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.
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.
Labels: Border Patrol Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend Border Patrol forum, Roger Short Chimacum
posted by Tom Harper at 6:45 PM
31 Comments:
Sorry, off-subject...but this skit is REALLY funny!
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-gov-paterson/881501/
I don't care who comes here, as long as they are registered and taxes are taken out of their wages and such.
Liz, life is like a can of mixed nuts, the big ones work their way to the top and we decide who to vote for.
I'm glad someone left a rant in Sunday's paper about downtown store owners (and employees, too!) who park for hours if not all day in the downtown parking spaces. Good for you!
The parking lot between McLean's and Country Aire is notorious for this. At any given time, Monday through Friday, there are no less than five cars belonging to downtown merchants parked there from nine to five. Some of the worst offenders don't even own a business ... they're the art gallery people (*cough*Studio Bob *cough*)
In these tough times with businesses folding left and right, taking up valuable parking space with your vehicle is shameful. Is it any wonder that people complain about the downtown parking situation when some people are parking in the few available parking spaces all day long?
Buy a permit and park in the permit lots like anyone else you guys. Leave the free lots open for people who want to shop downtown!
What, exactly does your parking rant have to do with the Border Patrol blog?
might as well let the employees park downtown, it's not like the whole damn town doesn't flock to Walmart like flies on poop, or flee to Silverdale. Only about 1/10th (or less) of the population even thinks about looking downtown for anything. But, then again, if it wasn't mostly junque shops. tourist stuff, and coffee houses...maybe there would be a reason to come downtown.
As for the overpriced employee parking certificates....bah, humbug. They are often sold out, and/or "haven't arrived" and fifteen bucks a pop can get pricey for several employees....especially on top of the PADA fees, and all the other "gotchas" when it comes to having a small business.
...Fifteen bucks may not SOUND like much, but with all the city-initiated closing of streets (of late, to paint lines!!) no one has been making a profit.
GIVE THE BUSINESS OWNERS FREE PARKING for a few months!!
Down with the do-nothing PADA!
May I suggest that the Blog Owner start two new threads:
Downtown Parking & Whats wrong with the PADA.
This way the rude folks that have enter this thread will have some place to bitch.
7:01 anonymous comment: Off topic comments seem to be pretty common at this blog. Probably because the top of the page says "If you want to discuss something that's not related to one of the current posts, go ahead and leave your comment anywhere, at any one of the posts."
So fire away. Let it all hang out. Especially with comments about PADA. What does that useless organization do anyway? Anybody know?
does anyone consider that maybe the border patrol is looking to find some of the organized drug groups that are from Mexico...operating meth labs in remote areas (such as Forks)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7785334.stm
The reality is...domestic Meth production is UP, and most of the ingredients are totally legal in Mexico (in fact, there are more "drug stores" than people in some towns...and the drug stores order ONLY meth ingredients). The Olympic Peninsula is a prime spot..because of so many remote locations, few towns, little resources to over come (i.e. cops/sheriff/troopers) but still, good proximity to Canada AND I-5 AND US route 30. Any wonder why meth is showing up in the North Eastern US, suddenly?
The PADA does the following:
They have a nice office on Laurel Street. In the office is a spiffy desk, a plush chair and a computer. From this office a variety of daily emails are sent out numerous times. These emails are pretty much useless, but so what. So is the PADA.
The city charges you a fee for "belonging" to the PADA. Some part of the fee goes toward maintaining the downtown parking spaces which other business owners and their employees use to park their vehicles because, Lord knows, it's so convenient to park a few steps away from your place of business. The customers? Well, let those S.O.B.s walk a block or two.
Oh yes! The PADA publishes a monthly newsletter filled with all kinds of nifty stuff. The newsletter is a cross between a junior high school newspaper and Tiger Beat. You can read this monthly gem in less than five minutes. Ten minutes if you're really bored.
That's what your money goes toward. An office, a plush desk, some parking spaces your customers can't use and a monthly newspaper. What more do you want?
Yea, Guess the PADA doesn't do anything to promote downtown and bring customers to your doorstep.
Plus they could careless about anything else to do with downtown, the City, the Chamber, the Tourist, etc. etc.
Your more than likely one of those do nothing business owners that will blame everyone else when your closes. Like the lady that had McLeans.
wow poster at 12:30..you must have a PA high school education.
Learn which YOUR/YOU'RE should be used in a sentence. I'll bet you have problems with Their/They're/There, too...
PADA doesn't BRING PEOPLE DOWNTOWN....get off the ego trip and, aren't you afraid you'll pull something patting yourself on the back so hard? You must be proud of PADA and the illogical illusions that people in this town like to promote.
hehehe A ditigal vs film fight. Your kidding right? Personally I could care less what your taking photos with, show me your images!
It is sad to see Camera Corner close, however it had nothing to do with this ditigal vs film fight.
The owner after 37 years of being in the business is burnt out and to be quite honest didn't keep up with todays technologies. He pretty much stop selling cameras years ago. Just like anything else, things have changed and if you don't change your just left behind. There are many camera stores doing quite well.
Back to the Gateway, it sure would have been better to spend that kind of money on Railroad Ave and really try and promote tourism than put a Bus Stop in Downtown PA.
Please buy locally and I don't mean WalMart!!!!
Please don't worry about my spelling, it's not one of my strong points. What should concern yourself is if you'll survie after the lst of the year.
I know I will, misspelling and all.
You sound like the same people that kicked the Farmers Market off Laurel St. They were just a bunch of hicks that brought some of the same to shop downtown.
LMAO!
Man, this blog is GREAT...we've got some real comedians posting!!
Especially anonymous at 12:26:
..."a cross between a junior high school newspaper and Tiger Beat"...
LMAO!! Sounds like the PDN!
I agree, Liz! Some of these posts are downright hilarious and what makes it even more hilarious is the outraged reactions these posts elicit.
Some people need the batteries checked on their Irony Meters.
"Down with the do-nothing PADA!"
Since they don't do anything please tell me what you would do to promote downtown?
Promote downtown? Get on the horn and get some industry in here with industry-wage jobs! Ya need money to buy stuff, and if no one has a job because we have no industry, then ya got no moola to buy anything downtown, and stores close. Ever think stores failing is related to K-Ply going out of business??
How about some industry of some type at the Rayonier site? A refinery? Nuclear power plant? Navy base?
Here's a question for all you PADA partisans: What does the PADA do that's of benefit to any downtown business?
Liz has the right answer: in order to promote the downtown, and the entire city for that matter, there's needs to a major investment in developing a stable blue collar industrial base. The mills are closing down and the city has done nothing to replace those industrial-wage jobs. Instead we get talk about turning these sites into luxury hotels/condos/convention centers which will employ a very small percentage of the job population.
Times are tough and it's time to get tough and make some necessary decisions.
The William Shore pool is outdated and needs repairing. It's a drain on the city expenses. Close it until it can be repaired or replaced. You pool people can go to SARC until times get better.
There's no need for a city manager in Port Angeles. Remove the position and make the mayor the central city authority. Make the city council accountable for their actions and not act like the indifferent egotists and time-servers that currently are there.
Why hasn't the Lincoln theatre been restored? It's time the theatre's owner was made to live up to the terms of his contract: restoring the theatre. He's a mega-rich Republican so he ought to be able to afford it. Restored theatres generate lots of interest in the downtown area.
The PADA is a waste of time and money. The city would be doing business owners a favor by closing it down. If the city needs to generate income then make all the parking spaces metered or pay lots.
Get rid of Wal-Mart. They're a proven downtown killer.
Invest in restoring Railroad Avenue. No wonder no one gets beyond the ferry terminal (which is another place that needs a make over. That place looks like you're at the boarding station for a concentration camp). Railroad Avenue is so appalling, why would any tourist want to venture beyond that area?
You can't have a thriving downtown until there's a stable wage-earning industrial base coupled with a city council that's truly pro-business. Until that happens you can have a downtown filled with boutiques selling expensive Afghan tribal bracelets and made-in-China "Retro" stuff and none of these stores will last.
Liz....give us all a break! You said "Rayonier site? A refinery? Nuclear power plant? Navy base?"
You really WANT a refinery in town? You have got to be kidding. A Nuclear power plant...to power what? A Navy base? My answer to that is in two parts: 1.) the site is very small, and 2.) the Navy has closed many, many bases in the last decade..so why would then consider opening one?
I'm shocked you didn't include in your list...a prison, a nuthouse, or a massive homeless shelter.
You're as crazy as the people who want to build condo's there!
If we're in la-la-dream land, I'd like to see the worlds largest wooden rollercoaster built there, or a massive theater/music venue, or a luxury hotel and conference center.
But we know that all will ever be there are some tacky condos (that won't sell) or something totally uninspired.
We won't even get NOAA, because as a town, we're lame....and, as a person, Liz, you should be the poster child.
Below is an interesting letter from a concerned citizen.
The interesting part about it is the writer is stating that the PT Leader has taken a stand against Border Patrol Checkpoints and the PT Leader has published the letter. By publishing that statement the PT Leader obviously agrees with it.
This validates an assumption I have had, that the PT Leader is a one-sided rag with an agenda.
What happened to un-biased news?
Should a newspaper pick sides on an issue?
If they pick a side, doesn't that effect their ability to report things straight?
Letter: Keep Border Patrol at the border
I was pleased to see The Leader take a courageous stand opposing the Border Patrol checkpoints and suggesting Congress find some other use for the $50 million now targeted to construct a new Homeland Security complex in Port Angeles.
I write this because it is evident that there are many in the community who believe opposing the checkpoints and a ramped-up Homeland Security presence on the peninsula is somehow surrendering our safety to the terrorists. We, as a community, must learn to protect ourselves from real dangers and use the appropriate strategies while maintaining the constitutional protections that separate us from authoritarian countries.
The Border Patrol checkpoints actually change the nature of our relationship to the federal government. Under the Constitution, the government must have probable cause to search individuals and seize any property they may have. The Border Patrol is currently pulling over thousands of individuals to find what appear to be a few illegal immigrants and some individuals carrying a small amount of marijuana. Their intent is also to find terrorists in the mix. While doing this, they have no information that any terrorist plot or individual is present on the peninsula. It is actually a fishing expedition.
At the border, the Border Patrol has the legal authority to ask individuals questions and detain those who may be carrying contraband or behaving suspiciously. This authority should remain at the border. If the Border Patrol has evidence that an individual or group of individuals are in this country to do harm, they have the legal authority to pursue and capture them beyond the border. The checkpoints are not necessary to defend us from terrorists.
Lastly, the increase of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on the peninsula represents a new national police force in our community. Local policing has a long tradition in this country, and national police are something quite new. This concerns me because national police are what we most often see in authoritarian countries. We must protect our civil liberties to protect the nature of the country we love.
The city's already building a massive homeless shelter. It's called "The Gateway."
Anacortes has a refinery...very clean operation. Industrial-wage jobs. And we need more refining capacity in this country to match our ramped-up crude extraction soon to come just off our coastline.
Mega resort? For what? Red Lion and Best Western barely fill a few rooms in winter...if we are to build a large hotel then we'll have to have more winter recreational opportunities to bring people here...expand Hurricane Ridge ski area and add a restaurant up there. No reason that it couldn't rival Crystal Mountain...just get the treehuggers out of the way.
But there's simply NO REASON to not get some good industrial-wage jobs here...we have plenty of waterfront...and the tribes need to keep their grubby hands off what's left. We do need to take back the graving yard area...it's NOT theirs alone...it belongs to all of us. If they want to break treaties, then...well I won't say it or my comment won't be printed....
"World's largest wooden roller coaster"...oh brother! Yeah, THAT sure will bring in some much-needed revenue!
I'm with you Liz. Maybe this new City Manager will push for some industry other than bead and head shops, art galleries, and second hand shops.
We need some higher wages here.
Also, I think we should tax anything that is tie dyed and use the proceeds to keep the pool open.
The ski resort is a great idea.
At least the Boarder Patrol is here. They make about 100K apiece x 25 that is about 2.5 million in additional revenue.
Bringing NOAA here would help.
Maybe a Blackwater Training Center with an organic cafeteria. Yin/Yang. That would probably make everyone happy. Huh?
uhhh, you do KNOW that the "Border Patrol" agents are Homeland Security and the guys at the terminal (the actual port of entry) are the Customs Officers...totally different departments of the government.
It's confusing, because it's propaganda.
What "unbiased newspaper"...like the PDN rag isn't unbiased. Give me a break. They're a bunch of panty-waisted weenies who couldn't report their way out of a paper bag if it was open at one end. The head honcho thinks that newspapers should be run in the most unfriendly way possible, and he's accepted the blow jobs from the "power brokers" in this dink town...and half the news is never reported (the half that the old time PA families don't want written, and whatever the city deems newsworthy).
The reality is....we are TOOO remote to really attract much in the way of industry. Shipping costs are high, and the one main road in/out of town is inadequate. Our port is a joke, and we took out the railway. Our communications is spotty, and the labor force is largely uneducated, but want an-arm-and-a-leg for their time (too much self esteem). The only thing that town CAN DO is go for the tourist dollar, but we need to do it in a way that makes sense.. not lame, and not stupid way.
As for the poster who said to get rid of the city manager....you'd need to get a petition and put that on the ballot. It's a move towards a "strong mayor" government....which this town has never done. Currently the charter is for a "weak mayor" with the main business management done by a hired gun. The PROBLEM is the way that the hiring is done, and how secret it's always been. The idiots that have been city manager have all been cut out of the same cloth.....and are only here for the carrot-on-the-stick, and the chit on their CV (resume for those of you who still call it that).
Yeesh....come on, you shouldn't be getting all your information from an anonymous blog poster...go out and get educated!
"there's needs to a major investment in developing a stable blue collar industrial base".
I’m going to disagree… sort of. We need economic diversity, not *just* blue collar jobs, and not *just* minimum wage seasonal tourist jobs. We need a situation where, if one industry collapses (say, logging), it doesn't take the entire town with it. We need the crappy touristy jobs, we need the high paying blue collar jobs, and we need other jobs. We even need jobs for smart folks; jobs that might pay a bit more than $12 an hour, if that.
With all the computer related jobs out there, location doesn’t really matter anymore. That’s why outsourcing to third world countries was so popular. Well, Port Angeles is practically a third world country, and we could get some of that dough if the town was a little more “smart friendly”. That’s a big “if” though. I’m afraid the town is stuck with burger flipping jobs.
“We won't even get NOAA, because as a town, we're lame....”
Yeah, ‘fraid so. So how do we fix that? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
geez, wish I knew how we could fix the way we screw things up, as a town.
I think we need to decide on a vision, and a plan. The old-timers and the "old families" of the town are still so anti-tourism and outsider that it's akin to the Appalachian hill folk, all that's missing is the shotgun and "you got a purdy mouth" (wait, that might not be missing...)
The problem with attracting high tech is the stupid town has made all these idiot deals with small-time operators for the fiber optic tubes, and Qwest has absolutely substandard service. (How often has YOUR internet been down for several hours in the last year?) There is no way to run a business in the real world...with this kind of "we'll get to it, when we get to it" attitude, and/or the "we'll make a million" and charging too much for services.
Next...we have one road in, one road OUT. Our airport closes often because of fog, and there is a hefty surcharge on shipping.
The office space in town is lacking...in fact, it's a pathetic joke. There ARE NO upscale office..there is very little actual office space. Why do ya think the Border Homeland boys had to get some land west of town and then....rent modular trailers?
The available space in this town has greedy landlords trying to get 2 bucks a square foot...which is OUTRAGEOUS.
Our business "incubator" is a joke.
Would you like some more reasons....that PA is doomed to be a tourist seasonal town?
Great to see some positive comments here on this thread.
Actually, the "Customs" folks you refer to are part of the Department of Homeland Security. They are under US Customs and Border Protection, the same organization that the Border Patrol belongs to. They are a sister agency to the Border Patrol with all of the authority that the Border Patrol has. To sum it up for any Port Townsend Hippie Trash on this blog, "they are a just as evil".
Here's a little good advice that I read earlier on this blog.................................."go out and get educated"
Hello. And Bye.
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