3/29 Landslide, coal trains, Inslee taxes, Kitsap forest, tsunami dock, ocean acid, saving beaches

It's a Party: SJ Is. National Monument

Celebrate! It’s a Party: This coming Monday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will host an event to celebrate the San Juan Islands National Monument at 10 am at the Anacortes Senior Center Great Room, 1701 22nd St. At 5:30 pm Islanders for a San Juan Islands National Monument will host a party at the Lopez Center, 204 Village Road. You did it! Come celebrate.

How massive was the landslide Wednesday that took down a chunk of a beach cliff on the west side of Whidbey Island? Enough to fill a football field 90 feet high with dirt. State geologists estimate some 5.3 million square feet of earth were moved by the slide at the Ledgewood Beach development. The ground continued to move Thursday. Erik Lacitis reports. Landslide, among state’s worst, still on the move

New blog: Thoughts on landslides and other disasters. Acts of God, Acts of Man

The Puget Sound Regional Council wants to know how a constant stream of mile to mile-and-a-half long coal trains will impact railway congestion, trade and development, property values, land use and employment in the cities, towns and rural areas along the route to an export terminal proposed for Cherry Point north of Bellingham. The council on Thursday approved a study of impacts, not just in Whatcom County but in cities such as Seattle, Tacoma, Mukilteo, Edmonds and Marysville that would see a constant stream of trains along their waterfronts. Joel Connelly reports. Regional council will study coal trains’ impacts

If you like to watch: Environmental groups say they've discovered coal falling from trains into Puget Sound at an alarming rate - and they say it would increase five-fold if proposed coal export terminals are built. Divers were at the Ballard Locks on Thursday and shot underwater video. Environmentalists say coal is falling from trains as they pass overhead on the railroad trestle. About two trains pass each day now, but that will increase to 10 or more if those export terminals are built. The issue over coal dust falling onto the side of the tracks is not new. But this is the first time coal has been found in the delicate marine ecosystems. Jeff Burnside reports. Environmentalists: Coal trains already polluting Puget Sound  See also: What’s In The Water Under The Ballard Rail Bridge?  

Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his budget proposal Thursday, a mix of extending temporary taxes and ending some tax exemptions to address both the state's projected budget deficit and a court-ordered requirement to put more money into the state's basic education system. Inslee seeks to raise some $1.2 billion from tax changes, with more than half of that coming from extending business and beer taxes that were about to expire. The rest of the money would come from eliminating or lowering tax exemptions, raising new money from bottled water sales, trade-in vehicles and sales taxes on non-residents. Gov. Inslee proposes extension of temporary taxes Rachel La Corte and Mike Baker report. Gov. Inslee proposes extension of temporary taxes

Forterra, which is leading the effort to acquire up to 7,000 acres of forestland in North Kitsap, is ready to negotiate a land deal, but how much property will end up in public hands has not been determined. Michelle Connor, Forterra’s executive vice president, notified Pope Resources Wednesday that she intends to move forward with a land purchase on behalf of the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project. Her notification comes at the end of an 18-month option agreement between Forterra and Pope Resources, the owner of the property. Potentially, nearly $12 million in grants and other funds have been approved so far to buy a portion of the 7,000 acres, which is listed in five separate “blocks.” Chris Dunagan reports. Huge forestland deal coming together in North Kitsap

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the last of a 65-foot long dock that traveled across the ocean after the Japanese tsunami has been removed from a remote beach on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The Undersea Co. of Port Townsend began the work March 17, cutting up and airlifting out pieces. Company President John Nesset says it was like opening a 185-ton concrete package filled with foam packing peanuts. The job was finished Thursday. Tsunami dock removed from Washington coast

"Ocean acidification," the shifting of the ocean's water toward the acidic side of its chemical balance, has been driven by climate change and has brought increasingly corrosive seawater to the surface along the West Coast and the inlets of Puget Sound, a center of the $111 million shellfish industry in the Pacific Northwest. USA TODAY traveled to the tendrils of Oyster Bay as the second stop in a year-long series to explore places where climate change is already affecting lives. Dan Vergano reports. How climate change threatens the seas

More than 4 out of 5 Americans want to prepare now for rising seas and stronger storms from climate change, a new national survey says. But most are unwilling to keep spending money to restore and protect stricken beaches. The poll by Stanford University released Thursday found that only 1 in 3 people favored the government spending millions to construct big sea walls, replenish beaches or pay people to leave the coast. Seth Borenstein reports. Americans oppose paying for storm-ravaged beaches

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 241 AM PDT FRI MAR 29 2013
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING W TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS. AREAS OF FOG THIS MORNING.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
NW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 18 SECONDS.
SUN
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E TO 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 17 SECONDS.

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