By Dr. Michael Wingren
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updated 10:42 AM January 31, 2012

Journal cartoonist Rob Pudim weighs in on the county's CAO.
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Let’s make 2012 the year we join together and shatter the silence
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updated 5:21 PM
January 18, 2012

They don’t catch oysters or even prefer them for dinner. And whoever named anything oystercatcher has never caught oysters, because you don’t. You put on big rubber boots, wade into thick mud at the water’s edge and step between slick rocks, risk broken ankles or cracked knees to pick them. Or you tong them with long ‘rakish’ like tongs -- from a boat -- or dredge them with a weighted net if you are a very serious oystermonger. There is no chasing or lying in wait to get your oyster.
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updated 2:00 PM
December 30, 2011
San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney Randall K. Gaylord announced that budget cuts in in March 2012 will force him to lay offthe one deputy prosecutor handling misdemeanors from full-time to about half-time.
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updated 3:08 PM
December 27, 2011
We would like to thank County Council members Fralick, Miller, Pratt, Rosenfeld, and Stephens for their decision on Dec. 5 not to support an effort by Councilman Peterson to weaken the proposed update to our county's existing critical areas ordinance.
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10:32 AM
December 25, 2011

In a prepared statement released Dec. 20, Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord says his office will be forced to substantially reduce the number of misdemeanor cases it pursues because of a pending $30,600 budget cut in 2012.
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Our islands are each like a big terrarium. If you take out all the resources (in this case, cash), the terrarium denizens (in this case, our businesses and the jobs they create) won’t survive. Even the seasonal inflow of tourist dollars can’t offset the negative impacts of our own off-island shopping
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updated 9:09 AM
December 16, 2011

You can’t turn on the TV, computer or radio or open a newspaper or magazine without the sickening details of this “respected” adult and the accusations of the crimes committed against vulnerable children.
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12:25 PM
December 14, 2011
Basic Health is going on the chopping block in a special session of the state legislature convening Nov. 28. Yes, Basic Health has been threatened the last two years, yet this year the situation has become dire. The governor has ordered that there be $2 billion in budget cuts statewide — and that they need to be drastic, like cutting out entire programs (not just nibbling around the edges as in recent years) in order to take care of the growing financial crisis.
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updated 1:45 PM
November 15, 2011

As community members we have a choice. We can ignore the impact of domestic violence on children and leave children to fend for themselves or we can commit ourselves to providing the resources necessary to assist these children to live less traumatic and more productive lives.
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