Darn. We were going to get one of those fish pedicures this weekend but learned (below) that we can get pierced, tattooed or tanned but not nibbled any more... Just as well: take what you save from that fish nibbling and buy your Harbor Lights ticket at the discount price before the Oct. 6 cutoff.....

Sixty folks who did NOT watch the VP debates last night learned something at REI listening to and discussing the effects of climate change on Puget Sound, thanks to Doug Myers and Mary Ruckelshaus...and, congrats to Daoud, Jamie and Dhira who led 36 Amgen employees in a cleanup yesterday of the Smith Cove shoreline near Pier 90 in Seattle.

Here's your weekend tug weather. Hold on little tomato:


GOT TUG WEEKEND WEATHER-- WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-
 300 AM PDT FRI OCT 3 2008
 
 ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING
 THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...
 
 .TODAY...E WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SE AND RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT
 LATE IN THE MORNING. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. SW
 SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS...SHIFTING TO THE W AT 10 SECONDS IN THE
 AFTERNOON. RAIN DEVELOPING.
 .TONIGHT...E WIND 20 TO 30 KT...BECOMING SE 15 TO 25 KT IN THE
 EVENING. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN
 IN THE EVENING...THEN SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
 .SAT...S WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW 20 TO 30 KT EARLY IN THE
 AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING W 25 TO 30 KT LATE. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT
 BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT. SW SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SHOWERS.
 .SAT NIGHT...W WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 8 FT.
 .SUN...W WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING E IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT
 OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT.

-------------------

• (10/2 Seattle Times) State says fish pedicures are illegal

• (10/2 Skagit Valley Herald) Erosion forces Guemes lane closure

• (10/2 Kitsap Sun) Shellfish Warning Issued for Bainbridge, Blake Island

• (10/2 Associated Press in Seattle Times) Nine states, including Washington, sue EPA over ships' water releases

• (

10/2 Seattle Times

State says fish pedicures are illegal

By Sonia Krishnan

Seattle Times staff reporter

Pedicures by fish — the use of live, tiny carp to clean feet — has been deemed unsanitary and illegal by the state.

The state Department of Licensing issued a statement this afternoon saying officials were "greatly concerned" that customers, in their quest for smooth heels, are willing to soak their feet in a tank of toothless fish that feast on dead skin.

Christine Anthony, spokeswoman for the department, said it's impossible to sanitize the live fish. "You can clean the tank, you can clean the water, but there's no guarantee that the fish aren't carrying something from the previous customer."

More at
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008223224_webfish02m.html


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10/2 Skagit Valley Herald

Erosion forces Guemes lane closure

by Ralph Schwartz

GUEMES ISLAND — Skagit County Public Works will close one lane of South Shore Road indefinitely because of shoreline erosion.

Only westbound driving will be allowed along an approximately one-mile stretch of South Shore Road, said Assistant Public Works Director Jeff Miller.

The lane closure extends from the ferry terminal east to the road’s intersection with Channel View Drive near the southeast corner of the island.

The southern bank of Guemes Island has eroded to the road’s shoulder in four places, Miller said. Cracks were found recently in a 400-foot section of road — evidence that erosion is compromising the road bed itself. The damage does not present an immediate safety concern. The lane was closed to limit future damage, Miller said.

More at
http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/erosion_forces_guemes_lane_closure/


----------------
10/2 Kitsap Sun

Shellfish Warning Issued for Bainbridge, Blake Island

Kitsap Sun staff

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

Health authorities have closed the eastern side of Bainbridge Island and all of Blake Island to shellfish harvesting because of high levels of paralytic shellfish poison, also called "red tide."

Samples of oysters taken Tuesday from Blakely Harbor on Bainbridge showed levels of the poison at 93 micrograms per 100 grams of shellfish tissue, according to Jim Zimny of the Kitsap County Health District. Beaches are closed when levels exceed 80.

Miller Bay and Port Madison Bay at the north end of the island already were under a closure because of the biotoxin.

More at
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/oct/02/shellfish-warning-issued-for-bainbridge-blake/


--------------
10/2 Associated Press in Seattle Times

Nine states, including Washington, sue EPA over ships' water releases

By The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. — Nine states are suing the Bush administration over what New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says is an illegal administrative ruling that could hurt fisheries and contaminate drinking water.

The states contend the federal government has created a loophole that could allow the transfer of polluted or contaminated water by ship from one water body to another where it would do harm. For example, the officials claim saltwater from the ocean could be dumped in the Great Lakes under the June federal decision.

Suing the EPA are New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, and the Canadian province of Manitoba.

There was no immediate comment from the EPA.

More at
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008222365_webwatersuit02m.html