Island County has agreed to pay $15,000 to The Freedom Foundation, an Olympia-based advocacy group, after failing to act on a public-records request.
County commissioner Rick Hannold on Monday said he is disappointed the county agreed to the settlement, while a Foundation attorney characterized it as a victory for citizens’ rights.
A new county shoreline master plan came one step closer to reality Monday when the county’s planning commission unanimously recommended that the Island County Board of Commissioners accept a corrected version of the plan.
The board has the final authority on whether the plan goes into effect.
Island County must protect some ecologically sensitive areas and animals under the state’s Growth Management Act following a decision by the county’s Superior Court on Wednesday. Judge Alan Hancock ruled that the county failed to appeal in a proper and timely manner a June 24 decision by the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB). Therefore that board decision remains in force.
Prices will drop as much as 25 percent storewide at some of the 10 non-profit Whidbey Island stores participating in this year’s Thrift Shop Tour, said Shawn Nowlin, community outreach coordinator for Good Cheer Food Bank and Thrift Stores. Other stores will deeply discount selected items during the event, to be held Sept. 18-19.
Conserving Oak Harbor’s Fakkema Farm, 56 acres near Dugualla Lake, and 30 acres of farmland along Lone Lake’s south shoreline, are among the projects on which the public can weigh in at an upcoming meeting.
The Island County Planning Commission is planning two public meetings to address topics of general interest.
Media rooms are so 2014. The newest things in home design are outdoor kitchens and “Costco rooms,” a fact that those participating in the upcoming Skagit/Island Counties Builders Association home tour will be able to see for themselves, said the event’s coordinator, Brenda Harter.
Island County commissioners on Tuesday hired the Seattle law firm of Short, Cressman & Burgess to provide legal counsel, advice and litigation services.
The firm will help the commissioners navigate the unusual litigation surrounding their decision to hire an outside land-use attorney.
Prosecutor Greg Banks last month brought a lawsuit against the attorney, Susan Drummond, in Island County Superior Court, claiming that the county’s hiring of her was unconstitutional and a waste of tax dollars.
Island County is working toward making its animal control workers employees of the county rather than independent contractors.
Some Whidbey residents will see their flood insurance premiums rise by up to 400 percent under new flood insurance rate maps released by the federal government, while others’ rates will remain flat.
The county’s prosecuting attorney is seeking 2016 budget hikes far higher than those of some other departments, according to documents presented to the Board of Island County Commissioners this week and last during budget workshops.
The state Department of Ecology will approve Island County’s updated Shoreline Master Plan within the next two months if the county agrees to make 16 pages of changes, it told the press Friday.
Linds Pharmacy in Coupeville will close at the end of the business day next Wednesday, according to a flyer being distributed to customers earlier this week.
