So here's what was announced earlier today:
A red
flag warning has been issued for Western Washington, including the Olympic
Mountains and the lowlands along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound,
and will last through 11 p.m. today as thunderstorms approach the region.
The warning was issued by the National Weather Service at 8:21 a.m. today.
A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either
occurring now or will develop shortly.
Here's the first (and thus far only) comment about this on the PDN's website:
I say Sequim has nothing to worry about; we rarely have thunderstorms. I think in the 10 yrs I've lived here, I've seen 2 thunderstorms, maybe 3 at most.
Now...Given the nature of climate change, as generally understood, and given the current record low flows in rivers in Clallam County, which are a result of the non-existent snowpack in the Olympics...Does anyone see any sort of attitudinal red flag warning that should be raised by statements like this one? How can you expect your elected "leaders" to focus on the future when they're too busy looking back at how things used to be - and are joined in this exercise by the people living there?
Yes, things might have been "that way" back in the day, but that's no guarantee that they will be "that way" tomorrow, or next year, or ten years from now. The world is changing around us. But unless we change our perspectives as well, then we'll always be behind the curve.
Way, way behind the curve.
That thunder you might hear signifies danger in more ways than one.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
The Lincoln Log - The Saga CONtinues
Does anyone else notice how the facts about the Lincoln Theater seem stuck, never change?
I don't just mean the fact that the Lincoln is, despite the "offer" made by Scott Nagel, still very much FOR SALE. No, I mean the "facts" that said Mr. Nagel keeps presenting to the community. Here we are, many weeks after these numbers were first announced (and over a week since it was last a topic here), and the figures are still $175,000 "raised," 65 donors have pledged $1,000 "or more," 135 "donors" total, etc.
It seems like one of two things is at play here. Either these are just the feel-good numbers Nagel and Crew have agreed upon and are using to try to entice suckers, or, the numbers are actually fairly accurate - but they've plateaued. They're stuck. There aren't any more suckers stepping up. Momentum zero.
The latest forum to roll this pipe dream and funny figures out at was last Thursday evening, when there were real live people from "out there" in the house. These guests, Scot and Linda Whitney, who run the State Theater in Olympia, are severely underrepresented in quotes in the PDN article, which would lead me to believe they didn't have much to say. (The photo accompanying the article shows a pained-looking Linda Whitney looking pityingly out at the audience.)
Yes, the Whitneys have made a go of it in Olympia, with a theater that was also "abandoned." But that is, at best, a very superficial comparison. For one thing, the owner of the Lincoln hasn't put a dime into it for maintenance for decades. (It is in extremely rundown condition, to be charitable.) The State Theater was not in that state of decrepitude when the Whitneys took it on.
And they took it on twenty years ago. In the state capitol. Which has (and had) more than double the population of Port Angeles. And is on I-5. And is in a county with three times the population of Clallam County. And is an hour from other larger bodies of population. And is in a community with three colleges, and other sizable arts organizations.
Twenty years ago, the economy was very different than it is today. There were more grants for these types of projects available from various sources. And the pitch for such projects didn't have to contend with the question that did come up at this last meeting: How do you compete with the multitude of electronic devices and entertainment options available? Just the combo of those two factors alone make the Lincoln much more of an uphill climb.
But even if you're optimistic about grants, like professional grant vampire Karen Hanan, who spoke at this last meeting, isn't it likely that, all other things being equal (which they aren't, but let's pretend), grant funding sources at the state level would be more inclined to support projects that are in their own community? I mean, if you're a theater goer, and live in Olympia, why wouldn't you support the State Theater project? But Port Angeles? That's a totally different story, in more ways than one.
Then there's location, location, location. As in, Port Angeles is way, way off the beaten path, and then some. Sure, you might be able to get some of the Clallam County folks who currently go to Port Townsend and Seattle for culture to stay home, but does anyone really think the Lincoln could not only end that trend, but actually reverse it and draw people from outside of Clallam County in? Given the wide variety of music/movies/theater choices available elsewhere regionally, that seems doubtful.
Which leads to the population...Which is small, and their representation at these Lincoln meetings, even smaller. You're not going to get very far or last very long with 135 people as your audience, even if they all somehow managed to spend $1,000 ("or more") a year. Hell, you got less than half that amount to show up for this last meeting. That doesn't come across as a groundswell of enthusiasm to me.
It seems to me, if you're talking about mobilizing 60 people to turn out for a meeting, and at that meeting you're talking about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, the time and effort would be better spent getting those folks to a City Council meeting, and raising hell in support of the City building a new reservoir or two.
In other words, the Lincoln Theater is, and will remain, a big, white elephant. But the fact that the City could literally run out of water? That remains the elephant in the room that those in charge are oh so reluctant to acknowledge.
The Lincoln would be a nice amenity. Water is a necessity. And life is all about setting priorities.
I don't just mean the fact that the Lincoln is, despite the "offer" made by Scott Nagel, still very much FOR SALE. No, I mean the "facts" that said Mr. Nagel keeps presenting to the community. Here we are, many weeks after these numbers were first announced (and over a week since it was last a topic here), and the figures are still $175,000 "raised," 65 donors have pledged $1,000 "or more," 135 "donors" total, etc.
It seems like one of two things is at play here. Either these are just the feel-good numbers Nagel and Crew have agreed upon and are using to try to entice suckers, or, the numbers are actually fairly accurate - but they've plateaued. They're stuck. There aren't any more suckers stepping up. Momentum zero.
The latest forum to roll this pipe dream and funny figures out at was last Thursday evening, when there were real live people from "out there" in the house. These guests, Scot and Linda Whitney, who run the State Theater in Olympia, are severely underrepresented in quotes in the PDN article, which would lead me to believe they didn't have much to say. (The photo accompanying the article shows a pained-looking Linda Whitney looking pityingly out at the audience.)
Yes, the Whitneys have made a go of it in Olympia, with a theater that was also "abandoned." But that is, at best, a very superficial comparison. For one thing, the owner of the Lincoln hasn't put a dime into it for maintenance for decades. (It is in extremely rundown condition, to be charitable.) The State Theater was not in that state of decrepitude when the Whitneys took it on.
And they took it on twenty years ago. In the state capitol. Which has (and had) more than double the population of Port Angeles. And is on I-5. And is in a county with three times the population of Clallam County. And is an hour from other larger bodies of population. And is in a community with three colleges, and other sizable arts organizations.
Twenty years ago, the economy was very different than it is today. There were more grants for these types of projects available from various sources. And the pitch for such projects didn't have to contend with the question that did come up at this last meeting: How do you compete with the multitude of electronic devices and entertainment options available? Just the combo of those two factors alone make the Lincoln much more of an uphill climb.
But even if you're optimistic about grants, like professional grant vampire Karen Hanan, who spoke at this last meeting, isn't it likely that, all other things being equal (which they aren't, but let's pretend), grant funding sources at the state level would be more inclined to support projects that are in their own community? I mean, if you're a theater goer, and live in Olympia, why wouldn't you support the State Theater project? But Port Angeles? That's a totally different story, in more ways than one.
Then there's location, location, location. As in, Port Angeles is way, way off the beaten path, and then some. Sure, you might be able to get some of the Clallam County folks who currently go to Port Townsend and Seattle for culture to stay home, but does anyone really think the Lincoln could not only end that trend, but actually reverse it and draw people from outside of Clallam County in? Given the wide variety of music/movies/theater choices available elsewhere regionally, that seems doubtful.
Which leads to the population...Which is small, and their representation at these Lincoln meetings, even smaller. You're not going to get very far or last very long with 135 people as your audience, even if they all somehow managed to spend $1,000 ("or more") a year. Hell, you got less than half that amount to show up for this last meeting. That doesn't come across as a groundswell of enthusiasm to me.
It seems to me, if you're talking about mobilizing 60 people to turn out for a meeting, and at that meeting you're talking about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, the time and effort would be better spent getting those folks to a City Council meeting, and raising hell in support of the City building a new reservoir or two.
In other words, the Lincoln Theater is, and will remain, a big, white elephant. But the fact that the City could literally run out of water? That remains the elephant in the room that those in charge are oh so reluctant to acknowledge.
The Lincoln would be a nice amenity. Water is a necessity. And life is all about setting priorities.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Open Meetings, Open Wounds, Open Feuds
Oh wow, oh wow!
This morning, I didn't see this article about Mike Doherty taking his (formerly) fellow Commissioners to task, because I couldn't get the PDN's website to open up. Then I was at work all day, and went to a meeting straight from work, then cut my finger making dinner...But now I've read it, and damn, isn't it about time? Thank you, Mike Doherty.
Honesty? Check. Appropriate righteous outrage? Check. Calling creeps on their sleazy behavior? Check. To their faces? You bet! Self-serving and self-righteous outrage from the creeps being called out? Oh, yes, and then some.
"I don't think I did anything wrong," said Chapman Wednesday. "I'm out looking for work. I'm not nefarious. If you have problems with me, tell the whole world. Call for my public resignation."
Well, I won't call for your public resignation, Mike, because I know you'll never do that. Besides, I'd rather see you recalled and/or indicted, personally. In any case, all those idiotic Democrats and white-washed environmentalists who got you re-elected this last time, are they finally waking up to the reality of Mike Chapman? Mike Doherty sure has - and he's doing the right thing by broadcasting it, and calling for an investigation into whether or not any laws were violated. Again, thank you, Mike Doherty.
And gee, does anyone else notice a pattern here? Both Mike Doherty and Selinda Barkhuis were and are in positions to know all the inside dirt in the County Courthouse. And they both point to the same trio of charlatans as the source of the problem: Jim Jones, Mike Chapman, and Dim King Jim. I kind of doubt that both Mike D. and Selinda are having the same fantastic hallucinations. I kind of have to believe, as stated above, that they're positioned to know things, and what they know is making them both cry foul.
Such courage and critical thinking, not to mention placing the public good and their right to know front and center, are things to be commended. So, one last time, good job, both of you. Keep it up!
But does the ever-more unstable Mike Chapman demonstrate any such courage or critical thinking?
"I think every elected official does a great job," said Chapman.
Obviously some people don't share your perspective, Commissioner Chapman. And thank goodness for that.
********
Footnote: I apologize for the rushed and somewhat detail-deficient nature of the above posting. It was a little late in the game, and I was hurrying, and wrote with the assumption that most people reading this would also have read (or would then read) the PDN article about this fascinating situation.
This morning, I didn't see this article about Mike Doherty taking his (formerly) fellow Commissioners to task, because I couldn't get the PDN's website to open up. Then I was at work all day, and went to a meeting straight from work, then cut my finger making dinner...But now I've read it, and damn, isn't it about time? Thank you, Mike Doherty.
Honesty? Check. Appropriate righteous outrage? Check. Calling creeps on their sleazy behavior? Check. To their faces? You bet! Self-serving and self-righteous outrage from the creeps being called out? Oh, yes, and then some.
"I don't think I did anything wrong," said Chapman Wednesday. "I'm out looking for work. I'm not nefarious. If you have problems with me, tell the whole world. Call for my public resignation."
Well, I won't call for your public resignation, Mike, because I know you'll never do that. Besides, I'd rather see you recalled and/or indicted, personally. In any case, all those idiotic Democrats and white-washed environmentalists who got you re-elected this last time, are they finally waking up to the reality of Mike Chapman? Mike Doherty sure has - and he's doing the right thing by broadcasting it, and calling for an investigation into whether or not any laws were violated. Again, thank you, Mike Doherty.
And gee, does anyone else notice a pattern here? Both Mike Doherty and Selinda Barkhuis were and are in positions to know all the inside dirt in the County Courthouse. And they both point to the same trio of charlatans as the source of the problem: Jim Jones, Mike Chapman, and Dim King Jim. I kind of doubt that both Mike D. and Selinda are having the same fantastic hallucinations. I kind of have to believe, as stated above, that they're positioned to know things, and what they know is making them both cry foul.
Such courage and critical thinking, not to mention placing the public good and their right to know front and center, are things to be commended. So, one last time, good job, both of you. Keep it up!
But does the ever-more unstable Mike Chapman demonstrate any such courage or critical thinking?
"I think every elected official does a great job," said Chapman.
Obviously some people don't share your perspective, Commissioner Chapman. And thank goodness for that.
********
Footnote: I apologize for the rushed and somewhat detail-deficient nature of the above posting. It was a little late in the game, and I was hurrying, and wrote with the assumption that most people reading this would also have read (or would then read) the PDN article about this fascinating situation.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Rubbercheckmate - OR - Is Selinda's Barkhuis Worse Than Her Bite?
Oh...
My...
God.
Public pissing match. Differing versions of authority and reality clashing. Everyone in full denial of responsibility mode. Chickens running around with their heads cut off! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria! Total anarchy! All we need now is a bulldozer.
But even without a bulldozer, Selinda is like a bull in a China shop. I'm still not 100 percent sure exactly what her motivations are, but...You go, girl!
Monday, June 22, 2015
The Revitalizer? Or Denier in Chief?
From the PDN today...
The Revitalizer: Leader of Revitalize Port Angeles aims to reinvent town while accentuating the positive
Leslie Robertson
is the unstintingly positive Facebook presence, posting messages to support
people and businesses all over town.
“Positive,” she said, “is what works. It’s always easy to find the negative,” and blame others for whatever is wrong on any given day.
Yet “positive is what gets things done.”
Yet “positive is what gets things done.”
“Instead
of censoring ideas, Leslie encourages debate, only asking that it remain civil
and on topic,” Carol Sinton said.
Robertson
has no degree in urban affairs, marketing or public relations; “college didn’t
stick,” she said.
She is
a 1983 high school graduate...
Richard Schneider
and Robertson don’t agree on every little thing, but they’re of like mind when
it comes to the Facebook page: They want a safe, productive forum with civility
as the cardinal rule.
“Anything really useful can be said respectfully,” he added.
“Anything really useful can be said respectfully,” he added.
From what many of you have posted here, I'd say that you may have a slightly less rosy view of this busy-body high school graduate. And the PDN seems unaware of the irony of invoking the lyrics "accentuating the positive" in their headline, while leaving out the next line about "eliminate the negative." Ah, but such feel-good censorship is what the PDN is all about, isn't it?
Now, I don't mean to be mean, but really...Is a Port Angeles native whose resume consists of high school, working retail and starting a Facebook page really the type of sharp, experienced and worldly person to lead the town out of the wilderness and into a prosperous 21st century? A prosperity based on another bit of lyrics, "where never is heard a discouraging word"? I mean, can a person or a town succeed in reality when they deny the very existence of reality? Isn't there a limit to how much you can paper (or newspaper) over real problems?
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Well, Well, Well
I cut and pasted the comment below from the previous subject. Anyone wanna tackle it?
Personally, I like how the poster asks a question, then immediately responds as though someone had answered it - incorrectly. ("See, you don't really know.") I also like how they've ended by insulting anyone who disagrees with them, and told them that they have their heads up their asses. (Winning friends and influencing people.) As for the mythical second well...Well, anyway, here it is. Feel free to share the good news with the Craig Fulton Fan Club...
Bullshit, and Fulton is not a liar. You folks are so focused on your hatred, deserved or not, that you are blind to the true situation regarding water flow. For example, do any of you know how much the domestic water (in CFS) the City of Port Angeles uses? How does that relate in terms of total stream flow? See, you don't really know. Rather, you're full of ignorance and fear. The truth is the river won't go dry this year, and there will be drinking water available. What's going to happen is that fish will likely die, just as Fulton alluded to. Evil Nippon may have to shut down for a few weeks, but that's not a certainty. In the longer term, Port Angeles will likely dig a second collector well to supplement the existing Ranney Well. I like some of things I read on this post, but get a grip and do your research rather than pulling facts out of the orifice where some of your heads normally reside...
Who you gonna call? Ranney collectors!
Who you gonna get to pay for it? Tax collectors!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Gimme Shelter...From the Morons Running This Place
The
Salvation Army has closed its emergency overnight shelter at 206 Peabody St.
while the organization works with city officials on permitting requirements.
Nathan West, city community and economic development director, said Tuesday that city officials Monday notified the Salvation Army that its shelter was illegal as an overnight facility because it lacks sprinklers, among other safety issues.
West said city officials learned of the shelter, which has operated since mid-February, on Monday.
“We just kind of pushed things over, and we did emergency housing,” Ramsey explained. “We did not check with the requirements the city might have had for that." On Monday, a city official “asked what I was operating,” he recalled. “They were unaware we were there.”
“Typically, we'd expect someone to turn in an application for a new use of a building.”
The Salvation Army began providing overnight services to the homeless after Serenity House closed its 20-bed Street Outreach Shelter at 505 E. Second St. in mid-February due to budget deficits and a sewer line collapse, the Peninsula Daily News reported Feb. 18.
The overnight shelter has been mentioned in multiple news reports since.
Bad decisions and bad communications all around. In other words, plenty of blame for everybody.
Good Lord...
Nathan West, city community and economic development director, said Tuesday that city officials Monday notified the Salvation Army that its shelter was illegal as an overnight facility because it lacks sprinklers, among other safety issues.
West said city officials learned of the shelter, which has operated since mid-February, on Monday.
“We just kind of pushed things over, and we did emergency housing,” Ramsey explained. “We did not check with the requirements the city might have had for that." On Monday, a city official “asked what I was operating,” he recalled. “They were unaware we were there.”
“Typically, we'd expect someone to turn in an application for a new use of a building.”
The Salvation Army began providing overnight services to the homeless after Serenity House closed its 20-bed Street Outreach Shelter at 505 E. Second St. in mid-February due to budget deficits and a sewer line collapse, the Peninsula Daily News reported Feb. 18.
The overnight shelter has been mentioned in multiple news reports since.
Bad decisions and bad communications all around. In other words, plenty of blame for everybody.
Good Lord...
The Lincoln Theater is Still on the Market; Port Angeles, Maybe Not
So, Scott Nagel, still pursuing his dream of "buying" the Lincoln Theater, says he has $175,000 on hand - and just needs to raise $60,000 more, by the nebulously defined "summer's end."
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce, which has $175,000 of the City's money in hand for "marketing" said City, now says it's not going to pursue the same funds from the City in the future. They now say they want out of the business of "marketing" the City, because it interferes with their "core mission."
Now, I have all sorts of questions about the "pledges" that Nagel says he's gotten - too many to go into here. The real question I have though, is for the current owner of the Lincoln. It's an old building, a decrepit piece of property in a dead downtown of a small, remote town. So, given all that, and given the odds against anyone but a pie-in-the-sky goof like Nagel wanting to buy such an albatross, why don't you drop the price a little?
Oh, that's right. It's because you're the greedy scumbag who ran it into the ground in the first place.
As for the Chamber...I find this announcement interesting. This sounds a little like someone who knows no one is going to ask them to dance, so they announce they've decided to skip the prom. In other words, after years and years of being the ultimate soft touch, I think word has finally filtered through to someone that the City is broke. Out of funds. Flat. No longer able to be a soft touch, no matter how much they'd like to be. (And believe me, they'd like to be.)
We're done squeezed dry!
So I think the common thread linking these two stories - Scott Nagel's endless, hopeless quest for funds, and the Chamber's odd "no thanks" - is the dire state of poverty in Port Angeles. There just aren't as many tax dollars coming in as their used to be. There aren't as many grants available as there used to be. Meanwhile, costs like pension benefits and the overall debt load of the City keep growing, growing, growing.
And maybe, just maybe, another thread linking them, is that a growing body of people within the Chamber are starting to realize the futility of "marketing" a town that currently has so little to offer. You know, like a town that can't even keep one, small movie theater going.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Drug Problem? Take the Money and Shun
As a starting point...Here's a weird headline for you:
Group builds on national poll momentum to examine illegal drug use in Port Angeles
Now, personally, I love that the "Best Town EVER" boosters have taken what they see as a positive ("We're number two!") and linked it with something that pretty much everyone agrees is, at best, a real bummer ("We're number one! In opiate-related deaths!"). That seems like a weird and unnatural link to me, but okay, whatever.
As commenters here have pointed out, again and again, the way the City of Port Angeles and the City Council of Port Angeles have responded (no response at all) to the painfully obvious drug problem in Clallam County is, in and of itself, a problem, as well as being shameful, cowardly and cold.
The article in today's PDN about the drug abuse forum put together by the Revitalize PA crowd is an interesting one - especially if you know a little about what's going on behind the scenes, or are able to read between the lines.
First, the drug problem is a County-wide problem, right? It's not just Port Angeles. The go-to person for substance abuse issues at the County is Leeann Grasseth, prevention specialist and grant coordinator. You'll notice she's not mentioned in this article at all. Hmmm...
Leeann, among other things, leads the Port Angeles Healthy Youth Coalition, the group trying to raise awareness of the drug problem in Clallam County, and trying to find solutions for said problem. But again, no mention of Leeann in this article. And, if you check the PAHYC website, you'll see that there are no elected officials - not a one - on their steering committee or involved in any way. Big problem, official involvement...zero. Hmmm...
In this article, the sensible Martin Shaughnessy is quoted as saying, "I'm inclined to put my money on the Boys & Girls Club" as a likely venue for successfully addressing local drug abuse problems among young people. And Martin, whether he knows it or not, is on to something.
That's because, Leeann Grasseth, frustrated by the County's lack of concern about or commitment to this issue, has been working behind the scenes to take the multi-million dollar Federal grant that currently funds her efforts away from Clallam County, and transfer it to...the Boys & Girls Club.
Now, let me make something absolutely clear here. We are talking about the County essentially giving away a Federal grant that addresses drug abuse. This grant costs them nothing. It not only pays for Grasseth's salary, but the County is even able to scrape many thousands of dollars off here and there to partially fund other staff positions that do not directly deal with this issue. In other words, this Federal grant could be seen as a money maker for Clallam County. It is cash flow positive.
And they are willing to let it go. Which, to my eyes, takes the official silence and indifference we've seen from local elected officials to a whole new level of "We don't care."
Think about that for a minute. Free money, addressing a pressing need in your community, and giving you some (unearned) cash on the side...And you just don't care. From what I've heard, this move has already been OKed by the higher ups at the County. The higher ups who just don't care. So I guess the three Republican Commissioners aren't the fabled "compassionate conservative" types.
Is this denial? Blind stupidity? A desire for a lack of accountability on this issue? Hey, who knows? And who cares? Not the County, apparently.
But if you care, or are just interested in this issue, the next Port Angeles Healthy Youth Coalition meeting is next Wednesday, the 17th, from Noon to 1Pm in room 115 at Port Angeles High School.
(By the way...My apologies for inserting SO MANY charts here, but...I'm just trying to demonstrate that this is an issue that has been an issue for Clallam County for years and years. There is no way for the people in charge of things to have any deniability on this issue.)
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Water Falls - Not the Pretty Kind
In response to something that wasn't quite a request by a poster, the following is offered as a place to both UPDATE the river flows, and to COMMENT on said subject:
This morning, the rivers drop again, Elwha now at 519. Dungeness now at 172.
At this rate, the Elwha will be at 225 in two weeks. Then what?
Maybe a side column to put the flow rates in...I think it is incredibly important residents see how fast the rivers are drying up, so that they can plan accordingly. We sure are not hearing about in in the PDN. Or the City. Or Revitalize. Or anywhere else.
At this rate, the Elwha will be at 225 in two weeks. Then what?
Maybe a side column to put the flow rates in...I think it is incredibly important residents see how fast the rivers are drying up, so that they can plan accordingly. We sure are not hearing about in in the PDN. Or the City. Or Revitalize. Or anywhere else.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
How Long?
"A
stage 4 water shortage alert has clamped down on outdoor watering for the 566
customers of the Upper Fairview Water District. The state Department of Ecology directed the Clallam County Public Utility
District to issue the alert immediately, the PUD announced Wednesday. The alert requires mandatory restrictions on all outdoor water use."
How long until this type of restriction is expanded? This is just the beginning.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Putting the "Bust" in "Robust"
Here's an excerpt from a letter to the editor today, from a very kind and generous gentleman from Chattanooga:
"Chattanooga will get a front page in Outside magazine more than likely. It will be featured; it's not the first time.
But this competition in the end is going to mean more to you than to us.
We're already robust and booming."
Notice that last line: "We're already robust and booming." Translation: Even with all the hype, and even with all those miles separating Port Angeles from Chattanooga, he can tell the town is not robust and booming.
Which, now that the dust has settled, and people who may have heard about Port Angeles for the first time have time to reflect, they'll probably wonder why, exactly, the town isn't booming. As this gentleman's letter points out, Port Angeles has "oceanfront" (and the Turd Tank), and "a national park in your backyard" (which we'd really, really like to log, please). Towns have made fortunes with less resources than that, yet, of the phrase "robust and booming," all Port Angeles has ever managed to extract is the "bust."
Why is that City Council? Why is that City Council candidates?
Why is that Chamber of Commerce? Why is that PABA/PADA/Revitalize?
And when they come, I'm sure it's a question that the folks from Outside will be asking themselves as well. Maybe the question will arise when they have to be driven in, since there's no airline serving Port Angeles. Maybe it will arise when they hit the crest on the way into town, and see that log yard and biomass tower. Maybe it will hit them when they find the rivers and creeks dry. Even if the question doesn't come up at any of those flash points of disappointment, it will be unavoidable once Cherie Kidd and/or Pat Downie open their mouths. (And you know they both will be in giddy, full-on flap their trap mode.)
The ONP. The Shoreline. Access to Victoria. Even the international Twilight craze. Decades of access to those desirable resources. Hundreds of thousands of people coming through town every year. And yet, the city hasn't been able to extract a single ounce of sustainable cool, energy, excitement, marketable identity or success from any of it. Why is that?
It's the classic Port Angeles question. But even after all the times it's been repeated, those in charge still pretend to have never heard it. "Nothing to see here, nothing to see. Keep moving, keep moving. It's another great day in Port Angeles! Move along!"
"Chattanooga will get a front page in Outside magazine more than likely. It will be featured; it's not the first time.
But this competition in the end is going to mean more to you than to us.
We're already robust and booming."
Notice that last line: "We're already robust and booming." Translation: Even with all the hype, and even with all those miles separating Port Angeles from Chattanooga, he can tell the town is not robust and booming.
Which, now that the dust has settled, and people who may have heard about Port Angeles for the first time have time to reflect, they'll probably wonder why, exactly, the town isn't booming. As this gentleman's letter points out, Port Angeles has "oceanfront" (and the Turd Tank), and "a national park in your backyard" (which we'd really, really like to log, please). Towns have made fortunes with less resources than that, yet, of the phrase "robust and booming," all Port Angeles has ever managed to extract is the "bust."
Why is that City Council? Why is that City Council candidates?
Why is that Chamber of Commerce? Why is that PABA/PADA/Revitalize?
And when they come, I'm sure it's a question that the folks from Outside will be asking themselves as well. Maybe the question will arise when they have to be driven in, since there's no airline serving Port Angeles. Maybe it will arise when they hit the crest on the way into town, and see that log yard and biomass tower. Maybe it will hit them when they find the rivers and creeks dry. Even if the question doesn't come up at any of those flash points of disappointment, it will be unavoidable once Cherie Kidd and/or Pat Downie open their mouths. (And you know they both will be in giddy, full-on flap their trap mode.)
The ONP. The Shoreline. Access to Victoria. Even the international Twilight craze. Decades of access to those desirable resources. Hundreds of thousands of people coming through town every year. And yet, the city hasn't been able to extract a single ounce of sustainable cool, energy, excitement, marketable identity or success from any of it. Why is that?
It's the classic Port Angeles question. But even after all the times it's been repeated, those in charge still pretend to have never heard it. "Nothing to see here, nothing to see. Keep moving, keep moving. It's another great day in Port Angeles! Move along!"
Friday, June 5, 2015
Dry Socket to ME??? AKA: Water, Me Worry?
You know, water has been many things in Port Angeles. Glenn Cutler, professional bully, used it as a weapon. The City has used it as a give-away to Nippon, and a money extraction device deployed on their utility customers. Dan Morrison, professional land rapist, uses and abuses it to race his stupid, stupid little boats on. Heck, Lee Whetham even supported its use as an aesthetic tool, worrying as he did (and perhaps still does) about "brown yards."
But the one thing that water never seems to get talked about as in Port Angeles is, oh, you know, an essential ingredient to life itself. You know, as in, food, water and air. Ah, yes...Those things.
With that in mind, I've been very interested in, and appreciative of, the updates from one of you on the current Elwha water levels. So thank you, concerned reader, and please do feel free to continue sharing your info/input, like the below:
And, the Elwha river level has dropped again, to 594 cfs today. Normal/average for this day is 2180.
And, hot weather is forecast. We'll see what happens over the next week.
And, hot weather is forecast. We'll see what happens over the next week.
And...
The Elwha River has dropped another 20 cfs in the last 4 hours!
Now at 575 cfs!
Unbelievable!
Now at 575 cfs!
Unbelievable!
Here's a new graph on this subject, to help drive the point home:
Yes, that's right. The Olympics are at 0% of normal. Right now. And it's only June. And it seems unlikely they'll get much snow before, oh, what, October? November? And at any rate, that snow will be 2016 water, not 2015.
Here's another graph for you:
It doesn't seem unlikely that these low flow days soon will be the new average, or certainly a lot more common. Which naturally enough raises the question of what the City will do in response to this. Nippon won't be able to operate. Fish will die in massive numbers. Fires will be even more threatening than normal. People will panic. Lawns will go well beyond brown, and the Turd Tank will be nothing more than a fifty million dollar monument to the inability of Port Angeles residents to even flush their toilets.
All that, and more...And you've got Dan DiGuilio and Pat Downie and Cherie Kidd and Lee Whetham and Dan Gase in charge. I think you can call that adding insult(s) to injury. So what will the City do? Given that it's an election year, you'd best ask the candidates what they'd do. Because, so far as I can see, there hasn't been much done yet, other than a lot of can kicking and online clicking.
But really, you can't ignore this issue, Port Angeles, because...
393 Hours
Time you can't get back. Energy has to be renewed. In other words, any effort that takes time and/or energy has costs associated with it.
So, regarding the now finished (in more ways than one) "Best Town EVER" contest, let's look at how much it cost Port Angeles.
Looking at just the last round of voting, there were roughly 62,100 votes for Port Angeles, each one requiring you to finish a captcha. So let's be conservative, and say it took 15 seconds to cast each vote, meaning you could do 4 per minute. If you break those 62,100 votes down, it cost 15,525 minutes, or 258.75 hours to cast all those votes.
Now, there were also comments, a total of about 18,500 of them. Let's be conservative again, and say that a third of those were for/from Port Angeles. That gives us 6,166 comments. Let's say it took 20 seconds to post each comment, or 3 per minute. Breaking that 6,166 down, you get 2,055 minutes, or 34.25 hours.
Then, let's be very, very conservative, and say that all the voting and comments on earlier rounds took 100 hours total. (Though it was doubtlessly more, but we're being conservative here...)
Now then, if you add that all up, you get 393 hours, which breaks down into 16.375 days spent on this. Yes, over two full-time, 24 hour a day weeks of effort went into this stupid contest.
Imagine what could have been down with all that time and energy. Imagine how many sidewalks could have been cleaned. Imagine how much litter could have been picked up. Need a house built? It could have been done. Need thousands of flowers planted to beautify the town? That would have been no problem. I'm sure you can come up with all sorts of projects that could have been done with that much time and effort at your disposal.
Putting all that time and energy to use on just about anything else would have left Port Angeles with tangible results. But, once again, this experience has shown that it's not about results in Port Angeles. It's all about maintaining the carefully crafted and nurtured lies and illusions that keep the town stuck in the past, trapped in poverty, and, right now, quickly running out of both hope and water.
So, regarding the now finished (in more ways than one) "Best Town EVER" contest, let's look at how much it cost Port Angeles.
Looking at just the last round of voting, there were roughly 62,100 votes for Port Angeles, each one requiring you to finish a captcha. So let's be conservative, and say it took 15 seconds to cast each vote, meaning you could do 4 per minute. If you break those 62,100 votes down, it cost 15,525 minutes, or 258.75 hours to cast all those votes.
Now, there were also comments, a total of about 18,500 of them. Let's be conservative again, and say that a third of those were for/from Port Angeles. That gives us 6,166 comments. Let's say it took 20 seconds to post each comment, or 3 per minute. Breaking that 6,166 down, you get 2,055 minutes, or 34.25 hours.
Then, let's be very, very conservative, and say that all the voting and comments on earlier rounds took 100 hours total. (Though it was doubtlessly more, but we're being conservative here...)
Now then, if you add that all up, you get 393 hours, which breaks down into 16.375 days spent on this. Yes, over two full-time, 24 hour a day weeks of effort went into this stupid contest.
Imagine what could have been down with all that time and energy. Imagine how many sidewalks could have been cleaned. Imagine how much litter could have been picked up. Need a house built? It could have been done. Need thousands of flowers planted to beautify the town? That would have been no problem. I'm sure you can come up with all sorts of projects that could have been done with that much time and effort at your disposal.
Putting all that time and energy to use on just about anything else would have left Port Angeles with tangible results. But, once again, this experience has shown that it's not about results in Port Angeles. It's all about maintaining the carefully crafted and nurtured lies and illusions that keep the town stuck in the past, trapped in poverty, and, right now, quickly running out of both hope and water.
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"With the Elwha at 550 cfs today, we see the water there is draining away, too. The Dungeness River is at 194 cfs today. Not good."