I guess you won’t print this letter, because it is opposed to your

editorial policy regarding I-695, but I wanted to express my feelings looking at

this from a local viewpoint.

We hear that when I-695 passes, the world as we know it will come

to an end (I have yet to hear why the $1 billion in excess monies won’t

cover this). We in the Valley basically have little or no public transportation,

requiring each of us to have a car and two if possible to get family

members around; consequently we pay a nice sum of money into the State

coffers for our “excessive license tab

fees” yearly (to quote Governor Locke).

To get into Seattle we have to drive 25 minutes to get to public

transportation that is time-efficient. The roads we drive on have been the same

for over 60 years. Why haven’t these scenarios improved when

the State had the monies from our car license

tabs? That is what these monies were originally designed for, and yet we see

how badly the State has abused them by the broad spectrum of what they are

covering now.

Some years ago when I traveled in upstate New York I saw many

farms boarded up. When questioning the locals there as to what happened,

they explained their taxes got way too high because of their having to

support New York City, thus causing the farmers to quit. We in the valley are

already doing our share by not having public transportation, no new roads and

property taxes that have doubled the past five years.

Let’s give ourselves a break and vote yes on I-695.

Carol Anne Keller

North Bend