Over the next three years, six crews of the Royal Australian Air Force will train to fly the new EA-18G Growler at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
The pilots will join the base’s Fleet Replacement Squadron and Electronic Attack Squadron 129.
As part of the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program, the Australian government is purchasing 12 of the Boeing-made Growlers.
A Coupeville-based group that sued the Navy in July over jet noise is claiming that Outlying Field Coupeville is not as essential as the Navy claims.
The Navy suspended touch-and-go operations at OLF Coupeville in May, but plans to resume in January in a more limited capacity than in recent years.
The landing practice field is part of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
Island County commissioners voted unanimously in favor of continuing the conservation futures program after hundreds of residents contacted them in support over the last week.
More than 100 people attended the Monday meeting giving nearly two hours of public comment. All but a few speakers favored the continuation of the conservation futures levy. Many said they’d like to see an increase to the tax, which costs property owners roughly $35 per year and is expected to bring in $679,814 in 2014.
Four-year-old Madison wanted to know when she’d be able to join Lisa Knott’s family.
“She’s been asking me for a year if she’s going to be my little girl,” Knott said.
“I’m just glad now I can tell her ‘yes.’”
Knott, her husband Keith, and their five other children took Madison into their home as a foster child two and a half years ago. The process of making her a permanent part of the family has been long, but it concluded Friday at an adoption ceremony in Coupeville.
Frustration was apparent Tuesday as more than 100 people gathered to hear health professionals talk about the effects of jet noise on adults and children.
After the presentations, a microphone was passed around to allow audience members to comment and ask questions.
Occupational Specialist and Registered Nurse Karen Bowman warned of the impact of overexposure to extreme noise levels.
More than 1,000 large cement blocks connected by thick cable are being installed around the perimeter of the Navy’s Outlying Field Coupeville.
The blocks are stamped with the words, “Government property, do not trespass.”
They are a security measure to ensure unauthorized vehicles do not drive onto the field, according to Tony Popp, community relations director for Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
Members of Whidbey Island’s homegrown underwater robotics team were honored by the Island County Board of Commissioners Monday for placing 11th in international competition.
After becoming Pacific Northwest Champions in early May, the Atlantis, Inc. team members competed at the 12th Annual MATE International ROV Competition against more than 30 of the best high school teams from around the world, including Egypt, Venezuela, Scotland, Taiwan, Canada, Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, and the United States.
In a surprise move, Commissioner Kelly Emerson nominated Jill Johnson to remain chairwoman of the Island County Board of Commissioners for 2014.
The selection was approved 3-0.
“I thank you both for all of your support,” Johnson said.
Island County Planning Director David Wechner said that the county is working with the Maxwelton Farm operators to find a resolution to a lawsuit they filed against the county in September.
Maxwelton Farm claimed in the land use petition that Wechner acted outside his scope of authority by issuing a cease and desist order Aug. 30 for irrigation maintenance at the farm.
“We met with the owner and their attorney yesterday – they just need to identify best management practices that will be employed during maintenance activities,” Wechner said in an emailed statement last week. “The cease and desist order has been withdrawn as the dredging activity stopped.”
When the Island County Board of Commissioners approved a moratorium on recreational marijuana this week, Commissioner Kelly Emerson said she would make herself available by phone to vote on the controversial issue.
That phone call never came, and the action passed 2-0.
Emerson, who represents Camano Island, has been increasingly absent or non-participatory at public meetings in recent months. Throughout her term, she has been criticized for her work ethic, has missed meetings, abstained from votes and simply remained silent.
A moratorium on new recreational marijuana businesses was passed Wednesday despite residents concerns that the action would put them strategically behind other counties.
Commissioners Helen Price Johnson and Jill Johnson voted 2-0 to approve the six-month moratorium while they take additional public comment and review potential policies and ordinances. Commissioner Kelly Emerson was absent.
Despite an ongoing debate about jet noise, particularly at Outlying Field Coupeville, residents expressed broad support at a forum on the possible installation of several additional P-8A squadrons at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
The squadrons would be in place by 2016.
Even members of the Coupeville-based group Citizen’s of Ebeys Reserve, which filed a federal lawsuit over jet noise at OLF Coupeville, expressed support for relocation of the P-8A squadrons to Whidbey.
The group opposing flight operations at the U.S. Navy’s Outlying Field Coupeville will hold a meeting on Central Whidbey later this month.
