Letters to the Editor, March 16

One scoop or two?

RE: Gig Harbor Life: Crews make progress on Gig Harbor shopping center plans, construction. (March 3)

Someone’s going to have to help me with Senior Planner Peter Katich’s comments: “It’s a good point for people to realize that a developer is required to mitigate traffic problems associated with its project — but they aren’t required to mitigate old existing problems.”

So, am I to understand that somehow these are mutually exclusive? Since Gig Harbor hasn’t fixed the existing Point Fosdick Drive/Olympic Drive mess, how do I know if I’m stuck in an ‘Olympic Shopping Center’ traffic jam, or just a plain ol’ vanilla ‘Gig Harbor’ traffic jam?

Not all ‘fake news’ is fake

George Robinson attacks EPI’s reporting on the small business consequences stemming from Washington’s minimum wage hike as “fake news.” (“Don’t Let Fake News Infiltrate,” Gateway, March 13.)

Let’s see what the source material has to say. Spokane’s CBS affiliate KREM reported earlier this year that O’Doherty’s Pub on the north side of town was closing partially because of the state’s minimum wage hike. KOMO also reported earlier this year that Nostalgia House in Port Orchard was “cutting back hours” because of the minimum wage hike, which the owner described as “tremendous.” And it reports that nearby Spiro’s Pizza & Pasta had “already laid off one person,” with the owner worried about staying open altogether because of the minimum wage hike.

There’s a valuable lesson here for Mr. Robinson as well as other pundits who decry “fake news”: Just because you disagree with the news, doesn’t mean it’s fake.

Jordan Bruneau

Senior Research Analyst

Employment Policies Institute

Another call to arms

Gig Harbor citizens are urged to attend the Gig Harbor Planning and Building Committee meeting on Monday, March 20, at 5:30 pm at the Gig Harbor Civic Center.

Council members Kadzik, Ekberg and Lovrovich will decide which of your suggestions goes to the full Council.

This committee is asking for public comment on how to improve zoning changes and development agreements. If you support these ideas, the Council needs to hear your voice.

▪ Before every application for a zoning amendment or development agreement, the applicant is requited to hold two meetings and get 60% neighborhood approval before applying to the city for a zoning or development agreement in any neighborhood?

▪ Every time an application is submitted changing zoning or development agreements, all Gig Harbor citizens are to be notified and posted to the site; not just property owners within 1000 feet?

▪ Every time there is a public hearing all Gig Harbor citizens are to be notified, posted to site and able to comment; not just property owners within 1,000 feet?

▪ All zoning changes or development agreements in process are canceled until the above items are put in place.

The City Council continues to emphasize development agreements are a public benefit. Therefore, let the public decide. Citizens for the Preservation of Gig Harbor understands our community insists on being involved from the initiation of any changes that affect the quality of life in our hometown.

It is vital you attend this meeting. Let your voice be heard.

This story was originally published March 20, 2017 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Letters to the Editor, March 16."