort.

The County's reply to the first problem is that there is nowhere to put a parking lot.  There are obvious unused plots of land, but they seem to be under the jurisdiction of the International Border Commission and they don't do parking lots for County Beaches, even if the beaches really need parking.  The County's fallback position is that there is parking on both sides of all the side streets coming off of Bayview (which has no parking) and that should be sufficient for beach visitors.  The problem with this is that the side streets are pretty narrow and the owners of the houses along the sidestreets have, in many cases, obstructed the easement with various items making it not possible to park there.  Dubious, if not actually bad, behavior.

The County's current answer is to inform the owners of the first two houses on each of the side streets that they cannot interfere with the parking easement.  At least that's what I think the County is said to be doing.  We will see how that solves anything.

The second problem, the absence of bathrooms and water supply, is the source of the other problematic behaviors.  According to attendees at the meeting and to several letter writers (all of them residents of Maple Beach), beach visitors are beginning to respond to the absence of facilities by borrowing the lawns and outdoor showers of local residents to make up for the lack of bathrooms and faucets of any sort.  This constitutes a public health problem that the County should really have to respond to.  Whether they will do so remains to be seen.  The CAC will discuss it with various parties at the County level.  It is an unfortunate and unseemly problem that deserves to have a quick solution, if only the importation of portapotties.

The second matter was at the Fire District meeting, also last week.  The Fire Chief reported on the unusually high number of calls to the Fire Dept. in June.  Typically, there are about 6 or so calls total, but June had 18, one of which was someone who called because an eagle had taken up residence on the ground in their backyard.  I'm not sure I would have thought to call the Fire Department about such a problem, but that's what the folks did.  Unfortunately, in their various training activities, none of the 43 volunteer fireman currently on the registers (all of whom are not available at any given time) and on duty at that moment knew much about eagles.  Nevertheless, they made an appearance, but none of their excellent equipment exactly suited the occasion.  The eagle was in "a defensive posture" and was about 2 1/2 feet tall, it was reported.  The Chief postulated that it was a baby eagle that had fallen out of its next.  (Sounds big for a baby eagle?)  Eventually, they got in touch with the OWL people who are based in Delta (http://www.owlcanada.org/) and who have members on the Point who came and took the eagle away (it had an injured talon).  And all ended well, we conclude.

But the moral of this story, however, is that if you have an eagle or any other big bird downed in your back yard, contact OWL---http://www.owlcanada.org/.  The Fire Department is probably not the place to get help for such a matter.

Bad News for the Boaters Amongst Us

At the Community Advisory Committee meeting tonight, the small number of attendees (maybe 7) were told that the new dock at Lighthouse Park was a dead issue for this year.  Although the County has the money in hand to replace it, when they put their design out for bid, the only bid was 80% over the funds that are available.  So they are redesigning and then rebidding, but no chance of anything happening this summer.

July 4th, With Events

It might have been the shortest July 4 parade i've ever seen here or anywhere, but it had a few notable sights, including this car (below) as well as the motorized sofa with its riders and accompanying hordes of Viking invaders.  Unfortunately, that picture did not make it out of the camera.  Sorry, George, Julie, Samantha, and the rest of you wild and crazy folks (I think maybe the remnants of the Red Hat group?).

Many previous parade entrants were missing, including almost all the usual floats and the lawnmower drill team, and the stiltwalker, not to mention the Shriners, with or without the little cars.  This parade planning needs some work, I think.  Probably it needs a parade committee.  Maybe the Chamber of Commerce could form a Parade Committee that included folks from outside of the Chamber group and just itself be the convener?

The evening had the best fireworks ever down at the Marina, sponsored I take it by the Pier Restaurant.  They were just gorgeous and very well attended right there in the big field at the edge of the water.  I know fireworks are not good for dogs, but it was only a half hour and there shouldn't have been any dogs there since it is well known that dogs don't do well with fireworks, but at least one dog got himself lost according to this morning's mail.  Hope he's back home by now.