In Brynn Grimley’s story Wednesday about the library lid lift failure, she quotes the regional library chief as being “stunned.”

“I’m really pretty stunned because we didn’t have any formed opposition,” said Kitsap Regional Library Director Jill Jean. “I think what we’re getting is a real backlash” against taxes.

This is not to take a shot at Jean, but I wonder why anyone is stunned anymore when a proposed tax increase fails with the voters.

Well, you could look at the last 24 times that local voters were asked to approve taxes for local taxing districts, going back to 2004. Of those, 15 measures passed. That makes it seem like the odds are pretty good.

But wait, six of those were for fire districts, with at least one win coming after an earlier defeat.

Of the other nine that passed, seven were measures to keep existing funds in place. The two that passed where more spending was requested was a Bremerton School District capital bond measure in 2005 and a similar one on Bainbridge Island in 2006.

The nine that failed include the library lid lift, the South Kitsap School District measure from March, the fast ferry item in February, a law and justice tax in 2005, a Bainbridge technology levy the same year, a Fire District 7 levy in 2004, a Bainbridge fire department lid lift earlier that year and the city’s park district excess levy, which failed to get the 60 percent required.

In 2004 I was covering Bainbridge and writing a column from the Bainbridge Islander publication the Sun sends to BI residents. After the fire levy defeat I wrote,

If you’re going to make the case that you need that money, you better have some pretty convincing evidence and some believable people on your side. Anti-tax moves come with a decided advantage. . .
The bottom line is neither the fire district nor the park district did enough to convince voters this year that their increases were necessary. They couldn’t overcome criticism that came from credible sources.

Perhaps taxing district leaders should study carefully the book “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book Gladwell explains several ways in which large groups of people start heading in the same direction. The library levy effort had some notable supporters, but they obviously didn’t reach about 29,709 voters in a meaningful way.

Did you see what former full-time Kitsap Sun reporter and still the “Road Warrior” (as well as occasional reporter for us) Travis Baker had to say about the new Harborside Fountain Park downtown?

To me the most interesting commentary was how this park differs from other Bremerton developments.

Most of the development on the city waterfront the past few years has struck me as catch-up, Bremerton trying to offer what other cities can, so visitors don’t leave disappointed.
This new park, though, takes it to the next level. It is a stunning blend of artistry, creativity, relevance and technology that goes beyond what I have seen in other cities. It will create a buzz and send visitors home likely to tell their friends about it.

Baker also goes into what it might take to get the fountains timed well with arriving ferries.

It was just a week ago we posted an entry and a photo after the Empress of the North stopped by in Manette. Now we have new photos, thanks to Pauline Meyers.

She sent the photos today on the news that the boat ran aground in Alaska today. Apparently it’s not the first spot of trouble the boat has had. The Columbian recalls the story from a year ago when it ran aground on the Columbia River.

Little do you know that when you snap a picture of something unusual that it could be even more noteworthy later.

Does the camera on the right look familiar? It should in July when “the long lens of the law” makes its first appearance in Bremerton. The city plans to install cameras at a few intersections to reduce the number of people running red lights. You run the light, the camera catches you and the city sends you a $101 ticket in the mail.

Four intersections are to be armed with lights, as well as one unit to catch speeders in school zones. Bremerton Police Lt. Pete Fisher said the city will likely have eight cameras, which could be placed anywhere from two each at four intersections to one each at eight. The city may also have a speed camera.

Fisher said the cameras improve safety.

“It really does change drivers’ behavior. It makes them more aware in those intersections,” he said.

Some of the changed behavior will include some outrage by those who get the letters. We’ve had some robust arguments here in the past about the program. I would assume that will increase once the ticketing begins.

Dino Rossi, who came 129 votes short of becoming governor in 2004, swears he hasn’t decided whether he’ll run again in 2008. It’s a good thing he says it, because if he didn’t you’d swear he already is.

Discussing the state’s climate for small businesses, Rossi held court with a room full of Republicans at the Bremerton Elks Lodge Wednesday and blasted the Legislature (which, coincidentally, is largely full of Democrats) and the governor (herself a Democrat) for overspending this past legislative session.

He said Washington’s economic surge the past few years is the result of national economic factors, not anything local. So should the national scene turn soon, Washington won’t fare well against Oregon or Idaho, he said.

Rossi said he’s confident Democrats who crossed the ticket to vote for him in 2004 would do it again.

In a March story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, there was a reference to the Republicans’ Plan B if Rossi doesn’t run. It’s not pretty for the party.

If Rossi, 47, does run again, he’ll have the Republican nomination all but locked. Ever since his 2004 loss to Gregoire by a bitterly contested 133 votes out of almost 3 million cast, virtually every Republican in Washington has assumed that he again will be the nominee. At least they fervently hope so.

If Candidate A doesn’t run, Republicans are at a loss to point to an electable Candidate B to whom they can turn.

Before Wednesday’s speech, Rossi told me his end-of-the-year decision will hinge on whether it works for his family and whether his skills will be needed to turn the state around. He later told the audience the same thing. What could happen between now and the end of the year to shed any more light on the skills question? What could we know then that we don’t know now?

I asked him what kind of “Plan B” would have to emerge to have an impact on his decision over whether to run. It would depend on who it is and whether the “Plan B” could win.

Rising college costs are constantly discussed in our media. Thanks to a $2 million gift from the estates of three former residents, Bremerton High School kids will get a big chunk of help to pursue higher education.

Henry and Elsinor Groth and her brother Wayne Elder left the money to the district for kids attending colleges within the state of Washington and pursuing two- and four-year degrees.

The district already has an ongoing scholarship fund program. This gift adds a big chunk, about $60,500 this year and an estimated $80,000 for the class of 2008.

Krista Carlson, district spokeswoman, said Bremerton grads from 2006 netted more than $2 million in scholarships for this school year from various sources, which was almost double the year before.

We got this announcement from American Marine Bank, the trustee of the estates’ trust.

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