And hello to Mark Ozias!
And hello to Marolee Smith, too!
And now, thank goodness, since the primary is over, we can start looping that loopy Cherie Kidd into any and all election debates and coverage. Darn it if I don't expect some classic pearls of wisdom or two from her.
At any rate, congrats again to Mark and Marolee. Good luck, and have fun kids.
If you want to see what a screeching looney is Cherie Kidd listen to her speech to the county commission yesterday. She starts off appropriately but within the second paragraph she begins to sound like a caterwauling alley cat. She does it at city council meetings too. Once she starts talking I think her id realizes she is full of shit and tries to shut her up but her ego just keeps talking and the outcome is like fingernails on a chalk board. Realizing Dan Bateham is not the sharpest knife in the drawer he is still the only antidote to this screaming ninny.
ReplyDeleteIs Cherie still claiming to have once worked as a "motivational speaker"? What a joke!
DeleteGolly, sure. She motivates me to leave the room... is that what a motivational speaker is?
DeleteSix, two and even Kidd is back for a third term!
DeleteCherie should learn Cantonese -- she'd be a natural. Our very own version of "Ms Swan".
DeleteWasn't there somebody running against Cherie?
ReplyDeleteDan Bateham is running against Cherie. The election is in November, vote.
DeleteBased on the precinct results for each race, I'd say it was a safe bet that McEntire and Merideth will win easily.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cherie Kidd, idiot though she may be, I believe she'll be returned to office without too much trouble.
Sissi Bruch, as has been so eloquently stated, is a "shoe-in".
Please elaborate. Why do you think that McEntire and Meredith will will easily, and don't you think that a dead dog (if on the ballot) would win over the Kidd?
DeleteI can't figure out how things run here. Will there be any debates? Do people just vote because someone is a "local"? Are there any term limits on these positions?
New here and everyone just seem so discouraged by local government. Apathy reins?
No. Yes. No. Yes.
DeleteHey Anon 12:57
DeleteNew here? To Port Angeles, or just the site?
If new to Port Angeles, sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll have a better experience than most.
The discouragement you sense, feel and see is very real. It is the result of a lot of factors, but a large one is the short-sighted view of the timber interests who mostly see money in THEIR pockets, as fast as possible, at any cost, as a priority. That mindset has created and supports a web of cronyism that is epitomized by the log yards along the waterfront down town, and at the airport.
The local government, being beholden to these interests, will not listen to the public, as witnessed and represented currently in the fluoride issues. When considering putting the obviously important (by the actions taken by opponents and supporters) option of putting the topic on the ballot, and allowing the public to voice THEIR views, 3 of the city council members voted against allowing THAT!! And only a week later, held a special session where the majority voted to rescind even that.
The list is very long. Hence the name of this site.. " Telling the Truth about one of the Worst Places on Earth.."
The discouragement is, simply, due to years and years of worsening conditions coupled with ever greater platitudes on the part of our elected officials and a few well-off individuals. With no feet on the ground, they apparently have no idea how bad things are, let alone how to fix them.
DeleteBy "worsening conditions" I generally mean lack of growth. The population is shrinking. No big, but so are the jobs. There is a lot of money being thrown around but very little of it gets circulated through the economy. There's a general feeling that we're just barely holding on, and a lot of us are.
Not to say there isn't growth. Salvation Army has expanded to meet the growing need of homelessness. Official statistics state that homelessness is down and yet it's obvious to anyone driving through town that the homeless population has expanded greatly. The major growth downtown has been a medical facility, DSHS and the Lee Hotel. In fact public housing has grown all over town, as has Peninsula Behavioral Health. It's good that we're taking care of the disadvantaged, but it's not good that the disadvantaged are growing so much year after year.
In the meantime we vote in a constant stream of clueless or corrupt representatives. I mentioned the money being thrown around? Pet projects with huge cost overruns, little oversight and no thought are resulting in a drain on our reserves. This stretches back years. The Incubator, Harborworks, Pen Ply, the Turd Tank, the garbage bluff... Every one of them is a mark in our debt book. That money comes out of taxpayer pocketbooks without helping the community at all.
If you've lived here for some time you've seen events die or slow. We used to have "Derby Days" but that's gone. Arts in Action used to be downtown, then it was on the edge of downtown, now it's gone. The Farmers Market was downtown, kicked out for awhile, now it's back at the edge of town where people can go and leave without shopping. The Juan de Fuca Festival used to be an event with free music and lots to do and a variety of acts. Lately it's been getting smaller acts, no outdoors music and the same vendors. Last year the vendor and outside act situation was meager. We had Senior Games events, that's gone; the Big Hurt triathlon, which went away for a long time but is finally coming back.
We've lost a lot but gained little. Most new growth is actually a drain on taxpayers. The economy is stagnant and fragile. Our representatives don't seem to understand or care about their constituents. Things are sliding downhill and it's just going to keep going, year after year...
Thank you CK.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, everyone.
I have an updated blog post http://maroleesmith.com/2015/08/06/now-comes-the-campaign/
Thank you, Marolee. A truck driver favored by Revitalize may be one choice, but I think you have a LOT more to bring to the critical discussions that keep being avoided by the current leadership. I've heard you speak, and I'm hoping you can get on council.
DeleteThank you for the kind words. (I am so rusty as speaking, that I need to spiff up a bit. I'm a writer, more naturally.)
DeleteThe funny think is the truck driver didn't even know what "Revitalize" was, when I asked him. It was news to him. He's just local -- and this race will, clearly, be local v.s. 20-year resident.
We will see what plays out....I'll do my best.
Revitalize doesn't know him from Adam. They don't "favor" anybody, they don't allow campaigning or endorsements on that page.
DeleteRevitalize doesn't know anything, period. After all the hub-bub they were afforded by the PDN and the City, what is there to see as a real result?
DeleteThey endorsed "Light Up the Lincoln", and we see that continues to flounder after extensive coverage by the PDN.
They have focused on increasing business activities downtown, and now, during the height of the summer vacation/tourist season, the streets are more empty than they were before Revitalize formed!
The media reports a banner year for tourism industries, every where but here.
The take-away? That community enhancement groups cannot be run like high school girl cheer leading cliques. The Lincoln and other issues Revitalize took on revealed the lack of understanding of reality the group has. Like the costs of renovating and operating the Lincoln, or the real life negative realities of Dan' Fantasy Tram. "That sounds GREAT!", is the refrain from the group after a pitch. Actual facts not required.
Kicking out people because they speak of issues you don't want to hear about may give the leadership a sense of control and power, but it leaves a nasty impression of elitism to most.
the key word is elitism. It's the red-neck, uneducated elitists that run this town (into the ground).
DeleteThe number of "I'm local, you're not" comments are on the rise, again. "Locals" (probably meaning people who were born and raised here and couldn't escape) blame everything on the "outsiders". And, I mean EVERYTHING. All the woes are from outsiders.
No one takes any responsibility, anymore. Car thefts, drugs, and lack of jobs -- all outsiders, right? High teen pregnancy, high drop out rate, poverty, and crime. Outsiders made us do it?
Never mind that it's the old back-room cronies who have raped the town, repeatedly. It is "I got mine." No thought about what benefits town, or anyone else. Unrelenting greed is the driving force.
It has been the old families who have misused and squandered things like the Lauridson Trust, and all the sold-out farms for housing developments and big box stores.
No doubt the founders are spinning in their graves. The LT should have never sold the theater. It should have never sold most of the assets it had. It was set up to help the poor. The visions and dreams of the dearly departed weren't nearly as important as pin money for the lazy offspring.
(If the trust owned the theater, like it was supposed to, then some old bastard couldn't leave it sitting vacant with an outrageous price tag. The trust only sold it a few years ago. It should be criminal.)
Never mind that all the locals on the city council are doing their very, very best to keep fluoride in the water, and made other decisions to rape and pillage the town. Incubator, bus center, turd tank, whatever -- thank you local cabal.
Follow the money, because that's the only motivator -- greedy f*cks. Oh wait, you can't follow the money because it's all back room deals, and falsified books.
This town has a long and illustrious history of making the very worst choices for the town. Putting bad people in charge. People who will go along with whatever. Spineless people are the hallmark of our city leadership.
The biggest fault: Trusting the kids who's fathers might have been town leaders (but the kids are a bunch of greedy f*cks). Putting more trust in "locals" than in anyone else. Fearful townies, angry, and petty. Uneducated, low morals, and so greedy, with huge egos.
Look at what we reap from these years of sucking the town coffers dry?
Go ahead, lets just keep assuming that because someone is from here, that they are better than someone who isn't from this godforsaken outpost.
Clearly, look how far this has gotten us?
That is the only excuse for Barb. It's the only excuse for 3/4 of the city council (historically). Cherie, too. Haguewood is another. There are so many more.
(Too tired and depressed to go on. Fill in name of every "old" family here, and add it to the list of pathetic excuses for leaders. But, as a local, if I said any of this out-loud, revealing myself, I'd suddenly become a traitor and be persona non grata.)
Titans of industry, right? Nope.
Losers who hate this town, and everyone in it. People who think that saying something is the same as doing something.
If I'm understanding what I've read in the PDN, then the City of Port Angeles has now told people that they can waste water every other day. Not that they can't waste water, or use it for useless things, or wasteful things, or useless, wasteful things. No, you can still do that. You just have to do it every other day.
ReplyDeleteAnd sadly, this is what counts as progress for the Port Angeles City Council.
Vote.
Not just the every-other-day watering thing. It also appears that they have moved from an advisory vote with the ballot on fluoride, to having some informational meetings in October, and then public meetings. The whole schedule seems sped up.
DeletePerhaps it will be voted on in November? BEFORE any of the new city council member(s) can screw up the vote (as all the candidates have said they oppose the fluoride).
Who is with me in betting that the city council will rush this to vote before 12-31-15, so that we, again, have that junk shoved down our throat?
This feels just like a repeat of the first fluoride council vote.
Sit down, shut up, and drink your water, dammit!
DeleteThe City uses maybe 5.5 cfs from the river in high season (now), and about 3.5 cfs in winter. Arguably these restrictions can't cut more than 2 cfs off the total, probably less than 1 cfs. Even if the Elwha falls to 150 cfs this autumn, the savings are just not very substantial -- one percent at most. I think this activity is mostly done because the public expects to see something being done. A bit theatrical.
Delete"We know what you need, so be good little boys and girls and quit making problems, so the adults can run things (into the ground)" -- Port Angeles City Council
DeleteAnd in other water-related news...
Delete"'High bacteria count' closes Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles
HOLLYWOOD BEACH IN Port Angeles is closed again because of high levels of bacteria.
The closure is less than a month after it reopened after a Fourth of July weekend closure.
Sue Waldrip, environmental health specialist, said testing Thursday morning revealed the possible presence of human fecal matter.
As with last month’s closure, Waldrip said, the source of the enterococcus bacteria was a mystery."
Any of you readers want to take a shot at solving that "mystery"?
CK, Please! We're talking about Port Angeles and "human fecal matter". Why is this a question? Where is the mystery? I thought everyone knew Port Angeles is full of "human fecal matter".
DeleteWhy is it any surprise it shows up at Hollywood Beach?
@Anon 8:37.
DeleteA bit ago, the Elwha was at 238 cfs. If you have been following it, you know it has been dropping steadily, again.
But, what you seem to be missing is, reality. This is not all about the current flow, but the Big Picture for the region, and PLANNNING. Few in responsible positions deny that the situation is bad, and getting worse. The region is getting drier, and warmer. What we are experiencing is projected to be getting progressively worse, as seasons come and go. This is a matter of record.
Sure, the more populated areas in the region, where most policy is generated, can write about a "snow pack drought", because they have reservoirs. Any rain likely flows into their reservoirs for later use.
But, lately, we have downpours. Flooding rain events, where most of the rain water runs quickly out to the streams and rivers, and flows out to the Strait. Little gets a chance to soak into the ground before it runs off to the Strait.
A few successive years of warm winters and rains like we see now, and then what?
As CK points out, we are at 238 cfs in August 6th, and the City barely acknowledges there is a cause for concern. Every other municipal government for hundreds of miles around, even those with huge reservoirs, is concerned, but not in Port Angeles?
More of the same. Why this place is pathetic. Why people are moving away. No faith in the obviously stupid decision-making by local leadership..
And yet another never-heard-of-it-before website has trolled the Port Angeles phone book (online version), and is "touting" a group of "the best restaurants in town." None of which are, in fact, much good at all. The good places - Sabai Thai, Little Devil's Lunchbox, even Michael's - always seem to fly under the radar of these stupid, stupid come-ons. But let's watch the folks get all excited by the "attention" nonetheless. "Ooh! We gonna have some visters a-flockin' here now fer the fine dinin'!"
ReplyDeleteCK, you were long gone by the time Little Devil's Lunchbox opened, so you've never eaten there and know of it only by what your few remaining friends in town have told you. C'mon!
DeleteRight.
DeleteJust like what we see in Port Angeles, where the place is more of a ghost town than it was before that great effort by Revitalize and boosters to stack the vote on that other stupid on-line vote declaring Port Angeles "The Best Town.. EVER".
Right.
For the record...I have eaten at Little Devil's Lunchbox several times, and, though I could do without all the tattoos, the people are nice and the food is good. It's certainly the only viable Mexican food I ever found in Port Angeles.
DeleteInteresting that there is what I would consider to be a troll, tolerated by the devil-incarnate CK, dogging threads with their obviously intentional efforts to cast a negative spin on anything posted here.
DeleteThe posts are clearly vacuous. Clearly intended to create discontent and disbelief, but lacking any real information or facts.
" CK, You don't know...".
As if any of this makes any business in Port Angeles more viable or prosperous.
From the (second) article about this in today's PDN...
Delete"Like Oppelt, Lucas feels an uptick in busyness around Port Angeles."
Never mind what you can see, or what there are facts to back up, right? No, we just go with what we "feel" here...Which is why so many of us "feel" depressed and disenfranchised.
I'll vouch for Little Devil's... And I like the punkish atmosphere, tattoos, posters and all!
DeleteYou mean they haven't imposed limits on fishing in ONP rivers yet? They're not going to do so until next week? Given all that's going on, that is remarkably stupid.
ReplyDeleteToo much proximity to the brilliant "leaders" running Port Angeles, ONP?
I'm curious. One of the problems with the dams was that the generators were hydraulically heating the water sent down the river and the fish didn't like that warming of the water. Now with no dams and super low flows is the Elwha River water as warm or warmer for the fish?
ReplyDeleteWe just got in from seeing THE GIFT, in which Jason Bateman stars as a Matthew Randazzo-type sociopath. Well, a less bald, more successful Matthew Randazzo-type sociopath, anyway. I recommend it.
ReplyDelete