December 21, 2004
Constituent Service
"State ends transportation project on ancient tribal site"
Washington state is abandoning its transportation project at Port Angeles, after spending $58 million there.
The decision by the state Department of Transportation was in response to a request Dec. 10 by the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe to leave the site. Construction of a dry dock there inadvertently disturbed more than 300 intact skeletons of the tribe's ancestors and uncovered an ancient Klallam Village, Tse-whit-zen. Portions of the village date back 17 centuries.
The Democrats in Olympia are simply taking care of their voters.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 21, 2004
10:43 PM | Email This
1. Well, I'm just fine with this decision --- so long as the Lower Elwa Klallam tribe pays taxpayers back the $58 million dollars.
I'm not holding my breath.
2. You know, if the deal that halted this project was reached before the election even the King County dems wouldn't have been able to steal the election.
3. What galls me is how long the state took to realize they were in a bottomless pit. Probably spend some $10 M and 6 months lost time from when the extent of the burial site was known.
4. I'm normally a fairly insenstive Republican type, but I agree with this decision. Our anthropological history is indeed priceless, and should be preserved whenever possible.
5. While preserving ahtropological history is nice and rosy... we can't halt every productive project becase it disturbs ancestral grounds. we won't get anywhere, and we will continue to blow money for the sake of political correctness
6. Your blog reeks of bigotism and stupidity, Stefan. This has nothing to do with Democrats. The state has been trying to continue its development on this site despite the earlier discovery of tribal remains. Now it's obvious this project cannot continue.
Grow up and see reality. Honestly, you neo-cons...
7. Your blog reeks of bigotism and stupidity, Stefan.
Multiculturalism at its finest, I'd say. I chuckled when a poster suggested the slogan, "Vote democrat...or we'll insult you."
8. Wow John D you are angry.
Who is being insensitive?
I see people on both sides of the issue here.
If anything, people are angry that so much money was wasted, more than the reason the project can't continue.
Take the plank out of your own eye before trying to get the speck out of others.
PlutosDad
http://eyesontheball.blogspot.com
News Satire that's Right for you
9. Back on subject...there's one government agency I'd like to see firebombed (politically, for those who didn't figure it out) more than King County. That would be the Transportation Dept.
10. John D--I think he was making a funny.
scott--it actually is standard practice to halt construction when an ancient burial ground is discovered. Sometimes construction eventually resumes and sometimes it doesn't, but the sop is to wait and see before you throw any more $$ away.
11. Hey, Stefan. You don't mind the overpass through the Wailing Wall, then, either do you? Same principle. It would be a good step for you to take back your incredibly bigoted statement.
12. I don't actually care about the tribal graveyard one way or the other - but the whole Hood Canal floating bridge deal does bother me.
I wouldn't spend a nickel to fix this particular piece of assinine technology, let alone $300 million or so. The thing breaks every twenty minutes; as demonstrated it is susceptible to sinking in storms; it is a maintenance hog to keep running; it is a traffic disaster under the best of circumstances; and when it does break, as a cable did last August, you have to be able to interpret chicken guts to figure out what the heck just broke! You know, if floating bridges were a good idea they'd be everywhere. They aren't! Hunt them down on the internet and you find a total of four, all in Washington.
This could tell you something - about either the technology or about Washington, take your pick.
It's past time to forget the bridge, and build a bridge! One with four lanes, to handle the growth on the Peninsula, and that doesn't require repairs every twenty minutes.
13. John D. and Mark - Uh, I don't like to be the one to tell you this, but Stefan was joking.
In an earlier post, Stefan had found one voter who apparently voted even though he had passed on some years ago.
Let me know if there are any other political jokes that puzzle you. Heck, I'm old enough to remember the one with this punch line: When they counted the votes, they found that Mayor Daley had won 3 to 2.)
(There is, by the way, a vast collection of jokes with the theme that dead people are voting, since they do in some jurisdictions. For instance:
When I die I want to be buried in Louisiana so I can stay active in politics.
James Carville, who is from Louisiana, would understand that one.)
14. Jim M: thank you for the clarification and for the Louisiana reference. I retract my remark and bow to humor, even if (especially if, really) in bad taste....
15. The missed point is that the DOt has caved in to to the Tribe's demands and given away PRIME WATERFRONT INDUSTRIAL LAND !!! I work in the MArine Transportation business...and this decision really sets a precident. ALL of downtown Port Angeles was built on fill. What's next?
The City/local and state officials were not informed of MacDonald's decision untill after the fact. This needs to be fully investigated ...it does not pass the smell test.
16. The missed point is that the DOt has caved in to to the Tribe's demands and given away PRIME WATERFRONT INDUSTRIAL LAND !!! I work in the MArine Transportation business...and this decision really sets a precident. ALL of downtown Port Angeles was built on fill. What's next?
The City/local and state officials were not informed of MacDonald's decision untill after the fact. This needs to be fully investigated ...it does not pass the smell test.
17. Sorry for the dbl. post !!
To continue my point.....The Port of Port Angeles sold this property to DOT last spring, and bought an adjacent piece right next to the graving yard (18 acres) which is designated for log handling/ log storage. It's under concrete. I am certain the Tribe will go after it next. Then there's the old Rayioner mill site under clean-up now. It will go to the tribe because there are documented Indian bones there. That about takes care of ALL the available waterfront industrial property in Port Angeles.
18. If this ground is so holy, why did the tribe not hold yearly prayers at the cemetary, pull weeds and otherwise do what civilized, concerned folks do with hallowed ground.
I would have given them a thousand bucks a skeleton and 60 days to get them off the property. This is what the government does when it wants to take over a white cemetary. To mictrate away over 50 mil, someone should go to prison and the tribe should be given one year to identify all the rest of their holy places and to purchase them and pay taxes on them.