9/5 BC strike, Tethys vote, Kitsap runoff, SnoCo complaints, Strawberry Plant Park, Garry oaks, wooden boats

Solar Eruption Aug 31 2012 (NASA)

So much for Rain City. Cliff Mass asks: A Nail Biter: Will Seattle Beat the All-Time Record Dry Streak?

Picket lines are going up at government offices around the province this morning as more than 27,000 workers from three unions strike for better wages. The job action by members of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union, the Professional Employees Association and the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union is the latest move in the ongoing contract disputes between public sector workers and the provincial government. The one-day strike is expected to affect 1,785 worksites, including liquor stores, courts, corrections, social workers, child protection and ICBC offices in 153 communities across B.C.  B.C. government workers launch 1-day strike

City Council members will have another three weeks before voting on whether to allow an application filed by Tethys Enterprises Inc. to move forward, which could end up expanding the city’s urban growth area and start the ball rolling on what could end up being the largest beverage bottling plant in the country. The application to expand the city’s urban growth area would still need approval from Skagit County. The council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to postpone the vote until a Sept. 24 City Council Study Session, hoping to have a more complete idea of Tethys’ plans for a proposed 1-million square-foot beverage bottling plant in the expanded urban growth area before allowing Skagit County Planning and Development Services to begin consideration of the application. Mark Stayton reports. Anacortes tables vote on expansion for Tethys

Proposed green stormwater solutions in Keyport, Indianola and Suquamish are the subject of public meetings scheduled in those communities by the Kitsap County Surface and Stormwater Management Program. Chris May, senior program director, said green stormwater techniques — such as rain gardens and permeable pavement — manage stormwater on properties in a cleaner, more natural way. Kitsap County is studying potential locations for rain gardens, bioretention swales and permeable pavement in Keyport, Indianola and Suquamish.  Reducing runoff, improving water quality subjects of North Kitsap meetings  

If you're bothered by a noisy neighbor, an oversized fence or illegal signs on the roadside, you might have to wait a while for Snohomish County code officers to respond. Those are among the code violations the county has deemed lower priority. Because of short staffing, the county's planning department said lower-level violations must take a back seat to more serious problems, those that pose an immediate fire hazard or a threat to people's lives or safety. Even getting to those top-priority calls can take up to four days. Fielding all of those complaints are just four code officers, plus a supervisor and a support person. That's only half the number of code enforcement officers the county employed in 2007. Meanwhile, the number of complaints has remained steady. Noah Haglund reports. As county loses staff, neighbors' complaints have to wait

The city hasn't forgotten Strawberry Plant Park. The Eagle Harbor park reopened a little more than a year ago after an ambitious, city-led habitat restoration project reshaped its shoreline, replacing concrete jetties and creosoted pilings with a gently sloping beach. Since then, the 4-acre site has shown nagging signs of neglect. Weeds are growing tall along the paths and at the top of the new beach. Stretches of landscaping fence are falling down and in tatters along the beach. Most ominous, invasive Scotch broom is making inroads in the shoreline area that the city had carefully roped off to encourage native plants. Tad Sooter reports. Bainbridge set to tackle Strawberry Plant Park ... again

The San Juan County Land Bank has been awarded $40,000 in grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue its program of Garry oak habitat restoration on Turtleback Mountain Preserve on Orcas Island. Garry oak savannahs and native grasslands are some of the rarest habitats in Washington state. Some of the best remaining examples are in the San Juans.  Future brightens for Turtleback Garry oaks

The three-day Wooden Boat Festival that starts Friday is a unique attraction where attendees can celebrate the maritime trades, organizers said. Now in its 36th year, the event draws boating enthusiasts from around the world to the Point Hudson Marina festival grounds to learn the latest and greatest maritime techniques or just to appreciate the lines of a particularly compelling craft. Charlie Bermant reports. Wooden Boat Festival to celebrate all things maritime  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED SEP 5 2012
TODAY
VARIABLE WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. AREAS
 OF FOG THIS MORNING.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING E AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.

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