Bob Macleod is no longer a public figure.  As of the first of this month, he has left the playing field and is now, just one of the spectators.

But, Bob had a good, long run, and with it, the knowledge that he helped make this a better community.

Born in Vancouver B.C., he knew from an early age what he wanted to do.  He started a newspaper when he was five years old.   After serving a tour of duty with the U.S. Army in Korea, Bob went to school at Washington State University working towards a degree in business.

He didn’t finish college, but started a 13 year career in advertising.  He realized he  wasn’t finished with his life’s goals and re-entered college at the University of Washington, where he completed a double major in political science and communications.

In 1968, he moved to Olympia and took a job as a newscaster with KGY Radio, a job he held for nearly 27 years.  He did radio commentaries on various issues facing the community and developed a reputation as someone who did his homework, knew the issues and always presented all sides.

Bob was well-liked and respected by all he came in contact with.   He was so even-handed that he was often asked to moderate debates between candidates and around community issues. 

His radio commentaries often focused on a major community problem, presented all sides of the issue and often ended with Bob calling for community cooperation to solve the problem.

When he retired from KGY radio in 1994, he continued working in volunteer positions which took him to State Senator Karen Fraser, where Bob began working as an aide to the senator.

In 2002, he ran for Thurston County Commissioner for an open seat, and never drew a single opponent.   In 2006 he was re-elected.   He announced late last year that he was resigning for health reasons and would not be able to finish out his term.

Bob Macleod has received dozens of community recognition certificates, won numerous broadcasting awards and received the accolades of community organizations.

And every single one of them was well-deserved.

Does the people’s right to know, extend to personal computer use on the part of our elected officials?  That my friends, is the essence of the fuss being made about private e mails of Olympia councilmembers being sent to each other during public meetings.

Seems that some members of the Olympia City Council like to check their e mail and reply to e mail messages.  Some of them do it during council meetings.   Should they be doing that - - and further - - should they be e mailing each other about activities currently in front of the council?

Anyone who has attended any council meeting knows how boring they can be.  Those making presentations before the council often drone on and on - - and we’re not talking about the public - - we’re talking about the city staff.   It’s often boring information.  And, the councilmembers already have the information in front of them.

So, some councilmembers like to use their lap top computers to do other things - - like talk to members of the council while public testimony is going on.  Some - - in Lacey - - use their computers to play games. 

No one disputes that councilmembers use their computer during council meetings.  They all do.   The question is whether or not they should comment, in private messages, about discussions going on in public? 

I question the need for personal computers for councilmembers at all.  If the reason is to cut down on the paper work, then it doesn’t fly.  All staff reports and committee minutes are already printed for the media and for the public if they want it.  These are the same reports available on the councilmembers personal computers.   It isn’t much more paper.

And, if the councilmembers have private information on their computers that isn’t available to the media or the public - - then the city is in violation of the Open Meetings Act.

I don’t think councilmembers need private computers, but if they have them, they should refrain from answering  e mails, playing games, or talking with each other during the council meetings.

Each city should draft rules regarding personal use of public computers during council meetings. 

And, councilmembers who do use their computers, when they should be paying attention to the meeting, should follow this rule - - Don’t do it in private if you don’t want it made public.

2009 is an election year.  I guess every year is an election year, but next year only local city council and school board races are on the ballot.  Some other minor commission seats may also be up.

In Lacey, four members of the Lacey City Council will be up for re-election.   Those are Graeme Sackrison, John Darby, Ann Burgman and Virgil Clarkson.   Sackrison and Darby are both expected to seek re-election.

It’s possible that Clarkson and Burgman may not seek another term.  Both have had medical problems and that may stop them from running again.

There is only one announced candidate, Don Melnick, a retired engineer living at Panorama City.  Melnick is playing it cautious and saying he is just looking at the possiblity of running.  If he announces, he’ll have to file with the Public Disclosure Commission.

Melnick has said in the past that he’s looking at running for Darby’s seat, but with the possibility that one or more positions will be vacant, he may well seek to run for an open seat.

Following the election in November, the Lacey City Council will, once again, select a mayor to represent the Council.  Last time, Sackrison beat out Clarkson and Burgman for the job.   This time around, Councilmember Tom Nelson, who is not up for re-election, has made it known that he would like to be mayor.  (Remember, residents of Lacey don’t vote for mayor.  The mayor is selected by the Council to represent the Council.)

Water will be a big issue again in 2009 as the City of Lacey tries to get enough water rights to serve its growing population.  It has entered into an agreement with the other cities to divide the Olympia Brewery’s water rights, and has also entered into an agreement with the City of Olympia and the Nisqually tribe for new water systems near McAllister Springs.

Public Utility District 1 has also entered the water game and is operating a well in Tanglewilde.  It will be a player in any future water right actions.

The new Recreation and Athletic complex (nicknamed the RAC) will open in the Spring of 09 and should be filled with athletes and athletic competition.   Lacey’s agreement with Thurston County, to jointly operate the facility and share in the revenue, is in force until 2013, at which time either party can opt out.   Lacey has hired and will hire, more staff to operate and maintain the RAC.

The North Thurston Public Schools will soon select a new superintendent to replace Jim Koval who is retiring.  That selection should give us a good indication of the future of Thurston County’s largest school district.  Lack of funding from the legislature, coupled with a ballot measure to raise teacher’s pay, should make for an interesting and challenging year for any new superintendent.

You wanted a white Christmas, you got it.  We get a white Christmas in the South Sound area about once in every 27 years.  

This is actually our second white Christmas in a row.  Last year on Christmas Day it snowed, but the snow didn’t stick, so I’m not really sure you could call it a white Christmas.  But it sure was this year.

And, it caused all kinds of problems.

I scraped ice, shoveled snow, drove dangerous roads, did all of the things that had to be done.  But for the most part, I hibernated, I stayed home, I didn’t venture out when I really didn’t have to, and I found many reasons for not going out.

I spent an hour getting my wife’s car out of the driveway so she could go to work, and then got my own car stuck in a snowbank.  I shoveled and scraped for nearly three hours before I was able to get my car moving.

Then, when I got to the store, it was bumper to bumper grocery carts, long lines and shortages of some foods.  I was surprised that the stores had any groceries at all.  I wondered how the delivery trucks made it.

But, while I waited in the long lines with other shoppers, we commiserated about the weather, complained about the long lines and made each other feel better by talking about the Christmas season and how great it was that we finally had a white Christmas.

Snow kept the U.S. Postal Service from making the rounds everyday, but they did finally get the mail to us.  I can’t say the same for garbage collection.   My garbage can has sat at the curb for more than a week now, and I keep expecting the truck to come by and empty it.  Guess I should scrap the foot of snow off the lid.

There have been lots of problems associated with a white Christmas.   I have to admit, the snow covered trees, the snowmen, the kids playing and laughing while throwing snowballs at each other and everything that makes snow interesting, have added to the Christmas festivities this year.

But, I don’t care if I never see another White Christmas for another 27 years.  If I add right, that should be in 2035.

The North Thurston Public School search team, looking for someone to take the place of retiring Jim Koval, is going to have a difficult time finding the right person.  

For the last 16 years out of 18, the district has been run by insiders, those who have come up through the ranks of the school district.  The one time it tried to go outside of the district, the person hired, last less than two years.  

And before that, John Gott led the district for 20 years. 

North Thurston Public Schools is a difficult district to lead.  It’s the largest school district in Thurston County, almost as large as Tumwater and Olympia combined. 

It’s geographically large and comprises 13 elementary schools, three middle school and four high schools.  The student population hovers right around 13,000.  Olympia also has 13 elementary schools, but they average about 200 students each.  North Thurston’s elementary schools average more than 500 students each.

The district is also very transitory.   A large number of military families move in and out of the district.  In addition, young families find housing in Lacey more affordable and stay until they can move into a larger house.  These trends, along with the transitory nature of our times makes it difficult to teach school or run a school district.

A decade ago, the district changed its name to North Thurston Public Schools, in an effort to gain more public support.  That effort failed.

Unlike neighboring districts Tumwater and Olympia, which have existed since before statehood, North Thurston is relatively new.  It’s only 50 years old and came about when the South Bay and Lacey school districts merged.

In addition, unlike Tumwater and Olympia districts, there is no city of North Thurston.   I’ve been after the district to change its name to Lacey for a couple of decades now in an effort to connect with the community.  District officials say it’s only a little thing.   But little things make a difference.

And, unlike Tumwater and Olympia, there is no Lacey High School.  I’ve tried for decades to get the district to name a high school - Lacey, but they say it’s just a little thing.   But little things make a difference.

North Thurston has always had a difficult time passing its maintenance and operations levy.  It’s failed on the first try several times and has also failed a second time, more than once.

The bottom line is that North Thurston Public Schools has little or no connection with the greater Lacey community.   Whoever is selected as the new superintendent will have to deal immediately with that problem.

And, whoever takes over the helm needs an understanding of the greater Lacey community and its relationship with its school district.  It’s just a little thing, but the new superintendent will have to deal with a lot of - little things.

It’s best if they know and understand the community.

Governor Christine Gregoire’s 2009/2011 budget is dead on arrival at the state legislature.    The governor’s budget cuts 2600 state employee positions and delays pay raise for all state employees for two years.  There will be no pay raise for K-12 teachers as well.

There’s no way the Democratically controlled legislature, which owes its allegiance to state employee unions and teacher unions, is going to let the governor’s budget stand.

The governor knows this as well, and is looking for the legislators to come up with the new taxes necessary for the Democrat’s special interest groups to be satisfied.  House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler has said as much.

Kessler is looking at funding teacher pay raises by going to the voters and asking them to raise their taxes to fund education spending.   I suspect that state employees and other special interest groups will also put pressure on the legislature to fund their pay increases as well.

It’s going to be interesting watching the Democrats tip toe around no new taxes, while actually raising taxes.  Or, giving the taxpayers the opportunity to vote on new taxes while at the same time placating the unions which pull their strings.

I’m looking forward to the next legislative session.  It should provide plenty of good stories for this web page.

Intercity Transit, which was sitting on nearly $30 million dollars in reserves not less than two years ago, has now indicated it will seek voter approval for another sales tax increase to fund transit operations.

Intercity Transit says it won’t be able to fund current operations past 2011 if it doesn’t receive a sales tax increase.  The system currently gets 6/10ths of one percent on every sale made in Thurston County and wants to increase that amount to 8/10ths of one percent.

But, if the transit system needs money - - where did its $30 million dollar surplus go?

To start with, Intercity Transit hired nearly 80 new employees in the last two years, bought new property, expanded its main bus facility and increased service routes and frequency.

It doesn’t take long at that rate to spend an extra $30 million.

Just like the library system, the fire department and county government, Intercity Transit expanded during good times, and now that times aren’t so good, it doesn’t know how it’s going to pay for all of its new employees.

That’s a management problem, not a financial problem.

An article in this morning’s Olympian implied that Thurston County was bailing out of its agreement with the City of Lacey to jointly own and operate the Regional Athletic Complex soon to open at the corner of Steilacoom and Marvin roads.

A clarification from the City of Lacey said the agreement is still in force.  Both the city and the county will operate the complex and jointly share any revenue that comes from the operation.

Thurston County did notify the city earlier this year that it would not be able to provide daily maintenance on the facility and Lacey incorporated, in its 2009 budget, the hiring of a new city employee to do that.

The Master Builder’s Association of King & Snohomish Counties is considering hiring former Governor Gary Locke to lobby for their interests in this coming session of the Washington State Legislature.

That’s according to the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) which has taken issue with the King and Snohomish county master builders over this and other issues.

BIAW claims that the King and Snohomish based master builders hires its own lobbyists and often works at cross purpose with BIAW on issues of importance to builders.   BIAW claims that major out-of-state developers control the King & Snohomish county master builders, and that these out-of-state developers don’t care what happens to small local builders around the state.

The potential hiring of Locke is not something BIAW wants and feels the former governor had always been anti-affordable housing and against small business.

We’ll let you know if Locke does sign on to represent the big builders of King & Snohomish counties.

According to the Washington Retail Association, retail theft has cost business more than $30 billion in annual losses and roughly $34 million in Washington state.

But, action of law enforcement and prosecutors tends towards major crimes and misdemeanor property crimes are seldom investigated and even less seldom prosecuted.

Professional theft rings know that and have become more brazen in their actions.  Thieves can steal up to $250 in a store without fear of being prosecuted for a felony.  The state legislature is looking at increasing that to $1000 and making it even more easier for thieves to get away with shoplifting.

So criminal after criminal can steal and get away with it.  Organized rings bring in their gang and attack stores in mass, knowing that they may not get caught and if they do, they have no fear of being prosecuted.

The Washington Retail Association is hoping that it can get an Organized Theft Ring  bill passed by the legislature this session which will give law enforcement and prosecutors a tool by which they will arrest and bring charges against organized theft rings. 

In the last three years, the Port of Olympia has been the defendant in 38 court actions, have won out right in 29 and have had no adverse rulings on the others.

The cost to date $636,000 of taxpayer money to defend themselves from these lawsuits. 

Most of these lawsuits have been brought by one individual who has been the plaintiff/appellant in 25 of these actions.

Just thought you might like to know.

Vandals, who struck Triway headquarters and the Olympia Master Builder’s office, were probably not part of any organized environmental organization - - but the anti-growth elements of that group have encouraged vandalism and hooliganism.

The strident, almost end-of-the-world rhetoric coming from the anti-growth group has lead some younger elements, particularly those at Evergreen, into thinking this is a battle for the life and death of the planet, rather than just a zoning issue.

Those who oppose increased building heights in Olympia have every reason in the world to voice those opinions in public.  But when those words lead to vandalism, then it’s time for opponents of zoning changes to rethink the way they approach opposition.

They should also condemn all forms of vandalism.

Right now, there are people in prison who felt they needed to burn buildings and damage property in the name of environmental freedom.  It took years, but these vandals were finally tracked down, tried and sentenced to prison.

It will take time, but eventually the vandals who destroyed private property in the name of protecting Olympia, will also be brought to justice.  

In the meantime, everyone, whether they support the increased building heights or not, should speak out against vandalism in all of its forms.

The National Rodeo finals are in town this weekend in Las Vegas but you wouldn’t know it to look at the city.  Oh, there are thousands of rodeo fans, cowboys and want-to-be cowboys, but there isn’t tens of thousands of fans.

It’s a bad time for Las Vegas.  The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always a slow time in this oasis in the desert, but it’s really bad right now.   Shows are only half sold out, you can get a room for less than a hundred dollars, even in the top hotels, and a lot less at the second tier of accommodations.  There’s no waiting in any lines of any kind.

Major construction projects on The Strip are sitting half completed.  The thousands of new condominiums set to open next year may not even be completed in the next several years.  Many of the major projects have run out of money and are having a hard time getting the billions of dollars in financing, even from out of country accounts.

But don’t think, just because its hard times in Las Vegas, that its cheap.  It isn’t.  Out side of hotel rooms, everything costs a lot in Vegas.   There’s no free lunches anymore, and the $5.95 buffet is long past.   Vegas only makes half of its profits from gambling now.  It makes the other half from meals and entertainment.  

At some of the more popular venues, cheap seats go for a hundred dollars, decent seats for upwards of four hundred dollars and top seats in the thousands.  Cher, Bette Midler and Donny and Marie are performing regularly here, but this weekend it’s country bands and country singers.  Travis Tritt and Miranda Lambert are performing and there’s even top name free entertainment in some areas.

Food costs.  Las Vegas has some of the best restaurants in the world, but even food at McDonald’s or coffee at Starbucks costs more than at home.  And, the city has tax upon tax upon tax on all services as well as food.  It’s a hidden charge you never see until it comes time to pay the bill. 

So, if you’re coming to Vegas, don’t forget to bring money.  And as far as I’m concerned, about four days and three nights is long enough.  Any longer and you might want to pull your hair out - - or move here permanently and buy one of those new, cheap condos going up all over The Strip.

Local governments might be wrestling with budget deficits and projected shortfalls, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the cost of living pay increases being given to public employees next year.

The City of Lacey is giving all of its employees a 4.2 percent  COLA.

The City of Olympia is giving all of its employees a 4.2 percent COLA.

The City of Tumwater is giving all of its employees a 4.0 percent COLA.

Thurston County is giving all of its employees a 6.2 percent COLA.

The Port of Olympia is giving all of its employees a 3.5 percent COLA.

Does any of this seem strange to anyone but me?

I’m not an economist nor an accountant, so my take on the bailout is strictly from a novice man on the street. viewpoint.

The entire bailout package, as recently announced by President-elect Barack Obama is $1.5 trillion.   That’s one trillion, five hundred billion dollars.

Some of that has already been spent.  As much as $350 billion has gone to bailout the banks and mortgage houses where the problems originated.  There is still $350 billion left to spend.  If, as expected, the congress goes along with the president-elects call for another $800 billion, we still have $1.15 trillion left to spend.

Some of the money will go to the Big Three auto manufacturers.   Their less than stellar performance before congress just postponed the auto bailout.  It will come.  Unions were big supporters of the Democrats and will expect a return on their investment.

What’s needed from the Big 3 is a game plan on how the money will be spent.  The 1970’s bailout of Chrysler is a good example although we’re only talking about a little more than $1 billion.  In that bailout agreement, the car company agreed to cutbacks in costs and the unions also gave back wages and fringe benefits.   That’s what’s needed this time around.

President-elect Obama has said the remaining money will go towards creating jobs, and to that end has specified schools, bridges, and other infrastructure improvements around the country.  He has also said that the money will go towards getting “green” industries up and running.

Obama wants to pump that money into the economy through the states, which have infrastructure plans on the drawing board and can be started in a short period of time.  Our governor Christine Gregoire has in her hand a list of projects that Washington state can start quickly.

The states are also looking at receiving money from the feds to help them overcome their projected budget shortfalls.  There is very little  in shortfalls yet.  The amount of money Washington State can expect next year is more than it got this year.  It’s that the amount of money they expected to get is less. and won’t meet the needs of their expansive programs enacted the last couple of years.

So, where does this money come from?  China already holds more than $3 trillion worth of American dollars and can’t hold any more.   That means we have to look elsewhere for this $1.5 trillion bailout plan.

Of course, it comes from you and me through taxes.  But it also comes from another source.   The government has the authority to print money and that’s just what they’re going to do.  They’re going to keeping the printing presses turning out new bills on a 24-hour a day basis. 

That new money coming into the economy should reach down to you and me and make us feel like we have more money in our pocket.   Experts say this will work.  That new money is needed to free up old money being held by the banks and other financial institutions.

The problem comes further down the road, when the inflationary cycle once again rears its head.  Too much money in circulation always results in inflation which makes your dollar of less value.

It’s a lot easier to print money than it is to take it out of circulation.  But that’s the problem down the road for the next president after Obama.  Right now, all of the experts say printing more money is the answer, even if it is a wild animal which will come back to bite you.

That’s my take.  For those of us older Americans, I say, enjoy the ride.  Enjoy the new money and spend it when you get it.  For those younger Americans, I say buy gold, silver, precious metals, anything that will retain its value, because in a decade inflation will eat your very heart.

Mark my words.

Timberland Regional Library System has placed a levy lid lift on the February 3 ballot, which, if approved, will add another 15 cents per thousand on the assessed valuation of your home and property.

Timberland is the five-county library system which owns, operates and staffs libraries in Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.

In the last three years, when times were good, Timberland has hired 34 new employees.  Now that times are not as good,  Timberland is having a difficult time paying for all of the new staff. 

The measure does not have to pass in all five counties but it does need a 50 percent majority overall.   It will be on the same ballot as a number of school levies.

I’ll have more on this levy lid lift in the near future.

Red Light camera - revisited   When a driver is caught on Lacey’s one and only red light camera, he or she has a right to view the video of the violation.  The only problem is that it’s almost impossible to go through all of pages and downloads in order to see the video.  Lacey Police Chief Dusty Pierpoint has sent a message to the private company operating the cameras, that such requirements are not acceptable and changes need to be made.  The company is responding with a new web page, the chief said.

Cost of operating the new Activities and Recreation Center in Lacey are rapidly climbing.  The City of Lacey is searching for ways to share the costs and have asked Thurston County to pay a share of the operating costs.  The county and the city are joint partners in the new facility.  The city is also looking at working with North Thurston Public Schools to see if some joint maintenance work can be undertaken.

A new conference center could be in the works for the City of Lacey.  Under an agreement with Triway, the builders of the Lacey Gateway project, which includes Cabelas; the city has agreed to build a public facility of some kind in the Gateway area.  While this public facility could be a library, a marketplace a theater or any other such type, the general feeling right now is that a conference center makes the most sense.   The decision is far from being made, but city officials admit there’s a demand for more meeting space in Thurston County. 

With the recent election of Sandra Romero to the Thurston County Commission, we will soon have two former state representatives serving the people of Thurston County.

This, in itself isn’t bad.  Not all county commissioners have been former state legislators, and sometimes they even do a good job - - current commissioners not withstanding.

What’s troubling is the fact that these two former state representatives have an opportunity to appoint someone to the fill the vacancy on the commission left by the resignation of Bob McLeod.

And, one of those mentioned as a possible candidate is current state representative Brendan Williams, who has voiced his displeasure in being a state representative and may want to be a county commissioner.

Here’s the problem with the Thurston County Commission becoming a legislator’s retirement party.  Some, if not all, of our legislators, see serving on a county commission as an opportunity to raise their retirement income.

State legislators, as well as county commissioners, are under the state retirement system.  Most elected officials in Washington state are members of the state retirement system.

Legislators can serve for one term, or for a decade, but they all fall under the retirement system.  The problem is the fact that state legislators don’t make much money.  Currently it’s around $35,000 a year.  While they get other perks, these don’t county towards retirement.

So retiring, as a state legislator doesn’t really give one a decent retirement income.  But, serve a couple of years as a county commissioner at $100,000 a year, and your retirement income really, really climbs.

That’s why former state legislators want to be county commissioners.  They can boost their retirement pay with as little as two years on the county commission.

In their final years many  state legislators get appointed to state boards and commissions,  which boost their retirement.  But if they can’t get a governor’s appointment to these high paying cush jobs, they can always run for county commissioner in their home areas and boost their retirement that way.

If I were a state worker I’d be screaming bloody murder over this raiding of the retirement system.  Someone should run an initiative campaign to take all elected officials out of the state retirement system. 

If the City of Olympia plans to buy the old Capital Center building and tear it down to use the land for a city park, they haven’t told Colliers International.

Nearly a hundred community leaders gathered on the top floor of the building Friday evening, to look at the view and to get a preview of the building’s potential.

The building will be completely remodeled, inside and out.  The first floor is reserved for new retail and service businesses.  The other eight floors will be developed as tenants require.  Residential space is not currently on the drawing boards.

Those interested in taking a new look at the building and assessing its potential, can contact Colliers International through Larry Gilliam or Lisa Cosmillo at 943-5079.

They’re also looking for a new name for the renovated and remodeled building.  If you have a suggestion, they’d like to hear it.

That’s a question that our courts are currently wrestling with.  Who supervises our county elected officials?

You would think the answer would be  - - the voters or the taxpayers - - and in the long run you would be correct.  But who does the day to day supervision of the county auditor, the county assessor, the county clerk, the county sheriff or the county prosecuting attorney? 

Who sees that these officials do their duty, hire wisely, spend wisely and obey the rules?

Superior court has ruled that the county commissioners are responsible for the actions of the other county elected officials and that ruling has just been upheld by the Washington Court of Appeals.

The case in question is the $1.52 million dollar law suit against Thurston County for actions or inactions taken in the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office over a sex discrimination case.   In that case, three women attorneys said they were sexually harassed by their supervisors and had to work in a hostile atmosphere.

The three women sued Thurston County and won in superior court and most recently in the court of appeals.

Attorneys for Thurston County contended that since the Thurston County Commissioners had no control over the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, then they had no liability over actions or inactions taken by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

And there we sit.  The big question still unanswered.   If the Thurston County Commission can be responsible for actions in other elected officials offices, then can they also have some say over who is hired and how the office is run?

The courts apparently think so.

Currently the county commissioners just have control over the various department’s budgets.  They determine how much money each county elected official will receive?

Does that alone constitute legal authority to supervise the offices of the other elected officials? 

These are questions left unanswered.  How they are answered will determine if your elected county officials report directly to the county commission or if they operate independently.

Lets hope Thurston County appeals this current ruling to the Washington State Supreme Court and gets a firm answer on direct line of supervision and authority.

It’s important to everyone who deals with county government.