Funding for Harbor-Works: What Would Tim Eyman Do?

Tim Eyman is probably too busy with the rest of Washington to be aware of the Harbor-Works controversy raging in Port Angeles.

But based on his anti-tax initiatives that have already been passed, and the self-reliance and fiscal responsibility that his supporters are always clamoring for, one can imagine what Tim Eyman would say about public funding for Harbor-Works: Taxpayer funding for Harbor-Works can continue if — and ONLY if — at least two thirds of Port Angeles voters agree to raise their own taxes to pay for Harbor-Works.

Right???

Chrysler and Murray Motors

Chrysler has offered to reinstate 36 of the 789 dealers that it threw under the bus last year. Port Angeles’ Murray Motors is one of the dealers that got cut loose by Chrysler, and so far it isn’t one of the dealers that Chrysler has offered to take back.

Mark Murray, owner of Murray Motors, said: “To me, it's like remarrying your ex-wife. Most of us don't want to do it. It's pretty well past the point of no return. I got rid of all the Chrysler cars and a lot of the parts.”

Mark Murray is the third-generation owner of Murray Motors. Murray Motors started in Clallam Bay in 1934 and moved to Port Angeles in 1944.

The contrasts between Murray Motors and Chrysler is a microcosm of two vastly different types of companies: a local small business that’s thrived for three generations by providing excellent service and has countless loyal customers, vs. a gigantic bloated corporation that doesn’t care about anything except enriching its highest-paid executives.

Wal-Mart Downsizing

Even though the Port Angeles Wal-Mart is in the process of expanding to a larger store, they're downsizing some of their employees at the same time.

This hasn't been publicized in the local papers, but if you know anyone who works at Wal-Mart, they'll probably verify it.

Does this make sense?

“Twilight” puts Forks and Port Angeles on the Map

This article from MSN isn’t the first national publicity that Twilight has gotten. But you’ve probably never seen Bella Italia, Lincoln Theater or the Port Angeles Downtown Association linked in a nationwide article before.

Twilight opens tomorrow night at the Lincoln. We’ve been discovered.

Let Sequim be Port Angeles’ Guinea Pig

Or canary in the coal mine; whatever cliché you want to use.

For people who think mindless growth — Big Box stores and one strip mall after another — will be lucrative: just take a look at Sequim. They can be the anti-role model, like a reformed drug addict who travels around the country telling high school students “don’t do what I did. Don’t end up like me.”

If strip malls and franchises enhanced a city’s tax base, Sequim could have streets paved with gold. Some California cities have made this mistake. Take Rohnert Park (please!).

This city of about 40,000 has every Big Box and chain store you’ve ever heard of, and yet their city government keeps running out of money, just like every other city government.

Let’s hope Sequim can change its growth policies before it gets totally ruined. Port Angeles doesn’t have Sequim’s growth pressures yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Hopefully Port Angeles can learn from Sequim what not to do.

People Moving to a New Community and Then Complaining About It

This particular controversy is happening in Port Townsend, but it could happen in Port Angeles just as easily.

For that matter it’s been happening in Sequim — people moving to a rural area and then complaining about the elk. People who move to this area from California — or Seattle for that matter — have a reputation for complaining because there aren't enough ethnic restaurants, there isn't enough nightlife, the stores aren't chic enough, etc. So why did they move here?

Port Townsend residents have a valid reason to be concerned about the health hazards created by the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill. But most of the complaints seem to be coming from newer Port Townsend residents and/or retirees who won't be affected if the mill closes.

Long-term residents are probably concerned about health hazards too, but they also realize that the paper mill has been the economic backbone of Port Townsend. It has given countless Port Townsend workers the ability — as a certain U.S. president would say — to “put food on their families.”

As one Port Townsend resident said: “If the mill goes down, you will be able to walk down Water Street and see a lot of stores closed.”

Local Politics: A Tangled Web

When it comes to government intrigue and political infighting, we sure live in “interesting times.” Who needs national or global politics when we have so much political backbiting going on in our own backyard?

I’m not taking sides in this Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce controversy. He Said, She Said...the plot thickens.

Sequim — and Port Angeles — voters have spoken. There's been a regime change in both of these cities, and if some people get tossed out through no fault of their own — well, it happens.

Still, it’s hard not to sympathize with Lee Lawrence. We've all gotten negative performance appraisals that seemed groundless or unfair (haven’t we?).

William Shore Memorial Pool

The City of Forks is without a swimming pool, for all practical purposes. They do have one, but voters have turned down two levies for maintenance and operation of the pool. So it’s closed, with nobody knowing what to do with it.

This same thing could also happen to the William Shore Memorial Pool in Port Angeles. A few days ago the PDN mentioned that voters might have to approve a bond issue this coming November in order to finance repairs to the pool.

With all of the construction projects going on (and other budget-busting expenses), and property taxes going up and up and up, it’s hard to picture the voters saying yes to anything right now.

Do you think Port Angeles will still have a pool after November?

New Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Port Angeles

On January 15th the Port Angeles City Council will select the next Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Port Angeles.

I've lived here 3½ years and I never knew the mayor was selected by the city council and not the voters. I guess it should've been obvious, since I've never seen any posters or banners for Karen Rogers, or “Vote for _____________ for Mayor.”

Any speculation on who they’ll select?

MV Coho Crucial to Victoria’s Economy

According to last Sunday’s Peninsula Daily News, the MV Coho is even more crucial to Victoria than anyone realized. The car-passenger ferry contributed $123.7 million to Victoria’s economy in 2006.

The ferry transported 205,144 passengers, supported 3,541 full-time jobs and contributed $12.4 million in taxes to the British Columbia government in 2006.

These were the results of the first economic study of the MV Coho’s impact on Victoria. As important as the Coho is to the Port Angeles economy, Victoria would be even more devastated if this ferry system were jeopardized.

The study doesn’t have any economic predictions of what would happen to Victoria if the Coho were moved out of the Inner Harbour. But hopefully these results will be the final nail in the coffin for the absurd clueless idea of moving the Coho away from Victoria.

Inflatable “Bubble” Field House for Port Angeles

A “bubble” field house (not to be confused with the Bubble Boy) has been awarded to the Clallam County YMCA. People will be able to play soccer and tennis indoors year-around regardless of the weather.

This is nice, but should this be a top priority for Port Angeles? In today’s PDN, a letter to the editor reminds us that Port Angeles voters shot down the high-tech bells-and-whistles YMCA pool, and that the city already has enough trouble maintaining the William Shore Memorial Pool.

The Port Angeles City Council has already voted unanimously in favor of this project. But three of those council members are no longer on the City Council. How will their replacements vote?

Should the public have a say in all of this? What do you think?

Elk Are Dangerous

That's the title of a letter to the editor in today's Peninsula Daily News. Referring to the horse that got gored by an elk a few days ago, the writer said: "Someday, it may not be this year, but someday, an elk is going to kill a human being. All of the elk in the world are not worth the loss of one human life."

He goes on to say that we need to get the elk herd out of here, "either by moving them or by some other means."

And this person lives in Sequim of all places. He's entitled to his opinion obviously, but why does he live in an area famous for its local elk herd? The elk were in Sequim a long time before it started turning into North Silverdale.

This person could always move to Seattle, or even Port Townsend or downtown Port Angeles, and he'd never have to come into contact with any of those icky animals.

A Chance for the MV Coho?

Civic leaders from Port Angeles and Victoria (including Karen Rogers and Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe) will meet this Friday. They're hoping to save the Coho's landing facilities in Victoria's Inner Harbour. Let's hope they come up with something, since Port Angeles and Victoria are both heavily dependent on ferry traffic between the two cities.

The meeting will take place on the ferry and at the Landing Restaurant.

Karen Rogers said: "Not only is it important to us, it should be very important to them. It puts $500,000 in their town, a tremendous value to Victoria. I'm not sure they understand the economic impact if the Coho moves to Sidney."

The meeting will also include getting maximum tourism out of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and encouraging more tourists to take "two-nation vacations."

Here are some links (already given in an earlier post):

If you want to e-mail the mayor and/or city council of Victoria, you can do that here. And here is a link for writing a letter to the editor of the Victoria Times Colonist.

Here is the main website for the Victoria Times Colonist. And be sure to check out Vibrant Victoria — a forum for Victoria issues. There are quite a few posts and comments there regarding the Coho. The two cities are both affected by a lot of the same issues; hopefully there can be more interaction.

Here is an online petition for keeping the MV Coho in Victoria's Inner Harbour.

Peninsula Economy is Good?

This article by Seattle columnist Ron Judd was in the PDN a few days ago. Apparently the post-summer “shoulder” season is pretty lucrative for motels, inns and campsites on the Olympic Peninsula.

The author says that until around 1990, summer crowds disappeared right after Labor Day. For that brief window between Labor Day and the winter weather, locals could enjoy their favorite beaches, parks and campsites without the summer crowds. And now, according to the author: “Consider it over. The window of bearable weather without unbearable crowds has shrunk to zero.”

“...Subpar motel rooms in Port Angeles, on a Wednesday night? Full. Time-worn accommodations at Lake Crescent Lodge? Ridiculously overpriced cabins at Kalaloch and semi-stately suites at Lake Quinault Lodge? Full, full, full.”

He also says every campsite near Kalaloch was full “on a Thursday afternoon. In the rain.”

Well, this must be good news for the local economy. And yet so many local merchants have complained about how terrible business has been all summer. Lodgings are full on a weeknight in late September/early October, and yet nobody is patronizing the local businesses. What's the story?

Shortage of Ammunition for Peninsula Police Departments

I’ve been pretty much avoiding national politics at this site. That’s partly because local issues often cut across the traditional battle lines of Left, Right, Liberal, Conservative; and partly because there are already millions of websites and blogs that deal with politics.

But global/national issues can trickle down to local communities. A perfect example is this story from yesterday’s PDN.

Some Peninsula police departments are reporting a shortage of ammunition. Our military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan are using over a billion bullets a year, and this has led to a severe shortage of bullets (and the price has doubled) here at home.

So far the police departments in Port Angeles and Sequim haven’t had this shortage. But in Forks, Police Chief Mike Powell said, “We have been waiting for months for handgun ammunition. We were told it was due to the war and that the military service personnel get a higher priority than the law enforcement here in the states.”

Crime has been increasing in most of the country lately, including the Olympic Peninsula. It’s time for us to decide — which is more important: Protecting Iraqis who don’t want our “protection” (whatever happened to all that candy and ice cream that grateful Iraqis would be showering onto our soldiers?) or protecting Americans here at home?

Port Angeles: Population 250,000?

In last Wednesday’s Peninsula Daily News there was an article (not available online) about the possible effects of global warming in the Port Angeles-Sequim area. According to Physics Professor Richard Schwartz, the following changes might be coming:

In ten years there might not be any permanent snow fields in the Olympic Mountains.

The glaciers could be gone in thirty years.

Rain will fall harder and harder, causing rivers to overflow in the spring and dry up in the summer and fall.

Schwartz said “if I were a farmer I’d buy land in Northern Alberta.”

He said droughts and water wars in California and Arizona could send a mass exodus to the Northwest. “You — or your successors — are going to be inundated with people looking to get out of the heat.”

He predicted that the Port Angeles-Sequim area could eventually have 250,000 residents. “It could happen in about twenty years if things become sufficiently bad in the Southwest. This is not necessarily a doom and gloom scenario, but one we have to keep in mind as we plan.”

A Threat to the Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry?

Uh oh. That’s a pretty alarming headline in today’s PDN. A Victoria task force has decided that the MV Coho has “outgrown the inner harbor.” Victoria is planning a huge redevelopment project for Victoria Harbor, and the “new improved” version won't have space for the Coho. It would be relegated out to Sydney or Esquimalt.

How’s that for a brilliant idea.

If the Port Angeles-Victoria ferry is jeopardized, Port Angeles isn't the only city that would suffer. Even though Victoria is much larger than P.A. and gets a lot more tourists, Victoria merchants are up in arms over this insane proposal.

Ryan Burles, from the Victoria office of Black Ball Transport, Inc., said “We're a bit in shock. We know we're the number one carrier of ferry travelers to this city. We bring in 60 percent of the ferry travelers, and we do it more reliably and more affordably than anyone else.”

He also said “The whole idea of the task force was to create a premier gateway, so why would you take away your number one transportation provider? We need to voice our concerns and tell them what we provide and how well we provide.”

Black Ball Transport has taken an average of 131,000 vehicles and 511,000 passengers from Port Angeles to Victoria each year for the past fifteen years.

This redevelopment proposal is still in the preliminary stages; no action will be taken any time soon. As the plan gets worked out, hopefully cooler heads — ones with brains inside — will prevail.

UPDATE:

Here is the link to a Victoria online forum regarding the Victoria Harbor "improvements." I think Port Angeles residents should register with this forum and express their views, since this issue will have a major impact on residents of Port Angeles and Victoria.

Cougars in Port Angeles

This seems to be a hot topic lately, judging by a recent article in the Peninsula Daily News and several letters to the editor. Who are the "invaders" here, cougars or people?

Personally I think that since we live in one of the most remote areas of the country and we're right on the edge of Olympic National Park, being "invaded" by cougars (and other wildlife) is part of the package. Then again I might think differently if my yard was invaded, or a family member threatened, by a cougar.

What do YOU think?

Information on Eighth Street Bridges

Next Thursday, July 26th from 4:30 to 7 p.m. there will be an open house regarding the eighth street bridge closures. It will be held at the city council chambers, 321 East Fifth Street.

If you have questions about the construction schedule, traffic revisions, detour routes, etc., this meeting should have the information you need. Representatives from the city will be at the meeting as well as representatives from Exeltech, the construction management firm handling the project. The public will be able to talk informally and/or provide written comments. There will be a short presentation on the project, followed by a question and answer session.

Check here for more information.

Get Tagged, Go To Prison

The Sequim city council has passed a new ordinance cracking down on people whose property gets tagged with graffiti. No, NOT cracking down on the perp who does the tagging — just going after the victim who got tagged. Port Angeles already has a similar ordinance. (The story is in today’s PDN but not the online version.)

So now business owners in Sequim — as in Port Angeles — who find their property covered with graffiti will receive a stern warning letter from the city. The letter will inform you that you have X number of days get rid of the graffiti at your own expense; after that point the city will remove it and send you the bill. If you don’t pay the bill in a timely manner the city will put a lien on your property. That'll teach you to be a crime victim.

Hmmm…here's an idea that just came out of the blue: maybe we could try catching some of the vandals and thieves who have been plaguing Sequim and Port Angeles. Ya think??

What'll be next? Perhaps when somebody gets mugged, the mugger can go free and the mugging victim can be charged with vagrancy.