Americans do not live in a free and honest society.
In a free and honest society, newspeople would be asking questions related to public policy all of the time.
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
I will purchase a subscription to any Puget Sound area newspaper working to inform us on Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Has there ever been a news story to inform the public on the Saratoga Passage Marine Stewardship Area?
Looks like a significant area.
Image above:
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
I will purchase a subscription to any Puget Sound area newspaper working to inform us on Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls.
“Local journalism has been the policeman on the beat against misinformation,” Cantwell said in an interview Tuesday. “Keeping local news is too important to let these unfair market practices continue.”
“Broadcasting is facing similar losses, with advertising revenues down more than 40% in the past two decades.”
The Press Is Weak
People go to alternative media because the family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks have moved away from asking questions.
The press is also good for telling everybody to get out and vote.
People could do a better job of voting if they were better informed.
Both Whidbey papers have stripped away all comments from past articles, and removed the opportunity to post comments to new articles.
Various newspapers in the Puget Sound area have gone with this trend.
Newspapers are suppressing online comment sections, getting away from asking questions related to public policy and telling us they need more support from subscription and advertising sales.
We are big fans of Independent/alternative media here at Oak Bay Starfish.
The family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers and TV news folks are more welcome to do interviews related to public policy. Unfortunately, they seem to have moved away from asking questions.
Alternative media is also good about keeping an active comment section up & running. There’s always something to learn or think about from the points others make in the comment section.
Has anyone ever seen the Puget Sound area press ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls?
Has anyone ever seen any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into the waters near Whidbey Island?
Coupeville – just west of Captain Thomas Coupe Park
“Clams, mussels and oysters CLOSED year-round.”
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Newspeople play the role of federal public affairs personnel during Operation Macho Swagger–a ride-along to let us know what is being done to keep the southern edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from B.C. incursions: Operation Macho Swagger & Port Angeles Heroin
Three reasons why it looks like a warning sign should still be posted:
1 On 4/2/2020 the Washington State Department of Health tells us that this is not a safe location for recreational shellfish harvest: Shellfish Safety Map
Is the sewage treatment plant sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
Image above:
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
Is the sewage treatment plant sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
Image above:
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
Also, please lose the guilty until proven innocent prohibitions on posting comments in various local papers.
Elimination of reader comments works against the idea of paying for an online subscription.
Maybe when things get back to normal, the press will ask questions about Whidbey water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls.
Maybe when things get back to normal, we’ll hear from one or more government agencies, elected officials or volunteer organizations who are seeking answers related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into Penn Cove.
Unfortunately, questions are not being asked, even under normal conditions.
Several Island County beaches are now closed for recreational shellfish harvest because of sewage treatment outfall.
Sewage treatment outfall. Not stormwater.
This appears to be a routine/ongoing situation.
View the Washington State Department of Health beach list here.
One or more sewage treatment plants are sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Is the sewage treatment plant sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
Image above:
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
Is the sewage treatment plant sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
Image above:
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
Several Island County beaches are now closed for recreational shellfish harvest because of sewage treatment outfall.
Sewage treatment outfall. Not stormwater.
This appears to be a routine/ongoing situation.
View the Washington State Department of Health beach list here.
Asking questions about local water quality impacted by sewage treatment plant outfalls:
Has anyone ever seen any news report asking questions related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Has any government agency, elected official or volunteer organization asked questions related to one or more sewage treatment plants sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
North side of Penn Cove at Monroe Landing
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Three reasons why it looks like a warning sign should still be posted:
1 On 4/2/2020 the Washington State Department of Health tells us that this is not a safe location for recreational shellfish harvest: Shellfish Safety Map
Maybe good days and bad days, but the sewage odor by the boat launch today at this location was intense.
On the way, I stopped at the west end of Penn Cove.
Image above:
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
Three reasons why it looks like a warning sign should still be posted:
1 On 4/2/2020 the Washington State Department of Health tells us that this is not a safe location for recreational shellfish harvest: Shellfish Safety Map
I found this sign posted on 4/2/2020 at the west end of Penn Cove. The sign has been there long enough to become faded from the weather.
WDFW has posted this permanent sign showing a dark shaded area in the eastern part of Penn Cove. The dark shaded area indicates a location that is unsafe for clam & oyster harvest.
Interesting that the part of the cove farthest from open waters is the part where the water is cleaner.
This sign remains in place even during the driest months of the year.
A man on the moon in 1969. Church, Boy Scouts, patriotism, pledge of allegiance, the WWII generation in charge. Signing up for the Marines.
Families with married parents and maybe a stay at home Mom. It was common for your friends to have 3 or 4 brothers and sisters.
It started out with a positive sense of American culture.
Much has changed.
Over the past 40 years or so, both major parties have taken turns in power and have squandered credibility that would help in the current situation. A wide variety of political personalities have occupied the White House.
“But as other schools deliberate shutting their doors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, some parents may be left to wonder: If schools close, how will my child eat?”
Several news sources published this quote. View them here.
The idea that sending hometown troops to Africa would be linked in any way with keeping the people of Salisbury Maryland safe and free calls for more discussion.
Mayor Day,
While the troops were deployed, federal law was signed prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to adults age 18-20.
Can you help us to understand the militarized version of freedom here?
In the 60s & 70s I never attended a Veterans Day assembly at school.
There were none.
Probably enough veterans around to remove most of the mystique, or maybe those veterans thought it was all just an average thing and did not want to be seen as a separate part of American society, or get head of the line parking spots over at the grocery store.
Each November, school teachers across America host Veterans Day assemblies– and promote the idea to children that The Troops are in distant lands-fighting for American rights and freedoms-as if the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization.
In Washington State, these assemblies are mandatory.
Love to see a student ask: If The Troops fight for your right to sit, stand, kneel, etc.-why were black people still riding at the back of the bus after the big WWII victory?
Love to see a student ask: If the wars aren’t won-how can they protect our freedom?
Love to see a student ask: Whatever happened to lessons about Armistice Day?
“…WSP Vessel and Terminal Security Troopers responded to the MV Kaleetan upon its arrival at Colman Dock. By that time, WSF crews had already secured the suspect, who had boarded the vessel by vehicle.”
Not my idea to promote the concept that riding safely on the ferry requires gun boat escorts, SWAT teams and K-9s on the job to detect explosives.
If a guy decides to fire a gun during a 60 minute ferry crossing and WSP waits to respond until the ferry arrives at Colman Dock, how is this security?
Will newspeople follow up and let us know if the guy who purposefully fired his handgun from the ferry had a concealed carry permit?
Did he pass any sort of background check?
Whatever happened to this guy?
A 5th grade book report would require more in the way of asking questions.
Is the sewage treatment plant sending unsafe product into Penn Cove?
Reporting on this topic appears to be completely off limits to the press.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
Don’t miss our companion blog-found here: Old Man Blog
Looks like waters adjacent to Bellingham and Anacortes are less impacted by pollution than the waters between Oak Harbor and Coupeville.
We moved to Whidbey several years ago, after living in Jefferson County, where going out and getting a limit of clams was a happy routine/local thing. After arriving on Whidbey, a letter came in the mail from Island County describing the Penn Cove Watershed and the requirement to get home septic systems tested in this sensitive area. This was a chance to learn about the watershed and how to maintain a septic system.
If the press ever comes close to covering this topic, they will refer to stormwater.
Still haven’t been out to local beaches for clams.
Local people can learn about reducing the impact of stormwater and contribute by being more careful about using chemicals on their lawn, washing the car in the driveway, recycling motor oil, cleaning up after their dog, etc.
When the press ignores sewage treatment plant outfall people are left out on solutions to this problem.
I’m thinking of old traditions. Someone buys a fishing license and wants to take the grandkids out to teach them how to bring home a legal limit of clams. Buy a license, know the rules to maintain a sustainable harvest, check the tides and open seasons, and pick a good day.
The shellfish safety map is updated daily. Get up early and check the map to see if shellfish are safe to harvest at your favorite beach. Look for green colors on the map that show safe places for recreational shellfish harvest.
If we could walk from the north edge of the brown shaded area at Oak Harbor, down to the south edge, how long would it take to get there? That’s a pretty big area.
Better tell the grandkids that today isn’t the day to be getting out there.
“Water Quality Comment: This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
No mention of stormwater.
Questions for today:
When the impact of recent big rains has cleared, will the sign at that top of the page be removed?
Will the sign stay in place at Monroe Landing if WDFW continues to warn that:
“Water Quality Comment: This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Does the sign at the top of the page refer to a sewage drain pipe that sends stormwater, treated water, or both into Penn Cove?
“Ocean water in Snohomish County is less polluted than other urban sites in Puget Sound, despite over 60 new chemicals scientists tracked in and around Possession Sound — including trace amounts of methamphetamine.”
Has there ever been a news story to inform the public on the Saratoga Passage Marine Stewardship Area?
Looks like a pretty big area.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
“Bridges said rainwater is likely getting into the sewage lines through cross connections between sewer and stormwater pipes — which is a byproduct of days gone by when the two systems were connected — and through cracks in pipes.”
“As Bridges pointed out, Oak Harbor’s treatment plant wasn’t alone in the region when it comes to rainwater trouble.”
“According to a spokesperson for the Department of Ecology, the Penn Cove Wastewater Treatment Plant was flooded by water from an adjacent wetland Wednesday night. The floodwater entered the aerobic digester, which holds fines solids…”
“About 25,000 gallons of the solids were swept into Penn Cove with the floodwater.”
“The Washington State Department of Health closed shellfish harvesting in the area.”
Much of the area was already closed to recreational shellfish harvest, even in the driest months. Been blogging about this for more than a year. Newspeople did not report on it. Past blogs here, here, and here.
Back to my original post, here:
Looks like a pretty big area. Seems understandable that recent rains could cause problems.
Lets take a look back to the driest time of the year:
Image above: Washington State Dept. of Health status updated Sept. 20th, 2019.
North side of Penn Cove at Monroe Landing
“This beach is within the closure area for a sewage treatment plant outfall and is unsafe for recreational shellfish harvesting.”
Has there ever been a news story to inform the public on the Saratoga Passage Marine Stewardship Area?
Looks like a pretty big area.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
Why doesn’t this style of reporting cross over to stories about the US Dept. of Homeland Security, big drug busts, or the Department of Defense track record for winning undeclared wars?
Topics like healthcare, immigration, climate change, impeachment, gun, control, and sports get plenty of coverage.
I tend to be fascinated with topics that are underreported in the news. I wonder why the family friendly, hometown pride-oriented local small town papers, big city papers, and TV news folks seem to have certain topics they stay away from. These are the issues I like to blog about.
The US should maintain strong and ready military forces.
In some cases, the US Armed Forces provide for our physical security. That’s as good as it gets.
In terms of American rights and freedoms-The Dept. of Defense has no more say than the Dept. of Agriculture.
All time favorite urban legend:
The Troops are sent to distant lands to fight for American rights and freedoms.
As if the US Armed Forces function as some sort of giant civil rights organization.
The press will avoid questioning this idea. They may even take time to promote it.
None of these are linked in any way with The Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Troops, The Dept. of Defense or the outcome of military operations overseas.
As the decades of undeclared/unwon wars stack up (The Department of Defense track record goes back to 1949.) the greater the cultural urge to glorify people who do, or did time in uniform.
If there is an honest reason to send people away into decades of undeclared/unwon wars overseas let’s hear all about it.
Go and ask the FBI for Chicago bank robbery statistics. You’ll get the numbers. They won’t tell you that statistics/public records must be withheld because stats would assist bank robbers if they were shared with the public.
What other law enforcement agencies, anywhere in the US maintain secret arrest statistics?
Washington State Patrol shares DUI arrest statistics on social media here:
“Funding for the boat was issued through the Homeland Security Grant Program under Operation Stonegarden.”
Questions for newspeople:
Has there been any post 911 history of maritime “cross-border activity” on Whidbey Island?
Has the Island County Homeland Security-funded patrol boat been involved in any arrest or seizure related in any way to the US/Canada border?
Any members of the free press available to show up and ask why the people of West Virginia need services in an unknown overseas location absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
US Troops at the border, El Chapo takedown, opioid lawsuits, REAL ID, Homeland Security grant money, CBP social media posts, strict post 911 security protocols and a $40.6 billion US Dept. of Homeland Security fail to keep meth from entering the Puget Sound area:
Voting is highly emphasized in American culture. Asking questions related to public policy takes a lower priority.
I’d be more interested in paying (again) for a local paper subscription if there was more in the way of investigative reporting & newspeople asking questions.
Go and ask the FBI for Chicago bank robbery statistics. You’ll get the numbers. They won’t tell you that statistics/public records must be withheld because stats would assist bank robbers if they were shared with the public.
What other law enforcement agencies, anywhere in the US maintain secret arrest statistics?
Washington State Patrol shares DUI arrest statistics on social media here:
Any members of the free press available to show up and ask why the people of Louisiana need services in Iraq, absent any military emergency, national emergency, draft, or declaration of war?
State-run media update:
Aug 1, 2019 Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Photo above: Several years back at a farmers market somewhere in the greater Puget Sound area.
