Proposals for Sustainability in Skagit County

Project Manager for Envision Skagit -Kirk Johnson - welcomed about 50 members of the general public to a presentation at the Lincoln Center on April 28th.  This was the latest in over a half dozen community meetings Envision Skagit 2060 Community Outreach has held since the beginning of 2011.
The best attended meeting was held this week in Mt Vernon. The discussions were held in Spanish.  Obviously our Latino neighbors care about the sustainable development of their adopted communities.


Senior Resident Fellow for Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy Urban Land Institute in Washington D.C.    Mr. McMahon inspired the audience with slides of small towns around the country that had made dramatic changes in the visual appeal of their communities and subsequently their town revenues.  He had an impressive array of statistic to illustrate how aesthetic appeal is tied to the revenues of a region.    But lovely and lovable communities don’t just happen.  Town and County governments need a plan.  Without one more of Skagit county will look like Aurora Blvd in North Seattle (pictured )

and less like Fairhaven and La Conner.  Ed McMahon posed the rhetorical question with many slides of similar locals to compare: “Where are people more likely to hang out and spend money”.   He believes that with a development plan we will have the courage to say “no” to what we don’t want because we can simultaneous say “yes” to what we do want as our area expands and redevelops to accommodate a growing population.   McMahon encourages us to not to “let the multinational corporations bully us into letting them construct cheap boxes”.  His slides showed how towns across the country encouraged, cajoled and insisted that famous brands like McDonald, Loews & Target locate in restored historic structures or build smaller places with architectural designs that complimented the town plan.  We need to rethink our zoning and transportation so our lands are not totally paved over.

Ed McMahon spoke  quickly to put forth his many ideas about how to change our approach to zoning and land development.  Fortunately his slides were clear and easier to absorb than a thousand words.

Organic Trade Association Conference April 6-7.

Last Tuesday at HQ the Skagit Democrats Sustainability & Environment Committee Chairman Steve Crider reported back to members about his successful trip to the other Washington in early April. Steve attended the policy conference held by the Organic Trade Association (OTA). Although Wash DC was abuzz with tea baggers, lobbyist and those set on cutting spending and taxes, it attests to the importance of organic farmers to our health and economy that most of their requests were kept in the budget. Steve worked on the OTA’s agenda by visiting the Wash DC staffs of our Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and 2nd Congressional District Representative Rick Larsen. He also attended the meeting held by Deputy Administrator Suzanne Heinen of the Foreign Agricultural Services to promote trade in organic products.

While organic crops are a small percentage of the national food production, organic products have been a rapidly growing source of revenue and employment for almost every State in the Union including Western Washington. While revenues for conventional farm products have grown by 0.6% last year, organic farm products have grown by 16% to become a 29 billion dollar industry nationwide. Revenues for the Skagit Valley are about 12 million. The state of Washington has 1077 certified organic operations.

Two major concerns of the organic farm products industry being addressed by the trade association are regulation and enforcement of organic certification which is essential to the survival of the industry. The Organic industry also perceives a threat from organic seeds polluted by pollen from Monsanto’s GMO crops. Court challenges and changes in legislation will be needed to mitigate this threat.

Labor Union Rally in Stanwood Draws Support

Stanwood Democrats attended a  Rally for Labor Union Rights along Rt 532 across from Twin City Foods. Leonard Kelly of the Teamsters Union read a letter of support from Organized Labor in Egypt. The Egyptians told us not to give up.  We also enjoyed the signs of support from the cars and trucks driving by Saturday Mr. Kelly told me 12,000 people turned up in Olympia in support of Labor.

8th Annual Human Rights Fetival: “Countering Common Myths about our Latino Immigrants”

Last Thursday I and about 50 members of the public attended a presentation sponsored by diverse members of the Skagit Latino Community at the Skagit Valley Community College.

While naturally offended by untrue derogatory comments made about immigrants, the presenters were enthusiastic about the progress made by many Latinos in the Skagit Valley.  

 

The panelist pictured from left were Anita Ordoñez, Director, Multicultural Student Services at SVC & LAC; Diana Morelli, EDASC & LAC; Janice Blackmore, Migrant Graduation Specialist with MVSD; Jesse Cavazos, Migrant Education & LAC; Rev. Josefina Beecher, Episcopal Hispanic ministry & LAC

 The panel addressed the issue that troubles immigrants and citizens: “Why are farm workers undocumented”.   Because Skagit county is a farming community we have a slightly larger percentage of Latino’s than the USA Average of 15% - ours being 16%.  Farmers desperately need farm workers but  in order to get a Visa one must have a job, own property and a bank account.  Farmers were hoping that with the increase in WA State non-farm unemployment they would be able to hire locally.  However, the few local people that applied could not tolerate the long hours bent over all day.   The USA does have a guest worker program.  It is small and complex. By the time an application goes through the bureaucratic process,  the harvest season would long be over.  ( My family lived in Germany illegally for several months because my husband’s employer would rather pay the fine than fill out the extensive paperwork to extend our stay).   So farmers cope with sub rosa recruitment our current system ( or lack thereof ) imposes.

In spite of our failed immigration system, the Latino community has bright spots in Washington State.   Latino families enroll enthusiastically in ESL courses and have improved their English language skills. There is always a waiting list for these courses.    Discovering that Latino students were too shy to fill out applications for scholarships, Skagit Valley College Director of Student Services Anita Ordonez (far left in picture above) proposed that promising student be nominated for Scholarships. That program has been successful and now many Latino Students are earning scholarships to WA State public colleges and universities.   Diana Morelli of the Latino Advisory Committee (LAC) reported on the many new business started and operated by their community e.g. groceries, restaurants, construction, newspapers and a community center.

Utterly charming were the immigrant children indigenous to Oaxaca, Mexico.  These children have needed to  learn three languages at a very young age:  Mixtec, Spanish and English.  Working hard to overcome their shyness several of them read a short essay in their native Mixtec language about themselves and their goals.  I understand about 80% of what people say in Spanish.  Mixtec is very, very different.  While they were reading, the English version of their presentation was shown on a large screen behind them.  

 
       

Tino Gallegos (above) , once a student of Mt. Vernon High School and now an Immigration attorney, expounded on the importance of Human Rights for Migrant workers.  Civil Rights are guaranteed to citizens by our constitution.   Those rights and others were extended to everyone by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed by the United States government in 1948.  Human Rights were developed after World War II in response to the horrors that people witnessed and hoped to prevent in the future.   Human Rights apply to how a country can treat its immigrant population.  A government can not just throw someone in prison because they are not a citizen.

10th District Town Hall meeting on March 12th

Like other State Senators throughout the State, 10th District Senator Mary Haugen held  Town Hall meetings Saturday March 12th.  I attended the one at the Camano Island Senior Center.  The audience consisted of about 60 local citizens of all ages.  Politeness prevailed even though feelings were aroused by the negative news Senator Haugen candidly delivered.  The state lost 200,000  jobs during the recession.  Although billions have been cut in State services and public employee’s compensation since 2009, the state still needs to cut 4.5 billion more. But How?  The Senator claims that even if we cut all spending on education, the prison system and environmental efforts, the State still would not balance its budget.  

More so than in many other States,  Senator Haugen  reported that Republicans and Democrats are cooperating on the budget and that the legislators have good relations with Labor.  She praised the WA State Ferries’ union workers for coming to an agreement that will provide savings and reduce ‘Waste in the Water’.  A 25 cent surcharge is being proposed that will go towards building a new boat.

Resentment was high among many in attendance.  They felt tax loopholes and special tax exemptions should be eliminated first before the public is asked to make more sacrifices.   A member of the citizens’ coalition called “Our Economic Future”  passed out a list of what they considered unfair tax exemptions.  I totaled them up to 313 million dollars.  That would equal about half of the amount already cut from the State education budget.  When asked why these loopholes were not being closed,  the Senator reminded the audience that Court Rulings had declared that closing the loopholes would be equivalent to raising taxes, which requires a super majority.  So unless the State elects a much larger percentage of Democratic legislators a super majority that would close loopholes is unlikely.

 Senator Haugen and many in the audience believed the US Supreme Court’s decision in 2010 - Citizen United vs Federal Election Commission - has already adversely impacted WA.  The American Beverage Association spent over 14 million to pass initiative 1107 last Fall that repealed the small taxes on soda pop, bottle water, candy and gum.  The money funded k-12 education and social services.  For more info click here.

40th District State Rep Kristine Lytton

Rep. Lytton addressed Democrats attending the reopening of Skagit Valley Democratic headquarters in Mt Vernon February 21st. As a newly elected Rep. she has recently been appointed to the Education, the Agriculture & Natural Resources and the Capital Budget committees. Local Democrats were keen to hear about her efforts on these committees.
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