Telling the truth about one of the worst, most corrupt places on Earth, and providing more information than the Peninsula Daily News could ever hope to.
Monday, March 10, 2014
The Slogan Makes the Town?
"Soaring Heights, Surprising Depths"
All I ask is that everyone add the words "of corruption" to the end of this new slogan.
Um, Bob, if I can't SEE IT, then for all intents and purposes, it's NOT THERE. Especially in terms of trying to market something (that I CAN'T SEE) to me from out of the area. Um, duh.
LOL! I had exactly the same reaction when I read it.
Another REALLY lame offering by a REALLY lame group.
Right up there with their idea to reduce business fees to try to attract new businesses to fill up some of the empty storefronts downtown.
This goes weird either way. Either "Business would be great if it were not for the high business fees which are SO high they are driving us out of business, and are the obvious reason for all the empty storefronts".
Or " There are no people downtown patronizing existing businesses, but will reduce business fees to help you set yourself up for obvious failure, like all those that preceded you".
Why look at WHY so many businesses are closing, when you can spend more money on really lame ideas and slogans.
So a tourist comes to PA and runs into Barb Frederick...
Tourist: Hi! I'd really love to see the soaring heights here! Where do I catch the bus or tram up to the mountain?
Barb: Well, actually, there isn't any transportation to Hurricane Ridge. We never really managed to get that together very well. You'll have to drive yourself up there. It's a nice drive!
Tourist: But I came over on the ferry from Victoria, and didn't bring my car.
Barb: You could rent one.
Tourist: I think that would cost more than I want to spend just to see a ridge. Maybe instead I'll focus on exploring your surprising depths. How would I go about that?
Barb: Well, first you need to wait until it gets raining really good, okay? Then you go to your hotel room, flush yourself down the toilet, and our CSO system will whisk you out for a tour of the harbor! That's the surprise!
Those of us who have businesses downtown and are subject to the tyranny/apathy/incompetence of the PADA are NOT supportive of this slogan or this use of funds. It's a waste, and totally out of step with the reality of trying to do business downtown. The reality is we are all hamstrung by the stupid, wasteful decisions of our so-called local leaders.
The businesses pay taxes and fees, both to government and the PADA. The city council gives more money to the PADA. The PADA refuses to acknowledge reality or listen to anyone who isn't tight with Jan Harbick and a few others. (And remember, Jan doesn't even have a business downtown...) Then the PADA leaders decide to waste waste waste our time and money on foolish, no return debacles like the Slogan-Works. The city says job done, the PADA says "What, me worry?" and the storefronts continue to empty out.
If nothing else, I wish the city would stop giving money to the PADA. IT ONLY ENABLES MORE BAD BEHAVIOR. They will not learn, they will not change. And the storefronts continue to empty out.
At this point I don't expect to ever make a good living here, but it would be nice if they could stop a little of the financial bleeding. Just a little? Please?
Here's an idea: Dissolve the PADA. This will save downtown businesses money on fees and BS and time spent going to meetings.
Take the $50,000 (!!!) that Bonehead Barb gets paid,and turn it all into ten dollar "Downtown Dollar" gift certificates. Have someone hand out said gift certificates to tourists disembarking from the ferry until the money is all gone.
This would have more of an economic bump for downtown than anything the PADA does. The tourists would be pleased. The downtown businesses would be pleased. And everyone would be pleased to not have to deal with Barb the Boob any more!
Fat Barbie never even set FOOT in my now long-dead store downtown. NOT ONCE. Never could shuffle those fat thighs my direction. And, not once did any of the pathetic, lame excuses for events ever cause any person to show up, and if they did (like for some Twilight scavenger hunt) it wasn't to buy one single thing. Meanwhile, the Fat Barbie was all chirpy "oh great job". All it cost me was extra on my power bill, more employee hours, and a lot of discouragement. PADA may not be the only reason that businesses give up, but it is a contributing factor. Meanwhile, what rude, rude people at the CoC. I've never met such incompetent nincompoops.
Just to remind everyone reading here...The majority of the pageviews (up to nearly 3000 total as of this moment) this blog gets are from the U.S. But the second biggest source of pageviews is Canada. So our neighbors to the North are in some way paying attention to this discussion about our "exciting" new slogan. Surely they will see it and make immediate ferry reservations for a visit, eh?
The "surprising depths" slogan and the anchor symbol must refer back to the 80's when the tanker Arco Anchorage ran aground in Port Angeles harbor and spilled thousands of barrels of Alaskan crude. Way to go, consultants from out of state! You aren't so ignorant of the local culture after all!
The SUCCESSFUL business people in Port Angeles generally don't waste their time with PADA, PABA, the Chamber, etc. They stay plenty busy running their businesses. You know, eyes on the prize and all that.
It's mind boggling to think of how many hours so many people spend going to those stupid, pointless weekly (WEEKLY!) meetings, plus committees, etc. It's a WASTE OF TIME.
The business community in Port Angeles could learn more about success from, say Ann and Noi at Sabai Thai, than from 1000 hours of meetings. But you know what? They'd never even think to ask people like that for insights or advice. Too busy listening to Russ and Barb.
If your stupid business is downtown, you get no choice about "joining" the downtown association. It's taken from your hide, and if you don't pay it, your utilities are shut off.
Yeah, you're right. The city does back up the PADA in ways that aren't so obvious, and definitely aren't so nice. Get gouged or go dark. Great choice, right?
Soaring Heights..refers to the hopes and dreams of people coming in trying to open businesses and make a go of it, putting lots of $$ into it, and then...the Surprising Depths...is when they realize they haven't made a dime, gone deeply into the red, and close up shop and end up still owing EDD and business taxes (and probably PADA fees). Makes perfect sense to me. This is a warning to anyone thinking about opening a business, not a marketing slogan.
The really sad part about all this is, they just don't care. No more than they ever have.
Every one is doing today, what they did yesterday, and will do tomorrow.
Tomorrow, the "players" will be meeting at the Lincoln Center at 3 pm as "Port Angeles United". The same people, doing the same things. Yes, even Barb will be there.
They'll come up with some kind of "urgency statement", just as the City staff did concerning the need for Cutlers Turd Tank. Some blather about creating jobs and retaining wealth.
Of course, we wonder what will be different, this time. Did all the participants go on a "vision quest" out in the deserts of the South West, and come back with "the answer"? Will there be new ideas considered, or the same stuff repackaged.
Is there ANY evidence that they actually care? Or is this just another of all those weekly meetings these folks endlessly attend, that in the end, have accomplished nothing.
I posted this subject as a sort of minor note, but, really, it's emblematic of so much of what is wrong with Port Angeles. As you said, shuffling the same players around and occasionally changing the name of an organization is about all that gets "accomplished."
No one ever stands up and says "Enough!" No one ever speaks up to point out that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing, the same way, over and over and expecting different results - and that that's exactly what they've been doing. Lord knows no one ever really calls anyone else to show honest to goodness verifiable results.
So yeah, a slogan is a silly thing. And in the context of a City that has a bloated budget of $120 million plus, $12,000 isn't much. But it's all part of a larger, ongoing pattern of total incompetence that has dragged Port Angeles down to the depths (surprising depths, apparently) of poverty and decay.
Do any of these same old same old fools really care about bailing the town out? Do any of them even care enough to want to get themselves in a lifeboat? It sure doesn't look like it.
If you take the big fat $50,000 paycheck that big fat Barb gets each year, and add in the $12,000 spent on this totally stupid "rebranding" campaign, you get $62,000. Divide that in half, and you get $31,000, which if I recall correctly, is about the median income for Clallam County. So for what the PADA wastes each year, you could potentially support two entire local families.
Or Barb Frederick, who just bought a house recently.
I know which of the two I think would be a better use of the funds.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS POSTED, READ AND PARTICIPATED THUS FAR. The response has been amazing.
I'll be away from the computer tonight, but I think the next topic, per a suggestion, will be Lincoln Park...And the Port's dirty dealings...And the City's dismal response to same...Thanks again!
I suspect that Harold Norlund's leaving signals some new heights of local unemployment (as the mill sheds jobs) and new depths of local despair (as the mill sheds jobs).
“In other words, there’s a whole lot more here than you see,” Lumens said.
ReplyDeleteI think he's referring to the corruption.
Um, Bob, if I can't SEE IT, then for all intents and purposes, it's NOT THERE. Especially in terms of trying to market something (that I CAN'T SEE) to me from out of the area. Um, duh.
DeleteLOL! I had exactly the same reaction when I read it.
ReplyDeleteAnother REALLY lame offering by a REALLY lame group.
Right up there with their idea to reduce business fees to try to attract new businesses to fill up some of the empty storefronts downtown.
This goes weird either way. Either "Business would be great if it were not for the high business fees which are SO high they are driving us out of business, and are the obvious reason for all the empty storefronts".
Or " There are no people downtown patronizing existing businesses, but will reduce business fees to help you set yourself up for obvious failure, like all those that preceded you".
Why look at WHY so many businesses are closing, when you can spend more money on really lame ideas and slogans.
So a tourist comes to PA and runs into Barb Frederick...
ReplyDeleteTourist: Hi! I'd really love to see the soaring heights here! Where do I catch the bus or tram up to the mountain?
Barb: Well, actually, there isn't any transportation to Hurricane Ridge. We never really managed to get that together very well. You'll have to drive yourself up there. It's a nice drive!
Tourist: But I came over on the ferry from Victoria, and didn't bring my car.
Barb: You could rent one.
Tourist: I think that would cost more than I want to spend just to see a ridge. Maybe instead I'll focus on exploring your surprising depths. How would I go about that?
Barb: Well, first you need to wait until it gets raining really good, okay? Then you go to your hotel room, flush yourself down the toilet, and our CSO system will whisk you out for a tour of the harbor! That's the surprise!
At least in this case the cost of stupid was only $12,000.
ReplyDeleteThe cost to the ever-decreasing credibility of the PADA? Priceless.
As was stated on an earlier post here, this is a perfect representation of so much that's wrong about Port Angeles.
ReplyDeletePay an out of town consultant to do a job a local business could easily have done? Check.
Focus on window dressing instead of actual structural/functional problems? Check?
Keep forging ahead even when the first results generate an overwhelmingly negative response? Check.
And on and on and on. Crap like THIS is what Barb Frederick gets $50,000 a year to oversee? Paycheck.
Pathetic.
Those of us who have businesses downtown and are subject to the tyranny/apathy/incompetence of the PADA are NOT supportive of this slogan or this use of funds. It's a waste, and totally out of step with the reality of trying to do business downtown. The reality is we are all hamstrung by the stupid, wasteful decisions of our so-called local leaders.
DeleteThe businesses pay taxes and fees, both to government and the PADA. The city council gives more money to the PADA. The PADA refuses to acknowledge reality or listen to anyone who isn't tight with Jan Harbick and a few others. (And remember, Jan doesn't even have a business downtown...) Then the PADA leaders decide to waste waste waste our time and money on foolish, no return debacles like the Slogan-Works. The city says job done, the PADA says "What, me worry?" and the storefronts continue to empty out.
If nothing else, I wish the city would stop giving money to the PADA. IT ONLY ENABLES MORE BAD BEHAVIOR. They will not learn, they will not change. And the storefronts continue to empty out.
At this point I don't expect to ever make a good living here, but it would be nice if they could stop a little of the financial bleeding. Just a little? Please?
Here's an idea: Dissolve the PADA. This will save downtown businesses money on fees and BS and time spent going to meetings.
DeleteTake the $50,000 (!!!) that Bonehead Barb gets paid,and turn it all into ten dollar "Downtown Dollar" gift certificates. Have someone hand out said gift certificates to tourists disembarking from the ferry until the money is all gone.
This would have more of an economic bump for downtown than anything the PADA does. The tourists would be pleased. The downtown businesses would be pleased. And everyone would be pleased to not have to deal with Barb the Boob any more!
I like your idea. I'm sure visitors would, too. I'm also sure that those in charge would NOT like it.
DeleteAnd so we have...Barb Frederick.
Even incompetent people look at her and shake their heads. Our tax dollars at work - except she doesn't work at all, does she?
Yes, every single dollar for tourism put into free Downtown Dollars for tourists would do more than these idiots could ever accomplish.
DeleteFat Barbie never even set FOOT in my now long-dead store downtown. NOT ONCE. Never could shuffle those fat thighs my direction. And, not once did any of the pathetic, lame excuses for events ever cause any person to show up, and if they did (like for some Twilight scavenger hunt) it wasn't to buy one single thing. Meanwhile, the Fat Barbie was all chirpy "oh great job". All it cost me was extra on my power bill, more employee hours, and a lot of discouragement. PADA may not be the only reason that businesses give up, but it is a contributing factor. Meanwhile, what rude, rude people at the CoC. I've never met such incompetent nincompoops.
DeleteI'm sorry about your store, but not surprised at your views of the PADA, Barb and the Chamber. All are lockstep in lameness.
DeleteJust to remind everyone reading here...The majority of the pageviews (up to nearly 3000 total as of this moment) this blog gets are from the U.S. But the second biggest source of pageviews is Canada. So our neighbors to the North are in some way paying attention to this discussion about our "exciting" new slogan. Surely they will see it and make immediate ferry reservations for a visit, eh?
ReplyDeleteThe "surprising depths" slogan and the anchor symbol must refer back to the 80's when the tanker Arco Anchorage ran aground in Port Angeles harbor and spilled thousands of barrels of Alaskan crude. Way to go, consultants from out of state! You aren't so ignorant of the local culture after all!
ReplyDeleteThe SUCCESSFUL business people in Port Angeles generally don't waste their time with PADA, PABA, the Chamber, etc. They stay plenty busy running their businesses. You know, eyes on the prize and all that.
ReplyDeleteIt's mind boggling to think of how many hours so many people spend going to those stupid, pointless weekly (WEEKLY!) meetings, plus committees, etc. It's a WASTE OF TIME.
The business community in Port Angeles could learn more about success from, say Ann and Noi at Sabai Thai, than from 1000 hours of meetings. But you know what? They'd never even think to ask people like that for insights or advice. Too busy listening to Russ and Barb.
If your stupid business is downtown, you get no choice about "joining" the downtown association. It's taken from your hide, and if you don't pay it, your utilities are shut off.
DeleteYeah, you're right. The city does back up the PADA in ways that aren't so obvious, and definitely aren't so nice. Get gouged or go dark. Great choice, right?
DeleteSoaring Heights..refers to the hopes and dreams of people coming in trying to open businesses and make a go of it, putting lots of $$ into it, and then...the Surprising Depths...is when they realize they haven't made a dime, gone deeply into the red, and close up shop and end up still owing EDD and business taxes (and probably PADA fees). Makes perfect sense to me. This is a warning to anyone thinking about opening a business, not a marketing slogan.
ReplyDeleteYour cynicism is well put. Not a slogan but a warning. Nice and succinct.
DeleteThe really sad part about all this is, they just don't care. No more than they ever have.
ReplyDeleteEvery one is doing today, what they did yesterday, and will do tomorrow.
Tomorrow, the "players" will be meeting at the Lincoln Center at 3 pm as "Port Angeles United". The same people, doing the same things. Yes, even Barb will be there.
They'll come up with some kind of "urgency statement", just as the City staff did concerning the need for Cutlers Turd Tank. Some blather about creating jobs and retaining wealth.
Of course, we wonder what will be different, this time. Did all the participants go on a "vision quest" out in the deserts of the South West, and come back with "the answer"? Will there be new ideas considered, or the same stuff repackaged.
Is there ANY evidence that they actually care? Or is this just another of all those weekly meetings these folks endlessly attend, that in the end, have accomplished nothing.
Bullseye.
DeleteI posted this subject as a sort of minor note, but, really, it's emblematic of so much of what is wrong with Port Angeles. As you said, shuffling the same players around and occasionally changing the name of an organization is about all that gets "accomplished."
No one ever stands up and says "Enough!" No one ever speaks up to point out that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing, the same way, over and over and expecting different results - and that that's exactly what they've been doing. Lord knows no one ever really calls anyone else to show honest to goodness verifiable results.
So yeah, a slogan is a silly thing. And in the context of a City that has a bloated budget of $120 million plus, $12,000 isn't much. But it's all part of a larger, ongoing pattern of total incompetence that has dragged Port Angeles down to the depths (surprising depths, apparently) of poverty and decay.
Do any of these same old same old fools really care about bailing the town out? Do any of them even care enough to want to get themselves in a lifeboat? It sure doesn't look like it.
If you take the big fat $50,000 paycheck that big fat Barb gets each year, and add in the $12,000 spent on this totally stupid "rebranding" campaign, you get $62,000. Divide that in half, and you get $31,000, which if I recall correctly, is about the median income for Clallam County. So for what the PADA wastes each year, you could potentially support two entire local families.
DeleteOr Barb Frederick, who just bought a house recently.
I know which of the two I think would be a better use of the funds.
I say let's hold an anonymous poll of downtown merchants, and let them all vote on how much Barb Frederick is worth per year.
DeleteCare to work under those conditions, Barb? Think you'd still be making five figures?
Surprising Debt? Surprising Meth? Surprising Deaths from Meth? :)
ReplyDeleteSoaring Heights, Surprising Depths ...cancel each other out.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS POSTED, READ AND PARTICIPATED THUS FAR. The response has been amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'll be away from the computer tonight, but I think the next topic, per a suggestion, will be Lincoln Park...And the Port's dirty dealings...And the City's dismal response to same...Thanks again!
I suspect that Harold Norlund's leaving signals some new heights of local unemployment (as the mill sheds jobs) and new depths of local despair (as the mill sheds jobs).
ReplyDelete