Friday, April 15, 2016

Unready, Unsteady, Go!

BEWARE the Friday press release and/or meeting announcement...It is intended to be missed in the run-up to the weekend. The following was sent out from the City this morning...

SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE
PORT ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
 

Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Port Angeles will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 321 East Fifth Street.


The purpose of the meeting is:

1. To hold a closed Executive Session to discuss potential litigation with legal counsel.

2. At 5:45 PM to receive a presentation on Socrata Open Payroll. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the presentation.
 

The regular City Council meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m.

Doing the math is pretty simple...The payroll discussion is being given 15 minutes. The discussion of "potential litigation" is going to take 45 minutes - or longer. So, is this discussion about appealing Yvonne Ziomkowski's righteous win against the City? Bill Bloor's ethics complaint? Or..?

13 comments:

  1. "potential litigation" could be appealing the recent decision, or it could be the ethics thing against Bloob that the city keeps trying to downplay.
    I hope someone's panties are twisted up.
    Wonder how much $$$ this is going to cost the people?

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  2. I thought it funny that Terry Ward gets promoted for pissing off the community he has only been in for less than a year.

    Maybe funny isn't exactly the right word. Insulting? Predictable? Yet another single fingered salute to the people of Port Angeles?

    Unlike some businesses in the community, the daily paper is highly visible. Everything it does is seen by many people. That isn't a compliment or acknowledgement that the Peninsula Daily News is doing anything great or wonderful that is generating extra special attention from the community, moreso than daily paper's in other towns. No, that is part of what daily "news" papers are and do.

    But the Peninsula Daily News has been engaging in blackouts, lies and twisting of the facts so much lately. It always was a bit loose with the truth, and it's slant always clear. But since Terry Ward took over, there has been an escalation and overt effort to support the established powers in town that many have observed and complained about.

    Community papers should reflect the communities they operate in. Does the Peninsula Daily News, with it's current mode of blackouts, lies and half-truths really represent Port Angeles?

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  3. Newspapers,especially small town newspapers represent their advertisers. ..That's it pretty much. Any hint of a threat from a major advertiser that they might cancel and you can bet the paper will play along. Identifying who the majority of their advertising dollars comes from and who owns the businesses and who the business owners are in bed with would be a full time undertaking. I remember several years ago when Safeway was still in the process of trying to take over the grocery business I wrote a letter to the editor. Safeway had a brand new CEO who's "vision" of the store's look was different from their previous CEO. So for months the Lincoln street store was torn up for a new floor cover and complete reset of all of the fixtures. At the same time they were cutting their employee hours so that it was impossible to find anyone to ask a question and the lines were horribly long during peek business hours much as they are today. This resulted in many employees no longer getting enough hours every month to qualify for health insurance benefits. They had boxes set out for contributions for sick employees and their children's medical bills. My letter said I was disturbed by what looked like a several million dollar reset to change the look of the inside of the store while cutting employee hours back. The daily news said they did not print letters to the editor that identified local businesses by name. I suggested that I could edit the letter and just call Safeway a local grocery store. They refused to do that because everyone would know which local store the letter was about.The Peninsula Daily News cares nothing about local citizens. They are not a local paper anymore. They recently got rid of almost half of the local people employed there.I think it would benefit us all to promote the Port O Call as the "Real" local Newspaper and start a subscription drive to get local people to subscribe to that paper.

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    1. A new slogan for the Port O Call does seem appropriate. "Your REAL local news source" or something like that. Obviously, as you point out, the PDN just doesn't care, has no standards, and exists entirely to shill for the few businesses that can afford to advertise, and to safeguard the ever-shakier old boys network.

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  4. The PDN is so obviously biased it is almost a tired argument except it affects so may different things in town. They completely ignore any news that is negative to the city or county government. If anyone came through town and read only the PDN they would think things here are so hunky dory everyone should manage their affairs like the city and county governments do. Not one hint of criticism is to be found in the PDN. Yet, our city is so deep in debt it will never recover without receivership. The county keeps investing in these ridiculous schemes like the composites scam at the port and the Carlsborg Sewer Scam in Carlsborg. None of the criticism of these projects ever gets reported in the PDN. So, the advertisers are key. When revenue goes down Black Press will do something about the piss poor news coverage here. Until then expect to be kept in the dark about things taxpayers should know about their government but never will if relying on this Canadian rag. Terry Ward came to town preceeded by this touchy-feely story of growing up homeless and following the fruit pickers as a life style. This was supposed to make you think he identifies with the 99% getting screwed by their local governments. Instead, he fell right in with the screwers and is supporting them daily.

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  5. So, they kinda sorta sold the Lincoln to the Gastropub? Couldn't do it as a non profit in this town. Scott couldn't make it fly.

    It will be interesting to see what comes out it all. What will they feature, and who will show up.

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    1. You should celebrate that we have someone investing their money in a business venture. Not lamenting that we don't have yet another nonprofit asking everyone for donations.

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    2. Now that the Lincoln has been sold, the question is will the Light Up the Lincoln donors get their money back from Nagel?

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    3. Before jumping up to potentially trash the new Lincoln owners, you should know or at least consider the other, long standing, successful local businesses Oppelt owns besides just Gastro, several of which are in downtown properties he also purchased and renovated.

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    4. In any other town, yes, I would agree with you.

      And, I wasn't "lamenting that we don't have yet another nonprofit asking everyone for donations." But, you raise an interesting point.

      Really, what is the difference? Yes, there are some, but it isn't like businesses in the area don't get big "donations" in order to keep them afloat. Look at Kenmore Air, Peninsula Hardwood, PenPly, Nippon, the timber industries etc, etc, etc. And, they got more that $20 or so.

      My observation was about how little community support there was/is for restoring the Lincoln, despite many months (was it years?) of publicity and efforts by the professional non profit man Scott Nagel.

      And, it isn't that Gastropub has a magic touch, either. The second store they opened next to their first one went nowhere.

      Yes, "someone" got suckered once again, to invest in Port Angeles. My sympathies.

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    5. @7:07, a very good point.

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    6. Right. Port Angeles is really hot now. Yawn.

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    7. They don't get suckered, it's the town that's the sucker, giving subsidies which the companies promptly re-distribute, then lo & behold, another "business failure".
      The business model here is make big promises, get the subsidies & tax breaks, then flee!

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