Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Slow and Steady Wins the Race...To the Bottom

Congratulations, PDN!

It only took you TWO WHOLE WEEKS to report on the February Board of Health meeting. You know, the one where the fluoride resolution flew in with its cloaking device on. You know, the resolution that concerns the drinking water for every resident of Clallam County. That little thing.

The thing your eventual article is trying so hard to poo-poo. Classic delay and obscure: "What? What? What? What meeting? What? Oh, THAT meeting. Nothing to see folks, nothing to see. Move along, move along!"

I guess they just brought forth and passed their emergency, last minute and secret resolution because, you know, just because.


In any case, again, let me say congratulations! Folks, you can't rush quality, and you can't rush the PDN.

47 comments:

  1. Heck the Port O Call reported on it first and they are a monthly paper...

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  2. Mike Chapman's claims (as presented in the very distorted PDN article) are bullshit. He says that he thinks it's unlikely that the county commissioners will "take this up."

    Yet all three commissioners sit on the board of health, and were okay with this resolution being added to the agenda at the last minute. And two of the three commissioners are in support of adding fluoride to the water.

    It only takes two commissioners to pass something, and Mike Chapman knows that. The way this was handled, and the way it has been (after great delay) presented to the public stinks. We have every right to be very, very suspicious and worried.

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    1. It's easy to vote "no" when you have all the yesses you need for passage...

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    2. Excellent point. And right on the money.

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  3. And, no need to tell the public of the City Council's move to silence the public by reducing the public comment time down to 15 mins. That allows 5 people to speak. Period.

    Plan accordingly.

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    1. They silenced the daily news...

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    2. I was happy to see Whetham's response in today's article at least, regarding the limitations:
      Whetham said he opposed Downie's decisions on the management of public participation in the meeting.

      “I think it is very important people have a chance to weigh in,” Whetham said.

      “This is not a council decision. This is a mayoral decision. I do not support it,” he said.

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    3. Of course, cutting down the time yje public has to address the council to a mere 15 minutes, in CLEAR response to the public's current criticism of the Mayor and Council, does not prove the ethic violation charges?

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  4. Business owners who are PDN advertisers need to take note of this.

    This is how the local newspaper delays and distorts stories of importance to the community.

    This exerts a poisonous influence on the community, and erodes trust and the willingness to engage civilly.

    This is all funded by your advertising dollars. Please cease providing those dollars for such a hateful endeavor.

    Thank you.

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    1. Bear in mind the PDN pays such piddling wages their reporters qualify for welfare. All these businesses are sending their advertising dollars to Canada. Canada has a pretty damn good economy. Maybe some of those advert dollars could be spent locally.

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  5. From the PDN article:

    The item was added to the agenda at the request of County Commissioner Bill Peach, who also serves on the Board of Health.
    The item was added in accordance with Board of Health bylaws, Trish Holden, Board of Health clerk, said Monday.
    “If they as a group say yes we'd like to add the item then it gets added,” she said.
    While not routine, “certainly we have done it a number of times,” she added.
    That is because, with meetings held only once a month, timely decisions sometimes cannot be put off until the next meeting, Holden said.

    So if I read this correctly, PDN says Peach added it to the agenda, but the clerk said "they as a group" added this item? Huh?

    And out of the blue flouride was something that the county just couldn't put off?

    Yup CK, PDN to the bottom!

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    1. "with meetings held only once a month, timely decisions sometimes cannot be put off until the next meeting" - that's a huge red flag right there. If this was so urgent that it had to be added then how can Mike Chapman say it's not likely to be taken up? Are those who are up for election this fall just getting things set in motion now so that they hope we have all forgotten about this come fall?

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  6. Thanks, CK, and to all the people posting here, for trying to get important information out to the people. Lord knows we can't count on the Daily Snooze to do that, so thanks!

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  7. You can check out Marolee Smith's latest ethics complaint (Hi, Pat!) at her website:

    maroleesmith.com/

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    1. ANOTHER ethics complaint??? Bet they're regretting putting that policy in place.

      Meanwhile...Nice to see that they've picked homophobic fool William Yucha to be on the ethics panel. Bigots know a lot about ethics, I guess, at least in Clallam County.

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    2. Hey! Pat made the PDN already. We're gonna need a scorecard soon with all these complaints.

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    3. You'd THINK that there would have been some ethics complaints before this.

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    4. LOL what they're gonna need is a bigger pool of ethics board candidates!

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    5. I mean this seriously: Everybody in the pool!

      No, really, think about it. Do you really think that people like (to borrow a phrase from a few inches up) a "homophobic fool" are going to be agents for change or ethical behavior? Without a lot of GOOD people to choose the Ethics Board of the Week, well, they'll be pretty weak for sure.

      Everybody in the pool!

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    6. Or, we watch the Clallam Cretins dismiss the ethics complaints. Think that will satisfy people? Or piss them off?

      (Note to Ethics Board members: Think about what the community will do if/when you whitewash the proceedings, and exonerate the council members.)

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    7. Um, when each Board gets appointed by the Council, don't they become "public officials" and have to follow the very same Code of Ethics they're supposed to enforce?
      If they're "above board" (sorry just had to do that), they got nothing to worry about. Heck this might become the city's new pasttime!

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  8. I find it amazing now council members like Cherie Kidd can tell people how much she wants to hear from people when she is wanting votes to get elected, but once she is elected, can do all the things she has to silence the very public she sought votes from!

    I didn't bother going to the council meeting this evening specifically because I know, from all the council members have said recently, they don't care what the people of the town have to say.

    Where can I find a couple of those signs? These council members have lost my respect. They need to step down.

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    1. If they can't shut us up - which they can't - then they'll try to keep us contained to the smallest amount of time possible - which is what they're trying now. How is it that these morons can't see that they're only making things worse? Oh, yeah, it's because they're morons, duh.

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    2. Yes, cut off public comment from the people that are complaining about City Council's efforts to silence them?! THAT makes sense! That'll make them less motivated !?

      How dumb are these people?

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    3. Pat Downie: "But I told them to sit down and shut up for their own good!"

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    4. Looks like Anonymous 5:50 AM actually did a good job of summarizing Pat Downie's statement - before he even released it. Way to be psychic!

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  9. I don't think we have any choice but to stop paying the water bill completely... where exactly is the fluoride pump metering thing located. Since it is a gift from Delta and Washington Dental. I just want to know where my gift is.

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    1. It's only a gift in the sense of a trojan horse.

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  10. CK, did you notice the really really great, new innovative idea the Downtown Association came up with? They are going to try to get Canadians to come to Port Angeles by honoring the the Canadian dollar "on par". Well, some businesses are, some not.

    Given the Canadian dollar is worth about 75 cents US, this means the Port Angeles businesses are willing to take a 25% cut just to get some traffic in their stores.

    But, in watching the news on Canadian TV last night, they are not falling all over themselves to get on the Coho and ride on over to here. Even though the clip showed Edna opening her cash register to show no money, and her saying "Even a 25% cut is better than this, no traffic at all", the story went on to warn Canadians to "do your homework, first".

    Yes, even the Canadian news folks know to warn their citizens about Port Angeles.

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    1. Edna was on Canadian TV? Did they have to show a "Warning: Graphic Content" before showing her? In any case, thanks for the information. Yes, Canadian friends, you'd have to be loony to come spend your hard-earned __________ in Port Angeles.

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    2. Too bad Costco doesn't do a deal...because that would be a draw.

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    3. How bout a new marketing slogan:
      Come for the shopping, stay for the fascism!

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    4. Wouldn't it be more effective to offer your neighbors, local residents, the same 25% discounts--year round.

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    5. @ Anon 7:20 Funny you should say that.

      The Canadian news crew came over to Port Angeles to do the story, and did a shot from the top of the stairs in back of Country Aire, looking down over downtown. Wasn't that impressive an image.

      But, one of the people they interviewed said the same thing: why not offer the 25% discount to local, year round residents?

      You know, lose money on top of losing money?

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    6. Port Angeles is not going to attract potential Canadian tourists by putting Ol' Sourpuss Edna on TV.

      Who in the PADA thought up this "brilliant" idea? It's basically saying "Hi, we're desperate. Really desperate."

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    7. I'll look for the clip online, and post the link. You can see for yourself. It really doesn't make Port Angeles look very good.

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  11. Notice how both Port Angeles and its neighbor city Victoria, both put shit in the water...Only one isnt endorsed by paid off reps of the dental industry.

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  12. So, the city council extracts $120 million per year from the citizens but allow them only 15 minutes for feedback from the residents. This is why we got the fifteen million dollar Gateway Center that is valued at six million. This is why we have to re-do the landfill because the city council did not listen to the residents who attempted to tell them the flaws in thier first plan--which was later found to be correct and cost another 20 million. This is why we spent $50 million on the CSO project when interested citizens explained to the council they problem could be solved for $5 million--the city went ahead and spent the 50 million and did not solve the problem. The citizens have a better batting average than the city council yet the council wants to silence the residents and do it their way. How much more of this blindness can we afford?

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    1. Don't forget the Suspect Seawall, either.

      Or Harbor (Doesn't) Works.

      Or those darned unpaid utility bills at PenPly. (Well, unpaid until the residents had to pay them.)

      The money the City eagerly spent to become a PLP (Potentially Liable Party) to the harbor cleanup didn't have to be spent, either.

      Nor did the money on Nathan West's Boondoggle Beach.

      How much over, say, the last 10 years has been flushed down the toilet of crappy ideas that was and is the Chamber of Commerce? PADA? EDC?

      All this, and yes, you pay for the meals of City Council members, too. Only on "City business" of course.

      All to "achieve" a town that has a shrinking population, a shaky (at best) economy, an aging infrastructure, and is carrying a literal mountain of debt.

      "How much more of this blindness can we afford?" you ask. It was unaffordable years ago - and is only getting worse.

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    2. Don't forget the toxic "smart" meters. You think the Navy is bad? Read up on these EMF monster machines. Say goodbye to your kids' brains.

      It's a damn shame so many good folks here just don't care about their own quality of life.
      The fact of surrounding natural beauty is no reason to shirk your duty as a human being to do something. As the beggar's sign says: "Anything will help."
      This is YOUR community, not theirs.
      This criminality has simply got to stop.

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    3. Hundreds more of the "Step Down Now" signs have arrive, as of yesterday. Get yours today. Show the Offending Four you want them gone, now. Make them see they are not wanted, everywhere they go.

      And, remember to set up those cameras to catch those unpatriotic Port Angeles people that have been stealing signs. It IS illegal to steal signs.

      Imagine being able to post pictures right here, of "you know who" caught in the act!

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    4. OH YES THOSE PICTURES WOULD GET POSTED HERE. Then we could get signs made of THAT picture.

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    5. Lest we forget, Article XI Section 14 of our state constitution:

      SECTION 14 PRIVATE USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS PROHIBITED. The making of profit out of county, city, town, or other public money, or using the same for any purpose not authorized by law, by any officer having the possession or control thereof, shall be a felony, and shall be prosecuted and punished as prescribed by law.

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  13. Downie replies to the complaint, but seems to have not read it at all. I think the point of it flew over his head. Not good. Not good at all.
    Why don't these people understand that any smart PR person would tell them to "take it seriously" and "reflect" not double down on the arrogance.
    I am forever dismayed at the boneheadery exhibited.

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  14. Kidd to greet Canadian visitors at Coho this Saturday (tommorrow) noon. Highly suggest people be there for one hour with signs/handouts at Railroad and Oak educating our Victorian visitors (who don't put fluoride in their water) about our town who does medicate the water and ignores the will of its people. Superficial Kidd is all about image and status of her inflated selfworth. Need to expose others to our "unearthed" sins of this city. Only way to fix a problem is to expose it and then recognize there is one that needs fixing. Let the sunlight in!

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    1. Yes, please go - and please take photos - and please share said photos. Meanwhile, I am moving this comment up to the new (related) subject I just posted.

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