Moving Port Angeles Boat Haven to Rayonier Property

This idea was suggested at yesterday's meeting of the Port of Port Angeles.  It was suggested by the Port's newest commissioner, Paul McHugh. 

Chamber of Commerce and PABA meetings both about Waterfront Plan

Nathan West, Port Angeles Community Development Director, will be the scheduled speaker at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon tomorrow and the Port Angeles Business Association's meeting Tuesday morning. He will be discussing the downtown waterfront project.

Tenino, WA: New Mayor vs. the Old Guard

Now I'm not necessarily saying there are parallels between Port Angeles and Tenino.  I just thought this was an interesting article.

Mail Processing Center to Close

The processing center in Tacoma that handles mail for the Olympic Peninsula will be closing.  Mail processing operations in Tacoma, Everett and Olympia are all being consolidated with the processing center in Seattle.  The Postal Service is hoping the job reductions (139 in Tacoma) can be achieved through attrition instead of layoffs.

The problems being faced by the Postal Service have nothing to do with the usual stereotypes about inefficient government agencies and faceless bureaucrats.  Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the U.S. Postal Service is required to pre-fund the future health care benefit payments of all Postal Service retirees for the next 75 years.  And this pre-funding has to take place in a ten-year time frame.  The Postal Service has had to put aside billions of dollars to pay for the health care benefits of employees who haven't even been hired yet.

No other government agency, and no private company, is required to do anything even remotely similar to this.

Sissi Bruch Opposed to Sewer Project

Sissi Bruch has joined Max Mania in his opposition to Port Angeles' plan for eliminating sewage overflows.

They both voted No at the last City Council meeting regarding three contracts for the $41.7 million project.  The project is scheduled to begin in June.  Sissi Bruch and Max Mania both say that faulty and inadequate infrastructure are the root of the problem, and this root cause is not being addressed by the project.

NORAD Training Flights Over Olympic Peninsula

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will be conducting training flights over the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound areas tomorrow.  They'll be practicing intercept and identification procedures.


The flights had originally been scheduled for today.

Forks and Twilight

Forks' Twilight-related tourism reached its peak in 2010, when 73,000 visitors checked in at the Forks Visitor Information Center.  Last year that number dropped to 45,000.

But Forks still has a lot more tourists now than it did before Twilight.  In 2005, the year the first Twilight book was released, Forks had 5,575 visitors.

The Stephanie Meyer Day Committee is working to keep tourists coming in. A committee spokesperson said:

“The committee is trying to keep people coming to Forks.  Our slogan is:  'Come for Twilight. Stay for Forks.'”

Business Incubator Absolved of Debt

Clallam County Commissioners have passed a resolution absolving the Clallam Business Incubator of its debt.  The Business Incubator received a $750,000 loan in 2004.  The loan was funded by the state Department of Commerce.

John Nutter and Terry Weed to Speak at Chamber of Commerce

Terry Weed, Clallam Transit General Manager, and John Nutter of the P.A. Police Department will be the guests at tomorrow's Chamber of Commerce luncheon.  The subject will be downtown loitering by teenagers and young adults.

Scenic Byway Website for Highway 112

There's a new website for tourists traveling along State Highway 112 between Port Angeles and Neah Bay.

The site includes information about the byway, maps, points of interest and photos.

Crowd Protests Dungeness Water Plan

Clallam County Commissioners held a public hearing on the in-stream flow regulations proposed by the State Dept. of Ecology regarding the Dungeness River Valley. Most of the audience was against the proposal.  Dick Pilling said:

"I'm not sure whether we're using real science, junk science or political science. I don't believe the science they are portraying is accurate. I think the county commissioners should cause the DOE to back up and take another look at the data."

Higher Liquor Prices After Initiative 1183

Is this what 60% of Washington voters were voting for?  Higher liquor prices?  We all saw gazillions of TV ads extolling the virtues of "more competition" and "getting the government out of the liquor business."

Weren't privatization and competition supposed to bring liquor prices down?  Apparently not.

Union Dissatisfied With OMC contract

Service Employees International Union Healthcare Local 1199NW is threatening legal action against Olympic Medical Center for approving a labor contract that was not endorsed by union membership.  Local 1199NW represents 350 nurses and other health care workers at OMC.


Local 1199NW president Diane Sosne said she hopes to settle the dispute at the bargaining table rather than the courtroom.

Port Writes Off PenPly Debt

The Port of Port Angeles has written off the $204,443 debt owed by Peninsula Plywood.  It's unknown whether the Port will collect any of that money or any of the $314,489 in utility bills.


The Port has turned the unpaid bills over to a collection agency and might eventually pursue legal action.