As a longtime islander (since 1975) I have watched the inexorable decline of the ferry service these past 47 years. Initiative 695, the ill-conceived knee-jerk, tax-cutting, consequences-be-damned creation of convicted criminal Tim Eyman, dealt the most disastrous blow to the ferry system overall. We are now seeing the results of over two decades of insufficient funding — a state of affairs from which the system may never be able to fully recover. The solution, in part, would be to return to a progressive tax structure (based on the Blue Book value of a person’s vehicle for purposes of assessing car tab fees) and fully fund this most essential part of the state highway system. By now we should have been enjoying enhanced service on state-of-the-art electric ferries — something I’m unlikely to see if I live to be 100!

Mike Hayworth

Eastsound