Letters to the editor for Sept. 30

Derail the gravy train. Elect Iyall and Hansen

For four years ending in 2017, I attended most Port of Olympia Commission meetings and study sessions. What I learned is that our Port functions successfully as a mechanism for transferring public tax dollars and publicly owned assets into private hands.

Most of the time, the majority votes of Commissioners Joe Downing and Bill McGregor keep the wealth transfer mechanism working smoothly. Despite the best efforts of Commissioner EJ Zita to infuse some integrity into the Port’s actions, the Downing/McGregor duo have prevailed, the gravy train moves relentlessly, and the taxpaying public loses big.

Believe me: behind the PR façade, the truth about our Port is ugly.

In November, voters will have a chance to derail the gravy train by electing both Bob Iyall and Joel Hansen. These two men of integrity have my vote, my support, my endorsement, and I urge you to join me in electing Iyall and Hansen.

Beverly Bassett, Olympia

Shoreline Master Program affects us all

The Shoreline Master Program update deadline is coming up, folks, and environmental conservation is not just for the hippies, y’all. It’s for all of us. We do not pay for the essential needs we require — clean air, clean water, and natural landscapes — yet they are quickly disappearing.

Toxic cyanobacteria blooms are largely as a result of storm and agricultural runoff, a slurry that carries oils, fertilizers and sediment into our waterways. That is, unless there is a barrier of vegetation in its way. Vegetation provides more value to all citizens than the houses we build along our lakeshores, but clean and healthy lakes increase the real estate value of those homes too. Lakefront property owners may own the shoreline, but they do not own the water. We all benefit from the water lakes and rivers supply to our aquifers.

Shoreline erosion often occurs when native vegetation is replaced with turfgrasses and other non-native plants that are not well-suited to the stresses of the lakeshore. Lakes and tributaries without “living” shorelines are less resilient to the effects of climate change as they no longer have the natural ability to absorb and dissipate storm energy nor do they have access to their historical floodplains.

Protection of shorelines is critical to ensuring that lakes and humans can adapt to meet the demands of our changing world. Submit your comment in support of shoreline buffers and data monitoring to the Thurston County Planning & Economic Development Department before Oct. 20!

Lago Aufwuchs, Olympia

U.S. suburbs are unsustainable

America used to have great walkable cities connected by rail, but in the mid 20th century our culture evolved to become dependent on cars in suburbs. Now we suffer from horrible traffic and unsustainable suburbs where the tax revenue does not cover the increased cost of maintaining roads, utilities, etc.

We must reverse that and go back to affordable condos in cities where people can build wealth through home ownership. We can have great walkable cities again with shopping, rail, transportation, parks, plazas, and trails where you don’t have to drive every time you want to do something.

Joel Carlson, Lacey