Letter to the editor for April. 5

• Published April 05, 2008

• Comments (0)

Andrea Robbins, Olympia

County at pivotal point on Rocky Prairie

Thurston County has a choice to make: Protect the rural character of our county or industrialize Rocky Prairie.

Rocky Prairie, near Maytown, falls within the sensitive Black River Watershed and protects the headwaters for two salmon-bearing streams.

This prairie connects crucial natural areas including Millersylvania State Park to form one of the largest remaining wildlife corridors in Thurston County. In 2006, the Port of Tacoma purchased 745 acres of Rocky Prairie to develop the South Sound Logistics Center, or SSLC, an expansive industrial park that will encroach onto these natural areas, home to threatened habitats and species.

According to the port and its partner port in Olympia, the SSLC could include a chemical manufacturing plant, a solid waste transfer facility, and several million square feet of high-cube warehousing — all of which will spill over onto neighboring property and may require community dislocation.

The ports admits that at least 2,000 trucks a day will travel the 2.5 miles of road running from Interstate 5 to the Maytown site. There has not been a comprehensive environmental impact study completed on the proposal; nor has impact to our existing communities and traffic patterns been defined.

The ports are considering three other sites besides Maytown, one of which is actively seeking development.

Grace Diehl, Olympia

Oil company profits are obscene

It is 168.81 miles to my parents' house in Sheridan, Ore., from my apartment in the college town of Lacey. That's about three-quarters of a tank of gasoline for my little Ford Focus, or $35.

Granted, I'll have to fill up to return to Washington, so let's say that's about $70 total. To put this into perspective, that's approximately one-third of my usable income for the entire month.

In contrast, Exxon made more than $40 billion in profit for the year, as it increased the cost of living for everyone in America by raising fuel prices higher and higher. My dad, a diesel mechanic at Yellow Freight, has a theory on why gasoline prices are spiking. He tells me, "The fuel prices are artificially high because of speculation in the commodities market. There is no supply problem. Surplus oil storage is higher than it's been in months."