Where have good cops gone?
I have reported to the City of Port Orchard that the walk light at KFC intersection does not always work.
I’m almost 60 and I know how to cross a street. I crossed the street and I did not push the button that does not work a lot of the time. I have also been in the crosswalk and almost been hit by many cars including Port Orchard police cars.
An unmarked tan car pulled up next to me and started chewing me out for crossing the street when there were no cars there. Very bad attitude and very rude. Even if I did deserve to have something said to me, there is a right and wrong way. Really?
Unsolved murders, crack heads robbing people, bank robbers, etc.
At least the police in this area have their priorities straight. Can’t believe this town.
Watch out for those 60-year-old pedestrians! By the way, I was wearing dress slacks and a nice shirt.
Seems like a lot of police departments in Western Washington have problems, Seattle, the top cop of Tacoma commits murder in a Gig Harbor parking lot. At almost 60, I remember good cops, where have they gone? Not Port Orchard.
Allen Guy | Port Orchard
Port of Manchester tries to protect port property?
Your Port of Manchester commissioners approved paying all legal defense costs for Commissioner James Strode on his recent criminal charge. The Port voted that Strode was acting on behalf of the Port when he violated the hydraulics act.
The taxpayers are paying a Seattle attorney $395 an hour to defend Strode. The first months legal bill (ending in February) exceeded $2,200 for 6.7 hours of work. Two court dates have been cancelled, legal costs continue to mount, and I can’t shake the notion that the permit would have only cost the Port $150!
Additional support was offered by a co-commissioner on the Port. He felt the case against Strode has a “chilling effect” on what other commissioners can do to protect port property. He threatened to resign if Strode is convicted. He’s up for reelection on the port, and Strode is up for re-election on the water district.
Many taxpayers don’t know that these two commissioners are serving as port and water district commissioners at the same time. Both of these commissioners are up for re-election this August. Both commissioners feel that protecting port property preempts following state laws! The upcoming August election provides two opportunities to correct this problem.
The problem of dual service at the same time. This is more than a mere conflict of interest, it is an issue of conduct by an elected body that has become contrary to state law. I just keep wondering, what did this commission find so hard about applying for a permit that only costs $150?
Paying a Seattle attorney $395 an hour to defend Strode. The bill (ending in February) exceeded $2,200 for 6.7 hour of dates have been cancelled, legal costs continue to mount, the notion that the permit would have only cost the port
Dave Kimble | Manchester
A budget for us all
At Kitsap Bank, we work every day with our local small and medium size businesses who have been realigning their budgets and priorities, as a result of the recession.
We’ve worked with borrowers who have fought through, by prioritizing and restructuring their business and their debts, all the while paying a higher Business and Occupation (B&O) tax bill to help state government through the downturn.
Therefore, we applaud the bipartisan efforts our State Senate in producing a budget that honors the spirit of our Washington small businesses, and keeps the promise made in 2010 that those higher B&O taxes on small businesses would, in fact, be temporary. It’s not easy to craft such a budget. It would be easier to keep the tax going, once we’ve become accustomed to paying it.
After five full years, the state’s income is back to its peak level.Tax collections for 2013 are basically the same as in 2008 at the height of the boom. It is, therefore, appropriate to bring the B&O tax back to the 2010 levels, as was the original intent.
We are looking forward to this recovery and the return of prosperity to our communities and our state. Giving people confidence in the promises of their government, and giving the middle class and small businesses more of their income to invest in growth and local job creation will create a snowball effect that will drive tax receipts up as economic activity blossoms.
The members of the Senate who have recognized this and crafted a budget accordingly deserve our praise and our support – and we are pleased to be counted among the appreciative local businesses saying, “thank you” to our Senate for putting politics aside and doing the right thing.
Steven L. Politakis, chief executive officer
Anthony M. George, president and chief operating officer
