2/15 Octopus love, Vancouver oil, orca scene, plastic bags, Tesoro workers, Port Gamble, King County shores, Sequim CAO, Navy dock, Foss hotel, Seas the Day

Mayhem (PHOTO: Alan Berner)

Octopus Love: Jennifer Nerad posts the Valentine’s Day story with photos by Alan Berner about Mayhem, the female giant Pacific octopus at the Seattle Aquarium, meeting up with Rocky, the Aquarium’s male. “She could taste his presence in the water. Mayhem's arms stretch almost twelve feet wide.” An octopus blind date!

If you like to watch and like to listen: No Coal Train by bandZandt.

“Can we see sort of Asia-trade competitive sizes of vessels with a pipeline that can deliver capacity to them? I think that’s very plausible” Port Metro Vancouver director Robin Silvester says, affirming that Vancouver would be able to handle larger tankers that could receive crude oil from an expanded Kinder Morgan Inc. pipeline, allowing Canada to boost energy shipments to Asia. Vancouver port boss affirms facility's greater oil potential

Long time fishermen like Walter Young worry the increased tanker traffic through the Haro and Rosario Straits will put the sensitive waters near Puget Sound in peril. "Guaranteed disaster," said Young. Tar sands oil heading this way  

Ann Stateler and Odin Lonning, who run a whale research project on Vashon, documented visits by 15 transient orcas in Colvos Passage on Feb. 5; “an intriguing combination of 13 southern resident orcas” in East Passage on Feb. 9 and 10, and another collection of whales off of Point Robinson on Feb. 10. Whales make several appearances in a week

An Environment Washington report says 7 out of 10 recyclers in the state would like to get plastic bags entirely out of their systems because about a million bags end up in the recycling stream clogging mechanical belts and causing stoppages costing 10-15 hours of productivity each week. Organization seeking statewide ban on plastic bags

Meanwhile, the Bainbridge City Council will begin discussion Wednesday on a draft of a city ordinance introduced by Council Member Kirsten Hytopoulos that would effectively ban all one-time-use plastic bags. Plastic bag ban to be discussed by council The Issaquah Council Utilities, Technology & Environment Committee plans to start collecting input from businesses owners and residents Feb. 16 about joining Bellingham, Edmonds, Mukilteo and Seattle to ban plastic bags at local retailers.  Officials consider plastic bag ban for Issaquah

Members of the local chapter of the United Steelworkers (USW) Union and their supporters rallied Tuesday to protest Tesoro’s proposal to leave workers’ benefits, including pension, 401k, vacation and healthcare benefits, open to change over the next three years. They also demanded that Tesoro implement additional safety measures to help avoid catastrophic disasters, like an explosion that left seven workers dead in April 2010. Tesoro workers rally for better safety, benefits

Despite arguments posed by the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe that commercial boats and docks could affect fish and shellfish resources, Kitsap County commissioners sided with Pope Resources and local businesses in deciding that docks or tour boats and sea planes will not be prohibited in Port Gamble Bay. Future Port Gamble docks could be allowed  

King County's shoreline master program, updated after three decades and adopted by the County Council in 2010, is now open for public comment through March 16 during the Washington Department of Ecology’s review and approval process. Comments and questions should be addressed to David Radabaugh, Department of Ecology, 425-649-4260. Ecology seeking public comment on King County's shoreline master program  

The Sequim City Council addressed concerns raised by John Wayne Enterprises, Sequim Senior Activity Center officials, the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe and the state Department of Ecology and passed, 6-1, its critical areas ordinance. Sequim approves critical-areas ordinance

The Navy at its Kitsap-Bangor base is proposing to build a 632- by 250-foot overwater concrete wharf, 688- by 40-foot warping wharf and 81,000 square feet of overwater approach trestles, built on 1,250 steel piles. The facility would support mission requirements for the Trident submarine fleet and built over five years. The Army Corps of Engineers and Washington Department of Ecology are seeking comments on what you think about this second explosives handling wharf. A draft EIS is here. Army Corps seeks comments on proposed Navy wharf

This is a very long story that continues: A Bellingham hotel developer says he’s ready to start construction on a long-delayed new hotel on downtown Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway, but a rival Tacoma hotel owner says he intends to appeal the hotel’s shoreline permit to the State Supreme Court. Foss hotel shoreline-permit fight likely to go to state's high court

What's your favorite boat name? Deborah Bach at Three Sheets NW reports on BoatUS’s 22nd annual list of the top 10 boat names in the country. Groan. Most popular boat name? Seas the Day

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST WED FEB 15 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
TODAY
W SWELL 10 FT AT 14 SECONDS. S WIND 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING E 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 10 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.

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