As a resident of the Cheswick Lane Condominium community, I’d like to thank the Sammamish Review for reporting on the proposed extension of 233rd Ave. Northeast.

What I would like to understand is why this article was the first I had heard of the project.

The city has not posted any signage in the area as they do with other infrastructure projects.

This project does not appear in the city’s 2012-2017 six-year transportation improvement program document.

Sammamish’s website also has a list of projects that fly out of a menu along the left hand side. This fails to mention 233rd Ave. Northeast In fact, that flyout still lists the East Lake Sammamish Parkway and 244th Ave. Northeast bridge projects prominently, both of which were completed over a year ago.

I understand the need for this project and I am not opposed to it in principle even though as an adjacent property owner with no children, I will have to learn to live with the increased traffic along Northeast Eighth Street while receiving little to no tangible benefit.

However, I find the city’s mechanisms for informing affected residents and gathering their feedback to be woefully inadequate.

Michael Sullivan

Sammamish

Good job planners

I attended my first meeting of the Sammamish Planning Commission last night to voice my concerns about the regulations for home businesses.

I have run a business from my home for 26 years now and have concerns about how the new regulations will affect me.

I would like to express a thank you to the members of the commission for their willingness to listen to the home business community, while setting forth regulations that will encourage home businesses and protect the effect of home businesses on their neighbors.

I would like to say thank you especially to Evan Maxim for the work he has done and his assistance and communication to keep me informed of not only the meeting but also the regulation changes.

It is always easy for the community to voice their complaints when they feel the commission or the City Council are not doing what they feel they should.

I feel it is important to voice our appreciation for their hard work and time they spend looking out for interests of the community even if we don’t always agree.

I am now looking forward to attending the City Council meeting when they are making their final decisions in regards to the regulations.

I am expecting that the home business community will once again be allowed to voice any concerns they may have in regards to any changes.

Claudia Haunreiter

Sammamish

Yes, she was right

Kudos to Christine Huff for her suggestion that our political discourse could use more civility and a focus on constructive solutions to the challenges we face, rather than childish and counter-productive name-calling.

Rob Gunther

Sammamish

Thank you,

Mary Pigott

After a taking my 4-year-old daughter with me for boring errands, I decided to take a quick stop to see where the new City of Sammamish park was located.

After seeing an inviting trail, we couldn’t help but get out to see where the trail led us.

What a wonderful surprise to find such an enchanting piece of property.

We encountered a meandering creek, zig zag forest trails, little bridges, picnic tables and a giant rock to climb.

My daughter was in her own happy forest fairy-tale land. What a wonderful place to go for kids of all ages.

I know we will be spending many afternoons playing in that forest and running on the trails.

How refreshing and generous for Mary Pigott to donate this piece of land to be enjoyed by all instead of selling off acres and creating the endless row of houses.

Melissa Heye

Sammmamish

I’m not compelled

In response to Michael J. O’Connell, I don’t see how religious groups can “force their will on others via the political process.”

No group, religious or otherwise, makes me vote for a particular person or issue but they are free according to the Constitution to try to influence my vote.

Just because ideas have religious roots does not mean they should be excluded from the political discussion.

Marilyn Wilke

Sammamish

I am moved to respond to John Burg’s Jan. 18 letter.

Can we at least agree that both liberals and conservatives want a strong and healthy America, of which we can be proud, but may disagree on how to do it?

Demonizing our president as evil and “bent on destroying the foundations of our country, our Constitution, our moral values and our economic system” is ridiculous.

Do you seriously believe that President Obama starts each day in the oval office by asking “How can we destroy the constitution today?” Let’s have a little more respect in our discourse and a little less slander.

Christine Huff

Sammamish

Environmental concerns

The Sammamish Review recently ran a piece lauding the increase in building permits of late.

While that may be good for city coffers, some of that new construction is taking its toll on the local environment.

In the last four to six months, many of the undeveloped lots in the area of Inglewood Hill Road have been clear cut and high density housing is being erected.

One builder actually advertised sunny lots in the heart of Sammamish!

Unfortunately for those of us already living in the area, the removal of that many 60- to 80-year-old hemlocks and cedars has opened our homes to the full force of winds that sweep across Lake Sammamish from the southwest.

Our once shaded properties now get morning and/or afternoon sun —shade-loving landscaping may not survive a hot, dry August.

There are no curbs or gutters or rainwater drainage systems in the area so the rain and melting snow (and the oil and grease from all the new cars in the area) run right off the roads and down the hillsides towards Inglewood Hill Road and Lake Sammamish (a known problem area for runoff).

While I realize I can’t stop development in this city, I do wish our city government and elected officials would expand their sights beyond revenues and budgets and take a look at the cumulative, destructive impact that development may be having on other aspects of life in Sammamish.

Kathleen Saul

Sammamish

It used to be worse

Regarding a recent email after the snow storm by Ms. Halbhuber concerning not having walkways cleared quick enough, I would suggest that she be thankful for the quick response to the real emergencies during the storms and be thankful for a flat area to be able to walk at all.

I have lived in Sammamish since long before it was Sammamish (41 years). We had no sidewalks, no flat walking areas, no parks.

My children walking up the hill to Margaret Mead Elementary, after it was finally built, had to contend with 4-foot ditches on both sides of 216th with cars racing down that hill to get to wherever they were going.

We had a government (King County to be exact) who didn’t care that we were without power for days (or weeks) on end after every little windstorm.

I am very glad for what the city does for us and wish to thank them all for their help during the storm.

Judy Klep

Sammamish

Free speech applies to all

In response to Michael J. O’Connell’s letter on Jan. 25, 2012:

NPR recently reported that only 3.8 percent of the U.S. population is lesbian, gay, or bisexual. However, this community uses intimidation and false reporting to define this number as much higher.

Additionally, advocates of this lifestyle would lead the general population to believe that a majority of citizens are sympathetic to, and in support of, gay marriage.

In the state of Washington a state-wide survey conducted by the National Organization for Marriage was released on Jan. 26 finding that 57 percent of voters say it is not necessary to redefine marriage, 72 percent of voters think state lawmakers should work on other issues rather than same-sex marriage.

A nearly identical number – 71 percent of voters—believe the people should decide the marriage issue; only 9 percent think legislators should decide the matter.

Common sense says let the voters decide by state and let free speech dictate the dissemination of accurate information without the silencing of opposing views, and without one group mischaracterizing the beliefs and opinions of the people in our state.

Ironically, people like Michael J. O’Connell claim to be proponents of free speech, so long as his viewpoint is heard and others are silenced.

All individuals and private organizations, including religious organizations, have a voice.

The Mormon Church and any other pro-family organization can and should have the right to advertise a contrary view to the gay, lesbian and bisexual community. Exercising freedom of speech is not bullying. Is it bullying for proponents of gay marriage to advertise as well? By O’Connell’s own definition the answer is yes.

Our society is based upon not only freedom of speech but also freedom of religion. The outright antagonism toward certain religious groups should not be tolerated. Any advocate of such silencing of free speech, particularly in the case of real or perceived minority viewpoints, is contrary to the founding beliefs of our great nation.

Melanie Kennedy

Sammamish

As I rode the bus in to work this week (leaving my car safely ensconced in my driveway), I was pleased to hear the bus driver praise the city of Sammamish for its snow response.

According to the driver, Sammamish is one of the best communities in the area for keeping the roads driveable during winter weather.

However, when my husband and I ventured out on foot Wednesday morning, we found pedestrian travel to be quite a different story.

Most sidewalks, even those in and around the Highlands Shopping Center area, had not been cleared.

Travel was difficult, especially for me. I have advanced arthritis in both hips, which can make walking painful under the best of circumstances. On uneven ground, the pain can be excruciating.

Even in good weather, Sammamish doesn’t really encourage walking. Sidewalks around my neighborhood are ill-tended. Landscaping intrudes, and cars and RVs can often be found parked on them.

Yards are allowed to drain onto them, creating wet patches that are moss-covered in summer and become treacherous ice slicks when temperatures drop below freezing. That is, where sidewalks exist at all. On my street, which leads down to a supposed “walking school” (Margaret Mead), there is no sidewalk — only a striped shoulder which usually serves as a parking strip.

Walking is great exercise, even for those of us with disabilities. The more I walk, the better I feel.

But when I have to dodge around vehicles, under low-hanging branches, and even around garbage and recycling bins (on garbage days, the sidewalks become a slalom course of bins), I get angry and discouraged.

Sammamish should be doing more to encourage people to walk, not shoveling the snow off driveways and streets onto the sidewalks.

Catherine Rollosson Halbhuber

Sammamish

Religious

political bullying

Recently John Berg challenged me to provide specifics on my political positions. Though nothing I say will likely sway him, the dialogue provides a launching point for healthy, public conversation.

Here is a position for your consideration … Religious organizations should not bully or intimidate politicians and mislead voters into supporting their worldview. This behavior should be condemned in no uncertain terms. I am speaking about the organizations themselves and not their members’ rights as citizens to vote their consciences and to contribute to the candidates of their choice.

The Washington State Legislature is considering a gay marriage bill this session. A majority of citizens both here and in the nation support marriage equality. Loving, dedicated couples should be able to marry regardless of their genetically determined sexual orientation.

The Mormon Church does not want this to happen. Their front group, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) will be running a $250,000 campaign in our state to defeat re-election of any Republican legislator who votes for marriage equality.

No religious group should force their will on others via the political process — we do not live in a theocracy. The proposed legislation would not require any religious group to perform these marriages and it will have no effect on their ability to worship as they see fit.

The Mormon Church is particularly egregious because they felt very similar pressure from others during their ‘polygamy’ period through the turn of the 20th century – ‘do unto others’ comes to mind. Also, Mormons believe in polygamy in heaven, and have made it clear that gays cannot participate in these eternal marriages — hence another reason for their objection to marriage equality.

I urge you to stand up to political bullying and intimidation by the Mormon Church and NOM. Active Mormons represent 1.8 percent of our population – a tiny fraction. As good a people as many of them are, I don’t want this Utah church dictating how we in Washington State live. Please join me in exposing their tactics and in supporting our fair-minded legislative body. Learn more at http://hrc.org/nomexposed/section/religious-ties.

Michael J. O’Connell

Sammamish

We should choose

A recent letter writer (John Burg) derided Michael O’Connell’s sound statement that, “We should decide who we want to be as a people.”

At the time the Constitution was written, slavery was allowed, women could not vote, men had to own property to vote and the list goes on and on of changes that have been made by Americans deciding who we want to be as a people.

Today, we continue making these important decisions, with the ability to do so coming from the Constitution. So, yes, we should decide who we want to be as a people.

Mary Caditz

Sammamish

Did you know that a 38-lot subdivision is going in on Inglewood Hill Road between the traffic circle at 216th Avenue Northeast and 212th Avenue Northeast?

Four lots, a detention pond and small stream will be located on the south side of Inglewood Hill and the remaining lots on the north side.

Get ready for a traffic nightmare on one of the main arteries in and out of Sammamish.

Not only will there be traffic tie-ups during the construction period, but also think about the traffic entering and leaving the completed development, on a curve, on both the north and south sides of Inglewood Hill Road.

Not only will the developer be cutting down many, many trees in this area (even though they claim they’ll keep what they can – yeah right), but they will also be cutting off a major wildlife corridor through this part of Sammamish.

Honestly, do we really need a housing development in this area?

Please show your concern. Get involved. Contact Emily Arteche, Senior Planner: 425-295-0522 or email: earteche@ci.sammamish.wa.us.

Public Comment Period is now through Jan. 11, 2012.

I don’t know about you, but I moved to this area because of the beauty of Sammamish. Enough with cutting down all the trees to put up the same old cookie cutter houses. Keep Sammamish beautiful!

Cynthia Dwyer

Sammamish

End the wars

I thought war and conflict was a very bad topic to study. Why study people in camouflage outfits trekking around holding guns? But being in Mrs. Dull’s Part-Time Quest at Blackwell Elementary School has changed my view.

War needs to be stopped now. Statistics show that around the world, $2 million is being spent on military purposes in merely two minutes! With that sort of money, there could have not been tolls on the 520 bridge.

Thousands of hungry people could have food in their stomachs. We all could be that much richer, for heaven’s sake!

Also, hundreds of soldiers are being torn away from their families.

There are many heartbroken people in the world that mourn for a husband, father, daughter, cousin, and even complete stranger.

So I agree with Occupy Sammamish: Stop the wars and bring our troops home.

Jenna Yuan

Sammamish

Town Center plan should change

In last week’s editorial, reflecting on the Town Center, The Review writes: “… be cautious.” If caution means a lack of motivation, a lack of commitment, a lack of decisiveness, the City Council has been extremely cautious.

The Review encourages the City Council to “Stick with the vision; resist giving in to the whims of a developer just to get something started.” Is the Review talking about Ace Hardware’s search for a commercial opportunity in a 240 acre town center?

Really, the Review should know that since completing a town center plan in 2008 and finalizing town center ordinances in 2010, no developer has shown any interest in the City Council’s town center plan.

The Sammamish Town Center is off the developers’ radar screen. The town center is dead in the water. No developers, no whims. No need for concern.

The Review advises; “Be patient and wait for the market to come to the community.” In 2008, our local business community begged the City Council to provide more commercial development opportunities.

Ace Hardware, a successful local company, is desperately looking for commercial space. Businesses constantly inquire about retail space in Sammamish.

The market is here, but the town center plan and regulations block development in the designated town center.

In 2009, a group of town center landowners along 228th Avenue petitioned the city to work with them to develop a workable plan that would attract investment and a developer.

The City Council slammed the door in their faces. The City Council wanted “time” to implement their plan. Well, years have passed and nothing is happening.

Time to wake up and see the town center plan for what it is, a roadblock to development. My prediction for 2012 and beyond, more local businesses and services will be driven out of business or driven off the plateau.

The City Council will talk but do nothing to change a flawed Town Center plan.

Meanwhile, lets re-name streets and build community. How about re-naming the town center “Ghost Town?”

John Galvin

The writer is a property owner in the town center development plan he references.

In a recent letter to the editor, a reader wrote, “Even though it has been adopted by some non-Christians, a Christmas tree is a symbol with meaning.” Later she wrote, “but make no mistake: if you cut it down, string lights on it and/or bring it inside – it is a religious reference.”

I would like to point out that the Christmas tree is not a Christian symbol adopted by non-Christians, it is a pagan symbol adopted by Christians. Read Jeremiah 10:2-4.

“Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”

Decorating a tree should be viewed as a fun secular tradition for this holiday season, because it not representative of Jesus Christ or anything Biblical.

Brian Gavin

Sammamish

Electric chargers are a positive

I’d like to applaud the city of Sammamish for installing electric vehicle charging stations at City Hall. These stations serve two important purposes: making electric vehicles more visible and supporting the use of electric vehicles. My wife and I have been driving electric vehicles since 2008 and appreciate forward-thinking municipalities and businesses that are leading the way with public charging.

The best way we’ve found to start conversations about electric cars and their many benefits is to plug in at a public station.

Washington state spends $18 billion dollars each year importing petroleum. Nearly every dollar spent on gasoline leaves the state and most leaves the country. Electric cars are fueled from energy produced locally, supporting local jobs.

There are many misperceptions about electric vehicles. I’d like to correct a few of those common myths, as I do in daily conversations.

Electric cars are not little golf carts.

Cars like the Nissan Leaf, and the upcoming Ford Focus Electric and Tesla Model S are full-sized, freeway-capable, crash-tested cars, safer in fact than gas cars filled with flammable, explosive fuel.

Electric cars are cost effective. In our area, a dollar’s worth of electricity will power an electric car for 30 to 35 miles.

Compared to gas at $4/gallon, that’s the cost-equivalent of getting about 130 miles per gallon. Applying the savings in fuel cost to your monthly car loan payment makes electric cars cheaper to own and drive than a comparable gas car.

Although the lithium-ion batteries in use in current production electric cars are non-toxic and safe to put in landfills, those batteries have too much recycle value to be thrown away.

When a Nissan Leaf is plugged into a charging station at City Hall, it’s drawing about 35 cents of electric per hour.

Right now those stations are free, which encourages use and conversations, which makes for very inexpensive public outreach supported by our city. My wife and I always allow time to answer questions when we park. Feel free to stop us and ask about our car.

Tom Saxton

Sammamish

Intelligent politics

John Burg has opened the political ‘silly season’ in Sammamish with an expected volley of ‘throw out the Democrats’.

I would like to relegate Burg and those of similar ilk regardless of political party to the ranks of either the uninformed or those blinded by party allegiance, but I cannot.

People who cast their votes without comprehension or consideration do indeed vote. It is up the rest of us to make sure that we vote in an informed fashion to sway our country in a more intelligent direction.

We are witnessing a failure of Congress and the president to govern.

It doesn’t take much effort to understand that the Republicans in the House are bent on ensuring that the President fails so the Republicans can retake the White House in 2012.

Their intransigence has thrown 300 million people, including their own supporters, under the bus. At least the senate is working out compromises, a far cry from the behavior of their neighboring chamber.

Finally, the president has disappointed a large percentage of his own supporters.

While there is certainly enough blame to go around, the solution will escape us unless we fix the broken nature of Washington, DC. That most certainly means eliminating money from politics and eliminating lobbying. Without these basic measures we will never regain a governing body that listens and responds to the people.

Finally, we need to answer a fundamental question, namely, ‘What do we want as a people?’ This will bring focus to the fact that it is people who should matter more than anything else.

During the recent decades it has been the oligarchy that has mattered resulting in policy that ensures their economic survival at our expense. Sadly, this key question hasn’t risen above the inanity the media would rather propagate.

It is up to those of us who can see beyond issues politics and party affiliation to begin the effort by pressing our representatives to bring it to the forefront.

Michael J. O’Connell

Sammamish

A Christmas tree has nothing to do with Christianity? Huh? Is that really what a recent writer tried to say?

Granted the Christmas tree along with Dec. 25, were heisted from the pagan religions that predated Catholicism and Christianity, the Christmas tree is most definitely a Christian symbol.

Trying to spin it as some secular symbol because of the commercialization of Christmas is ridiculous. If not for Christmas, the celebration by Christians of Christ’s birth, then why does the tree exist? Santa, reindeer and Frosty the Snowman are definitely secular symbols.

Come on. Common sense must prevail. A Christmas tree is just that, a symbol of the Christian holiday of Christmas.

Michael T. Barr

Sammamish

Vote Obama out

As we near the end of the Obama administration and his grand socialist experiment, we, as citizens, can see the economic and moral destruction he has wrought upon us. The difference in the 2012 election is that we now know who Obama is and what he stands for:

u Missing in Action leadership. Obama is a perfect example of a person with no skills to bring legislators to the table, therefore, he has punted his responsibility as CEO of the country. It is obvious he has no intention to lead and his only interest is hitting the golf course and going on vacation.

u Unfettered spending and regulation. $4 trillion of deficit spending over his first three years has created a looming bankruptcy and hardship for all of us during a time of a bulge in retirees.

u Presiding over the decline. Is anyone happy with the direction of the economy, our international position, or the direction of the country. He is worse than Jimmy Carter!

u Loose interpretation (if not flauting) of the U.S. Constitution. Obamacare mandates are not constitutional and will be overturned.

u Selective law enforcement. The Department of Justice is an abject failure and corrupt under Obama’s buddy, Eric Holder.

Time for a return to sanity. Fire Obama and Maria Cantwell in 2012!

John Burg

Sammamish

I have noticed in the city of Sammamish that the carwash no longer offers the Armor All Tire Protection.

It appears some government entity has determined in their “they know best attitude” and has now banned the use within the city by car washes. Mind you, I can still buy the product and apply it myself, so it will still be out there in unregulated usage.

As well, the city of Sammamish tells us that we cannot wash our cars in our own driveways, regardless if good products are used, because the rinsing will flow into the streams, even though our community’s runoff actually goes to water retention ponds first. We cooperated and switched to the commercial car washes, but that was not good enough.

What has happened to the city? A once reasonable entity has now gone overboard. It is the typical new employee having to impose their ideals on everyone else because they know better and can. Regulation is helpful; banning is ridiculous. It is a war on the people of the city and that is disgusting.

It is time to say the heck with the city and start washing in our own driveways and using the products we choose.

They have broken the sacred trust of reasonable behavior between the residents and the city with these excessive regulatory actions and I, for one, choose to fight it.

Michael T. Barr

Sammamish

Save Ace Hardware

In case you have not heard, Ace Hardware has lost its lease. Apparently, we will have a hardware store until September.

This is not happening because Ace was doing poorly or wants to leave, it is happening because people who do not even live in our community or our state decided that a long term stable business was just not a good idea – even though there are other empty spaces in our community that Regency Centers could work on filling instead.

Selfishly, since I shop at Ace and appreciate all those folks in there that actually know things and help me with my goofy home projects (everything from home canning to fixing toilets), I don’t want to see Ace go.

However, this not about me and my shopping convenience. It is about Sammamish having resources for its citizens so we do not have to leave town for everything – it is about having a diversity of resources.

So, if you like Ace like I do, here’s what you can do to try to help Ace stay in Sammamish:

u Sign the petition – Ace is not doing this – someone else started it for them. It is at Ace – just ask.

u Contact the City Council and let them know we don’t need to lose a store like Ace – Ace adds value to our community.

u Contact Regency Centers and let them know if you are not happy. The number is 503-603-4723 (notice this is an out of state telephone number).

If enough people do something we might get to keep Ace and that will mean one less time we have to leave Sammamish for something. I don’t want to see Sammamish lose another business.

Who might be next? Think about our local business people and the relationships we have with them – the value they bring to Sammamish. Does Regency Centers get to decide what our community looks like or do we?

Sue Byron

Sammamish

Engaged Sammamish residents?

I read the following and could not believe it: “Voter turnout for this Sammamish race was 25.2 percent or 6,875 ballots cast out of a total of 27,268.”

The ballots are mailed to your house, yet only 25 percent of the citizens voted? Is it that hard to read, get a little engaged in the process, and fill it out? I still can’t believe that people are that lazy or disinterested in our community.

I keep hearing people want change, and yet almost half the country does not vote in the presidential elections.

This is stunning. Hopefully the good citizens do not complain too loudly when elections are over and something changes in the community, state, or country that many of you don’t like.

To those of you who can’t find the time to educate yourselves, even a little, and don’t vote, wow, I still can’t believe only 25 percent voted. Wow!

Norbert Woloszyn

Sammamish

Don’t raise the rates

I am floored that the water district is considering another rate hike after an 11 percent hike in 2011. If this were almost any other business, the customers would have found an alternative long ago.

I understand there are sometimes unforeseen circumstances that lead to off projections, but after an 11 percent hike in rates, I think the district should be doing well.

And the fact that the hike comes on the heel of annual hikes since 2008 is outrageous.

Maybe the district should consider a new finance team that can grasp the impact of low-flow toilets and use better science to average weather patterns, this is Seattle after all, it does rain here in the summer.

I won’t be happy about paying more if they hike rates again and will find ways to decrease my use of water in the future, so take note that increased rates don’t equal increased revenues.

Christie Malchow

Sammamish

Christmas tree is not a religious symbol

The Sammamish Review Editorial and Poll of the Week from last week concerned the Christmas tree in City Hall.

The poll posed the question, “Should we call the tree in City Hall (A) A Christmas tree, (B) A holiday tree, or (C) Really, the city shouldn’t have a religious symbol, even one as tame as this.”

The Christmas tree is a religious symbol? I beg to differ. In our culture, the Christmas tree has become accepted by not only Christians, but also by people of other faiths, those who do not follow organized religion, and even atheists.

I know countless family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers who celebrate Christmas, and yet are not Christian and do not believe in Jesus Christ.

Christmas has become more of a late-December tradition and exercise in hedonistic consumerism than the celebration of the birth of our Lord.

If we were to install a nativity scene in City Hall, or a giant cross, I could understand complaints by non-Christians that we were crossing the church-state line. But a “Christmas” tree? After all, Santa did not die on the cross for our sins.

Tina Cooper

Sammamish

Recently, the Review was criticized for saying that Sammamish’s upcoming Critical Areas Ordinance review will be “another battle between property rights and the environment.” The Review was right.

The letter writer, Reid Brockway says we need to balance “extreme environmentalism” with the constitutional right to use our property. His “extreme” language implies some sort of irrational reasoning or even violence that is unfair and inflammatory – and is, hypocritically, the very sort of “adversarial mindset” he accuses the Review of using.

No environmentalist I know would prevent someone from using their property (as long as it was legally done). What he really means is “highest and best use” which is property rights code for the highest financial return possible.

Brockway’s underlying assumption is that the environment and property rights should be given equal weight. I disagree. Protecting the environment is essential to the safety and welfare of the larger public and the greater good. Protecting environmental processes shields us from flooding, landslides, loss of property and financial loss.

The culture is formed to a large degree by environment, and most of us live here because of the beautiful surroundings, which are shrinking every day. A majority of people must agree, since our city’s Comprehensive Plan puts protecting the environment at the top of its priority list.

It is important to remember Sammamish sits atop a plateau that has some extremely difficult areas to develop and have the potential to cause great harm.

The Erosion Hazard Near Sensitive Water Bodies Special District Overlay is one of those areas where simply balancing property rights with the environment would be disastrous for Lake Sammamish, its tributaries, wildlife and cause greater expenses to the city. The King County Council and later our City Council agreed with some of the best scientists that the potential for harm was so great in these areas that development had to be limited.

They created transfer of development rights to compensate property owners whose ability to build was restricted. These regulations have been working well to maintain ecosystem processes while development occurs.

Ilene Stahl

Sammamish

Occupy the right place

I was reading the Nov. 30 Sammamish Review article about Occupy Sammamish and saw the statement about “losing the money they saved for retirement”.

Further reading through the Sammamish Review I saw an article “City installs chargers” which are for electric cars. The article stated that the funds were from both a federal grant and local taxes.

Did you realize that this is your money they used for these chargers, both federal and local? Also, the electricity needed to charge the cars will be paid by someone who I suspect may be you? The editorial “Don’t fear the habitat” was about the Sammamish City Council giving land to Habitat for Humanity. Although this is very nice of them, do you realize that they just donated land you paid for?

One of the hotter topics during our recent local elections was about the Sammamish Commons recreational center and the very nice pool they were proposing. Again, please realize that this will be paid for by your money. And as I was driving home last night I heard on the radio that the voters in King County are willing to add an additional half percent to the sales tax to help out the state for the next three years.

This will make the total sales tax in King County 10 percent. Again, this is a great gesture but please realize they are taking your money.

As I finish thinking about local and state spending it occurred to me, I’m surprised you have any money left for your retirement. And in addition, maybe you’re protesting against the wrong people?

Brian Burke

Sammamish

Occupy’s next step

People not governments change things. Protesting is a start. In this country, unless you want to start an actual revolution, concrete demands must be presented to legislatures or Congress in an appropriate manner to be effective.

Look at the defeat of the ERA by the neatly gloved hands of Phyllis Schlafely and her well coiffed ladies. The bra burning mob was ignored.

Some concrete things to work for might be the following:

1. Term limits and full public funding of political campaigns for Congress and President

2. A constitutional convention

3. Real tax reform

4. Abolish federal reserve board system

5. Change laws regarding corporate formation and rights

Here’s a suggested reading list.

Sanford Levinson “Constitutional Faith” and “Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How the People Can Correct It)”; Charles Kesler/Hamilton, Madison, Jay “The Federalist Papers”; Lawrence Lessig “Republic Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress and a Plan to Stop It”

The Lessig book could be a possible manifesto for the protesters. Lessig claims he was betrayed by Obama in 3 ways. 1. Failure to have public option in health care 2. Failure to get negotiation for Medicare prescription drugs 3. Failure to properly re-regulate financial industry

Joyce Kormanyos

Sammamish

Chargers are a waste

Personally, I am not in favor of the electric cars simply because they are not cost effective in the long run ($3,000 battery) and most of them are so small they are not safe. Baloney on the green footprint theory as well. Putting $3,000 used batteries in the landfills certainly isn’t ‘green’. I still wonder how they got their roadworthiness certificate!

All this aside, by all means expect the owners of the cars to pay for the electric charge. If we gas users pay for our gas, this should fall in the same category as “fuel” and users should be charged accordingly. Using $25,000 of the city’s taxpayer money to pay for their installation should have been put to a vote! My tax money has been misspent.

“Green” doesn’t mean free!

Glenda Jackson

Sammamish

Mr. O’Connell has relied heavily on “artistic liberty” in his letter to the Sammamish Forum, Nov. 23, “Money buys votes.” He states that “…a similar measure…was rejected…in a 65-35 split.”

I call this cherry picking facts, flat out. He rambles on and quotes all the negative “facts” that were used by the initiative’s opposition to try to score defeat, when in fact, many of these so-called facts were false.

So let’s look at some real facts: The defeat that he mentions conveniently ignores that there were two measures on the ballot that year, 1100 and 1105.

Initiative 1105 was defeated by the ratio he states (cherry picks), but 1100 was defeated by a much smaller margin 53.5-46.5 approximately, much closer, but still a loss.

I submit that the voters, in general, were confused by the two seemingly similar initiatives and simply voted the path of least resistance.

Now comes 1183, a much better deal in all respects…better for the state, better for the taxpayers, and better for those who choose to consume alcohol.

Finally, and most interestingly, he talks about how Costco will reap hundreds of millions of dollars … blah, blah, but yet he fails to mention that the opponents of 1183, other large corporations (distributors and such), also spent tons of money because they stood to lose the same millions that Costco will now “reap”. Huh?

It’s OK by him that one corporate group profits, but only if it’s the one that he supports?

That simply doesn’t work for me, and thankfully it didn’t work for the majority of voters; and we all win, even those who voted against it.

Clark Stahl

Sammamish

Goodbye

With his final days coming on the Sammamish City Council, I will not shed tears to see Mark Cross depart. During his final hours he is still trying to copy the government in Greece to make sure government employees are well rewarded by milking the property owners.

His limited vocabulary based on tax and spend demonstrates he is no longer competent to serve the public.

One percent here and another 1 percent there is the devil in the city budget. What about people on a fixed income? Does he want them to be forced out of their homes?

These are serious questions that will harm people. What will happen if the national economy goes further into a hole. Tax the homeowners to fill the city bank account?

This city should have never been allowed to incorporate without a proper revenue source.

Today we find ourselves constantly resisting the City Council to stop unwanted projects that are outside the norm.

Bond ratings can be very misleading and change rather quickly.

Heinz W. Maine

Sammamish

An open letter to

business owners

Dear Washington state business owners and employers:

What is the one thing that makes your business the best?

I’m guessing it’s your employees.

How would you describe a great employee?

Motivated, dedicated, high integrity, solution finder, team player.

What if I told you that I can find you employees with those traits, and they can make your business even better?

It’s true.

They are our recently separated military personnel and our National Guard and Reservists and they want to put the skills they learned in the military to work for you!

Sure, their resumes may look a little different than someone who went straight from high school to work or college, but take an extra minute or two to think about how their skill set may bring a different perspective and better balance to your workplace.

Think about the training they received in the military: navigating sophisticated computer systems, interpreting technical data and focusing on important deadlines. Imagine the dedication and commitment it takes to put your country above yourself. That sense of purpose and duty is an asset to any business.

These men and women raised their hand to defend our nation. As business owners and employers, now it’s our turn to look out for them.

Make a commitment to reach out to veterans when you have openings.

The easiest way to do that is to contact the Employment Security Department’s Veteran Service Program and WorkSource.

These employment experts can help you connect with a veteran who will make your business better. They can be reached toll free at 1-877-453-5906 or emailed at HireaVet@esd.wa.gov .

John E. Lee, Director

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs

Initiative 1183 to allow private businesses to sell hard liquor has passed by a wide margin of votes. I opposed its passage based upon the grounds that it would increase access for teens and lead to greater traffic fatalities as has been shown to be the case in other states.

When I look at the voting percentages, however, I am led to one conclusion – money buys votes. A similar measure on the ballot in 2010 was overwhelmingly rejected by voters in a 65-35 split. This time the attempt to open liquor sales to Costco and other retailers passed with about 60 percent.

What has caused 25 percent of our voters to change their minds on such a critical issue in just two years? Money, that’s what. Costco alone spent more than $22 million to influence the opinions of Washington voters. To them it was a great ‘investment’ which will reap hundreds of millions of dollars in future profits.

Marketing works and Costco is very good at it. That is why we keep buying things we don’t need or can’t afford. And that is why we voted in favor of a measure that we otherwise would have rejected. I am deeply concerned that large corporations are spending ever-increasing amounts of money to simply and unabashedly buy elections. It happens at the national level all the time, and the practice has now damaged our state with its corporate motivation.

Unless voters are willing to stand up to those who would make a mockery out of the election process we are doomed to fall to the will of entities which have no concern for our lives or our rights, but only for ever increasing revenue and profit.

Michael J. O’Connell

Sammamish

Review mischaracterized

The article in the Nov. 16 Review entitled “Property rights vs. the environment “ demands a response.

The subject is the forthcoming update of the Sammamish environmental regulations. The article portrays this as “another battle between property rights and the environment.” That is not only a mischaracterization, it does a disservice to the Sammamish citizens who are beginning to work with the city to achieve balance in the code. That balance must temper extreme environmentalism with respect for constitutional rights of a resident to use his property. A few may fall on one end of that scale or the other, but most of us who will be working with the city have a respect for both environmental and property rights concerns.

Further, Citizens for Sammamish is not a property rights group as implied. It is an open forum for all citizens of Sammamish regardless of their views on issues. Those with strong environmental leanings attend Citizens for Sammamish meetings as do those who have been denied use of their property by overly restrictive environmental regulations. Citizens for Sammamish seeks to have all viewpoints in the mix in order to promote policies and codes that strike a reasonable balance between extremes.

When the Review uses headlines like this it may lure in more readers to the article, but it contributes to an adversarial mindset that is not helpful. In the future please do not oversimplify and distort the ECA effort by mischaracterizing it as a battle between extremes.

Reid Brockway

Sammamish

Think about the children

This letter is to especially address the people who are concerned about the children in our communities. Much press is being given to the Sandusky case. For those who do not understand why those who were once children are just now reporting the alleged abuse; and why they did not report it as children, the answers are quite simple.

Children are born, “knowing.” If you have forgotten this, place yourself back in your childhood, the time of some of your first memories. Keep advancing forward until you can recall a time when adults were around you and talking. You probably did not participate in the conversation. It may have been that you intrinsically knew that you were not invited into that conversation, but it is more likely that you did not have the language to participate.

Children are born, knowing, but they don’t necessarily have the language to tell us what they know. That is why we give them the language of math, language of science, the language of our faith. Some children are fortunate to have adults in their lives who also talk about body parts, and even such topics as sex and rape. For a child who does not have the vocabulary to talk about these things, they can’t possibly stand up to or compete with a man like Sandusky who is big and smart and laden with vocabulary, but who is also alleged to be abusive, destructive, secretive and even threatening.

I hope we can all be in touch with these things before we start listening to the talking heads who now have begun to blame the victims who were once children. And, for the sake of humanity, may we all strive to protect them, regardless of consequences. The monsters are everywhere.

The Rev. Suzi Robertson

The writer is vicar of Good Samaritian Episcopal Church