10/9 Oly bag ban, Murray on coal, B'Bay restoration, ferries, BC pipe, WA hydraulic code

Olympia council bans plastic grocery-style bags
The Olympia City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to join ban thin plastic, grocery-style bags from city retailers starting in July, joining Tumwater and unincorporated Thurston County. The ban will apply to all retailers, but mostly affect supermarkets, most of which use the so-called “t-shirt bags.” Shoppers will either have to bring their own reusable bags to stores or pay 5 cents per paper bag. The money will go directly to stores to offset their costs.

Murray climbs aboard anti-coal port bandwagon
State Sen. Ed Murray has been feted at home and office fund-raisers sponsored by those working to build a huge coal export terminal north of Bellingham, and has seen money from the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad flow into his campaign for Seattle mayor. On Tuesday, however, Murray stood by the BNSF tracks as a freight trail rolled through — the Gateway Pacific terminal would send 18 trains a day along the Seattle waterfront — and said that he opposes the proposed project.  Opposition has been a signature issue for incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn. Joel Connelly reports.

Work on Boulevard Park shoreline nearing completion
A project to create a natural shoreline at Boulevard Park in Bellingham should be completed by the end of October, a city official said.... The work is part of the city of Bellingham's $422,079 project to take out the concrete riprap and return the beach north of The Woods Coffee to a natural state by replacing the rubble with material such as coarse sand, large rocks, cobbles and beach gravel. Kie Relyea reports.

Proposed ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo could set sail by spring
A group of investors is hoping the third time’s the charm when it comes to foot-passenger-only ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo. The investors are finalizing a proposal that would connect the two cities through a 68-minute sail across the Strait of Georgia. A similar operation, HarbourLynx, shut down in 2006 due to financial woes. The Royal SeaLink Express ceased operations more than a decade earlier. Sunny Dhillon reports. See also: Ferries are ‘staffing up’ after 82 canceled runs

B.C. First Nations chief relays pipeline safety worries
Shortly after Roland Willson became chief of the West Moberly First Nations in northern British Columbia, he responded to an oil spill where a ruptured pipeline had poured more than 6,000 barrels of crude into Pine River. Chief Willson said he had flashbacks of that 2000 accident recently when he saw how high water had torn up heavy concrete mats protecting two pipelines crossing a creek in the same general region as the Pine River spill. Mark Hume reports. See also: Downtown Victoria march serves as rehearsal for anti-pipeline protests 

State seeks feedback on water code updates  
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting public comment through Nov. 15 on proposed updates to the state Hydraulic Code, which regulates construction work in and around state waters. The Hydraulic Permit Application review process, which has been in place since 1943 to ensure bulkheads, docks and culverts meet state standards for fish and wildlife protection, is controlled by the Hydraulic Code, which was last updated in 1994 with the exception of changes specific to mineral prospecting in 2008. Proposed changes to the code would incorporate changes in fish science and design technology, establish an adaptive management plan to respond to changing science and technology, and streamline the review process for Hydraulic Permit Applications.

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED OCT 9 2013
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told