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PENINSULA DAILY NEWS February 18, 18, 2016 | 75¢
Port Angeles-Sequim-West End
Council orders fluoride panel
Going for a spin
PA ethics board also announced BY ROB OLLIKAINEN PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — A majority of the Port Angeles City Council has backed the structure of an ad hoc committee that will look for alternatives to municipal water fluoridation. Meanwhile, the council also Tuesday appointed a three-member ethics board to consider a complaint against Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd that stemmed from her handling of public testimony on fluoride during a Feb. 2 council meeting. Five of the six council members who were present Kidd Tuesday directed staff to coordinate the ad hoc fluoride committee under the direction of council members Brad Collins and Sissi Bruch. Collins and Bruch had proposed the committee to “bridge the divide” that resulted from the council’s 4-3 December vote to continue fluoridation beyond May 18. “This matter has become so divisive,” Mayor Patrick Downie said. “I’d like us to find the better angels of our nature, however that may be. But we ought not to end this discussion on such a rancorous and divisive tone.” In addition to Bruch and Collins, the committee will consist of two who oppose community water fluoridation, two who favor the practice, two neutral members and one representative of the city’s Utility Advisory Committee. Marolee Smith filed the ethics complaint against Kidd two days after the deputy mayor abruptly ended a contentious council meeting that was rife with anti-fluoride sentiment.
CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Hudson Davis, 2, of Port Townsend enjoys temperatures slightly warmer than the usual 51 degrees and overcast skies at Pope Marine Park on Wednesday. For the five-day local forecast, see Page A10.
Sequim man arrested following reports of shots fired off 101 55-year-old being held on no bond in Clallam County jail BY CHRIS MCDANIEL PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
SEQUIM — A Sequim man was arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly shooting at a person on South Barr Road and brandishing a gun at another. No injuries were reported, police say. Keith Roberson, 55, was arrested and booked into the Clallam County jail for
investigation of two counts of assault in the first degree after allegedly firing a 9mm semi-automatic handgun at one South Barr Road resident and pointing the firearm at another. Roberson is being held on no bond, meaning he cannot post bail. The case will be forwarded to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for a formal charging decision. According to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, at about 4:12 a.m., deputies were dispatched to the area of Barr Road near U.S. Highway 101 after receiving reports of a suspicious person prowling the neighborhood. One caller reported there was a male on his porch crying and asking for police,
saying he was being chased through the woods. Within minutes, dispatch received other calls reporting the sounds of shots fired. One caller in the 400 block of South Barr Road said he had heard a man yelling for help after hearing a gunshot. Believing the cry for help was from a neighbor, the man ran to help. When the man approached whom he believed to be his neighbor, he was confronted by Roberson, deputies say. Roberson allegedly aimed and fired the gun at the victim from about 40 feet away, missing the man by about 8 feet. The bullet left a large hole in a nearby fence. TURN
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State short $78 million in funds forecast Less money expected after 2017 BY RACHEL LA CORTE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The state revenue forecast released by the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council showed that the current two-year, $38 billion budget that ends in the middle of 2017 falls about $78 million short of what was originally predicted. The council lowered its forecast for the next two-year budget by $436 million. The projected overall state budget for 2017-19 is expected to be about $41 billion.
OLYMPIA — As lawmakers prepare to unveil a supplemental budget proposal, they learned Wednesday that they have a little less money to work with in the current budget cycle and significantly less money than previously expected for the two years after that. Officials have lowered the state’s revenue projections for both the current two-year budget Lower costs? that ends in the middle of 2017 and the next budget cycle, citing However, officials said the foreweak economic growth, both glob- cast is offset slightly by lower ally and nationally. projected costs related to the
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number of people on welfare and in nursing homes. “We are not assuming a recession, but we are assuming slower growth than we saw in November,” said Steve Lerch, the revenue council’s executive director. “Slower growth nationally and internationally means slower growth rate in terms in purchases of Washington goods and services both in the U.S. and overseas.” One of the issues cited in Wednesday’s forecast was the fact that, for the first time since 2009, Washington exports declined last year. “It’s a tough environment for exporters, and this is clearly going to weigh on Washington’s economy,” Lerch said. Lawmakers are more than
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“We are not assuming a recession, but we are assuming slower growth than we saw in November.” STEVE LERCH director, Economic and Revenue Forecast Council halfway through the current 60-day legislative session, and House Democrats are set to unveil a supplemental budget proposal Monday.
Education funding Democratic Rep. Hans Dunshee, the main budget writer for that chamber, expressed concern
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that the forecast doesn’t take into account billions that the state needs to spend on education funding. The state is currently under a contempt order by the state Supreme Court for its lack of progress on that effort. Dunshee said he couldn’t say yet whether taxes would be part of the House proposal but said the state will need to be more proactive in order to satisfy the court. “I can guarantee you that we’re not going to grow our way to the McCleary solution,” he said, referring to the name used for the lawsuit against the state. “To some degree, we’ve had ups and downs,” said Republican Sen. Andy Hill, noting that the most recent change is “not enough to break the budget.”
BUSINESS CLASSIFIED COMICS COMMENTARY DEAR ABBY DEATHS HOROSCOPE LETTERS NATION/WORLD
A10 B5 B4 A9 B4 A8 B4 A9 A4
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PENINSULA POLL A2 PUZZLES/GAMES A8, B6 B1 SPORTS A10 WEATHER