Letters to the editor for April 25
The Port’s Tumwater properties
The Port of Olympia recently received a proposal from a developer who is interested in bringing business to an area in Tumwater that is presently zoned for light industrial and warehousing.
The port is proposing the creation of a “development agreement” between it and the city of Tumwater to ensure that development may proceed unopposed, as long as existing zoning is met.
Realizing that large developments (this one is 200 acres) are a big and long-term decision, the Port wants to ensure that the city of Tumwater and its citizens reap appropriate benefit.
To that end, the Port will specifically agree to: strictly follow the most recent 2018 updated land use codes, direct any new truck traffic north to Tumwater Boulevard and away from Bush Middle School, use green spaces/buffers and comply with Tumwater’s tree ordinance, create a multi-use trail stretching from Tumwater Boulevard to 93rd Avenue, lease five acres to Tumwater at no cost for a new community center, complete and implement the Habitat Conservation Plan before development begins, and continue to support the reduced lease cost to Capitol Little League that provides recreation opportunity to over 600 families.
These benefits plus new tax revenues to the city and good-paying job creation will come from this development.
Please join me in urging the Tumwater City Council to approve the development agreement for this parcel of land.
Joe Downing, Port of Olympia commissioner
Increase funding for Apple Health adult dental
COVID-19 has shown us how a global health crisis can further intensify long-standing systemic health inequities that have disproportionately affected Black, indigenous and other communities of color, lower-income households and rural areas. Washington’s Legislature can make meaningful progress toward health equity by including the Senate proposal to increase our state’s investment in the Apple Health (Medicaid) adult dental program in the final budget.
Thanks to the Legislature, Apple Health includes dental coverage for adults. Yet years of underfunding the program has meant Washington’s Medicaid dental provider reimbursement rates are near the bottom nationally, averaging just 32% of commercial insurance rates. It can be difficult for providers to see Apple Health patients and still make it pencil out for their practices. The result is fewer Apple Health-insured adults can access care.
Oral disease, which is almost entirely preventable, has very real health and economic consequences. Untreated oral disease is linked to heart disease, diabetes complications, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. More than 1 in 4 low-income Washingtonians report that the condition of their teeth has negatively affected their ability to interview for a job.
Nearly a quarter of Washington adults are covered by Apple Health. I hope legislators will seize the opportunity to help increase access to oral health care and include the Senate funding increase for Apple Health adult dental in the final budget.
Vanetta Abdellatif, president and CEO of Arcora Foundation
Revenue can’t wait
A safe and full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is only possible if we all contribute to it. That means Washington’s billionaires too.
As the executive director of Washington’s largest union of public service workers, I’m reminded every day of how lawmakers’ failure to fix our state’s upside-down tax system hurts working people and vital public services.
When crisis hits, all too often the economic burden falls on working families as billionaires exploit opportunities to profit from the mess.
Case in point: On July 20, 2020, Jeff Bezos, the head of Amazon, made $13 billion in a single day while front-line workers struggled to treat COVID patients with inadequate staffing, little or no PPE, and mandatory furloughs. Meanwhile, these same workers are paying up to five times as much in taxes (proportional to their earnings) than billionaires.
What we have now is perpetual austerity for working families and record profits for billionaires.
Washington’s rigged tax code doesn’t just harm public workers; it results in budget cuts to public safety, services for individuals with disabilities, and quality education for the next generation.
It’s time for lawmakers to find the courage to do what’s right and fix this unsustainable, unfair and irresponsible tax code. A tax on capital gains (SB 5096) and a wealth tax on billionaires (HB 1406) are steps in the right direction.
Together, we can make Washington a place that works for everyone, not just the wealthy.
Leanne Kunze, executive director of the Washington Federation of State Employees