Bacon Bits
Port Orchard news and information from staff writer Carole Bacon.
Do Port Orchard and South Kitsap residents think we should be able to purchase liquor at local stores and remove Washington State from the liquor business altogether?
July 4th, 2010 at 10:50 am by adminRecently I asked some of our local business owners and residents about whether or not Washington State should be in the liquor business?
And if you don’t know, I-1100 is a proposition to privatize the sale of liquor and spirits in Washington State. Meaning that instead of being sold exclusively in state controlled liquor stores, it will be sold in other grocers or stores who sell beer and wine!
These are some of the responses:
An intimate look at our candidates
July 4th, 2010 at 10:39 am by adminOver the next several weeks I will be taking an in depth look at our local candidates and the issues they will be facing in the upcoming election.
The primary election will take place on Aug. 17 and the general election on Nov. 2.
The following are your official candidates.
The 26th district will see three candidates running for a Washington State Senate seat. Incumbent Derek Kilmer, Marty McClendon and Kristine Danielson.
Kilmer is a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 26th district since 2007. His district covers Bremerton, Port Orchard, Key Peninsula, and Gig Harbor. Previously he was a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2005 through 2007.
Marty McClendon is a real estate broker in Gig Harbor, running for the State Senate from Legislative District 26, against incumbent Derek Kilmer.
McClendon, a Republican, has practiced real estate in the Puget Sound area for the past decade. Prior to that time, he was an anesthesiology technician.
Kris Danielson, will be running against incumbent fellow newcomer Marty McClendon in the Republican primary for the right to challenge Democrat Sen. Derek Kilmer.
Danielson ran for County Assessor in 2006. Her main issues will be reducing the size of government, economics and education.
The race for 26th district state representatives will feature incumbents, Rep. Jan Angel (R) and Rep. Larry Seaquist (D).
Angel will be challenged by Sumner Schoenike (D) and Seaquist will be facing Doug Richards (R).
The Kitsap County Prosecuter’s Office will see incumbent Russ Hauge running against newcomer Bruce Danielson.
The Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office puts incumbent Greg Sansdstrom against newcomer Pete Favazza.
Can Kitsap County Afford Park Dietz?
June 9th, 2010 at 11:08 pm by adminThe Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office is determined to disprove Daniel J. Mustard’s insanity plea, but at what cost to county taxpayers?
Mustard, the Olalla 18-year-old who is accused of stabbing his elderly neighbor to death a year ago, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity last April.
According to Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Hull, the county has retained famed forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz to dispute Mustard’s mental claims.
Dietz is best known for his forensic consulting on behalf of state and federal prosecutors, as well as his work on the television series Law & Order. His most noteworthy cases included those of Jeffrey Dahmer, John Hinckley, Andrea Yates, Deanna Laney, Susan Smith, Cary Stayner, Polly Klaas, the Menendez Brothers (retrial), John DuPont, the Unabomber, New York’s Zodiac Killer, and the “Prom Mom” case.
The last time the county retained Dietz was in the Hower case a couple of years ago. The price tag for that case was $600 an hour. The current bill for Dietz’s services, as of Friday, June 18, is over $18,000.
The questions I feel that need to be answered are:
1. A May 7 article in the Port Orchard Independent called, ”Kitsap County prosecutor says budget cuts putting public at risk” talks about how the prosecutor’s office expects to encounter significant difficulties as it adjusts to a smaller staff with no reduction in workload. Layoffs and expedited pleas were just some of the hardships they would have to overcome.
All this being said, my question is, if you are so broke that you are laying people off then how and why did you hire a $600 an hour expert to refute an 18- year-olds insanity plea?
2. How and why does the prosecutor’s office have the authority to take taxpayers money and spend it however they want with no boundaries? In this economy, will the public really need to start overseeing and limiting what prosecutors’ can spend on experts and trial costs?
Please comment and let me know what you think.
