Flag Salute & Invocation by Debbie Kiene
 
Visiting Rotarians: Dennis Millikan (LaConner club)
 
Guests: Eddie’s guest, and Senator Doug Ericksen
 
Announcements
 
Stephanie and Dannon are on the youth services committee, and announced they need  a couple more interviewers for interviewing the 10 Squalicum High School scholarship applicants April 30 at Squalicum HS.
 
Steve Kimberly reminder about the international committee’s fundraiser at Ciao Thyme (6-course dinner) on May 21, 6pm, $190 pp.  Mark your calendars and sign up!
 
Dennis Millikan from LaConner club was selling tulips ($5/bunch), and he invites all of us to  “Moonlight and Martinis” August 23 fundraiser dinner  www.harvestinghopeauction.org.
 
BOARD MEETING this Thursday  4:30pm at Arch Talbot Bbuilding, all are welcome.
 
Bucks in the Bay
  • Bill Geyer congrats to UConn;
  • Matt Groenig missed three meetings, readjusting to life back in Western WA, in praise of Goof-Off;
  • Chuck Walters missed meetings, took daughters on Caribbean vacations;
  • Tim Krell birthday, Whistler weekend with kids, hockey game watched Canucks get trounced by Anaheim Ducks, just learned Canucks’ coach Mike Gillis was fired today;
  • Mark Turner missed meeting at photographers’ conference in Tacoma last week, was named “volunteer of the year” winner!
  • Mike Werner trip to Wash. DC with family, met Sen. Cantwell, went to Williamsburg;
  • Kendall Olson went to Seattle last week, has a new red Mini Cooper, working on her Paul Harris;
  • Celeste Mergens for 52 birthday, celebrated in Uganda! A few missed meetings, she was recently named the “WA State American Mother of the Year” award!  
  • Andrea Clay for missed meetings, she just hired a new administrator, so expecting to make a few more meetings now!
  • Nick Caples soliciting summer homestay families for this year’s baseball team, and thanks to Sen. Ericksen for securing $1.5 million funding for upgrading Joe Martin field;
  • Barry Kramer expecting to miss a few more meetings while in AZ in April and May;
  • Eddie says welcome to schoolmate Doug Ericksen, Eddie still hunting down the break-in burglar, asking for help to locate the guy (see his Facebook photos);
  • Stan Dyer various and sundry thoughts;
  • Scotty is a CT transplant, so he had proud bucks for of HIS (UConn) Huskies;
Sergeant at Arms by Bob Yost
Fines for those with missed meetings, not knowing your committee chair, and other fines. 
 
Program
Bill Geyer introduced Senator Doug Ericksen, our representative for the 42nd District (Whatcom County). Doug was born in Bellingham, went to Sehome (’87), and Cornell University.  He first ran for office and and was elected to House of Representatives in 1998 (age 28), got married that years and had two kids shortly thereafter.  His wife Tasha teaches at Squalicum High School in AP Government.
 
Doug serves as chair of the Energy, Environment & Telecommunications committee.  He also serves on the Health Care, Transportation and Rules Committees. His legislative priorities include providing solutions to keep energy prices low, create jobs and enhance our quality of life.
He is a member of the bipartisan “Majority Coalition Caucus”, whose accomplishments this past year included a requirement for a 4-year balance budget.
Also allocated over $1B new money into K-12 Education (12-13% increase.  The rest of government grew at 3%).  No new tuition increases at college/universities. 
No general tax increases, but economy grew and revenue increased.
Rewrote the Model Toxics Control Act (SB 5296), funding will now actually go to clean-up toxic sites (including the GP site, $10-15 million, plus 10 year funding plan, hopefully completed within 8 years or less - a huge win locally).  
It is an amazing time in the US with the coming energy independence (natural gas in particular).  But there are new challenges:  Oil coming in by railcar to the coast.  Need to ensure they are safe. 
“New Energy Thursdays”: the committee invites people to speak to them regarding new energy ideas and potential technologies.  We as a state certainly need to invest more in energy research and development.
Climate legislative work group - ways to reduce carbon emissions in the State.  The problem in WA is that our carbon footprint is already so low, how to we go lower without creating a competitive disadvantage vs. other states?
 
New initiatives for Sen. Ericksen this year:
  1. Education funding:  He is proposing 2/3 of all new revenue would go to education.
  2. Levy swap: all local operating education revenue would go automatically to Olympia for distribution back to the local education (Doug not necessarily supporting this one, but it does have some good logic).
  3. Introduced SB 5003 - Reducing the cost of transportation projects by providing a sales and use tax exemption.
  4. Environmental permitting:  Let’s have tough standards, but not in excess of, or beyond, federal standards.
  5. We need a “net 12 cents/gallon” for transportation projects, but let’s get it from efficiencies and from various other sources rather than all coming from a 12 cents/gallon gas tax.
Debbie Kiene wins the raffle.
 
Respectfully submitted, 
Stowe Talbot