Monday
Zunino spring plans
Enjoy a day with both sun and clouds B8
Mariners’ catcher to warm up in minors B1
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS February 1 1,, 2016 | 75¢
Port Townsend-Jefferson County’s Daily Newspaper
Eye on Olympia
Hope for marine life
House would study funding School finance pushed to 2017 BY CHRIS MCDANIEL PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
ALANA LINDEROTH/OLYMPIC PENINSULA NEWS GROUP
Outdoor tanks at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Sciences Lab in Sequim are temporarily holding eelgrass from a restoration site off Bainbridge Island at the former site of the Wyckoff creosote plant. When the site is ready, the eelgrass will be replanted in hopes of restoring a once vibrant eelgrass meadow.
Scientists growing eelgrass for future Sound restoration working with the state on restoring eelgrass throughout the Puget Sound. “The amount of eelgrass that is being lost is huge,” said John Vavrinec, senior research scientist and dive officer at the Marine Sciences Laboratory. “In 2009, it was estimated about 30 percent the eelgrass meadows in the BY ALANA LINDEROTH world had been lost since the 1940s.” OLYMPIC PENINSULA NEWS GROUP Eelgrass is recognized by the Puget Sound Partnership as both critical habiSEQUIM — Local scientists are tat and a vital sign of Puget Sound lending their expertise to offset the because changes in its abundance or global decline of seagrass by studying distribution reflect changes in environand restoring eelgrass throughout mental conditions. Puget Sound. As the amount of seagrass, including To help address this decline, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laborato- eelgrass, disappears on a local and ry’s Marine Sciences Lab in Sequim are global scale, so does an important piece
Flowering plant is a food source, habitat, shoreline protector
of the overall marine habitat that supports many ecosystem processes, researchers said. The flowering and rooted eelgrass is the most widespread species of seagrass and provides a variety of ecosystem functions, said Ron Thom, lead for the Coastal Ecosystem Research technical group at the Marine Sciences Laboratory. Examples include its ability to act as feeding ground and food source, provide habitats for invertebrates and microbes, be a nursery and spawning area for some fish and shellfish, protect shorelines from erosion and improve water transparency. TURN
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OLYMPIA — The House last week passed an education bill requiring the 2017 Legislature to study how to address the funding requirements of the McCleary decision. HB 2366 also collects data on teacher compensation and creates a task force that — with the help of a consultant — would produce for the 2017 legislative session recommendations to fully fund teacher pay. HB 2366 passed 64-34 on Jan. 25. Both District 24 House legislators — Sequim Tharinger Democrats Steve Tharinger and Kevin Van De Wege — voted in favor of the measure. District 24 covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County. No Democrat voted against the measure. The bill passed the House with bi-partisan support. Van De Wege State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn spoke against HB 2366 during House Appropriations Committee public hearing last week, saying the bill did not do anything that was not previously studied by other task forces, councils and work groups created by the Legislature. TURN
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Treasurer powers through MS symptoms Blog makes her diagnosis public BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Treasurer acknowledges her multiple sclerosis symptoms might increase over time but does not expect them to stand in the way of a long public service career. “I love my job and my career and feel that I’m good at it,” said Stacie Prada, who was elected to the office in 2014 as Stacie Prada Hoskins with no opposition. “I will do my best, and if I’m not able to do my job, I’ll probably be the first to know.” Prada, 45, believes she could serve four terms, the same as her
since 2005, working her way up to planning manager. She had not hidden the condition from her colleagues since her predecessor, Judi Morris. Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a 2008 diagnosis at the age of 38. long-lasting disease that can She announced it to the public at affect the brain, spinal cord, and a 2014 campaign forum. the optic nerves. It can cause problems with vision, balance, Blog writer muscle control, and other basic The truth was out there for body functions, according to a anyone running an Internet definition from WebMD. search. She has written a blog titled “Keep Doing What You are Disease effects Doing” viewable at http://stacie The effects differ. Some people prada.blogspot.com/. have mild symptoms and don’t She went public “because I need treatment while others have didn’t want anyone to be able to trouble getting around and doing use this against me,” she said. CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS daily tasks. “I don’t want to hide things or Jefferson County Treasurer Stacie Prada does not think Prior to her election, Prada live in fear,” she said. multiple sclerosis will prevent her from serving several had worked at the county Department of Community Development TURN TO SYMPTOMS/A4 terms in office.
INSIDE TODAY’S PENINSULA DAILY NEWS 100th year, 26th issue — 2 sections, 16 pages
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CLASSIFIED COMICS COMMENTARY DEAR ABBY DEATHS HOROSCOPE LETTERS NATION PENINSULA POLL
B3 B7 A7 B7 A6 B7 A7 A3 A2
*PENINSULA SPOTLIGHT
PUZZLES/GAMES SPORTS WEATHER WORLD
B4 B1 B8 A3