Wrong on police
To the editor:
Thanks to the City Council for its decision Nov. 17 to revisit the future of the new police headquarters and place it on a future agenda. With hopes that you keep the financial concerns of our citizenry as a high priority, I offer some additional comments.
In 1990 I created Bainbridge Senior Living. We now own and operate four senior care facilities on our island, one of which is Madrona House, located across from the new fire station and next door to the Baptist Church. Eight years ago, when my partners and I developed this facility, we were pleased when Harrison opened its urgent care facility next door. Now, it is set to become the new BI police headquarters.
This location is totally inappropriate for that. The ingress/egress and parking is insufficient, quick access to Highway 305 is constrained and the two-story structure does not meet the police operational needs.
To this I add that there was a far superior location right across the highway, with more property, better road access and considerably less expensive. The City Council made a bad decision by not selecting that property. All of these poor decisions will negatively impact the operation of Madrona House, our 60 senior residents and the 60 employees who care for them.
This disruption is only a small part of a larger problem. The city spent $9 million on the property. The remodel will cost another $11 million, for a total of $20 million, making it the most expensive (per square foot) police facility in America. And guess where those funds come from? The pockets of islanders.
An earlier, inadequately informed City Council approved this project nearly two years ago. I feel strongly that the present council is duty-bound to review that poor judgment and reconsider the other options that exist.
Donald Roose
Bainbridge Island
Rank choices
I wasted my vote in the 2020 presidential primary. It wasn’t my fault, though, and I was joined by nearly 400,000 others in Washington. My chosen candidate — Sen. Amy Klobuchar — dropped out after I’d already cast my ballot.
If Washington had ranked-choice voting that wouldn’t have been a problem. I could have selected a second and third choice, and my vote would have gone to a candidate still in the race.
Maine and Alaska have adopted ranked-choice voting, along with over a dozen cities, including Berkeley, Calif.; Cambridge, Mass.; St. Paul, Mich.; and Payson, Utah.
It offers many benefits, requiring winners to earn support from a broad base of voters and removing the “spoiler” problem.
Remember Ralph Nader and more recently Jill Stein? Ranked-choice voting allows people to vote for candidates they favor without the risk of inadvertently aiding a candidate the voter doesn’t want.
Right now, localities can’t adopt RCV but House Resolution 1722 and Senate Bill 5708 would allow us to do just that and make elections fairer for everyone. I hope Rep. Drew Hansen will support these bills.
Joan Rynearson
Bainbridge Island
To the community
Throughout COVID-19, Kitsap Regional Library has kept staff and patrons’ safety at the forefront. We have phased in our services, moving forward only when we felt confident that we were doing the right thing.
In late October, despite COVID-19 cases on the rise, libraries received permission from the governor’s office to open buildings for limited service. We began to prepare for limited access to public computers to begin Nov. 16. Safety barriers had to be installed, computers needed to be moved and staff needed to be trained. We knew patrons needed computer access, but when COVID-19 rates starting setting record highs I realized opening buildings was too much of a risk. So, we paused the start of that service.
As we come to the close of 2020, I want to thank you for the support we’ve received from our community. From an unexpected closure in March — where we scrambled to bolster services available online — to a virtual Summer Learning program enjoyed by over 5,000 kids, teens and adults — to a range of new services we could not have imagined at the beginning of the year (curbside holds pickup, curbside printing and now Book-a-Librarian) — we have been working hard to provide services, including downloadable ebooks and audiobooks with Libby app — which some are calling “the best discovery of this time of COVID-19.”
Thank you so much for your patience. We are eager for the day when we can once again welcome you into the library.
Jill Jean
Director, Kitsap Regional Library
No to road rage
To the editor:
Last night I made a mistake. I made a right turn, on a red light, off Day Road East onto Highway 305, in front of — with what I thought was plenty of room — an oncoming motorist.
Apparently I was wrong. Said motorist proceeded to tailgate me, lay on their horn and flash their high beams at me from Day Road to the Sportsman Club Road intersection, where they turned right, flipping me off as they did so.
“Well that sure was a case of road rage,” said my husband, who was in the passenger seat.
I admit, I was tempted to turn right myself, to follow that driver to wherever they ended up. Not to confront them, but to seek some sort of understanding. I’d like to have been able to say: “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were so close to the intersection when I pulled into it. Clearly, I really upset you, so I’m just stopping to make sure you’re alright. Are you?”
“If you’d done that,” said my husband, “you probably would’ve just enflamed the person even more.”
I’m no therapist, but I do know that when I over-react like that, it’s usually because something else is going on — something is making me sad, or something is making me feel like I’m losing control. Maybe something like that was going on with this person. Maybe this person would’ve softened a bit if they’d seen that I sincerely meant them no harm, and I was concerned about their well-being.
I write this because I see and read about the anger so many people — myself included — are feeling. And because I want to be hopeful that we can tame that anger by reaching beyond our comfort levels to let each other know we care.
Jennifer Merrill
Bainbridge Island
