Monday, April 7, 2014

Something Borrowed...

...with permission, from the Port O Call. For the full, unedited version, visit Port O Call's website. Thanks to Dale Wilson for letting me reprint this here.

Port Angeles Economy is the way it is because 2 dozen are happy the way it is
Port Angeles’ economy is the way it is because a certain cadre of people want it just the way it is. These few people, probably less than two dozen, have situated themselves at certain pinch-points within the larger economy and are thereby able to control the levers of power, influence and funding.

These two dozen people are satisfied that the economy has remained stagnant long after surrounding communities have begun to claw out of the great recession. These two dozen people have rebuffed economic development plans presented to the community. Microsoft sought to purchase an old hotel and remodel it for offices. That project was thwarted for no apparent reason. Adventure Zip Line Tours sought to locate here and create 200 jobs. That project was stymied and those jobs went to northern California.

These two dozen people are satisfied with the City Council spending taxpayers into hundreds of millions of dollars in debt so long as no new jobs are created. 

These two dozen people are satisfied with the high school failing to graduate 30 percent of the students who start classes each year. 

These two dozen people have been so successful for so long they no longer have the need to hide their plans. They operate in plain sight and the taxpayers pay for their destructive plans.

Every year, for the past ten years, the City Council has handed over hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars ostensibly intended for economic development to Russ Veenema, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. When pressed, everyone would agree this is actually for tourist development--but no one is pressing.

The Chamber of Commerce is not an evil organization. However, its executive director acts much like a cancer on the local economy. Veenema has hand-picked an executive board of acolytes who pretend to make decisions for the organization. In actuality, Veenema and a few behind the scenes individuals make the decisions and carry out the plans.

In this way the city gets to pretend they are doing something--spending money for economic development. The Chamber gets to pretend they are doing something--spending money for economic development. The Council is appeased because they can tell taxpayers they are doing all they can by presenting money to Russ Veenema.


Russ displays a year's worth of brochures from the Visitor Center.

In the ten years the City Council has handed over money to Russ Veenema, they have never audited the books to see how the money is being spent. The contract between the city and the Chamber requires quarterly audits to be sure the money is being spent appropriately. Instead, once a year, about the time for the next check to be written, Russ comes to the City Council, quotes a few statistics gleaned from state reports, assures the Council all last year’s money was spent appropriately and now it’s time to cough up some more.

This has been the process for the past ten years. Councils come and go but the cancer remains. The way a cancer works is it robs surrounding tissue of nutrients and resources. The way Veenema works is to rob the local economy of any of the funds allegedly intended for economic development. 

With the millions of dollars already given over to Veenema, the needle on economic prosperity for most citizens has not moved one whit. Some of the owners of various tourist properties are doing pretty well. However, most of their employees are still making near minimum wage. 

For many years these local elites have had it pretty much their way. They have co-opted the local bankers, the media, and the independent business organizations.

Recently, Tim Smith came out of retirement to personally recruit the so called Port Angeles United. This “Big Tent” organization was supposed to gather all the “stakeholders” from throughout the peninsula and hammer out a unified, peninsula-wide plan for economic development. The plan was based on the fact there are now more than two dozen separate entities in existence whose reason for being is to improve economic development locally. Within these two dozen organizations, more than $5 million is spent annually. Most of this is spent on salaries, benefits, and rents for the organizations. Hardly any is left over for real job creation efforts. The elites like it that way.

Port Angeles United has had superficial meetings in public for a couple months now. In between the “official” meetings, put on for the media, are the real meetings where the media was not allowed and here the plans take shape.

At the fifth, and what was supposed to be the final meeting of Port Angeles United there appeared a local attorney, Pat Irwin. He was there to help guide the committee toward its next phase, which is to design and build yet another economic development entity which is streamlined to receive city tax money without all the fuss of Russ having to come to the City Council with hat in hand once a year. Most likely the new and improved economic development entity will be more like an appendage attached as closely as possible to the city’s treasury so that there won’t be as many opportunities for the media or other snoops to actually see where tax money is going.
 
Webmaster of the Internets, Tim Smith!

The ambition of Tim, Russ, Jim Haguewood and Karen Rogers is to not only create a new entity but also destroy existing business groups. For several meetings they’ve discussed the dissolution of the Port Angeles Downtown Association and the Port Angeles Business Association. Fortunately PADA’s charter will not allow their being absorbed into Port Angeles United. There is a clamor to dissolve PABA into PAU. PABA’s program chairman, Andrew May threw PABA under the bus at the most recent Port Angeles United meeting.

Historically, Chambers of Commerce have been staunchly business minded organizations. Normally they have contempt for “government give-aways.” Not so locally. The local COC would dry up and wither away were it not for the millions of dollars it has received from taxpayers over the past ten years. For the past ten years its reason d’etre has been to receive and spend taxpayer dollars. Support of local businesses is almost non-existent.

As a member of the local Chamber, I’ve yet to receive a call from anyone associated with it asking me what the Chamber can do to help grow my business. At least three/fifths of the Chamber’s budget comes from the Port Angeles City Council plying them with tax money.
The question is: Has your business/economic life improved in the past ten years due to efforts by the local COC? If not, then ask the second question: How better might the city have invested those millions of dollars given to the Chamber? The options are many. We could have improved Civic Field so there wouldn’t be huge pools of water on the field when ball games are played there. They could invest in training for first line service personnel to provide a more warm and fuzzy experience for visitors who stay overnight. They could provide charging stations for electric vehicles who cannot now visit for fear of running out of battery while on the peninsula. They could establish yacht races in the harbor. This would bring a very moneyed elite to visit. Some may own companies which they might consider moving here if the climate was more inviting. 

They could spend it this way if the City Council would quit giving it to the ones least likely to do anything meaningful with it. 
 

53 comments:

  1. We need more names.

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  2. we need some tar and feathers...and a railroad to run them out of town on.

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  3. Tired old men (for the most part) sucking the last drops of blood out of a tired old town.

    Get the obit ready - Port Angeles is dead.

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  4. If we look at the results from the last ten years, it's plain to see that Russ Veenema couldn't sell a fire extinguisher to a man on fire.

    But, year after year, the City Council keeps funneling the $$$ to him. AND the Chamber board keeps paying him.

    Clearly the fix is in, but the fix is to keep everything broken.

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  5. It would be nice, and possibly even productive/disruptive if, the next time that Russ is scheduled to go give his BS dog and pony show to the council, a whole lot of people came and asked questions. Ask him to prove his effectiveness. Ask him to show his worth. Of course he couldn't do either of those things.

    Then the question becomes: Does the council recognize this, and if they do, do they care?

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    1. I've seen this done. At a City Council meeting a couple of years ago, both Russ and Barb were there to do "updates" on their groups. Max pushed back at Russ over his total lack of specifics, his inability to quantify or prove anything beyond "we think that..." No one else on the Council joined in, and Don Perry (before getting his lazy ass voted off) jumped on Max and went on about how it wasn't the job of the Council to "micromanage" the groups the city gives so much money to.

      Oh, right.

      And how is YOUR business doing these days, Don? You moron.

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    2. Don Perry was just afraid someone was going to start something that might have made him have to work. Or learn to read.

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  6. "They could establish yacht races in the harbor. This would bring a very moneyed elite to visit. Some may own companies which they might consider moving here if the climate was more inviting."

    A) I have a hard time believing that anyone here has the skills necessary to put an event like this together.

    B) Even if they did, I have an even harder time believing that yacht owners would be interested in coming here and racing their yachts through our sewage outfalls.

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    1. actually putting on an event like this isn't a huge deal. The problem is momentum, and trying to overcome all the obstacles in the way -- permitting, permissions, and overcoming the basic inertia. If we had a chamber of commerce that could HELP, oh gee....wait....never mind. That needs to be fixed FIRST.

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    2. A decade ago I proposed a half dozen events that would in-fill all the available "non event" weeks during the summer. All of them would have brought tourists in, and more important, people OUT of their houses. If the area can be established as "something is going on there on the weekends" it would be possible to actually get things turned around. However, the way the CoC grants work -- you put in a proposal, and if accepted it's "matching grants". The theory is that a matching grant will make it more likely for other people to give to your cause knowing their donation will have twice the impact. However, that's not the case here. Our CoC is so goofy in that it doesn't really reach out, or aid in any way, and one gets the sneaking suspicion that they'd rather keep the money and/or poach any donors you do find. Add to that the lack of hard data about other events (everyone is so secretive out here) attendance, logistics, problems/solutions, etc., that it is very hard to put together any package for outside potential investors that has any legs at all. You have to reach into other communities (other CoC's are more than willing to lend a hand, oddly enough) to get enough information for the type of proposal needed to get corporate sponsors, much less sell. You just can't have a good idea, you need a good idea AND some assurances that you aren't just blowing their money on a party that no one wants to show up at. To overcome this dilemma what we NEED is for the CoC and other business groups to sponsor some events -- pay for them, help organize, and get some real demographics. But, since our CoC doesn't have any urgency (not with that board listed or with the fearful leader) and we end up with less events, less events, less interest. When this town had a good director at the PADA, and a decent CoC we had a few parades, a few car shows, a festival (art show) all DOWNTOWN on First Street. People do come out if it is something of interest. Look at our turn out for the 4th of July. It is clear that people will come out, if there is a reason. But, without a reason....nope. This is what the CoC and PADA and PABA should be doing with their energy, time and money. None of these events are difficult, you just need someone with a vision. And, you can organize things, and get the permits and permissions (it can take some time and be rather pricey) the problem is lack of financial backing, the lack of focus and cooperation with our BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS, and a lack of "shake up" among the ranks. I can see clearly how to do big events -- but, without a CoC executive director who isn't a total moron, and without a PADA executive director who isn't a total waste of air -- there is no way I would waste my time and other peoples money. We have ample space for some pretty spectacular events, need some basic infrastructure for more, and we mostly need to breathe some new life into the "getting old" events around here. The Juan de Fuca festival has never turned the corner and when you see the same vendors in the same spots year-after-year something is wrong. The Crab Festival isn't growing, which is a bad sign. The sand castle fete is nice, but again, needs to have supplemental events, elsewhere (downtown area) and, again, same vendors, same spots (on a cold, cold windy pier...which is just stupid, by the way. We have a very BAD reputation amongst the vendors because of that stupid, removed and remote pier). What NEW events have been here in the last decade? The hydroplanes stopped because the guy organizing it stopped (it could have been taken over by the CoC, but they didn't). The art shows stopped. The various car shows should be organized as one BIG car show and cruise. Again, all this is lack of any vision, any momentum by the CoC. Why is he still there? I don't get it. I've never met a nastier, lazier man, by all appearances we have a con artist running a vital organization in town.

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    3. Anonymous 11:21AM - Thanks for the thoughtful reply. You make many good points. (But your post would be easier to read if it were broken into smaller chunks/paragraphs.)

      You hit on something that's always stuck out to me about the "big" events here: The sameness of them. Same vendors year after year, Juan de Fuca brings back lots of the same performers year after year, etc. Tradition is nice and everything, but truly successful events grow and evolve with the times. Like our old, cold pier, many of the events here feel out of date, stuck.

      I think the lack of event support, and the loaded event "grant" situation you describe reveal the utter lack of interest at the COC in actually doing anything for the local community, or economy. You describe Russ as a nasty, lazy man, and wonder why he is still here. Well, take the nastiness of Karen Rogers, and the deep laziness of Barb Frederick, and you've got Russ. Sadly, he's not an outlier among our local "leadership"; he's right in the mainstream.

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    4. The chamber event grants are a joke. They talk up their desire to "support" "new events" then always give 90% of whatever they give to existing events - ones that should be self-sustaining at this point. After applying for them a couple of times and being turned down, I gave up. Facts, documentation, written plans and proposals - nothing mattered, because I wasn't one of the chosen few.

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    5. I have been "awarded" a few grants, but couldn't do a damn thing with them because the corporate sponsors I was wooing wanted the a strong Chamber in my corner.

      Our local CoC couldn't sell bread to a starving man, somehow they would f-k it up. They are deal killers, not a deal makers. Instead of saying "Yes" the answer is always "NO!" (When it comes to Russ his glass isn't half full, it is empty.)

      I must agree Anony 12:46, I don't think they can READ over there. The thing is, if a group of us formed a non-profit organization "PA EVENTS" and combined our knowledge, energy and force, I'll bet we could force the hand. If we could get 500 people to "invest" $100 bucks, we could put on any of a number of events (small at first, yes, "proof of concept") with the plan of bundling events (and interested parties). I think it's the only way overcome the issues inherent in the old-school small brained imbeciles that are currently running this town.

      Paragraphs are highly over rated, CK.

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    6. No matter how hard I search on the web, I cannot find anything on Ms. Rogers before she was HERE. Is she invented? None of her "past achievements" pan out, there don't seem to be any obituaries that name her (as a relative) and I can't find any public records relating to her in any county in California (of the ones I can search online...there are 50 counties, and only half of them have online searchable databases). She claims to have been in Aerospace (most of these companies are in So. Cal like in Huntington Beach.) She doesn't seem to exist prior to 1999. Did she just fall off the turnip truck?

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    7. Anon 11:21 AM. Please do try to avoid the use of the dreaded "fete." It evokes visions of the fete-heavy PDN. Otherwise, excellent post!

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    8. Well, I will still make the pitch for paragraphs being easier to read, and thus something that helps your message get across.

      And yes, we want to watch that "fete" sneaking in here...

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    9. As for Karen Rogers...Has anyone done any searching for her husband's background? Since they're connected (shudder at the image) it seems like another potential path to follow.

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    10. OH MY GOODNESS!! Wash my hands with soap...I didn't mean to type fete. Please, my apologies.

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    11. The first thing I find on Karen A. Rogers is her CTech Defense Corporation, (filed in 1990) followed by the Science Technology and Manufacturing Corporation (filed 1997) then her STMA Associates LLC (filed in 2000). There are NO corporation filings in CA or Nevada for her. ? The problem with her hubby is that it's such a common name. I poked around....didn't really come up with anything. Need more information...

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    12. fetes don't fail me now

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    13. Please.
      This site does just fine without promoting Dale Wilson's tabloid rag rants!
      The guy's a nut case that even shits on his own market. I quit my ad after the second edition and will never go back! EVER!
      Promoting his tabloid adds nothing intelligent to PA Unearthed!

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    14. Anonymous 11:20am
      You could need to invest in a good junior high english teacher/tutor. At least put your next burger flinging paycheck towards a GED.

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    15. Another idea is to hire a PI, with a limited contract/scope of work to come up with Roger's info. With that, then you could continue the research.

      Did you look at real estate transactions? Cross reference the names listed? I found that to be a rich source for tracking people back.

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    16. 7:20, there is no 11:20 am. I realized that MJ is legal here, but lay off the smokes. "You could need to invest"....is a rather peculiar sentence structure, oh mighty one.

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  7. Yes, more names. Expose the serpents.

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  8. So Dale...I'll share my list if you'll share yours. Shall we see where they overlap?

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  9. I'd suggest doing more than listing people here. Let's use the puppet master's own tools against them.

    How about buying a big ad in the PDN, listing the people who have PERSONALLY benefitted so much from the highly suspect "economic development efforts" here, and then challenge them publically to tell us what they've actually done to earn that money. Put Jim and Karen and Russ and the rest on the spot. If nothing else, it would broaden this discussion.

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    1. we can't afford a big display ad in the PDN....it would be (by their rate card) at least a thousand dollars, and be seen by....nearly no one. Welcome to the FIRST issue with the area. We have no broadcast vehicle, other than the internet, and only one in every THREE houses is "computer literate". Welcome to the first problem for every business starting up. Evidently more people open the Valpack coupons than open a newspaper. This town's communications is broken. How do you reach a wide audience for anything? Ads on the local radio station seem to have a bigger reach than anything on the PDN, but even then, eh. The problem there is lack of any real demographics on when people listen as there isn't a definite "drive time" like in other markets (our average local commute is 10-20 minutes). That 5-5:30pm listener-ship ad spots would be the closest thing to "commuter drive", but it isn't something you can anchor on (unlike every other radio station I've ever dealt with in every other market I've worked in). They play the ads, when they play the ads. This is how we are so divided up here -- we have no common communication methods. The best you can do is make a ruckus, get some PDN front page editorial coverage, and even then...? If you can get KOMO or KIRO coverage, now that would be something.

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    2. I doubt the PDN would run an ad like that, to start with.

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    3. Two things:

      One is that if they wouldn't run an ad, that would be a really, really interesting and revealing process to document.

      Two is that you may be on to something with the Valupack. How about a big insert with PORT ANGELES CORRUPTION AND WASTE on the top? Hmmm...

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    4. The First Step in Change is AWARENESS. As a community, our leaders, by in large, have not reached the first step of awareness in terms of dealing with our problems. They have deflected, denied and not listened to the people. Most people in our community are aware of the problems, but lack the political power to effect change. I have reached a place, after exhausting civil methods, of now treating our leaders and some organizations with mockery and contempt. Forget the 2 by 4 approach, from now on . . . 4 by 4 is required, just to get some people's attention. The whole PA United is an exercise in futility - just examine the parties and players. The City has it's head in the sand. I believe there is enough collective dissatisfaction and disenfranchisement in the community to launch some sort of 3rd Party movement.

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    5. birdshot and rock salt from a shotgun might work better than a 4x4. I'm getting to old to wield those big timbers.

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  10. Port O Call would run the ad...and instead of sending your $$ to Canada it would go towards a viable media source looking after your local interests.

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    1. Thanks Wendy ! Yes, why would we even think of giving money to the PDN? We talked about not even paying for on-line access, because it is such a waste.

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    2. Sorry...I guess I skipped ahead. I kind of assumed that such an ad would be turned down by the PDN ad department, and that then there'd have to be a scene in John Brewer's office where he twisted and squirmed a bit trying to explain why it supposedly violates some policy, they can't do it, etc. That would, in my opinion, make the attempt worth it.

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    3. oh, lets do it, then. Lets come up with a really shocking full page ad, and then submit it....and (If) it were accepted, change our minds at the last moment. I'd love that. Please, please please....

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    4. You know, I never even thought of the "thanks, but no thanks" route if the hypothetical ad got approved...I like that.

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  11. Port O Call needs to edit their content to make it more readable. Good start, but not reader-friendly. Takes too long to figure out the points of many of the articles.

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    1. That's why I trimmed down the piece here a bit. I thought it had lots of good things in it, but needed a little bit of a diet.

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    2. exactly why this is now my favorite website....keep it up, CK.

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    3. hmmmmmmmm.
      Crypt Kicker, My wife and I hope you won't let this site turn into "swear every other line" - PA Online II, or even worse, descend into becoming a stepchild to Port Of Call's oddities that make no sense to anyone.
      Keep it real, keep it honest.

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    4. Anonymous 7:35PM - Believe it or not, the people sending in comments have (overall) done a pretty good job of keeping it clean, even when it gets a little mean. I've declined maybe one or two comments for being wildly, unproductively profane.

      And believe me, I have no intention of letting this go all Port Angeles Online on you, or going the Scott T. Collins route, either. The piece from Port O Call was - with a little trimming - one that I thought had something to say. And it was a way to break up the "format" a little for variety. Hopefully you can support that idea in general, if not this specific choice.

      In any case, thanks for your concern, and the note.

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    5. is Port O call really that odd?..is it bad journalism?...I won't hide my identity because I don't believe in all this anonymous stuff. Yeah I am Dale Wilson's wife. I have never blogged before but i find here a friendly intellectualism .......So my question is how can Dale improve his points? He is so passionate about what he is doing and sometimes we argue about what he wants to say. One thing we agree on though is a desire to improve the state of this town..We are putting our livelihood on the line. We have no other form of income. ..we need people to speak out and advertisers support ......and I agree PA online is entertaining but unproductive with all the negativity and swearing. We are as real as we can be i think...thanks for listening...that's the extent of my rant. :)

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    6. Hey Wendy and Dale...Since I already have both spoken on this piece, and asked to reprint it here, I'll chime in, using the piece from the POC here as an example. First thought: It's just too long. That's why I edited it down. Shorter also allows you to be more focused. Believe me, I love to go on and on as much as anyone, but most people have limited time, and aren't likely to read or digest that much all at once.

      Also, and this is just a thought - I don't know if anyone else agrees with me - but, posting something at 4:42AM, especially when it's long and passionate, raises the Rant Alert. You run the risk of coming across as "that guy who writes crazy stuff in the middle of the night." Even if you really DO finish writing it at 4:42AM, put it aside for a couple of hours. Come back to it, read through it again, and see if you can make some trims. Hopefully then you've got a piece that's not at risk of being perceived as "out there," and you can then post it at a time that's not out there, too.

      Offered for whatever it's worth in a spirit of helpfulness. Thanks to you both for participating.

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    7. actually, I have found that there is something amiss with the posting times on the O'Call. The clock is wrong. Its in the wrong time zone, or something. I posted something in the afternoon and it came up as a NIGHT post. FYI

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    8. ...Which is not to say...That there's anything inherently wrong with posting at any given time, especially at a 24/7 house party like this blog. The Port O Call is a different beast, though, being connected as it is to a real, 3D publication with real, paid for ads and all that. And in that context, well, in my opinion, it might be better to keep posts to more regular business hours - just in case. Lord knows the businesses (potential advertisers) have enough to worry about, and tend to be the nervous types.

      But to repeat: Anyone is welcome here, any time. Just try not to make so much noise that someone calls the cops, okay?

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  12. great advice guys......

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  13. BTW..it takes Dale longer to set up his premise because he hasn't been here very long. You guys enjoy a wonderful shorthand born of longevity in the trenches, but I agree he is ponderous...

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  14. Just break it up into paragraphs. Right Crypty?

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  15. Yah, the time posted has little to do with the time of day. My software clock has a mind of its own. I got tired of adjusting it each time I want to post. Other points well taken. Keep those cards and letters coming in.

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  16. bonjour..The interesting thing to me here is, as the host points out, there are two different media. One is more constrained than the other as it has accountability, advertizers, ( thats how we spell it where i come from) old world schedules, 3D reality, cash outlays, budgets, heavy parcels to lift and carry, papers to fold, envelopes to lick... you grt my point. the other has immediacy. PA needs both because people (all people, not just PAeans are socialized on different wavwlengths. Some read blogs some read newspapers Bravo to you both. This town is so old fashioned, it feelss brand new. I think you are really going to help each other....ronnie

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    1. bonjour..Ronnie
      Thanks for your insightful additions and for your continuing interest as PA's saga continues to unfold.
      more later, T.S.

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