Thumbs Down: We never understood the cult hero status conferred upon Colton Harris-Moore, the so-called “Barefoot Bandit.” Harris-Moore gained a worldwide following for his crime spree, which reportedly included teaching himself to fly so he could steal private planes, before being captured in the Bahamas last year. Prosecutors say he owes his victims $1.3 million for the wrecked airplanes and items he is accused of stealing from property owners. Harris-Moore is facing federal charges of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, interstate and foreign transportation of a stolen firearm, being a fugitive in possession of a firearm, piloting an aircraft without a valid airman certificate, interstate transportation of a stolen vessel, as well as the bank burglary. If the case goes to trial and he is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also faces numerous state counts. Now federal prosecutors have taken the rare step of trying to prevent Harris-Moore from cashing in on his story. In an indictment filed recently in U.S. District Court in Seattle, prosecutors assert the 20-year-old should be required to forfeit “any profits or proceeds received in connection with any publication or dissemination of information” relating to his alleged crime spree. Good. While we are concerned about making the victims whole, there is no way that Harris-Moore should prosper from his activities. The fact that some people were rooting for him to escape capture is offensive.
Thumbs Up: This week, the City of Lacey launched its annual summer water conservation effort requiring homeowners to reduce their landscape watering to three days a week. Given the lack of summer weather and a spring that has largely been a washout, it may seem odd to require Lacey water customers to follow a mandatory watering schedule. But we don’t know what kind of weather summer – if it ever arrives – will bring, and besides, conserving water is the wise thing to do. Lawns don’t need more than three days of watering each week. For Lacey water customers, watering times are determined by the last number of residents’ addresses. Utility customers with addresses ending with an odd number can water Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays; those with addresses ending with an even number can water Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Friday is a nonwatering day for everyone. The Lacey City Council adopted the policy four years ago to reduce peak water demand during the summer, when daily water use tops 16 million gallons, compared with 6 million gallons in the winter. The alternating water days and no watering on Fridays allow the city’s reservoirs time to recharge and not be overwhelmed, said Erin Keith, city water-resources specialist. “On a really hot day, if everybody is using the water, we just don’t have enough water in our reservoir to do that,” she said. Lacey officials have applied for additional water rights from the Department of Ecology. Baring permission to withdraw additional water from the aquifer, mandatory water conservation is the right policy decision for a water-strapped city like Lacey.
