Cheers: To zero tolerance. With next week’s holiday marking the first Fourth of July since a ban on personal fireworks went into effect in Vancouver, city officials are promising strict enforcement. “We’re looking at zero tolerance,” Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said. She said officials will issue citations for those violating the ordinance, and fines start at $500.
It is unreasonable to expect that all violators will be caught and cited; officials cannot cover all areas of the city at all times. But regardless of a citizen’s personal feelings about the ban, they should follow it. The city council provided good reasons for establishing the moratorium, and residents should demonstrate respect for the law and for their neighbors.
Jeers: To the Legislature. This jeer might sound like a broken record, at least for those of us who remember record albums. Or it might sound like an oldie-but-not-so-goodie. Yet while we have jeered Washington lawmakers often, another thumbs-down is warranted as the Legislature enters its third special session of 2017.
After being unable to perform their duties and reach a budget agreement in the allotted time, legislators have been ordered by Gov. Jay Inslee to stay on the job. While a responsible budget is essential and while compromise can be time-consuming, there are drawbacks to the endless negotiations. State agencies are preparing contingency plans for a partial government shutdown when the current budget runs out June 30, and school districts are unable to finalize spending plans for the next academic year. The intransigence of lawmakers has poorly served the people of Washington.
Cheers: To country-of-origin labels. A group of ranchers have sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture in federal court in Spokane, seeking to reestablish country-of-origin labeling on meat products in the United States. Last year, the federal government revoked rules requiring imported meat to be labeled so consumers knew where it came from.
Such labels were required from 2009 to 2016, providing benefits for both consumers and domestic producers. The labels provide information that many shoppers desire, and they prevent foreign ranchers from misleading the American public. The suit claims that 800 million pounds of beef is imported to the United States each year; the public should know where that meat originates.
Jeers: To the U.S. Department of Energy. Under questioning from a Senate subcommittee this week, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the federal government must examine whether money for cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is being wisely spent. Certainly, government should routinely assess expenditures, but this amounts to little more than further subterfuge on the part of federal officials.
For decades, the federal government has eschewed its duties at Hanford, which is about 200 miles upstream from Vancouver along the Columbia River and is regarded as the nation’s most contaminated site. As Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told Perry: “Yes, but this is a nuclear waste site. It’s extremely dangerous. There is absolutely no cheap way to do this and it has to get done.” The government has spent enough time examining Hanford; it is time for action.
Cheers: To Clark County’s marijuana industry. If Washington is going to sell legalized recreational marijuana, it might as well do it successfully. Since statewide voters approved legalization with 56 percent of the vote in 2012, Clark County’s industry has grown into a $50 million enterprise.
There still is no telling how the U.S. Department of Justice under Attorney General Jeff Sessions will approach states that have legalized recreational marijuana, and Washington must continue to work toward preventing use by teenagers. But indications are that the industry is well-run and is acting responsibly.
