Illegal Campsites Removed near Downtown Port Angeles

The Port Angeles Police Department and Clallam County Sheriff's Department combined forces to clear out illegal encampments near the downtown Port Angeles business district.  They targeted four campsites located near Front Street, along the Waterfront Trail, under City Pier and near Estuary Park.

About 2,900 pounds of accumulated trash and debris were removed.  There were no arrests or citations.

Jim Hallett Replaced as Port of Port Angeles Board President

Jim Hallett's two fellow commissioners on the Port of Port Angeles Board voted him out yesterday, in the wake of the Jeff Robb scandal.  John Calhoun was voted back in as president until voters decide the issue on November 5th.

(I would have posted about this earlier; I was out of town and without any computer access until this afternoon.)

More Details about Port of Port Angeles Goings-on, courtesy of Sequim Gazette

The PDN hasn't printed this, but yesterday's article in the Sequim Gazette has gone viral.

 The PDN has done some good reporting on the recent Port of Port Angeles scandals, but the Sequim Gazette story goes much deeper.  Behind-the-scenes collaboration between Colleen McAleer and Jim Hallett, just-released e-mails obtained via a Public Records Act request — check it out.

Construction of New Lauridsen Bridge Could Begin Next Week

Jeremy Pozernick, city public works inspector and the city’s project manager for the Lauridsen bridge replacement, said work could begin next week on the new bridge's support piles.  The sidewalks of the new bridge, like those of the new Eighth Street bridges, will be wider than those of the demolished bridge.

The project is expected to wrap up next January or February.

Clallam County Fair Attendance Up This Year

Official numbers won't be available for a few more days, but fair manager Shari Ioffrida says fair attendance appears to be up for three out of the four days.

PDN Rants and Raves, 8/18/13

One of today’s rants was:

“Rant to our city [Port Angeles] for allowing people to ‘camp out’ in the weeds in the Valley Creek Estuary.  They’ve been sleeping in there for more than a month.  Do we still have vagrancy laws?”

What are homeless/vagrant people supposed to do — de-materialize?  Beam themselves up to another dimension?  When a person is “camped out in the weeds” at the Estuary (or any other out-of-the-way location), that person is NOT panhandling on city streets, vandalizing property, creating a public disturbance, etc.  If police start rousting everybody who’s camping out illegally, where will these people go?

They’re not going to vanish into thin air just because people don’t want them here.  Does this ranter have a solution?

Port Commissioner John Calhoun Demands "Action" on Lincoln Park Trees

Port of Port Angeles Commissioner John Calhoun said future funding for Fairchild Airport improvements could be in jeopardy if Lincoln Park's "runway-obstructing" trees aren't cut down.  All three commissioners have voted to approve a contract for extending an access road to hangars at the airport.  But John Calhoun said:

“These kinds of investments depend on a viable airport.  Without success solving that aerial navigation easement, I'm not too enthusiastic about proceeding down this line too much longer.  I think we have to have the issue resolved before I can continue to support such projects.”

A local group, Save The Trees, has collected 2,100 signatures on a petition to keep the Lincoln Park trees.

Landing Mall for sale

The Landing Mall on the Port Angeles waterfront is for sale.  The 3-story Landing Mall, plus the adjacent building that houses the Chamber of Commerce, has an asking price of $4.4 million.  Co-owner Sarah Cronauer said:

“I feel sad about it in many ways.  The sale has to do with the issues involving my late husband's estate.  I was able to continue Paul's vision for what he had in mind for Port Angeles.  Paul saw that as an anchor to the community.  It would be a lot of fun to continue to develop that.  If I could, I would.”

Petition for Shorter Terms for Port of Port Angeles Commissioners

Local Activist Norma Turner and four dozen volunteers are circulating a petition to shorten the Port of Port Angeles commissioners' terms from six years to four.  If they get enough signatures, the question will be on the ballot this November.  If the ballot measure is passed by voters, it won't affect the terms of the current commissioners, John Calhoun and Jim Hallet.  But it will affect Colleen McAleer or Del DelaBarre, whichever one of them wins the seat that was lost by Paul McHugh.

National Labor Relations Board Complaint against Nippon

The National Labor Relations Board has issued an 8-part complaint against Nippon Paper Industries USA.  Nippon is alleged to have committed eight unfair labor practices.

Six-Year Contract for Nippon Union Workers

Nippon workers have averted a strike by agreeing to a six-year contract with their employer.  Under the agreement, workers will regain the $3 per hour that Nippon took from them last March, and this new wage will be frozen for the foreseeable future.  This is the Nippon employees' first wage increase since a 75 cents-an-hour increase they received in 2010.

This contract is effective immediately and runs through May 31st, 2019.