Port Townsend Free Press

GLIMMERS OF HOPE FOR THE HADLOCK SEWER Large Federal Infrastructure Bills Could Provide Funding By Jim Scarantino Local and state governments have been unable to pay for the critically needed Port Hadlock-Irondale sewer project.   At least another $30 million must come from somewhere.   It could come from Washington, D.C. A trillion-dollar infrastructure fund for projects in poor rural and urban areas was introduced this month by a diverse, bi-partisan group of lawmakers. Introduced by Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., William Lacy Clay Jr., D-Mo., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., the Generating American Income and Infrastructure Act would require the Agriculture Department to sell distressed assets and the Treasury to use the proceeds to fund infrastructure projects in poor communities. Kelly is a member of the Republican Study Committee.   Clay belongs to the Congressional Black Caucus. Budd belongs to the Republican Freedom Caucus. The bill comes at a time when the...

Is Opposing Donald Trump’s Economic Policies Racist?   Port Townsend’s Women’s March: Bigoted or Detached from Reality? by Scott Hogenson [Editor's note:  We have notified the Port Townsend Women's March organization that we would be happy to publish their response to this commentary] T he Congressional Black Caucus is not to be trifled with. Established in 1971 to amplify the legislative agenda of African American lawmakers and their constituents, the CBC is “committed to using the full Constitutional power, statutory authority, and financial resources of the federal government to ensure that African Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.”   I’ve spent enough time on Capitol Hill to know that one gets between the CBC and its objectives at their peril. To cross the CBC in its mission to help blacks achieve the American Dream is to invite accusations of racism It logically follo...

CANDIDATE FORUM LONG ON GRIPES, SHORT ON ANSWERS by Scott Hogenson The big thing that emerged from Sunday’s Honesty Forum in Port Ludlow, where all four candidates for the open seat on the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners appeared on the same stage, was that most of the m are better at griping about problems than solving them.   L to R:  Greg Brotherton, Jon Cooke, Craig Durgan, Ryan McAllister Shared concerns are invaluable in connecting politicians with voters . B ut most people already know what the problems are. We don’t need to be told that jobs, growing the tax base, and housing are problems. What voters want are concrete solutions , which were in short supply Sunday . Greg Brotherton (D) said he wants to “make it easier to build houses and businesses.” But he then confessed, “I don’t want to be a disruptor” on the Board of County Commissioners. How does one go about transforming an arcane system of regulations, ordina...

SUGAR HILL FARMS OPENS ITS DOORS Local businesses, local workers, local heroes Story by Jim Scarantino; photos by Kara Kellogg A sweet spot on SR 19 is bringing smiles to Jefferson County. Brenda and Mike Hill on June 12 opened business as Sugar Valley Farms in the old Beaver Valley Store. Inside awaits what one customer described as “simple extravagance.” “We call it simple pleasures,” said Brenda. “A Mom with kids who maynot have fat pockets that day can still afford a treat, and leave feelingbetter than when they walked in.” That feeling will likely include a bit of a sugar lift. The Hills, and their extended family/work force have been wholesaling candies to merchants at Pike Place Market, Finnriver Orchards & Cider Garden in Chimacum, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and Ft. Defiance Zoo, CB’s Nuts in Kingston, Sunny Farms in Sequim and elsewhere for a number a years before taking this leap into retailing. Mike and Brenda Hill Brenda Hill was inspired...

GOVERNOR INSLEE RESPONDS Do Black Lives Matter When It Comes To Green Cars? By Jim Scarantino Electric cars run on the suffering of Black children living like slaves.  Dangerous, toxic mining conditions in the Congo cause death, disease and birth defects at alarming rates.  The cobalt from Congolese mines is necessary to meet the demand for the large quantities of cobalt needed in batteries powering the "green" transportation revolution. There's no getting around the racial injustice behind every green car:  Affluent Western whites drive around in vehicles paid for by Black African suffering on a horrifying scale. Monica, age 4, works in cobalt mines We reported this in our first installment on this topic.  You can read it all by clicking here .  We learned that electric car users and their advocates want to avoid discussing this painful topic.  Not one person we contacted for comment--from Jefferson County EV owners and the Jefferson Coun...