SEVEN SETS OF QUESTIONS CNL2 has about WSF – Roadmap to our reporting in coming months

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 @ 2:25 a.m.

CNL2 continues to ask the toughest questions — questions other media don’t ask:

• Will the Governor order help right now with the costs to develop a bigger local walk on ferry solution in the San Juans now, as the frequency of inter-island cancellations has now grown larger than anyone expected? Will the Governor say yes — soon — to the County Council’s request? (We do not currently know exactly what that request is, out of respect for confidential talks between the Governor and the County Council. But we will know what the request was, either way once a decision is made, and CNL2 will report what the ask was at the appropriate time.)
• Is the current state government being a good steward with tax dollars? Or — through hardball negotiations with some of the unions WSF needs — running-off even more tenured workers today? Did the state learn nothing from the loss of scores of valued workers who refused Covid mandates (regardless of whether or not you think those workers should have taken the vaccine)? WSF needs every experienced worker they can get. Is now the time to leave workers feeling under-appreciated?
• Is the state taking an uneven approach in negotiating with the various unions whose members work at WSF? If so, why?
• Will electric ferry vessels make sense for long-haul routes, like the Anacortes and Bremerton routes? What kind of dwell times will be needed to recharge for those long trips to and from Anacortes? How much of the time on the long routes will hybrid electric vessels be running on fossil fuels instead of electricity?
• Who will pay the $110 to $150 million cost to lay an additional submarine power cable to power the chargers at our islands’ docks? If it takes a decade to design, finance, permit, and install another underground cable, and if electric vessels are coming to the San Juans someday, why isn’t the state in high gear already to help bring the needed incremental electricity to the islands now?
• If key leaders in State government feel the San Juans are being ungrateful in demanding better service now (that sentiment has been expressed), and we are too small of a voting bloc to matter (that has been suggested), would a lawsuit over the state’s failure to maintain “The Marine Highway” level the playing field by putting the matter in the hands of a judge? It worked for teachers. It worked for Tribes. Could it work for the San Juans?
• Should the legislature or The People — through an initiative — take control of WSF out of the hands of politicians who created this mess over the past 20 years, and place it under control of a “State Owned Enterprise” (SOE), the same as British Columbia did two decades ago? Should a commission be formed to explore conversion to a SOE? Should hearings be held in the upcoming biennial session of the state legislature?

If you have insights into any of these questions, CNL2 would like to hear from you. Please write to Jeff.Noedel@CNL2.com.