Mill Creek View Volume XXIII - Issue 06 March 2020 B 4
Mark Harmsworth
Highway camera program
In the recently released transporta- tion budget, legislative leaders have added a provision to allow the Wash- ington State Traffic Safety Commis- sion to monitor drivers and their pas- sengers on the freeway. This is being called a demonstration project to test the feasibility and accuracy of the use of automated enforcement technology for high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane passenger compliance. This provision was added less than a day after the passage of House Bill 1793, which gave the state, coun- ties and cities broad new surveillance powers on our roads. State law (RCW 46.63.170) prohibits safety cameras unless they are at inter- sections within city limits and explicitly states that the face of the driver or pas- senger must not be revealed in the photo- graph. The pictures taken in the toll lanes on I-405 only capture license plates. House Bill 1793 added new au- thority for cities with populations over 500,000 to create enforcement pro-
by Mark Harmsworth
Legislative Update
Washington Policy Center Research Fellow grams that focus primarily on bus lane and transit violations by single occu- pant vehicles. The transportation budget funds a demonstration project to create an au- tomated enforcement camera system for HOV, citing HB 1793 as its statu- tory authority. The demonstration project will record pictures of drivers and passengers in the vehicle and store this information for the duration of the project. However, there is nothing in HB 1793 that allows the state to create a camera program on the interstates. Additionally, HB 1793 explicitly states the pictures must not reveal the face of the driver or of passengers in the vehicle. The purpose of automat- ed traffic safety cameras, according to the bill, is to only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and only while an infraction is occurring. This isnt the first time there has been a proposed increase in surveil- lance authority for state agencies. House Bill 2566 failed to move
Comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer.
through the legislative process earlier this session. It would have added sur- veillance authority, which would have enabled the state to use cameras on state highways and freeways. By adding a policy change directly to the budget, circumventing the nor- mal legislative process, a new surveil- lance program is created where no ex- isting statutory authority exists. This is not an honest way to ad- vance policy. The public should have ample opportunity to provide comment and be heard in the process, especially regarding their right to privacy.
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County News
This column is written by Terry Ryan. It contains his thoughts, opinions and editorial on county and regional matters.
Terry Ryan Snohomish County Council
Anniversary at Paine Field
Commercial Air Service from Paine Field just celebrated its one year anniversary. I was honored to be on the first flight one year ago, Alaska Airlines Flight 2878 to Portland, Oregon at 10 a.m., March 4. A truly historic flight for Paine Field and for Snohomish County. Paine Field terminal had its one millionth passenger, Aristotle Roberts from Lynnwood on February 26. Pro- peller Airports Brett Smith was there to personally greet Aristotle and gave him two round trip tickets to any one of the Paine Field destinations, plus one million days of free parking at Paine Field and to top it off, a bottle of Dom Perignon. What a great year it has been at Paine Field. Many people have told me how excited they are to fly out of Paine Field and avoid the drive to and from Sea Tac. I have personally flown about 10 flights from our local airport in the last year. Every flight has been a great experience. Easy access, quick check in, small TSA lines, impressive terminal that feels more like a lounge than a waiting gate, easy boarding and a comfortable flight. We want to say, Thank you, to several people: Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports for his unwavering dedication to build this beautiful ter- minal and attracting the airlines. Brett Smith is a truly remarkable person. Without Brett, there would be no ter- minal and no commercial air service. Brett recently told me, We appreciate the community support and look for- ward to serving the needs of our cus- tomers in the future. Thank you to Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden, for believing in Snohom- ish County and our citizens. Alaska Airlines is one of the most admired companies in the United States. We are blessed to have this local company and their visionary leadership. FYI: Alaska Airlines invested about $500 million in purchasing the Embraer 175 Jets (76 seats on each aircraft) to make Paine Field Flights economically feasible). Thank you also to our Snohomish County Airport employees who work hard every day to make everything run on time. I am so proud of our County Council decision in 2015 to allow commercial air service at Paine Field. It may be the most significant vote I made as an elected official.
Did you know?
The Washington State Dept. of Transportation, Aviation Division re- cently concluded a comprehensive study of Aviation Economic Impacts. In 2018, Paine Field accounts for 158,000 total jobs and $60 billion in annual output. To put that into per- spective, Sea Tac International Air- port was at 153,000 total jobs and $23 billion in annual output. Samuel Jerry Stillwell, 85, passed away a little after 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 7 following several years of multiple health issues. He was born on April 11, 1934 in Seattle, the son of Samuel and Helen Stillwell. He married Sandra Magowan on Nov. 28, 1991 in Reno, Nevada. Jerry served as a Morse code op- erator stationed in Korea and Japan during his four years in the U.S. Air Force. After being honorably discharged from the military, he became a radio operator for the Washington State Patrol in Longview and graduated from Lower Columbia Junior College. He moved to Reno to find work, but went to college to learn computer programming. He worked as a pro- gram analyst for Sierra Pacific Power Company for several years before re- locating to Santa Rosa, California for the next 15 years. After his father died in 1992, Jerry and Sandy relocated to Bothell and re- tired. Jerry was always a hard worker
Obituary
Samuel Jerry Stillwell April 11, 1934 - March 7, 2020 and enjoyed a very active social life, even into retirement. He spent his days maintaining their home with a picturesque pasture and serene creek along with two dogs and seven llamas. He attended Mariners games with his son, John and frequented their favorite lunchtime hangout Thrashers. Outside of his personal life, he always sought to stay involved with his community. He was active at St. James Lutheran Church, sat on their board serving as treasurer and the Grange Master for North Creek Valley Grange. He chaired the Snohomish County Council on Aging, serving on the men- tal health and wellness, legislative and senior center committees. He volun- teered his time visiting nursing home communities allowing their residents to joyfully interact with Charlie the Llama. He is survived by his wife, Sandra (Sandy) Stillwell, his uncle, Samuel Wiley, stepsister Kathy, his son, John Stillwell and daughter, Susan (Susie) Perez, stepdaughters, Theresa, Jennifer (Jenny and Nicole (Nikki) and grandsons, Casey Heide and Francisco Perez. He was preceded in death by his parents and step parents. Memorial services will be held this spring. The date to be announced. Due to public health concerns re- lated to COVID-19, the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office will temporar- ily change business hours at some of its locations. On March 16, the South Precinct in Mill Creek closed some administra- tive services for the public, including finger printing and CPLs, for a mini- mum of three weeks. The staff will reevaluate the situa- tion on April 6. Appointments already scheduled for the week of March 16 will be honored and all others will be cancelled. During this time, community mem- bers are encouraged to utilize online services: Online Crime Reporting at: sno- homishcountywa.gov/301/File-an- Online-Crime-Report. Applying for or renewing a con- cealed pistol license at: snohomishwa. permitium.com/ccw/start Public Records Requests at: snohom- ishcountywa.gov/3019/Request-Records. Collision Records Requests: policereports.lexisnexis.com.
Sheriffs office business changes
Sno-Isle Library cancels all events
Sno-Isle Libraries is canceling all events scheduled for their 23 libraries across Snohomish and Island counties through March 31. This includes events scheduled for public meeting rooms. Library on Wheels services are also suspended through March 31. For full details visit blog.sno-isle. org/news/sno-isle-libraries.
Quote
You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake." - Bob Hope
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