Letter to the Editor: Courier-Herald nails nothingburger Comp Plan issue

Published 1:00 pm Thursday, November 13, 2025

Thank goodness for Ray Miller-Still, editor of the Courier-Herald, for a breath of fresh air that cleared up confusion about the Master Plan Development agreement that guides growth in the Ten Trails neighborhood.

Plus, another blast of fresh air from Black Diamond Council member Jesse Young, whose letter added context to the editor’s fine article.

Most of the confusion resulted from flyers and mailers circulated by Friends of Black Diamond, whose members sometimes fly under the Save Black Diamond banner.

For years, this group has cried wolf about growth in the city, but has done so regularly through scare tactics and misrepresented facts. Their recent fear-mongering about the Comprehensive Plan was based on a false interpretation that it removes the development agreement for Ten Trails. Their anti-growth tirades even stirred up the city of Maple Valley.

Thankfully, cooler heads who actually know the facts ignored the hyperbole that regularly defines the Friends of Black Diamond’s outbursts. Kudos to Ray Miller-Still and Jesse Young for setting the record straight.

As Mark Twain once observed, “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they’ve been fooled.”

Bill Kombol

Black Diamond