Doug Sutherland, Washington's outgoing Public Lands Commissioner, authorized the expansion of a sand mine on Maury Island last night, to environmentalists' chagrin and local construction companies' delight. The move comes just over four years after Sutherland established the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve (map [pdf]) in the first place. The mine expansion will apparently bring down the cost of concrete (local is cheaper) and benefit the environment by using barges rather than trucks to transport the sand. more ›