First, to recap: The first three board members announced were former head troll at the PDN, John Brewer, certified friend of the Randazzos, Michael McQuay, who owns Kokopelli Grill, and, of course, Scott Nagel.
This terrible trio will now be joined by:
Mindy Gelder, an "actress and co-owner of New Growth Behavioral Health." Mindy will be filling the slot reserved for a pampered, New Age wacko.
Mathew Rainwater, who is with the Border Patrol. This must be part of their "outreach" to the community. Our sensors don't detect a great depth of commitment to this project from Mr. Rainwater.
Deborah Spinks, realtor. Because, of course, you can't do anything without having a realtor involved.
Sarah Tucker, who is described as a "performance and visual artist, director and producer." Which translates into: Sarah doesn't have a job. But she is, like Mr. McQuay above, a close friend of the Randazzos.
And finally, there's Michael Gentry, architect. Because, frankly, Mike has a vested interest in seeing that this project chooses, uh, well, you know...The right architect for the job.
Hey! Look! Scott's got a board!
According to the PDN article announcing these board members, their selection is "the result of six months of recruiting and selecting, said Nagel and his wife, Karen Powell, consultant to the board." So you see? They not only have a board now, but gosh, they also have their first consultant! A powerhouse board this is not. But it is fascinating to see who is willing to sign up for a project that is intended to simply employ Scott Nagel. However, if anyone thinks this particular group is a game-changer, or bringers of light to the Lincoln, I respectfully disagree.
Given the history of Port Angeles as a mill town, and given that Port Angeles has all these groups that do nothing (other than meet for no reason), I think it's safe to say that Port Angeles is all board, no nails. We need something to actually hold things together here. Less talk, more action.
ReplyDeleteFive more people to generate more hot air about this ridiculous "project".
ReplyDeleteWe were just talking yesterday again about how Port Angeles has yet to figure "it" out. I was in Port Townsend recently and had trouble finding a parking space it was so busy with holiday shoppers and the store employees were so nice and helpful and the restaurants were all busy. It was a great vibe.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me from this list is the total lack of representation from arts organizations. Usually these groups have boards that, to some degree, overlap. Remember how the JFFA was all over this in the beginning? Where's their interest now?
ReplyDeleteAnd there's no one from the Community Playhouse, the symphony, the arts council, the college, etc. The lack of interest or support from the official arts community is hard to miss.
Either that, or, perhaps, Nagel and his wife didn't want anyone on their board (and it is THEIR board) who might have too much experience, or raise awkward questions.
With a performance/visual artist on the board, what more could you ask for?
DeleteMemo to Mike Gentry: Mike, your desperation is showing.
ReplyDeleteRemember that poor guy that had an office for his group that wanted to restore the Kalakala? He ran around town for a couple of years, racking up debt.
ReplyDeleteOr, the guy that wanted to park an aircraft carrier in the harbor as an attraction?
Or, the (soon to be former) Port Angeles city council member with the screechy voice that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from the local community for a project to keep the roads up to Hurricane Ridge open throughout the winter? That was supposed to be a great economic driver for the town, but, it wasn't.
New people come here with visions of "if only, then the town". They probably have good intentions, but good intentions are not enough to overcome all the real problems this town has.
This board is some pretty weak broth to go with Nagel's half-baked plans for the Lincoln. The only real "heavy hitter" I can see there is Brewer, I guess, and I assume the only reason to have him around is so he could introduce Nagel to some of the "right people." But that certainly didn't happen in the assembling of this group. Weak and lame. Par for the course.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a small point however, if you visit the Jace Real Estate website, Deborah is listed as neither a Realtor or Partner. She is listed as an assistant to Brody Broker.
ReplyDeleteA board to run a non-existent non-profit that is in charge of a building they don't own and don't have the cash to buy...Does that about sum it up?
ReplyDeleteWHAT COULD GO WRONG?
There's that other article in the PDN today, you know, the one about how our food bank is really hurting. In other words, our community doesn't even have enough resources to stock its food bank, yet here's Scott Nagel hat in hand asking people to give money to him, to buy him a theater, for him to run, because, well, he wants it.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a misallocation of limited resources. Give to the food bank instead, Port Angeles. Scott Nagel doesn't look like he's missed any meals.
Not like Port Angeles cares anybody else. Fallen on hard times? Screw you.
DeleteThe article said that the food bank has food until spring. Part of the article indicated earlier than that, but then it said they are good until spring. Unless I read it wrong.
DeleteThe funny part CK, even as lame as you try to make these folks look they are lightening years ahead of your sorry ass who got ran out of this terrible little town. Lets see, you clench on to your little forum here, big shot educator, ha. Your the real joke. We know who you two losers are.
ReplyDeleteAh, where to begin?
DeleteFirst of all, I think the phrase you were looking for was "light years," not lightning years. And please note that's "lightning," not "lightening" as you (mis)spelled it.
Also, you say "your sorry ass who got ran out of this terrible little town." That should be "your sorry ass that got run out of this terrible little town," or possibly "your sorry ass which got run out of this terrible little town." (You did, however, get the "terrible little town" part right!)
Your next attempt at a sentence is: "Lets see, you clench on to your little forum here, big shot educator, ha." Wow. First, that should be "Let's." And "on to" is one word, as in "onto." But even with those corrections, um, I don't know what you're trying to say, frankly.
And speaking of "you're"...That's the form you should have begun your (see the difference?) next sentence with.
And finally, all your previous sentences refer to me in the singular, but then you switch to talking about two people. This is confusing, and unclear.
But a lack of clarity seems to be your stock in trade, doesn't it? I mean, if you believe that Scott and Friends are really accomplishing something, well, you'll believe anything. All I hope, though, is that you'll believe me when I say I just really, really hope you'll work on your spelling...And your grammar...And so forth...And so on. Because - may I be honest with you? - when you write in to call someone else a loser, but your writing is so danged poor, well, you just end up looking foolish and bad.
And I'm shure your wanting to represent Poor Angeles bettor than that!
Shame on you for your culturally insensitive response to the OP, CK. Don't you know they were speaking fluent Rough Rider?
Delete@ Anon 5:18 am
DeleteI'm sure it is beyond your ability to see or comprehend, but IF you were able, you would see how the streets, sidewalks and stores in Port Angeles are still EMPTY. Except Walmart, but that is outside of Port Angeles city limits, anyways.
Who is a loser? Who is lame? Who is a "sorry ass"? Anyone looking would say it is the morons that see a sinking ship as a place to go live.
And as we see in Port Angeles, there is no shortage of morons.
Hey Anonymous 6:54 PM...Per today's PDN article about the swearing in of new - and not so new - City Council members: "Cherie Kidd, 69...a graduate of Port Angeles High School..." And that's it - the total of Cherie's education. It's also a summation of her world view - nothing exists beyond Port Angeles.
DeleteNo, Cherie worked for a "fortune 500 company" as a file clerk or something.
Deletejanitor?
DeleteI see that the state of Washington has mistakenly released thousands of prisoners over the last ten or twelve years. Oops. On a perhaps unrelated note, I see our local unemployment rate has gone up (again), remaining high above the state and national average. Too many convicts and not enough jobs, I guess. And not all of them can run for elected office.
ReplyDeleteJust got back from visiting my sister-in-law and her family in Bend with the missus last night - what a vibrant town even when the weather is will-it-or-won't-make-up-your-damn-mind slushy snowing. So much traffic downtown, both vehicular and pedestrian. So many dining and shopping options both downtown and in the Old Mill District (and Star Wars VII in IMAX 3D at the multiplex there - bonus!) Driving home through Portland - you've really got to try Viking Soul Food at the Belmont Street Food Cart Pod. And then returning to PA.... Even at nine in the evening on a night just before Christmas, when a lot of people could be out for last-minute errands or commiserating with friends and family, nothing stirs. Nothing is happening. Not a single restaurant open. No shops open anywhere. Just a few cars in front of the Metta Room, a few half-crocked smokers outside the door of the Gateway, the usual late-night traffic back and forth from Walmart, and the steady shuffle of methheads.
ReplyDeleteI already miss Bend. If only my job could transfer me there.
The food carts in Portland are amazing. My preferred method of doing them is to go from cart to cart, avoiding full meals, but trying as many appetizers or small items as possible, to get the broadest experience.
DeleteOff Topic but important. The following is the notice to send to the city when you pay your utility bill. Hold back whatever amount you decide and tell them they get their money when you get clean, pure water. for purposes of this posting we are listing $50 as the hold-back amount. You can go as high or low as you think best.
ReplyDeleteWE ARE WITHHOLDING $50.00 THIS MONTH FROM OUR PAYMENT OF THE CITY UTILITY BILL FOR THE CURRENT MONTH WATER USE AND WE ARE DEPOSITING THIS $50.00 IN AN ACCOUNT THAT WILL BE PAID TO THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES WHEN THE CITY AGREES TO STOP ADDING FLUORIDE TO OUR DRINKING WATER UNLESS A LEGAL ACTION INVOLVING THIS ISSUE IS UNDERTAKEN. WE INTEND TO SIMILARLY WITHHOLD AND DEPOSIT AN ADDITIONAL $50.00 FROM OUR PAYMENT FOR EACH FUTURE MONTHLY WATER BILL. IF THERE IS A LEGAL ACTION INVOLVING THIS ISSUE, WE INTEND TO USE OUR DEPOSITS TO HELP FUND OUR SIDE OF THIS LEGAL ACTION. WE HAVE NOT CONSENTED, AND DO NOT CONSENT, TO BEING MEDICATED BY THE CITY’S ADDITION OF FLUORIDE TO OUR DRINKING WATER. WE DO NOT CONSIDER FLUORIDATED DRINKING WATER TO BE SAFE. IN OUR VIEW, IT HAS BEEN ADEQUATELY ESTABLISHED THAT FLUORIDE IS NEUROTOXIC AND WE REQUEST THAT THE CITY STOP FLUORIDATION.
Good luck. I do suggest it not be in ALL caps, though. Just a thought.
DeleteAnyway, I'm all full of good Indian food, and need to go begin the ritual watching of holiday movies. I hope that none of you get a Trump of coal for Christmas.
It isn't walking the plank, but someone keeps trying to jump off of the 8th St. bridge. Christmas in Port Angeles.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of despondent....My wife and I were out walking along the water earlier, and we ran into Tom Harper, who looked miserable. We just sort of waved, and he essentially stopped in front of us and started talking. He seemed lonely and lost. Said how lucky we were to be out together on Christmas, it's a time for being with the people you love. Sentimental things, but they came out kind of rambling and weird. I know the guy is kind of a jackass, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, another lost soul in Port Angeles.
DeleteThe last time I talked to Tom Harper, he seemed really, really obsessed/upset with his wife's health. Kind of creepy sad, yeah.
DeleteLike you say, Port Angeles seems to collect lost souls. Oh, that and con artists.
My understanding is that Catherine Harper is having more and more trouble getting up and down the stairs to their place. It was a foolish choice for them to make, long-term. But Americans don't do very well with looking ahead and planning to age in place. That short-term mindset is a huge part of the problem here, and why we're seemingly always stuck in the past.
DeleteThe problem isn't aging in place; it's becoming obese in place. No amount of planning can account for or deal with that.
DeleteAnd that's a problem a lot of Americans are facing, not that anyone's talking about it.
And the bridge...?
DeleteMaybe Dan Williams can put a stop at the Harper's place on his Fantasy Tram route, to make things easier for her.
DeleteBe careful. If you start talking about gondolas and Catherine Harper thinks you're talking about gorgonzola, well, it could make for a pretty heavy situation. Tram-wise, that is.
DeleteSpotted a new moldy matress at the Holiday Lodge about a week ago. It was still there this morning.
ReplyDeleteI checked into this. It seems like this is part of their new "design motif" created by Laurel Black. It's a way for them to brand themselves, and stand out from the other motels in town.
DeleteThat and the broken chain lock!
DeleteDidn't they steal the concept from the last moldy mattress folks, the Aircrest Motel. Which, by the way, has seemingly taken on a new name by simply letting the bulbs burn out in it's huge rooftop sign so that it now read "rest Motel". Clever, those hillbillies!
ReplyDeleteDamn! Gotta love those folks!
DeleteNothing showcases a community like a run down seedy motel with half it's lights burnt out, on the main road into town. It really shows visitors "This Town is safe: it Cares".
DeleteBut, then again, we remember the used syringes visitors found under their mattress in the Port Angeles motel not so long ago. And the blood spattered sheets. And the management that told the visitors it was all THEIR fault for not checking the room more thoroughly before settling in for the night.
Say anything, what ever it takes to get their cash in your hand.
This is why we're such a tourist destination.
Delete...you forgot to mention the reader board they have boasts 'air conditioned' rooms all year-round.
DeleteThink that means, they don't have heat?
Nathan West thinks it's a swell place - SWELL, I tell you! I bet he has all his friends and family members stay there when they come to visit.
DeleteHere is a little bit from Peter Ripley's Christmas blog posting, in case you missed it...
ReplyDelete"AWAKEN, THE FOUR THINKING THEY HEARD CLAMORING OF HEARING REINDEER...THEY HEARD THE CLAMORING OF RECALL INSTEAD ON THE ROOF THE FOUR DID.
Twas, the night before Christmas and all through the house of the four who voted for fluoridation, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse....
Even as Cherie Kidd was taking her oath of office for another third term, with perhaps visions of sugarplums dancing in her head, her stocking hanging at the fire place hoping St. Nick would stop by, she along with the other four council members heard the rumblings of recall instead!
Her along with the other three council members who decided to ignore the will of the majority of those who voted during that unbinding advisory poll which was solely for paying water utilies customers. Those who were in subsides housing didn't get to vote because the housing authority pays the water bill. As you recall Kidd along with Collins, Gase, and Downie voted to continue the practice of fluoridating our water supply the vote was 4-3. So I imagine these four would fine coal in their stockings if those who are against fluoridation had their way."
Leave it to Peter to uncover that things are even worse than you thought. Apparently, Cherie is being sworn in for "another third term." Yipes!
Also, as another off topic issue, I noticed the FAA and Homeland Security folks demonstrated their faith in the success of the new airplane service at Fairchild by saying they would not fund pre-flight screening.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of the selling points of the latest passenger airplane service agreement the Port of Port Angeles has cooked up, if you remember the press announcement.
What "reduction is planned services" will be announced, next?
It's like that joke about the new business putting up a big banner that says "Grand Opening/Going Out Of Business Sale!"
DeleteIn other words, we know how this story plays out, and how it ends.
And, the countdown begins to the ferry service to Victoria being shut down for the next two months. As if Port Angeles hasn't been dead enough.
ReplyDeleteThe last couple of days have been like the last year. The sidewalks virtually empty. The lights are up, and the tree in the square. The news is full about people bustling about in other towns looking for after-Christmas bargains. But every time I drive through Port Angeles, it is empty.