Shoreline Conservation Collaborative

The Shoreline Conservation Collaborative is a coalition of fourteen groups, including the North Olympic Land Trust of Clallam County and the Jefferson Land Trust of Jefferson County.  The goal of this organization is to permanently protect 150 shoreline properties and restore an additional 30 shoreline areas during the next decade.  This coalition was created by Hannah Clark, who said:

“Our members saw a significant opportunity to work together to protect Puget Sound.  The shoreline of Puget Sound may look pristine and accessible, but is neither.  This unique and irreplaceable natural treasure has been in decline for years, with thousands of acres altered, contaminated or destroyed, and less than 12 percent open to the public to enjoy.”

Erik Kingfisher, president of Washington Association of Land Trusts and stewardship director of Jefferson Land Trust, said:

“By having a collaborative, this community of organizations working together on the shoreline, it helps us to bring in the context of a regional significance.  We all love to spend time on our wild and undeveloped beaches — it’s part of what makes this such an amazing place to live.  The shorelines are also magnets for development, and there are some shorelines that are simply more important for people, wildlife and clean water than they are as potential development properties.  All of the projects we’ll be working on are arranged voluntarily.  We work with willing landowners on a voluntary basis to acquire and/or restore properties.”  

New Owner for Lincoln Theater?

Dan Gase, City Councilman and the listing agent for the Lincoln Theater, has told KONP that a contingency offer has been tendered on the building.  No names or other details have been released yet.

UPDATE:

The buyer is Scott Nagel, local events producer (e.g. the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival) and a former director of Seattle's Folklife Festival.  Dan Gase said:

“It is considered a pending sale.  We've entered the contingency phase.”

Scott Nagel and his wife, Karen Powell, are searching for some major funding to finance the remodeling and reopening of the Lincoln.  He said:

“We did this to get the process started.  We're working to raise money to purchase the building, which would then become the property of a nonprofit organization.”

His plan is for the Lincoln Theater to become “the key to the economic future of downtown Port Angeles” and a “resource for the entire Olympic Peninsula.” 

Washington State Tax on Capital Gains

Today's Peninsula Poll Question is:

Do you agree or disagree with Gov. Jay Inslee that Washington state should have a tax on capital gains?

Number of votes cast: 660

Port Angeles Police to Scale Back Traffic Controls

Because of staffing issues, Port Angeles Police are no longer monitoring downtown and neighborhood traffic for speeders, red light runners and drivers who think crosswalks are only good for target practice.  Police Chief Terry Gallagher said:

“I know there are certain people that benefit from that.  Essentially, the police department here has our finger in the dike.  We have little traffic enforcement that occurs in the city of Port Angeles.  We get calls all the time for traffic enforcement in neighborhoods that we are not able to provide.”

Port Angeles has 32 police officer positions, compared to 36 in Aberdeen which has a somewhat smaller population.

Curtailment of One of Nippon's Two Paper Machines

“Curtailment” — sounds a little ominous. The curtailment will be effective this Friday. 

Mill manager Steve Johnson said:

“Restart of the paper machine will occur when the economic conditions improve enough to justify resumption of operations.  The curtailment is necessary to balance capacity with the current economic climate and slow sales of uncoated mechanical papers.”

He said a restart date has not been scheduled.  And he didn't say how many employees would be affected by the curtailment. 

He also said:

“I will not be providing any more information or comments than what is contained within this announcement as our competitors use the PDN as a source of intelligence for their strategy.”

ALEC Puppets shot down by Clallam County Superior Court

The ALEC-financed Astroturf group calling itself the Freedom Foundation had its lawsuit dismissed today by Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer.  The Freedom Foundation, acting on orders from their puppet-masters at the corporate-financed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has been trying to use the initiative process in Sequim to turn the clock back to the good old days when them commie labor unions didn't exist.

The Freedom Foundation had collected enough signatures from Sequim voters to qualify two initiatives for the ballot.  These initiatives would have (a) mandated “transparency” in the collective bargaining process, and (b) made union membership voluntary.

Sequim city officials had refused to put the initiatives on the ballot because they conflicted with state laws; hence the Freedom Foundation's lawsuit against the City of Sequim, which was thrown out today.

The good news for the Freedom Foundation is:  there are plenty of red states where the citizens are gullible enough to keep voting against their own interests.  Please go there; the operative word being GO.

Debate over Pleasant Harbor Resort in Brinnon

The was an open house in Brinnon today to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Pleasant Harbor Resort, which was first proposed in 2006.  The proposed resort would be located about two miles south of Brinnon.  Some guests at the open house were in favor of the resort because of the economic benefits; others were concerned about the resort's impact on the environment and the small-town quality of life in Brinnon.  One person said:

“This community doesn't have any industry left except for tourism and shellfish. Forestry is gone.  What troubles me is that it has taken so long. We don't have any family-wage jobs, our school enrollment is down and our food bank use is up.   We have become a destitute community.”

Someone else said:

“It's a beautiful project. I know it will change things here.  My mother-in-law has lived here for years and said as soon as she can smell french fries, she's moving out.”

Is the Economy Improving, Getting Worse or has it Stabilized?

Today's Peninsula Poll Question is:

Do you think the economy is recovering from the problems it faced in the past five years, is at least stabilized or is getting worse?

Number of votes cast: 1070