New Owner for Peninsula Daily News

The current owner of the Peninsula Daily News, Horvitz Newspapers, LLC, is selling the PDN to Black Press, Ltd. of Victoria, B.C.  The PDN will be operated by Sound Publishing, Inc., which is a division of Black Press, Ltd.

City Council Candidates to Speak at PABA meeting

Candidates for the Port Angeles City Council will be giving presentations and answering questions at this Tuesday's meeting of the Port Angeles Business Association.  The candidates are Don Perry, Brad Collins, Dan Di Guilio and Cherie Kidd (incumbents); and challengers Sissi Bruch, Drew Schwab and Noelle Fuller.  Cherie Kidd's opponent, Cody Blevins, withdrew from the race; Cherie Kidd is running unopposed.

Border Patrol Scaling Back

Along the northern border at least, the U.S. Border Patrol is scaling back some of their more controversial methods.  For now they'll no longer be routinely searching buses, trains and airports for illegal immigrants.

The union that represents Border Patrol agents will be issuing a press release saying:

"Orders have been sent out from Border Patrol headquarters in Washington, D.C., to Border Patrol sectors nationwide that checks of transportation hubs and systems located away from the southwest border of the United States will only be conducted if there is intelligence indicating a threat." 

Possible New Property Tax Levy Next Year

Voters will probably be asked to approve a new property tax levy in order to pay for the Waterfront Redevelopment Plan and the renovation of Civic Field.  The City Council gave vocal support to a special levy for those two projects during a meeting on the 2012 budget.

Property taxes will not go up even if a new levy is approved, because the levy that funded the Port Angeles Senior Center will lapse next year.

Unemployment Rate Falls Slightly in Clallam County

As of last month, Clallam County's unemployment rate is 9.5%, down from 9.7% the previous month.  Jefferson County's unemployment rate remained steady at 9.1%.

Cherie Kidd's Re-Election NOT Guaranteed

If you want Cherie Kidd to be re-elected to the City Council, be sure to vote for her.  The fact that her only opponent, Cody Blevins, has dropped out of the race does NOT guarantee anything.

According to a letter in yesterday's PDN:  "Despite candidate Cody Blevins' stated withdrawal, it was not done within the legally required 10-day limit."  Therefore, all votes for Cody Blevins must legally be counted.

There's a danger that voters who want Cherie Kidd on the City Council won't bother to vote for her since, after all, she doesn't have an opponent.  I don't know what will happen if Cody Blevins, who's no longer running, gets more votes than Cherie Kidd.

Clallam County Will Withdraw from ICLEI

Clallam County residents who have been having nightmares about black helicopters and jackbooted U.N. thugs bringing America to her knees — you can sleep soundly now.  Clallam County will be withdrawing from the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)  at the end of this year.

Public Disclosure Commission Website

I didn't know about this website until it was mentioned in the letters section of today's PDN. Among other things, you can search for campaign finance information on every political candidate in the state.

Here's the link.

U.S. Border Patrol: Coming to a Park Near You

Congress is actually considering a bill that would give the U.S. Border Patrol immediate access to all national parks and wilderness areas that are within 100 miles of the Canadian or Mexican border.  This "immediate access" includes building fences, building roads, setting up monitoring stations — whatever it takes to sniff out illegal immigrants.

This bill is the National Security and Lands Protection Act, and it's already been approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Occupy Port Angeles

There will be a local Occupy Wall Street rally tomorrow in Port Townsend and Saturday in Port Angeles.

The Port Angeles rally will be at 11 a.m., Saturday at Veterans Park.

Redistricting Might Affect Olympic Peninsula

Federal redistricting, as a result of the 2010 census, might result in one of two possible changes locally:

1. East Jefferson County could be moved out of the 24th Legislative District and moved into the same district as Kitsap County.

2. A new 10th Congressional District could be carved out of an area that includes Jefferson, Clallam and Grays Harbor Counties. 

Two City Council Candidates to Speak at Chamber of Commerce

For tomorrow's luncheon at the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, two City Council candidates will be speaking.  They are Andrew Schwab, who's running against incumbent Brad Collins (Position 1); and Noelle Fuller, running against council-appointed Mayor Dan Di Guilio (Position 5).

New Saltwater Patrol Vessel for County Sheriff's Office

The Clallam County Sheriff's Office marine unit has added a 26-foot Protector for patrolling the Strait and the parts of the Pacific that border Clallam County.  The marine unit works closely with the Border Patrol, Coast Guard and state Fish and Wildlife department.

The boat was built by Lee Shore Boats of Port Angeles.  A lot of other local businesses took part in the building and designing of the boat.  Sheriff’s Deputy Ralph Edgington said:

“A lot of local merchants took part on this.”

Paying For the Privilege of Recycling?

The City of Port Angeles is considering separating fees for garbage and recycling, which would mean residents who don't recycle would pay less than those who do.  City staff are saying that separating the charges would provide a more equitable rate structure for all residents.  But Max Mania said:

“It’s rewarding people for not recycling is how I see it.” 

And a Port Angeles resident said:

“Don’t punish the people who are recycling.”

Layoffs Among Clallam County Employees

Clallam County will have to lay off thirty workers in order to balance a $2.4 million budget shortfall.

The eight unions that represent Clallam County employees were asked to either accept a one-year waiver on a pre-negotiated 3% cost of living increase, or take 24 unpaid days off.  They declined both options.  County Administrator Jim Jones said:

“If the unions would agree to that, we would not lay off anybody this year.  We would still be about $800,000 short in being able to completely eliminate the shortfall if that had happened, but we would make up the $800,000. That was a reasonable use of reserves, which would buy us time to look for other ways to raise that revenue, perhaps in the form of a small public safety tax.” 

McEntire and Barnfather to Speak at Chamber of Commerce

At tomorrow's Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the guests will be Jim McEntire and Linda Barnfather.  They're both running for the Clallam County Commission seat being vacated by Steve Tharinger.