Favorite letters from 2014
Published 10:48 am Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Editor’s Note: The following are three of our favorite letters from 2014. They are edited for length.
Boil water advisory — a hassle but not a crisis
Oct. 8. We’re reminded that learning is life-long. What can we learn from the ‘boil water’ advisory episode? The Reporter’s Oct. 1 editorial (Basic Ingredients) speaks of shock, dismay, feeling a bit helpless, and suggests additional safeguards. All true.
Perhaps the lesson here is each family preparing for self-sufficiency?
For 20 years, the City has recommended we have 7-10 days of food, essentials and water (1-gallon per person per day) in the event of catastrophe (and we’re cut off from the mainland).
Those who raced off to buy bottled water must have missed the message?
We just dodged a bullet. Sure, it was inconvenient, but we had power and gas to boil water. We had toilets, hot water, showers, laundry, lights, phones, Internet, heat and gasoline. Your house was safe. In a real crisis, we can lose all that in moments.
Preparedness is easy. Everything you need to know is on the city’s Emergency Management website. Start rinsing juice jugs, fill with water. Buy a little extra food each week; first aid, medicine, pet food. All no-brainers.
After an “event,” you check on your family. When they’re okay, check the homes around you. Simple, and we help everyone. Encourage your vulnerable neighbors to sign up with Emergency Management so the volunteers can double check.
Larry McWilliams
Paying for news
May 20. Why all of a sudden do I HAVE TO PAY FOR ACCESS TO THE MI REPORTER ON LINE messages. I am a senior on a fixed income – so now I have to pay to get Mercer Island news. Terrible – disgusting – maybe I should move off of Island to get free news.
Michael Lettini
Power lines and property values
July 3. Picture the East Channel of south Lake Washington: rolling, tree-covered hills with the Cascade mountains in the distance, Mount Rainier to the south, and the Bellevue skyline to the north. Now picture the scene without any trees between I-405 and the lakeshore, and with a miles-long series of 120-foot-tall steel towers supporting high-tension power lines. This is the plan that has been put forward by Puget Sound Energy. It’s far from an idle concept: the tower sites are being surveyed and marked out already. Trees within 100 feet of the old BNSF rail line are being identified for removal.
So why is this an issue for Mercer Island? Because everyone with an eastern view, or who has property on the eastern shore of the Island, stands to lose significant property value. And everyone on the Island will feel the resulting decrease in the island’s tax base. We’ll also lose access to natural space and potentially see increased traffic on the Island’s roads.
Robert Andrews
