eidsvolling

Honey, my friends would like to meet you in this secluded parking lot, while I haul your boat across town to the Hudson: "Graswald, who is Latvian and uses several aliases, according to authorities, was remanded to jail after her arraignment Thursday and is due in court next week."

You probably know this already – the Tsunami has the reputation of having one of the most comfortable seating arrangements around. If you're usually a solo paddler or accompanied by someone in a similar hull style, the Tsunami would be fine for your described purposes. Many, many people have bought it for that reason. However, if you're likely to paddle often with folks who are in longer, leaner hulls, you may find it dispiriting to try to keep up. You may also know that it is available in lengths up to 17'6", but the longer you go, the harder it may be to find a used one. The vast majority are sold in the 140 and 145 versions.

I've used the BugBaffler Hooded Shirt (referenced in Suz's link above) for years. It's very versatile, as it fits over anything including a PFD and a wide-brimmed hat, and relatively cool to wear.

The only way I can make sense of this tragedy is that these people were virtually oblivious to the hazards of ocean kayaking: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/kayakers-killed-at-dungeness-bay-werent-prepared-for-storm/

One of my wife's favorite sports is to watch as people attempt to "navigate" their way along a road across a swamp where she walks her dogs. Extra points when it's a honking big Benz.

The least serious I've encountered was a guy who returned a "defective" GPS. He'd been clicking wildly for a while and the screen went dark. It only needed an adjustment to the setting for the display. I then spent a few minutes getting him started on the quick reference card ... Probably one of the most serious I've ever heard of arrived today in the news: Truck driver has GPS jammer, accidentally jams Newark airport An engineering firm worker in New Jersey has a GPS jammer so his bosses don't know where he is all the time. However, his route takes him close to Newark airport, and his jammer affects its satellite systems. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57597971-71/truck-driver-has-gps-jammer-accidentally-jams-newark-airport/

Some good news -- a temporary bridge section has been installed and traffic is again using I-5 in Mount Vernon: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/06/19/3059270/traffic-returns-to-skagit-river.html

FWS proposed delisting the gray wolf across the Lower 48 last week. I'm wondering whether someone has made a retaliatory strike ...

Yep, we're having some kind of fun now. I'm going to track this one and try to attend the oral arguments on the appeal if at all possible. For any who are interested, the docket number at the Maine Supreme Judicial Court is Yor-12-599.

Might not have to wait until the 2014 election. McGarvey was a 3-3 tie, with Justice Silver recusing himself for reasons I don't know. I suspect but do not know for certain that will not be the case when Almeder v. Town of Kennebunkport comes before the Court this year. The Superior Court tossed this hot potato at the Supreme Court last fall, and it's been appealed this spring. (It has a procedural history faintly reminiscent of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, and that sideshow continues with the appeal.) Stay tuned: http://www.preservegooserocksbeach.org/uploads/4586-565_2012101709391398850.PDF

It used to be my job to parse this stuff, so I will urge all participants here who have not done so to actually read the McGarvey decision and the subsequent law review article - "MCGARVEY V. WHITTREDGE: CONTINUED UNCERTAINTY IN MAINE’S INTERTIDAL ZONE " by Benjamin Donohue at http://mainelaw.maine.edu/academics/maine-law-review/pdf/vol64_2/vol64_me_l_rev_593.pdf - before you comment further here. Mr. Donohue's summation of the situation should be copied and pasted onto your charts and your calendar, as a reminder to check the state of things some time after the next Maine gubernatorial election: "Although scuba diving is now expressly permitted, the public’s right to access and use the intertidal zone has changed little as neither Chief Justice Saufley nor Justice Levy managed to muster the necessary votes for a majority. McGarvey demonstrates that at least part of the Law Court is ready to expand Maine’s public trust doctrine beyond those uses envisioned in 1647 and the restrictive holding of Bell II. The Saufley separate opinion should be seen as a clear indication of this, while the Levy separate opinion is a reminder that part of the Court remains bound by the past, and Bell II’s errors. "If Chief Justice Saufley gets another vote next time the Law Court has the occasion to address the public’s rights within the intertidal zone, the public’s easement in Maine’s intertidal zone will likely include the right to engage in accepted recreational uses of the day. Until then, Maine’s public trust doctrine remains bound to the language of the past."

I lived north of Seattle for six years in Snohomish County. If I had to make the trip to or through Mount Vernon this summer, I'd do my dead level best to time it for the middle of the night. Here's the WA DOT detour map: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Construction/PugetSound/detourmap.htm BTW, I just spoke to a store owner at the intersection of SR 534 and SR 9. "Lots of traffic." I'd think long and hard about relying on WA DOT's advice to bypass Mount Vernon on SR 9. It really isn't engineered for high volumes. Here's a pic that I would keep in mind when choosing routes: http://www.goskagit.com/news/truck-tips-over-near-lake-mcmurray/article_17a99d3a-035d-11e2-873e-001a4bcf887a.html

You're going to need a longer vacation ... and not for the usual reasons: Bridge collapse to cause holiday travel headaches - http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021045847_bridgedisruptxml.html

The hard cover version arrived here two minutes ago. I urge any of you interested in this book to drop what you're doing and go buy a copy. Don't wait for an electronic version -- you want this one on a shelf. It's an amazing work and the author should take great pride in it.

Which is precisely why a copy of yours is on its way to me already. Looking forward to a good read and learning some things!