On the way to Port Angeles, we passed through Portland, which looked like one big construction zone. I guess it's true that Portland is the new San Francisco, because the way they're building condos and apartments and everything else, there must still be literally tons of people flocking there.
The Pearl District is becoming a whole Pearl Necklace...
And then some.
Wow! As impressive as it was, it was all a bit too much to deal with traffic-wise for a simple lunch stop. Plus, it was still kind of early in the day, so we decided to get lunch at a place we like in Olympia instead.
With that in mind, I said we could almost certainly park across the street from where we wanted to go downtown in a big (and usually emptyish) parking lot behind a bank. At least that was the plan...But when we got there, we discovered that this was going up where the lot once was...
Hey kids - get yer red hot condos here!
Oops! Olympia was pretty booming, too. No more parking lot behind the bank - now it'll soon be five or six stories of condos and apartments, with retail below. In other words, when we did manage to park, we may have gotten one of the past open parking spaces in downtown Olympia. (Oh, and the downtown was extra buzzing that day because it turned out to be the first day of their 32nd annual Olympia Film Festival...)
And so, lunch having finally been acquired, we hit the road again. Our full bellies gave a bit of a lurch as we made the turn onto Highway 101.
But we got to see the new, improved sections of 101 in Clallam County - which were weird and totally out of scale. This was especially noticeable due to the very light Friday traffic on 101. I mean, for all intents and purposes, there was no traffic on 101 in the late afternoon on a Friday.
Coming into town, we noticed that the porn and firewood trailer is gone. That was, I will admit, a bit of a disappointment. Then we passed the bleak Border Patrol facility. The closed Bushwhacker. We saw that a vet is moving into the building where the liquor store used to be - but that the store next to that is vacant.
Passing the Air Crest, we were, of course, aware that we wouldn't be seeing the Moldy Mattress. But still, we looked, just in case. (Later, we saw something I liked even better: A shut down, beat up and spray painted soda machine leaning lifelessly against the side of the previously discussed Holiday Lodge.) We saw the STILL FOR SALE Lincoln Theater.
The Lincoln Theater...Not sold, just old...Very, very old.
Everything looked essentially the same as it did a couple of years ago, only dingier, more run down. Gross's Florist & Nursery was just that - gross - with peeling paint and mildew overshadowing any plants on site. The streets were grubby and nearly deserted. The PDN informed us that Toxic Teresa Pierce would be appearing in some sort of Christmas show. Cherie Kidd still had her big campaign banner up across from the gas station - in violation of State law.
But the thing that seemed to sum it up to me, that seemed to encapsulate the whole Port Angeles vibe to me, was the still signed and still closed Maria's Mexican Restaurant on Lincoln. That place was closed before I even left town, but the sign was still up, nothing had changed. It had been run by a kook (Herbert Lutz), who got in a pissing match with the City over - irony alert - their sign codes, and it all ended with Lutz ending the business.
Maria's: Still closed for business seven days a week.
Except that...It hasn't ended. Despite the City's sign code, the very one that Lutz found so onerous, the sign for Maria's still stands. The empty shell of the building still sits there, a history of anger, civic dysfunction, petty feuds and economic decline trailing out behind it, and, apparently, in front of it. Is it a ghost? A warning to others? Or just another eyesore?
Herbert Lutz and Matthew Randazzo...Before it went
so horribly wrong for both of them.
All I know is that I spent about ten hours each way going through a big chunk of the Pacific Northwest, and most places things seemed to be booming, thriving, vital, alive. But not Port Angeles. It just seemed dingy and dark and treeless and lifeless and lost.
It felt so good to get someone out of that place, finally, and to know that we would never, ever have to go back for any reason. I know some people are going to cling to Mark Ozias as a ray of sunshine in the darkness, but the fact remains that Clallam County is a very, very, very dark place. It's like the old pun about a thousand points of blight. I just feel bad for the good people who are there, because it is a place run by and for bad people, evil people.
No place is perfect, to be sure, but it feels so good to be home in my legitimately progressive town, with its tree-lined streets, and low unemployment and high civic involvement. I've said it before, and it's worth repeating: Life is too short to live in Port Angeles. It's a place beyond hope, without a prayer. It cannot be saved, certainly not in our lifetimes, but you can save yourself. It is worth any price to get out.
Well, glad you got to come to the Hell Hole that is Port Angeles and Clallam County, if only to refresh and remind yourself why it is important to go away, get away, stay away from here.
ReplyDeleteRemember, even Port Angeles' forever cheerleader Cgerie Kidd said she gets depressed when she returns to Port Angeles after visiting other communities. And, she was born here.
Yes, pretty much everywhere else is booming. Except here.
It's inherently depressing to be here (that lack of quality of life that NOAA noted), but nothing brings it into stark relief like leaving this area and seeing how the real world lives. Like the commenter above, I also was reminded of Cherie Kidd's own assessment of Port Angeles, how coming back to it is depressing. Going elsewhere and seeing life and art and young people and vibrant, successful businesses, it really does make you want to cry when you come back to this.
ReplyDeletewow, many of you must be seeing an alternate universe port angeles if you haven't noticed all the positive change in the one i live in! many new businesses in downtown including restaurants and retail shops, a beautiful new waterfront park, the growth of the revitalize port angeles group..and much more...as a downtown store owner i see tourists almost daily who comment on how charming our town is compared to where they live. many say they are planning on moving here when they retire. however i realize nothing anyone can say to change the views of those who feed off negativity which i find to be very sad.
DeleteI'm sorry but, are you insane? Charming? Charming is all you've got?
DeleteI'd say alarming. As in, wow, look at those insanely high rates of substance abuse, some of the highest in the state. As in, look at our insanely high school drop out rates. That's a really nice combo with the drug abuse, don't you think?
"A beautiful new waterfront park..." Yes, and the debt to pay for it. And lots and lots of debt for all sorts of other things as well. The debt load for our little city is something like $150 MILLION dollars, and that may be lowballing it. Our infrastructure is out of date and crumbling, and we don't have funds to fix that, but you're excited about a "beautiful new waterfront park." I don't think you understand the context of that park at all. Not a bit.
And maybe all these fantasy people who are supposedly charmed and want to move here will do so when they retire (which won't help us demographically, by the way) and, on their retirement budgets they can join the 1/3 of utility users in Port Angeles who can't afford their utility bills EVERY MONTH.
Charming? This place is charming? What drugs are YOU on? And I've just barely scratched the surface, which is apparently is still deeper than your thoughts ever go.
I grant you there are some new businesses downtown run by younger folks who bring new ideas and energy to the table. Good for them. And, yes, Railroad Ave needed some improvements. The new park is nice. But before criticizing us as simply "feeding off negativity" I ask you to step back and see the big picture.
DeleteAs noted above, there is a cost to the park. Honestly by itself it's managable, but combined with all the other projects it just adds to an incredibly large hole the city is digging for itself. The turd tank and the garbage bluffs were mismanaged into huge cost overruns. The marine cleanup and composite recycling will add to the ledger.
To make matters worse, we don't have a thriving economy here to pay that off. There are some very well off people here, but there are also a lot of people who can't pay their electrical bill. The city keeps trying to squeeze blood from a stone to pay for their never-ending projects. Seniors might find it charming, but if they actually do move here the best they'll do is add some minimum wage service jobs to the economy. We need family-wage jobs and a lower cost of living.
While the city is piling on the projects, and the gambles, they are neglecting the rest of the city. Roads, pipes, schools, parks are all being fixed slowly if at all. The city simply doesn't have the resources for it all. Ask your customers to tour the high school and see if they still find it charming.
But even that's not the worst. You see, many of us are cynical for a reason. Every year we're told things are getting better, or that a recovery is just around the corner. We're told a flood of new businesses are relocating here. We're told people will start moving here, adding to the energy. We're told the new faces on the councils will change things. Year after year, decade after decade. And now you're saying it again. So you'll forgive us if we remain cynical and negative. We've been told to think positive and everything will get better far too many times to actually believe it.
Anon 9:29 is just a troll.
DeleteAnyone who lives here, and spends any time downtown knows the place is deserted most of the time. No businesses can survive very long with the empty sidewalks many photos and videos posted here before have clearly shown.
Charming? Maybe, if you are comparing Port Angeles to a neighborhood in Syria. But anybody that has traveled outside of Clallam County knows how pathetic this area actually is.
Anon 9:29 just states crap in order to get a rise out of folks. The truth of the situation, as CK has pointed out well in this post, is there for anyone to see, if they're honestly looking.
Which trolls don't do.
If Port Angeles is so charming, and such a draw for people to move/retire here, then how is it that in the last census, essentially EVERY town on the Olympic Peninsula grew EXCEPT for Port Angeles, which LOST population?
DeleteSequim is planning an addition 1.500 residences in the next year or two. This will bring a need for more goods and services and there will be more retail jobs. Sequim is becoming a hot economic development zone.
DeleteAnon 5:25, please don't bring facts and reality into the conversation.
DeleteIt's so charming to have know nothings like Pat Downie and Cherie Kidd running things here. Their totally uninformed and out of date decision making really adds so much to the charm of Port Angeles.
DeleteIf it's going great guns elsewhere, and it's in the toilet here, well, I guess that's the way Port Angeles contributes to the balance of the world. You can't have a success without a failure to compare it to.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right on track about Mark, too. I think he means well, and it is a LOT better having Mark in the Commissioners seat, instead of Dimwit Jim. But, at least for the next two years, it will be the Peach Melba show. Unless Chapman wakes up, and remembers he is there to serve the people, not whine. For all the time Mike complained about Peach's vote being a foregone conclusion, no matter what, now that Peach's brains have been ejected by the voters, that dynamic is no longer at play. So boys, now what?
ReplyDeleteSame with PA City Council. IF they had any integrity, they would look at what happened, and be respectful of their constituents.
Yeah, I know.
I don't see any clear leader on the soon-to-be Commissioner front. All will have to play their roles, none of which are necessarily compatible with the other.
DeletePeach is a sheep, not a leader. Chapman wants to whine a lot, it's true, and wants to be all things to all people, especially the "truth teller." He also needs to shore up his left flank, but with Mark Ozias, the real deal, there beside him, it may be hard for him to do that.
So, Ozias will come in as probably the smartest one of the three, and certainly the most ethical one of the three, and...None of that might matter, because he may well struggle to find a second vote to advance anything. (Watch for Chapman to abstain more...)
We shall see...
If Mark Ozias can come to the commission without being tethered to the marionette strings of Tharinger and Van de Wege he might succeed in getting something done. If he is going to be a puppet for these two who recruited him then we will see more division in the community and more stalemate when it comes to doing something that has even a whiff of progressiveness. I believe Mark will be his own man and seek his own counsel, and that of his constituents but he will have to fight the urge to kow tow to Tharinger and Van de Wege. The best part of this election is now Bill Peach has no one to hide behind. His thought processes, such as they are, will be there for all to see. No more yes man to MeEntire. It will be most interesting to see who, if any, actually rises to the mantle of "Leadership" on this new commission.
DeleteChapman has the most "institutional knowledge", and clear seniority. He used to be pretty good on his positions, back when Tharinger and 'the other Mike" were Commissioners.
DeleteIf he can see the opportunities the current situation offers, Chapman could shine right now. Mark may be the smartest of the bunch, but he has no background, and as a smart person, he will tend to listen more than talk for a while.
Peach is McEntire's 'mini-me", and perhaps Jimmy Boy will have meetings with Mr. Bill to tell him what to do on votes. That will be pretty obvious, and not likely to gain much traction with Mark. So, that leaves Chapman to run things. As he has many times in the past.
People keep getting hung up on the whole savior or messiah idea. One good, clean, decent person riding in to save us all! Betsy Wharton, Max Mania, Sissi Bruch, Mark Ozias, plus a whole lot of failed candidates for various offices have been put in this role.
DeleteAll were held up as THE ONE who would change things. But one by one they failed, as is to be expected. One person at a time just means there's one person at a time for the criminal infrastructure of this place to take down, drive out or corrupt.
It will take wholesale, widespread change for anything meaningful to happen here. One new person here or there isn't going to have any effect. It's like talking about giving a sick person a tiny spoonful of plasma when what they need is a total transfusion of new, healthy blood.
The sickness here is larger than any one person. Let's remember that before getting all excited over Mark Ozias, or anyone else. No slight of Mr. Ozias intended. I'm just trying to inject a bit of reality here.
One person in any position won't do a thing. That's the benefit/problem with having a council of anythings.
DeleteThe problem, for years, has been the few people come out and vote in someone new (and, seriously, we have a problem with people taking part in the system), and then hope that will work. No support, no input, no going to meetings, and then, when the lone person fails to fix anything, everyone attacks.
I've watched this for years. We've had a few good people, and what are they up against? Swimming up stream. We have developed a culture that is a cycle of hope/dashed/apathy.
We need to really move on the momentum started -- we have elected some new faces, now support them. Go to one meeting every other month -- sit there and watch, or tune in and watch the meetings on Youtube, or our soon-to-be PAPA (the network access for us peons). Write letters. Complain.
Then, we need enough candidates to flush the system of the incumbents up for election. Every cycle for the next few years, keep flushing incumbents....
There is no easy answer. It involves becoming involved in our city and county government. Paying attention. Being there. And, giving support, and input, and maybe even praise for swinging (because its going to take a lot of times at bat before you see any home runs). .
Quit feeling so helpless. We aren't.
Marolee is staying in the game. Anyone else?
DeleteThanks Marolee. Of course, you're right.
DeleteBack to " We have the community we create, and the government we allow."
Having said that, we do recognize where we are.
Yes, but we're here.
DeleteMight as well do what we can to cause a little sand in the well-oiled gears of government, while we are able.
I got my sand bag!
DeletePer the picture of Lutz and Randazzo: intentional or not, it illustrates some of the challenges that Mark Ozias will face.
ReplyDeleteThat picture comes from Maria's Yelp! review page. If you look at the photo, you'll see it was taken by Melissa Randazzo, Matthew's wife. This was during the time they lived here, and were working hard to scam as much as they could, as fast at they could. One of those scams was to talk restaurant owners into letting them "manage" their online profiles, things like Yelp! reviews. They'd con people into thinking that, with their help, they would develop an online presence that would have people swarming to their restaurant.
Needless to say, since anyone can review any place, there's only so much massaging of these things that can be done. But some of the locals would fall for it, and the Randazzos would go through the motions of "upgrading" their online profiles. Occasionally, money would change hands, but usually it was just a case of the Randazzos getting free meals. They could then ferry other gullible people (like Steve Markwell, say) into certain restaurants, get their meals comped, and act like big wigs.
In other words, they put a lot of effort into scamming free meals out of people who didn't know any better. That's the kind of people they are.
And the people who put Matthew Randazzo into a position of power in the Clallam County Democratic Party are still in charge of it. As mentioned above, Tharinger and Van de Wege are still there as elected officials, and their supporters are still running the executive committee.
So let's be clear about this: the petty crooks who have run the Dems for years are still running it. They don't want actual, honest people holding office. It sets a bad example, sets too high a bar, one they can't come close to reaching themselves. It puts the whole con at risk.
And that is why Mark Ozias may have a very difficult time from his own party as a County Commissioner. He's unlikely to get much support from Peach or Chapman. He's likely to get some roadblocks from the Democrats.
So what has REALLY changed?
For all his thieving and skullduggery, Randazzo was promoted to a cushy job at the state, working for Peter Goldmark. That whole thing stunk to high heaven. Is this whole damned state corrupt?
DeleteMatthew Randazzo, and people like him, are like cancer. He was bad here; it is probably even worse now that he has metastasized to the state level.
DeleteYa CK, because there is no heroin epidemic in Portland, right? Good Riddance to you and all of your family and friends from Port Angeles!
ReplyDeleteUm, I think my point was something like...I never boosted Portland, or said it was Heaven On Earth, or anything like that. Okay? I just sort of kind of mentioned it as a place that is alive, vibrant, attracting young people and energy and businesses and all that. Still with me?
DeleteNow, as you say, sure, there are also people doing heroin in Portland, for sure, you betcha. Right? But they also still have the young people and new money and growth and energy and excitement to counterbalance that. Unlike Port Angeles, which you seem to favor, which has none of that EXCEPT for the heroin.
So your point is...On the top of your head? Hmmm?
THAT'S going in downtown Olympia? If I remember right, downtown Olympia was mostly low-story brick buildings. Charming albeit a bit grungy. That doesn't seem like it would fit. Hopefully it won't go the same way as Capitol Hill. You get this sudden housing boom full of bland condos, driving up the cost of living and drastically changed the character of the area. Nothing like going from an artsy gayberhood to having it swarming with tech 10 percenters by day and alcoholic homophobes by night.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, I hear you...All I can say is that downtown Olympia still seemed plenty funky and earthy and all that to me. I mean, the Olympia Film Festival was opening that night with their big special guest, the always very odd Crispin Glover, hardly big Mr. Mainstream.
DeleteStill, that's usually the way it goes. First comes the gay folks and the artists, and eventually the big money follows.
So what you're saying is Port Angeles needs more gay folks and artists?
DeleteI'm okay with that.
I've met quite a few gay people and/or artists who have moved to Port Angeles in the last decade. A majority of them have left already, some going "back to where they came from," and some have moved on to find a new, better place. PA has done a piss poor job of welcoming artists, and the gay people here are mostly still in the closet, like it's 1980 or something.
DeleteNot a lot to build a "community" on, gay, artistic or otherwise.
I saw that condo building and someone in Olympia told me the hope was that with more people living downtown, that the downtown scene would become safer and more attractive. I just hope they don't price folks out of the market. There were indeed lots of little intriguing shops and restaurants and pubs but I didn't have the time to check them out as I was on business. But I did notice that it was growing and more inviting than the last time I was there. Can't say the same about Port Angeles.
DeleteHave you seen the sign entering town... "Welcome to Port Angeles, don't forget to set your watch back 30 years"
DeleteI know of a few gays here. Not friends, just aware of their existence. They're not really closeted, but not out either exactly.
DeleteOn the other hand I have several gay friends along the I-5 corridor. Like many people from I-5, they think the area around Port Angeles is beautiful. They pass by occasionally on the way to the park, sometimes stopping for supplies, gas or food. One thought the town looked "dirty". None of them had any interests in staying more than an hour or two.
We still have Bob Stokes!
DeleteYeah, I wouldn't call Ozias a ray of light in the dark. More like a pen light.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the poster above. Port Angeles keeps hoping for its Great White Hope, either a large business to save us all or a single individual to wipe out decades of mismanagement. It's not going to be that easy.
Most likely, if it happens at all, it will be a few people here and a few people there. Things will be fixed incrementally. Years will pass, perhaps even decades. We'll slowly gain momentum towards something better. Maybe.
We definitely need Ozias, if not a constant churn of our elected officials. But one person alone isn't going to save us. Promises of businesses to come aren't going to save us. We've been there and done that too many times.
I'm not seeing anybody saying Mark is any kind of savior, or that he is a solution, all by himself. He was a better option that Major EgoManiac Jim Boy, and we're glad he beat out Jimmy.
DeleteNext election cycle, maybe we can build upon the make-over. Both at the City level, and County.
Mark Ozias impresses me as a decent, intelligent guy. He seems like just the sort of person you want to have holding an elected position. But, sad to say, I think it's too late. We've been behind the curve for so long here, I think we've just been left behind. We'll never catch up to modern technology, or a modern economy. Climate change and all it involves is going to literally wash over us. All our schools seem capable of producing are dropouts.
DeleteIt scares me, it really scares me. I can't afford to move. I've been here too long to be able to get a job elsewhere. I'm getting older, but I can't retire for years, if ever. And I'm living in Port Angeles. Trapped in Port Angeles. I don't see how this story ends well, and I'm trapped inside of it. It is really, really frightening.
I don't think it's a matter of pinning all hopes on one person. Public office is a challenge for anyone, if they're doing it right. But it's a fantastic small step. In two years we have the opportunity to vote another one out. We need to look at this as a bit of inertia and help keep it going!
DeleteWell, I agree with both of you. At least with Ozias we have a chance at making things a little better. But it will take a lot more than one person to make things right. We need to build on the momentum, not just settle down and say "well, we're here."
DeleteBut, yes, we are horribly behind. We've been going nowhere, watching as our economy gets a little worse each year. And now we've spent our way into debt for several more years. Even if this town collectively got its shit together and pushed forward it wouldn't happen overnight. I'm starting to wonder if I'll live to see it become a "good town" honestly.
Speaking of up, up and (going) away...Someone landed here within the last day by searching for "aerial tram port angeles."
ReplyDeleteScam Man Dan has someone looking up his Fantasy Tram Scam?
DeleteGoogle him, and see all the great successes he has. See all the articles his "team" has generated with his "multi-million dollar projects" he tells everyone he has done, or has going in other communities.
Yet, he keeps saying this stuff.
I cannot find one actual accomplishment attributable to Dan. He sure talks a good line but there is no thing he can point to but words, gobs of words. Come back to earth Dan, go fill a pot hole and accomplish something.
DeleteHave you noticed all the places that have moving trucks lined up for rent? Seems like they know something about what is going to be in demand in the area.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yet another scam artist comes to Port Angeles to escape. Saw the clip on TV this evening about that Canadian investment guy who seems to have run off with a bunch of people's money. Last seen? Here in Port Angeles.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Gross's Nursery, they have "going out of business sale" up on their sign.
ReplyDeleteHow can that be? Everything is just booming in Port Angeles, or so the boosters keep saying.
DeleteThe owner recently died.
DeleteSpeaking of dying...Anyone know anything about the 61 year old man they found dead at the Holiday Lodge?
DeleteAnother long-term empty property in Port Angeles.
DeleteThe Holiday Lodge? You mean the one that the City of Port Angeles only recently gave it's stamp of approval for, approving the remodel and work done there?
DeleteIt's the post-election, pre-holidays blahs...The calm before the storm...
ReplyDeleteI think more and more people are getting more and more depressed about the state of things. Locally, nationally and internationally, it all just keeps getting worse and worse.
DeleteAt least they were not taking tax money...
DeleteJust curious, which "they" are you taking about not taking tax money?
DeleteThe LevX building downtown has a "for lease" sign up in the window.
ReplyDeleteEverything I ever saw and/or heard led me to believe that the whole Lev X thing was just another scam. Maybe a little slicker than Dan's Fantasy Tram, but still a scam. Prototypes were promised...and never materialized. As for actual product...Ha!
DeleteThey had a prototype on display at Poulsbo... But that was 10 (?) years ago. I know they were struggling to find contracts, especially in a post-Great Recession economy. Why they spent the expense on a downtown office is beyond me. Hopefully that's all they're closing. If LevX itself is closing, that's too bad. Maglev is a cool, extremely energy-efficient technology that, unfortunately, is pretty expensive to build. There aren't that many functional maglev tracks out there. It would have been cool if Port Angeles was home to a maglev company but, well, it's Port Angeles...
DeleteI thought there might be something to it 3(?) years ago when the company prepared a roadbed out by the dump next to the old Milwaukee right of way. Nothing happened -- the technology or money didn't add up.
DeleteLevx only leases half the building. The other half has come available to be leased. Bank of America had a long term lease on it that is now up.
DeleteI know you have never seen the technology because you wouldn't call it a scam if you had seen truly seen it. Pretending to know everything about everything CK really lowers your credibility. You know nothing about taking new technology to the world.
Please note that I never called the technology itself a scam, just this company. I was in a position to hear a great deal about the technology and the company, and for years there was great talk of a prototype track out by the airport, a demonstration track out by ACTI, etc. Nothing ever came of it, and the people running Lev X were secretive in a way that eventually came to smell suspicious.
DeleteSo, yes, the technology is cool. But as someone else pointed out, why spend the money on a downtown storefront? Especially since the doors were always locked, and there never seemed to be anything going on there. Again, it just didn't add up, and this is Port Angeles we're talking about.
Oh, and I've never pretended to know "everything about everything." Many, many times I've asked people reading and posting here to contribute information about a specific topic THAT I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT.
DeleteAnybody in Port Angeles that has met Mr. Lamb and listened to the pitch knows what a strange deal that has been, for years. Like Dan's Fantasy Tram, it all sounds so Gee-Whiz wonderful, until you ask for specifics.
DeleteHaving listened to both Dan and a rep from Levx speak, I'm giving Levx the benefit of the doubt. They have one thing Dan doesn't... Sanity. Listening to Dan speak about all the wonderful projects he's working on made me think he and I are living on two different planets. The rep from Levx (I forgot her name) made it sound like they are very much aware of how the world works. They're aware this is a project that's an uphill battle, and they know the obstacles they have to overcome.
DeleteBut while I disagree with CK on this matter, I understand where he is... actually, I don't know what gender you are CK so I'm going with he... I understand where he's coming from. There are way too many pie in the sky dreamers here, and most of them have their hands in the government pot. I could be wrong, but I don't think Levx is one of them.
As for why they picked Port Angeles here, I've heard the owner is an ex-Rayonier employee. So they were already here.
Hows is the company a scam? Because they're secretive? That makes them smell suspicious? They are a technology company that is trying to get their technology to market. They have never taken a dime from the port, the city, the county, the state ot the feds. Risked their own money. So how are they a scam? Once again you speak of things you know nothing about. They invested over $3 million of their own money to build and test their track. Not a dime from the public. Taking new maglev technology to market is extremely difficult. Just because you have such a great hatred for Port Angeles doesn't mean you know jack about everything. I call BS on your claim that you were close to the company and knew anything about the technology or the company. You are simply lying CK.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are simply obsessed with this notion. So obsessed that you, intentionally, once again misstate what I said. I never said I was "close to the company." What I actually said was that I was in a position to hear a great deal about the company, which is true, no matter how much you cry (in every sense of the word) BS on it.
DeleteCK, just remember that trolls gotta troll...
DeleteLet me contribute some information about LevX as I am close to the company.
ReplyDeleteThere are only two US companies who have their technologies recognized by the United Nations as "green industry platform" technologies through UNIDO, they are Microsoft and Magna Force which owns LevX. The California Air Resource Board openly promotes LevX technology as a potential for new near zero emission freight handling systems. The reason they have a storefront office in downtown Port Angeles is because they have visitors from Korea, China, Britain, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, Vietnam, and all over the US. Just because they are a small private self funded technology company that likes to keep its technology close to the vest doesn't mean they are a scam company as you purport to know so much about.
Going up against trains, buses, trucks and decades of other maglev technologies that have failed isn't for the faint at heart. It is high risk. But I know for a fact that Magna Force has never asked the public for anything or ever scammed anyone.
No one here, so far as I can see, has ever said they "asked the public for anything." But where is the product? Where is the prototype? Where is the test track? And where are the private investors?
DeleteAgain, Dan's Fantasy Tram hasn't managed to score any public anything either, and nor have they managed to acquire any public investors. Good ideas, even tough to sell ones, will find investors, will find supporters, and will be able to keep up their rent on offices.
And speaking of rent on offices, and other things...With the BOA building up for grabs still and again, and Gross's going away, and the Bushwhacker gone, and the Lincoln lingering on...Just how many vacant buildings are there in the downtown and along the main streets through PA?
DeleteWhile I agree with the coolness and hypothetical wonderfulness of the Lev X idea, I do have to wonder what sort of high tech, would be world-changer chooses to locate in Port Angeles....
DeleteDear Troll,
DeleteTo increase the chances of your repetitive and whiny comments being posted here, please do observe the common rules of spelling and grammar, and please refrain from Doing The weird random Capitalization of Words thing, because It just makes you Look crazy.
Thanks, and have a nice day!
I drove around downtown PA this morning. It was the three Ds - depressing, dilapidated and deserted!
DeleteContractors were working in the old jewelry shop across from the fountain on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully it's going to be another junque shop.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe anybody would seriously consider opening a business in downtown Port Angeles in November. As it is, we'll be seeing a number of businesses close come March, after they lose money trying to stay open day after day with no foot traffic for months.
DeleteIf they really are working to open a new business, they haven't done their research. Unless, of course, they don't actually need to rely on making money to stay open.
Even better, how about another marijuana shop or a walk-in tattoo emporium?
DeleteWill be interesting to see how many more businesses close in the coming months.
DeleteI saw Japan slipped in to recession. But, we know what a bunch of flakes the Japanese are, when it comes to things like business.
Ha ha, this entire thread is pointless. CK can we please move on to another topic? Say, Westport moving off Port property leaving a finished building - while the Port still throws money into the Composite Recycling hole, or that ugly Oil rig floating around, or Port Angeles taking in Syrians....Inslee says that's okay???
ReplyDeletethoughts???
Port Angeles is taking in Syrian refuges? Where did you read that at?
DeleteWe don't need the terrorists here, thanks. We do plenty good at destroying our community ourselves.
DeleteWhy do you equate all syrians as terrorists? Maybe a few people with different outlooks would help Port Angeles.
DeleteSyrian refugees are terrorists?
DeleteYou do note that the perpetrators of the recent attacks in France were born and raised in France?
Following the US' examples, who attacked Iraq and Afghanistan in revenge for the 9-11 attacks that were carried out by people from Saudi Arabia, France intensified it's attacks on Iraq and Syria in revenge for attacks carried out by it's own citizens.
Yeah, I can see how millions fleeing the death and mayhem in their own country can be called terrorists.