Letters to the editor — Aug. 8

• Published August 07, 2008

Maybe Obama should be Europe's president

Barack Obama seemed to be pretty popular in Europe, more so than at home. Perhaps he should run for president of the E.U. Evidently, they would appreciate him more.

Mike Coleman, Olympia

State can't reallyown the rainwater

I read recently that the state has decided it owns the rain, and a Woodinville farm that is using rainwater for garden plots is violating the law.

The farm owners must buy municipal water or get a permit from the state Department of Ecology to use rainwater.

This is ludicrous. The state should be encouraging people to water their gardens with rainwater as much as possible. Municipal water is limited and expensive.

What's next? Does the government own the sunshine that falls on my solar panel? Do they own the wind that strikes my windmill? It makes no sense at all.

Linda Larsen, Lacey

Pilkey warned countyof looming debt

Here we go again. In April, the Thurston County Commissioners admitted they had a $4 million budget deficit. Bill Pilkey told commissioners at a hearing, the deficit would be much higher, and they should make immediate budget cuts. They refused. He said commissioners should tell the people they had no control over county government and reduce their salaries by 50 percent.

If commissioners had listened to Pilkey, these financial problems would have been solved. Instead, commissioners lost control of county spending and have no idea how to solve the problems.

Pilkey met with an Olympian reporter in late April and told her the deficit would be about $10 million, or 12 percent of the budget. That same writer had an article in the July 24 Olympian indicating the deficit is now $6.3 million. It was difficult to determine whether the commissioners had made any spending reductions yet.

The county financial problems are getting worse, just as Pilkey said they would. Commissioners are building a new jail even though voters turned down a jail bond issue four years ago. And there is no money to staff it. Perhaps commissioners will ask for a property tax increase after the election.