Thursday, June 8, 2017

Fed Up! Feds Down! Play Ball! - AKA - None if by Water, None if by Air, and None if by Land

What's the lesson here? Or, more specifically, what's the lesson for people who use one hand to beg the Feds for money, and the other to give 'em the bird for not doing enough...

Port Angeles approves more money for water facilities legal dispute

A Seattle law firm's contract has been boosted to $407,500 to represent the City of Port Angeles in an industrial water facilities dispute with the National Park Service. On Tuesday, City Council members unanimously approved increasing the budget for the legal services agreement...nearly doubling a contract...approved June 7th, 2016.

Hmmm...What will the outcome of PA vs. Big Bad Feds be? Could there be a clue in yet another headline...

Officials: Federal program for air service unlikely for Port Angeles

It would take either an act of God or an act of Congress for commercial air service to return to Port Angeles...

Well, there's a little more to it than that, but I think you get the point. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

Obviously, there's no shortage of hubris and what might be called a twisted form of hope in City Hall, but the reality remains that Port Angeles is a proud, scrappy, bootstraps kind of town...That is only too happy to wait for some other outside agency to come in and rescue them. (Barring that, blaming said outside agency for your woes is always a good fallback plan, right?)

Yes, despite its lack of anything much to be proud of, Port Angeles is...Ever so proud. They keep banging their head against the wall and thinking they're driving in nails...

LEFTIES: Huge ninth inning rally comes up just shy

A huge ninth inning rally by the Lefties came up just short...It was the second straight close, exciting loss for the Lefties, who have already shown they can hold their own with the rest of the West Coast League.

Note that ALL CAPS team name in the headline. Notice how their loss isn't really pitched as a loss - it's just an almost win. And notice the editorializing about how the Lefties are "exciting" and have proved they can "hold their own"...Yes, the Losing Lefties are a perfect representation of the mindset in City Hall. Confused, a little sad, a little desperate, and not really successful...But big believers in their own delusional PR.

So, take me out to the ballgame...But not in a plane.

32 comments:

  1. Dan Gase paid at $6,250 a month of (taxpayer money) for business research will save airport!
    Think positive! -D.G.

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  2. Although I have no interest in going to the ball games, I will pull myself up and make a positive comment that I know families who have been going and taking their young kids and thoroughly enjoying the experience and having a hot dog on a sunny day. So if it brings a positive activity that families can enjoy to PA, then good for them.

    The airline situation is just becoming a farce at this point....I hope the new EDC director has done his own due diligence and come across this blog and the POC and knows what he is getting into. Could be the end of his career right here in PA.

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    1. Sure, sure sure. But, too bad the cost is $10 bucks, and food $$ and Beer $$. If this is geared for families, why the beer, and why tickets at $10? Maybe $2.50 would be more in keeping with the median wage here.
      Didn't the city pay for all the upgrades. Don't the players pay to play? Aren't they put up for free with local families? Don't the parents set up a food stipend for this month of "ball camp"?
      So what is the overhead for?
      Who's pockets are lined and if it's civic minded, why in the HELL are they charging money for families to come watch?
      How many games will the average family be able to attend, as it isn't all summer, but all jammed into one month.
      Who can afford to pay $50 bucks a game to take a couple of kids to see a bunch of bigger kids play? That would be $1000.00 bucks -- or more.
      I'm sorry. It's too rich for my blood. (and wallet) and, I don't like shoving money into the pockets of con artists and scammers. If I wanted to waste my money, I'd shove it down a rat hole.

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    2. "If I wanted to waste my money, I'd shove it down a rat hole."

      If you live in Port Angeles, you already are shoving money down a rat hole.

      Delete
  3. When you are supported by grant whoring, you learn to say and do what ever you need to, to get the money.

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    1. Hmmm. Sounds like something that Cherie learned about how to get by in the world. Look pretty, parrot happy talk, and beg. Rinse and repeat.

      Lets rename the town Port Blanche DuBois. "We rely on the kindness of strangers."

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  4. What can be said? This is a town whose leadership is completely delusional. Poverty is wealth! Failure is success! Vigilantes are heroes!

    All they have left to do is find a smiley face to put on the opioid abuse here, and the process will be complete. (Other than that whole Act of God thing.)

    Fucking lunacy.

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    Replies
    1. Opioids make people happy....maybe the city should add it to the water supply.

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    2. LOL, maybe they already have!

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  5. So, I guess there is no reason to allow Gase to keep his "aerospace business development specialist for the Port of Port Angeles" bullshit job for $6,250.00 per month, huh?

    Guess he can't fully get his graft paycheck.

    I sure wonder what THAT was for. What did he do to garner a $6,250 paycheck for a useless, hopeless job.

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  6. Lefty's don't need to win. The organizers already did. They get the poor sap players to pay $$ to be in the league. They sell the city on some bullshit. They get to sell beer to their buddies at civic field and claim to be civic minded, too.

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    1. I swear, if anyone actually votes for Oppelt for city council they are an idiot.

      Hello, Lefties...wonder who's making bank here?

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  7. What a friend of mine, a longtime baseball coach (college level) said about "travel ball": they are expensive and most of the kids that attend are not going to receive scholarship money. It is a pipe dream for the parents, (and a money maker for the directors), who continue to hand over there hard earned money for these showcases. If your kid is good they will find him. Don't worry there are very few diamonds in the rough out there. Please parents save your money, play summer travel ball, fall ball, send films to schools of interest.

    Travel ball summer leagues are a huge con, foisted on poor kid's (and parents)dreams. Most of these scams cost each kid up to $10k to "play". It's the most expensive summer camp, ever."

    So, yeah, Port Angeles is the butt of another joke.

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    1. Jackpot! How much did these players or their parents pay to join this team? They use words like signed. What a crock. Sounds like a professional team. I promise it's a scam. Looking for housing for these fine young men. So I don't have to pay for it. One season and done. Unless there's a grant. Lol. :D

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    2. Oh, they SIGNED, all right. Signed the check and the contract.

      Delete
  8. CK's earlier-this-year prediction about the Lefties may well come to pass. Generate unsustainable excitement, sell the dream, and in a couple years the owner will announce the inevitable revenue shortfalls.

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  9. "Notice how their loss isn't really pitched as a loss - it's just an almost win. And notice the editorializing about how the Lefties are "exciting" and have proved they can "hold their own".."

    We know the PDN is just a city-booster, and mouthpiece for the powers-that-be. As such, it is not independent, and no one should look to the PDN for any kind of independent perspectives, or reporting. This is exactly why the PoC and this site are so important.

    If you want rah-rah propaganda that tries to convince readers that everything is great and getting better by the minute, the PDN is your rag. If you want to know what is actually going on, the PoC and this site are for you.

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    1. they came in second, give them a star!

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  10. Pretty much agree with these comments. Sure, ball games are good clean family fun, but at what real cost? And as usual, no one asks the owner any hard questions, despite the subsidies. Best to just let this one run its course, and save your questions for the bigger scams, the bigger wastes of your money.
    Desperation, incompetence, and denial abound here; if it were on purpose, I'd speculate the strategy would be to keep anyone who might upset the little apple cart away. But it really isn't purposeful - the deciders are idiots and many villagers below that. But hey the Summers are grand! LOL

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  11. I wonder if any of these Port Commissioners have checked to see if any of the air service providers running from Victoria to Seattle would be interested in selling tickets and picking up, dropping off any passengers. They wouldn't have to offer any flights except the flights they already run, they wouldn't have to stop unless they had ticket sales and It is only five minutes out of their way. I know anytime in the past I tried to fly in and it was too foggy to land Iv'e ended up in Victoria where Horizon was picking up passengers. Then when I got back to Seatac I had to go through customs because I sat on a Canadian tarmac for 10 minutes but It was a free flight back to Seattle! I don't see why we would have to have a airline based here, maybe we could just get some of them to stop here. I'm sure they must have checked this out since the Victoria airport is only about 30 miles away.

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    1. "Stop making sense..."

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    2. "...maybe we could just get some of them to stop here." Yes, but people don't want to stop here. We see that every day. Far more people use the ferry than ever used any airline service out of Port Angeles. Everyday, hundreds and thousands of people arrive in Port Angeles, either waiting to go to Victoria, or leaving it. And what does the town get out of it? Very little, because virtually all of them get out of Port Angeles as fast as they can.

      I know, slightly different topic, as airline service to Port Angeles is not ferry service to Victoria.

      More to the point, I doubt those trying to make connecting flights at Vancouver Airport and other Canadian Airports will want to get unexpected delays as their flights are delayed to Port Angeles to pick up some poor soul stuck in this shit hole. Same with flights headed for SeaTac.

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  12. When you get down to it, every major sport is an armored and entrenched racket at some level of taxpayer expense. This noble concept goes all the way back to ancient Rome.

    Some people have fun with it. Others won't. It may be a puny little economic engine, but that's up to us. I will enjoy a game and a beer and a hot dog once in a while.

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  13. Know you cant post this but was downtown Saturday and the place was packed. had to pay to park to get into H20 for lunch. Farmers Market was packed with people. Waterfront was busy even after the ferry left for Victoria. No festivals drawing people up to the civic center i guess.

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    1. Well, gosh, actually I can post this...But it seems like the difficult part is getting anyone else to verify your observation. Over 12 hours and counting, and...Nothing. Just like downtown Port Angeles...Nothing.

      (Somemassivedebtandpoorlyplannedpuiblicworksprojectsmanyhavebeenapprovedandoracquired.Pleasetrynottonoticetheseageoutfallsnadorthelogyardbutratherfocusonourfantasticnewbeach.OveruseofdowntownPortAngelesmaycauseboredommethaddictionandorlonliness.Somerestrictionsmayapply.PleaseseeNathanWestfordeatils.)

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    2. Anon 6:13 What drugs are you on? I was downtown Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The place was as empty as always. I drove by both the Farmers Market, H20 and the waterfront specifically to check out what was going on. (I had other business in the area, anyways). Yes, the outside tables at a few places actually had people sitting at them, but H20 was virtually empty.

      I was so impressed with the on-going empty-ness of the area, I thought of making a point of photographing each weekend, so as to accurately document how many days and weekends out of the year there is any activity worth talking about. Maybe put them up on-line, as an ongoing project.

      This is so pathetic. Downtown boosters thinking making up "fake news" will change reality!

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    3. Oops, Anonymous 6:13 AM...It looks like someone IS willing to verify your comments - verify that they're a crock, that is. Sad!

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    4. +1 to 8:19. Was there from 11 to 11:30 on Saturday, and nowhere was "packed", even stretching the word. Plenty of free parking left, right on Front. Went down to the Red Goose as well. A few tourists, sure, but nothing more than the usual ho-hum.

      Better yet, we take photos of empty streets to prove the point. Why don't you supply a corresponding number of pics of the teeming throngs on non-festival days? CK seems level-headed enough to publish them, should they exist.

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    5. If there are photos, send 'em in.

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    6. LOL! Even on "festival days", as we saw in the picture only a couple of weeks ago posted here (wasn't that Memorial Day weekend, and the Juan de Fuca Fine Arts Festival?), the place was empty.

      I did notice we have yet another pot shop that opened a couple days ago. Something about "Prime Cannabis" on 101, east of town. Across from the Safeway over there.

      Maybe the town is empty, cuz everybody is now home and stoned.

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    7. Did you see the other new store just down 101 from that one? "Beer Bongs and Bullsh*t". No, really!

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