Often we deal with national issues on the local level. This is a very critical one. The Department of Agriculture is important in reducing hunger around the country including Jefferson County. The … more

Thank you to Mayor David Faber and the Port Townsend City Council for tabling the downtown paid parking program. They rightfully recognized that this paid parking pilot would financially stress … more

On April 1 nearly 600 public libraries from around the US and Canada will participate in National Library Giving Day. Started by the Seattle Public Library Foundation in 2019, this event has raised … more

David Timmons may have his personal version of the history of Fort Worden PDA, but I submit that the Leader’s own historical archive (as published in last week’s Leader’s … more

A group of Chimacum fifth and sixth graders under the leadership of teachers Josette Mendoza and Kristen Johnson are taking up the challenges in the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition. more

While in the KPTZ studios playing music the other night, I experienced a bout of radio nostalgia. more

My liberal-leaning friends and family members, and even a few conservatives, are struggling with the current presidential administration. In discussions I find that a bright spot to which most can agree concerns some potential community health benefits that may be achieved by the administration. more

Approaching the golf course from its paved entrance along Blaine Street, you are met by a large Douglas fir tree to your right, anchored by a gray boulder. It was here where a Chemakum man … more

  Kudos to Marcia Kelbon for her well-presented and concise article on rental realities in Jefferson County. As a local ‘mom and pop’ landlord, for the first 20-plus years in … more

  I’m writing to flag some recent reporting by Jim Scarantino in another venue about the Evans Vista property development and to encourage The Leader to follow up as well. Several bad … more

What an awesome idea and successful event! The Production Alliance’s Connectivity Summit, which filled Chimacum High School with tables of information, workshops and “Ignite Talks,” … more

I was surprised the Housing Solutions Network ever suggested rents should be no more than a mortgage payment. Liz Revord’s March 12 letter now acknowledges other costs, but still promotes the … more

I am responding to Jean Ball’s March 5 opinion column on the Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort (MPR). Zoning regulations aim to leave rural areas rural. The one … more

I’m not like the others, I have just one eye and sometimes this oddity makes me cry.  One nose, one mouth, one tail all good yet it’s a bother to not look like I … more

When asked what her day to day workload looked like at Port Townsend High School, Lisa Anderson turned her eyes upward and repeated the thought back to herself, “What do I do? I don’t … more

Are gas vehicles worse for the environment than electric vehicles? That is a question we should be discussing.  more

Being a child in the late forties, I experienced a Mayberry-like upbringing. Back in the day we went out to play till the streetlights came on, rode our bikes to Fisher Field playground to trade baseball cards and play tetherball, and slurped a foreign blue liquid from wax figurines. All good memories, but an incident in my late teens is a funny yet sad reminder of the ingrained, hard to overcome two faces of the teenage girl of the fifties. more

Who’s reeling most, we who defend democracy and personal liberties or Donald J. Trump and his supporters? Within 48 hours of delivering his slash and burn, lie-ridden address to the nation, Trump walked back (at least temporarily) his 25% tariff on automobiles, and then most goods from Mexico and Canada. more

Recently there have been articles and letters to the editor about paid parking in downtown Port Townsend. I understand that charging for parking seems an untapped revenue stream to city leaders, especially given the volumes of tourists who flood into downtown throughout the year. more

At Housing Solutions Network, we’d like to thank Marcia Kelbon for sharing our Housing Jefferson County’s Economy Community Survey Report with the Leader’s readers. Kelbon and HSN both agree: the rental situation in our community is dire. Over the course of the last 11 years, JeffCo has lost around 579 rental units. The number of vacant homes (as defined by US Census) now outnumber rentals. Furthermore, our survey showed 72% of renters are cost burdened by housing, or spending more than 30% of income on housing costs. The graphic accompanying Kelborn’s article displays a fact from the WA Dept. of Commerce stating “rising rents are the largest driver to homelessness” -- not mental illness or drug and alcohol abuse. more