Laid-off Workers and Overpaid Bureaucrats

I’m just reprinting a letter that was in the Peninsula Daily News last Wednesday —

“Regarding the Dec. 14 letter to Peninsula Voices, “Haigiwara’s re-hiring,” as a former employee of K Ply, ITT PenPly and Peninsula Plywood for 40 years, this is what my severance package was, owner by owner, as a union member:

First was the sale of Peninsula Plywood to ITT PenPly to Klukwan, of which I received $4,000, of which Uncle Sam took $1,500, which left me with $2,500, and I had to apply for a job with K Ply, no guarantee of getting re-hired.

Then, the fall of K Ply, of which I received no severance and no vacation pay from the previous year, which was four weeks pay acquired, and no state COBRA insurance continuance due to K Ply failing in their part, so we were dropped and found this out two months after the fact.

Now, the Port of Port Angeles has taken over the K Ply property, and it sounds like the chance of getting re-hired by a new owner is out the door.

Maybe the Port would like to pay the former employees of K Ply what is owed, since they have lots of money to fire and then hire former employees and give them large severance packages because of the excuse he was not able to be union.

The workers of K Ply were union, and we got the shaft and nothing more.

Happy holidays, former K Ply employees. Your coal is in the mail. Ho ho ho.”

Plunging Home Values, Rising Property Taxes

It isn’t just your imagination. Property taxes really are going up, even as decreasing home values are wrecking the economy. It might have just seemed like a fluke, or that it was only happening in certain areas (like here). And there’s the conventional wisdom that it takes a year or two for property taxes to catch up with home values; so in two years our current housing slump will be reflected in lower property taxes.

Apparently not. Across the country, property taxes are going up. Meanwhile, foreclosures are increasing.

Doesn’t seem fair, but — what to do?

Port Angeles City Council: Violating State Law?

Shirley Nixon, a former Clallam County prosecuting attorney, says the City Council might be in violation of state transparency laws — specifically the Revised Code of Washington.

She first criticized the City Council for their secrecy last May when they created the Harbor-Works Public Development Authority. She said:

“I appreciate the Council calling the special workshop last Tuesday evening to discuss Harbor-Works. I wish I could tell you that the session left me feeling more confident about how and why the PDA was created. Unfortunately, it seemed to raise more troubling questions than it answered.”

And she has the same criticism of the City Council’s selection process for the new Port Angeles City Manager:

“The pitfalls of unnecessary government secrecy are many. Unfortunately, the City Council appears to have once again run afoul of the open government principles by selecting its preferred candidate for a new city manager in a completely closed process.”

The City Council’s city manager selection could become invalidated if the process violated state laws. Nixon said:

“I don't know how, or if, this violation of the Open Public Meetings Act can be corrected, but I am truly sorry that the arrival of a new city manager — a hopefully bright occasion filled with great promise for the city's future — must be clouded by the council's disrespect for state law.”

Downtown Port Angeles Shop Til You Drop

This Thursday, December 18th will be Shop Til You Drop night in Port Angeles. It goes from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

There’ll be complimentary shuttle service with pickups at Gottschalks, the Christmas tree at the Landing and the Christmas tree at First and Laurel (5 to 7:30 p.m.).

Participating stores include:

Bay Variety, Weisfield Jewelry, Cottage Queen, Alley Cat, Steppin’ Out Salon, Chique Antiques, Matay, Unique Treasures, Sterling Impressions Photography, The Toggery, First Street Haven (coffee and hot cider), Country Aire, Zenzizi, UdJat Beads, Port Book and News (refreshments), Maurice’s, Northwest Fudge, Art Supplies Unlimited, the Trading Post, Raven’s World, Mouse Trap Antiques, Beckett’s Bike Shop, Fiddleheads, Athlete’s Choice, Gottschalks, Something To Crow About, Franni’s Gift Expressions, The Gifting Place, Past Tyme-Present Time, My Favorite Memories, Olympic Stained Glass, Olympic Stationers, Art Front Gallery, Sound Bike and Kayak, Brown’s Outdoor, Odyssey Books, Family Shoe Store, Waters West, Electric Beach, Pacific Rim Hobby, Captain T’s, Necessities and Temptations, What’s In Store, Wine on the Waterfront, Waterfront Art Gallery.

Remember, for every dollar you spend at a locally-owned store, 60 cents of that dollar stays in the community. When you spend a dollar at your local Big-Box store, only 6 cents stays in your community. And of course if you shop out of town, it’s zero cents.

So come downtown this Thursday evening and Shop Til You Drop.

Border Patrol Forum in Port Townsend

More than 200 people attended a forum at the Port Townsend Community Center last Thursday to discuss the Border Patrol’s increased presence on the Olympic Peninsula. They traded stories about their interactions with the Border Patrol.

A farmer from Chimacum — Roger Short — said that some of his workers have been questioned by the Border Patrol, even though they are here legally. He said: “That’s profiling to me. They have also come to my farm and drove around slowly. People are scared, and this is really happening.”

Last week a letter to the PDN provided links to two videos about the Border Patrol. You can see those videos here and here.

They might be exaggerated or inaccurate, but they’re worth viewing so you can decide for yourself.

New City Manager for Port Angeles

Kent Myers of Hot Springs, Arkansas has been selected by the City Council as Port Angeles’ next City Manager. He’ll be sworn in next Tuesday, assuming the City Council approves his contract. He’ll take over the position on January 12th from interim City Manager Jerry Osterman.

The City Council hasn’t released any information on Myers’ salary or other perks. They’ll make this information public next Tuesday when they give final approval to his contract.

Let’s hope the severance package isn’t TOO attractive.

First Federal Bank, Port Angeles and the Economy

The CEO of First Federal of Port Angeles, Karen McCormick, spoke to the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce yesterday about the state of the banking industry. It was pretty grim; no surprise there.

She said: “We’re all very much aware that the end of the current economic challenge is nowhere in sight, and additional losses are quite likely. Because of this, banks are preserving their capital against future losses as opposed to making loans with it. And that means that Main Street isn’t getting the capital it needs in the form of loans. Without access to loans, businesses are going to fail, and jobs are going to be lost. If employees think their jobs are at risk, they're going to stop buying. And there's your one-two punch: That those business will fail, those jobs will disappear, people will stop spending.”

And we all thought that $700 billion Wall Street bailout was going to trickle down to Main Street.

Apparently not.

New Location for Border Patrol

The Border Patrol is planning to lease two acres at the northeast corner of Fey Road and Highway 101 in western Port Angeles. This will be their new headquarters. It will be a “modular border patrol station.”

The Border Patrol now has twenty-four agents. Just two years ago there were only four of them.

And speaking of the Border Patrol, there will be a demonstration tomorrow by the Stop the Checkpoints Committee. It’ll be at 1 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Port Angeles.

Committee leaders include Lois Danks, Diana Somerville and Paul Richmond. They’re hoping that tomorrow’s rally will help gather signatures for an anti-checkpoints petition.

Gateway Center on Life Support

Now it looks like the Gateway Project won’t be completed until after the first of the year.

More steel will be needed to support the foundation of the pavilion. And there’ll be a second pour of concrete on the plaza deck.

They had been hoping to have the project completed by Christmas (which was Plan B after their original estimate of September 2008). They’re still hoping to have Gateway’s west parking garage open before the end of 2008.