Poor timing on raise, bonus for hospital CEO
Anacortes or Wall Street? It is indeed tough times for the Island Hospital employees who received furlough notices. What a boost to their morale and that of the rest of the staff to see their pay cut and the CEO get a nice raise and bonus.

Since few of us are in a position to judge Mr. Oliver’s performance, I for one am content to accept the judgment of the board that he did a praiseworthy job. I question the judgment of the board in giving a raise and bonus while cutting other employees’ wages.

There is a broader issue here of social and even moral values. As a community institution, the board and administration of the hospital should be expected to set an impeccable example of financial behavior for our community.

Putting the burden of financial losses on the backs of the lowest paid while rewarding the highest paid does not set such an example.
J. Ann Allen
Anacortes

Roundabout designs tough on bike riders
As someone who rides a bicycle on the roads and highways of Skagit Valley, I can tell you that the two roundabouts in the valley — the one south of La Conner and the one at McLean and Best roads — are dangerous to bicyclists.The engineers who designed these roundabouts cannot be bicycle riders. These roundabouts force the bicyclist into the path of autos while at the same time aggressive drivers try to beat the bike to the roundabout.

And once in the roundabout, cars have rarely yielded to me on the bike.

The roundabout design for Commercial and Highway 20 looks to be just as unsafe.

What the eastbound turn from Commercial to Highway 20 needs is paint — two stripes of bright orange paint extending 200 feet up Commercial and into the turn. Add some bright reflectors for safety. There, I just saved the city of Anacortes over a million dollars. Please send 10 percent of the amount to:
Michael Rudd
Anacortes

Lawn chemicals a danger we can live without
Parents, beware: What you (and the city) don’t know could hurt you. Our children, who are far more vulnerable to toxins, are at significant risk of chronic exposure to chemicals applied to lawns, parks, and schoolyards. Many studies find that lawn chemicals are commonly tracked into the home, where they build up in carpeting.

These toxins are linked with many serious diseases and side effects: cancer, miscarriages, genetic damage, problems for newborns, skin tumors, thyroid damage, ADD, reduced fertility, skin and eye irritation, asthma, anemia, nausea, sore throat, headache, lethargy, nose bleeds and dizziness.

These chemicals include weed killers, like Roundup, Weed B Gon, and Weed and Feed. Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, was responsible for poisoning 4,109 Americans in 2003. Research finds that glyphosate kills human placental cells at very low concentrations, an explanation why women in communities exposed to glyphosate have double the risk of miscarriage.

Homeowners and the city spray and apply these chemicals where we walk and our children play: yards, parks, sidewalks, and streets. Isn’t it time for all of us to switch to safe alternatives? Visit http://www.pesticide.org/factsheets.html to learn more.

The May 13 American “Weed War” article asserts, “. . . residents want their parks green and weedless.” Yet in the same issue, four out of five residents emphasized safety and the environment when asked about city weed control. Given the facts, how many of us would trade our health and a healthy environment for the impossible goal of weedless parks?

Seattle has maintained 14 parks without any pesticides since 2001, and is adding eight more: check out http://www.seattle.gov/parks/horticulture/pesticide.htm>. Anacortes could have pesticide-free parks, too — safe places that we and our children could enjoy with the knowledge that no pesticides are used.

 For pavement, Danish weed scientists find steam weeding an effective alternative to spraying Roundup. Steam has added advantages: it can be applied year-round in wet or windy conditions. Also, street “sweeping 7–10 times per year was found to be very efficient for controlling weeds and no road damage was observed.” Steam and street sweeping are clear non-toxic replacements for Roundup in the city’s IPM program.

 Rittenhouse makes a steam weeder suitable for cities like Anacortes. The Green Steam Weed Killer quickly kills weeds from a 10-gallon water tank providing three hours of continuous operation. Others companies offer models. At home, boiling water, poured slowly and carefully from a kettle, is an effective way to kill vegetation in pavement cracks.

We were glad to read in the article that the city says it has been reducing its pesticide use, but troubling practices continue. And misinformation is being perpetuated.

Roundup is not safe for the environment. It is harmful to the soil. It contaminates water. And it does not break down quickly.

The European Union classifies Roundup’s main ingredient as “dangerous for the environment.” And Denmark imposed a ban on it in 2003. Like radioactive substances, Roundup has a half-life, persisting in soil for months, even years, in northerly latitudes like ours: 141 days in Iowa, 1 to 3 years in Sweden.

Beach Watchers, take note: Roundup is toxic to fish and other aquatic animals. The city says it sprays street pavement, sidewalks, and storm drains only when it’s dry and not raining. But overspray at catch basins enters the stormwater system.

Homeowners washing cars and watering yards can easily wash the pesticide residue down storm drains, polluting our waterways. And what about residue that hasn’t broken down when it does rain? The USGS found that glyphosate had contaminated all six streams it studied in King County.

We urge the city to end its practice of spraying Roundup on street pavement and sidewalks and around storm drains, where it can be washed into the Sound, tracked into our homes and schools, and drift into our yards. And we urge it to adopt nontoxic alternatives, like steam weeding and street sweeping.

Homeowners, please consider maintaining your lawn using chemical-free, low-maintenance methods as described in books like Paul Tukey’s “The Organic Lawn Care Manual,” available at the Anacortes Library. Tell your lawn service not to spray. Convert some of your lawn into an organic food garden through the Eat Your Yard! project of Skagit Beat the Heat: 360-293-4048. Try making some of your yard a care-free native habitat, attractive to birds and butterflies, through the Fidalgo Backyard Wildlife Habitat Project: 360-299-2579.

Dr. Philip F. Landrigan of Mount Sinai School of Medicine says that we have the power to choose whether to use chemicals. It’s our choice, as individuals and as a community: use safe alternatives or continue endangering ourselves, our children and the environment.
Casey Bazewick and Kristi Hein
Anacortes