Daily News "Duped" Again

Today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News features a front-page story on record-breaking growth in construction in both Moscow and Pullman. Michelle "Duped" Dupler followed her usual pattern on such stories and sought only quotes from only local government officials and a token anti-growth professor. She never makes any effort to contact anyone else in the community, giving the impression that the local governments are shoving this growth down the people's throats as they lust after tax revenue. Hogwash.

As is finally pointed out at the very end of the article, all this construction is addressing pent-up demand. It still isn't sufficient, as shown by the very tight real estate market. Of course people that move here with families want to buy single-family homes. No one with a family wants to live in multi-family housing and apartments in a college town if they can help it. What's wrong with that?

Moscow and Pullman are very desirable places to live. The scenery is beautiful. Our schools are great. Our economy is diversifying and growing. Should we just turn people away? Has Michelle Dupler ever been in a town that was dying? Is that preferable in her opinion? I wonder if other towns on the Palouse are envious of Pullman and Moscow or glad they aren't us. I'd wager the former.

The article states: "'I don't like anything that looks like sprawl,' said Mike Owen, a Pullman resident and Washington State University architecture professor." Who the heck cares what you think, Mike? Again, we have one of these WSU Brahmins pronouncing judgment on us. I'm sick of it. What he calls "sprawl," I call construction jobs, homes for young families with good-paying jobs, and potential customers for our local businesses.

Owen goes on further to enlighten us that he doesn't like subdivisions or anything that requires an automobile as that is not sustainable, preferring instead high-density development in the city. Where? There's no place to build or park in downtown as it is now. He wants Pullman to be like East Berlin or Leningrad I suppose, with all the high-rise socialist-style apartment buildings. Those were big "pedestrian cities" as no one had any cars there either.

Funny, I wonder if the cabin he built in Potlatch would be considered "sustainable?" Do you figure he walks or bikes up there from Pullman?

In very PARDesque language (he must be a member), Owen mentioned Duane Brelsford's name four times to try and give the impression of not being anti-growth. He thinks the city should encourage developers to design more projects like Bridgeway Centre in downtown. Those were luxury loft apartments designed for a specific clientele. The monthly rent is more than most people's mortgage payments. Good idea, Mike. Maybe on your professor's salary.

I see next week's article is going to be about how growth affects infrastructure issues such as water use. Ah, xeriscaping, here we come again.

Wal-Mart Eradication Association

Well, it's not surprising but certainly disappointing. 30 press conferences were held in 20 states yesterday by various labor unions against Wal-Mart. Here at home, the Washington Education Association announced its $50,000 yearly Children's Fund, designed to reimburse teachers who purchase supplies and emergency items for disadvantaged students, can no longer be used for purchases at Wal-Mart. The WEA cited Wal-Mart's alleged "exploitative" labor practices as the reason.

On average, teachers spend around $600 of their own money on school supplies. So to punish Wal-Mart for "low wages," the WEA is going to force teachers, who are low paid in their own right, to take more money out of their own pockets.

This decision was reached by the WEA Children's Fund Board on March 3. Obviously, the announcement yesterday was just a rehash for political purposes.

The organized labor movement in America is floundering and dying, as witnessed by the recent defection of the Teamsters and several other large unions from the AFL-CIO. Non-unionized, controversial, and wildly successful Wal-Mart presents the biggest and most convenient target for a diversionary attack.

What does any of this have to do with educating children? Nothing. But then again, neither does the WEA. They are more concerned with political grandstanding than preparing our kids for the 21st Century workforce.

All Washington teachers are forced to pay dues to the union, whether or not they join. I know many teachers who could care less about Wal-Mart and do not support the ultra-leftist views of the WEA. My heart goes out to them. Theirs is a difficult profession.

Town Whiner

The "Town Crier" op-ed series in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News are really starting to get on my nerves.

The pieces appear to be predominantly written by professors at WSU and the U of I. Can someone explain to me the Daily News editorial board's fascination with advanced degrees? Is it Ph.D. envy? Personally, I'd like a little more commentary from Main Street and Grand Avenue instead of the ivy-covered halls of academe on College Hill.

Lately, it seems, every "Town Crier" I read has one of these intellectuals whining about how us townies are ruining their little "Athens on the Palouse" with all the buzz about Wal-Mart in Pullman and the zoning controversy in downtown Moscow. Just because someone is an Associate Professor of Serbo-Croatian Numismatics, does that give them the right to pass judgment on an entire region? If they don't get tenure, these guys are here for a few years and then head on down the road. Yet, they presume to tell us what kind of town we should have 30 years from now. There is no consideration for the people that were here before them and that will be here long after they are gone. They view Pullman as some sort of Disneylandesque Lake Wobegon and we full-time residents as the animatronic robots whose job it is to provide them with a folksy, tolerant, inclusive, diverse, physically fit, nutitionally sound, socially progressive, fuel efficient, environmentally sustainable, xeriscaped, planned, neo-urbanized Utopia while they live here.

If we are pro-growth, then we must be supersized pigs, who waste water sprinkling the lawns of our cookie-cutter suburban homes and trampling all over the pristine countryside in our gas-guzzling Durango while munching on a greasy Big Mac.

How absurd, elitist, and demeaning. My family lives in one of those cookie-cutter homes because it is what we can afford. And yes, I water my lawn, because I want my two year old daughter to play in grass, not a dusty gravel and sand pit. People drive SUVs because they want their families to be safe. And we want our businesses to prosper and spend our money where we live. We are pro-growth because we are the common people of Pullman and we want our share of the American dream like anyone else. What's wrong with that? Aren't liberals supposed to be for the working man? If your dream is different, good for you. As the Montgomery Gentry song says: "You do your thing, I'll do mine."

These academics never give any thought either to the fact that all those safe schools, bike paths, 100-year buildings, and tree-lined avenues they want have to be paid for by someone. And since their employer pays no property taxes, the major source of local funding, that someone is the businesses and citizens of Pullman. Sure, WSU contributes around $175-$200 million to the local economy, mostly through its employment payroll. That's great, but it's not enough. We need to diversify our economic base and have more places for those WSU employees to spend their money locally, not in another community.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not down on professors. I admire our mayor, Glenn Johnson, very much and he is a professor. There are many current and retired members of the WSU faculty who support growth in Pullman. I'd just like some of those professors who talk about tolerance and diversity to practice what they preach when it comes to their neighbors in Pullman and quit presuming to know what is best for everyone.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Finance Director Troy Woo reported at the July 26 Pullman City Council meeting that 2004 sales tax revenues were down because fewer major construction projects are happening in the city. Meanwhile cash reserves are dropping and may go negative by 2008.

Councilman Keith Bloom asked Woo, "Is it fair to say one way to help our budget situation is to encourage our retail and expand our sales tax base?" Woo agreed and said conservative spending and growing the retail sales tax base would help the city's financial picture.

"The more businesses we get in, the better off we'll be," added Mayor Glenn Johnson.

This is what I have been saying all along. Pullman needs Wal-Mart. Any questions?

Council Election Update

Good news! According to the Vote Washington web site , Al Sorensen's hat is officially in the ring and he is unopposed as I reported earlier:

City of Pullman; Ward 2 Pos. 1
Two Year Unexpired Term
ALAN "AL" SORENSEN (NP)

The Vote Washington site also has a few errors:

Sue Hinz's position is listed as Ward 2 Position 7, it should read Ward 2 Position 1.
Ann Heath's position is listed as Ward 3, Position 3, it should read Ward 3 Position 5.

I have corrected my previous postings.

I-912 Makes the Ballot for November

The following e-mail was sent by NoNewGasTax.com yesterday:

After a 32-day campaign for which you helped collect and turn into the Secretary of State a near record 420,570 signatures, the good news has just been announced.

Initiative 912 has qualified for the November ballot!!

Because of your support we did what all the experts said was impossible and our opponents fought hard to prevent. You helped ensure that Olympia got the message that the people run Washington state, and not the special interests.

Tomorrow, you will receive additional information about our fight to protect the right of the citizens of our state to work for and support initiatives.

But until then, good work on helping get the No New Gas Tax initiative on the ballot. Without your committed support it never would have happened.

Now, we will work together to pass this historic measure at the polls in November.

Pullman voters should appreciate the rare chance to rid themselves of an unfair tax at a time when gas prices are at an all-time high. We don't need to help Seattle pay for its ferries, viaduct and floating bridge.

I-912 has been one of the hottest issues in Washington political history. It should make for an interesting off-year election, with the inevitable ads for and against I-912.

One thing's for sure: I-912 is bound to increase conservative voter turnout here in Eastern Washington. That's bad news for all the PARDners running for the city council.

Look, Up in the Sky!

Those helicopters seen over the Palouse a couple of weekends ago were not those infamous "black helicopters." According to OregonLive.com (free registration required), the flights were organized by the Washington Department of Ecology and the City of Moscow to study the water temperatures of the north and south forks of the Palouse River and Paradise Creek in Idaho and Washington.

The Federal Clean Water Act set standards that streams in the Palouse watershed stay below temperatures of 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

If the Department of Ecology feels that the water temperature is too high, the city of Pullman could be required to cool the discharge from its sewage treatment plant.

A reader believes it was the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute that brought the original lawsuit forcing Paradise Creek (i.e. ditch) and the north and south forks of the Palouse River up to minimum standards.

This isn't a major environmental issue. Salmon have never spawned here because of Palouse Falls and rainbow trout are not native to our region. We're just talking plain old minnows and suckers. This is another example of social/environmental utopianism run amuck.

I wonder if they will fly helicopters over again to measure how hot taxpayers in Pullman are going to be when they get stuck with a multi-million dollar bill to fix the sewage plant?

Pullman Wards

In case you don't know what ward in Pullman you live in, here are the official descriptions from the Pullman City Code:

Ward No. 1 of the city of Pullman shall consist of the following described area of the city:

Beginning at the intersection of the northerly city limits of the City of Pullman with Grand Avenue; then southerly along Grand Avenue to its intersection with Stadium Way; then west along Stadium Way to its intersection with Hall Drive; then northwesterly along Hall Drive to its intersection with Timothy Street; then westerly along Timothy Street to its intersection with State Street; then northwesterly along State Street to its terminus at the section line between Sections 31 and 32, Tier 15 North, Range 45 East, Willamette Meridian; then S.00°01' W. along said common section line, 122.23 feet to the quarter-corner of said Sections 31 and 32; then N89°30'W, 1644.94 feet along the center­line of said Section 31, to its intersection with the centerline of Douglas Drive; then southerly along Douglas Drive to its intersec­tion with Darrow Street; then easterly along Darrow Street to its intersec­tion with Clifford Street; then southerly along Clifford Street to its intersection with Harrison Street; then easterly along Harrison Street to its intersection with Ritchie Street; then southerly along Ritchie Street to its intersection with Grand Avenue; then northeasterly along Grand Avenue to its intersection with Stadium Way; then easterly along Stadium Way to its intersection with Monroe Street; then southerly along Monroe Street to its intersection with California Street; then west along California Street to its intersection with Ruby Street; then southwesterly along Ruby Street to its intersection with Colorado Street; then west along Colorado Street to its intersection with Maple Street; then south along Maple Street to its intersection with Ash Street; then west along Ash Street to its intersection with Kamiaken Street; then south along Kamiaken Street to its intersection with Whitman Street; then northwesterly along Whitman Street to its intersection with the Palouse & Coulee City Railroad; then southerly along the Palouse & Coulee City Railroad to its intersection with Kamiaken Street; then southwes­terly along Kamiaken Street to its intersection with the Blue Mountain Railroad; then easterly along the Blue Mountain Railroad to its intersection with Spring Street; then southwesterly and southerly along Spring Street to its intersection with South Street; then easterly along South Street to its intersection with Side Street; then southerly along Side Street to its intersection with Dexter Street; then westerly along Dexter Street to its intersection with Spring Street; then southerly along Spring Street to its intersec­tion with Grant Street; then westerly along Grant Street to its intersection with Kamiaken Street; then southerly along Kamiaken Street to its intersection with Crestview Street; then westerly along Crestview Street to its intersection with Grand Avenue; then southerly along Grand Avenue to its intersection with the southerly city limits line of the City of Pullman (at Fairmount Road); then westerly and continuing along said city limits line in a clockwise direction around the City of Pullman to the intersection of said city limits line and Grand Avenue, said point being the point of beginning.

Ward No. 2 of the city of Pullman shall consist of the following described area of the city:

Beginning at the intersection of the northerly city limits of the City of Pullman with Grand Avenue; then southerly along Grand Avenue to its intersection with Stadium Way; then west along Stadium Way to its intersection with Hall Drive; then northwesterly along Hall Drive to its intersection with Timothy Street; then westerly along Timothy Street to its intersection with State Street; then northwesterly along State Street to its terminus at the section line between Sections 31 and 32, Tier 15 North, Range 45 East, Willamette Meridian; then S.00°01'W., along said common section line, 122.23 feet to the quarter-corner of said Sections 31 and 32; then N89°30'W. 1644.94 feet along the center­line of said Section 31, to its intersection with the centerline of Douglas Drive; then southerly along Douglas Drive to its intersec­tion with Darrow Street; then easterly along Darrow Street to its intersec­tion with Clifford Street; then southerly along Clifford Street to its intersection with Harrison Street; then easterly along Harrison Street to its intersection with Ritchie Street; then southerly along Ritchie Street to its intersection with Grand Avenue; then northeasterly along Grand Avenue to its intersection with Stadium Way; then east along Stadium Way to its intersection with Monroe Street; then south along Monroe Street to its intersection with California Street; then west along California Street to its intersection with Ruby Street; then south along Ruby Street to its intersection with Colorado Street; then southeasterly and easterly along Colorado Street to its intersec­tion with "D" Street; then northerly along "D" Street to its intersection with Shaw Street; then easterly along Shaw Street to its intersection with Lake Street; then northerly along Lake Street to its intersection with Stadium Way; then easterly along Stadium Way to its intersection with Lybecker Road; then northerly along Lybecker Road to its intersection with Upper Drive; then northeasterly along Upper Drive to its intersection with Wheatland Drive; then westerly along Wheatland Drive to its intersection with Hillside Drive; then northerly along Hillside Drive to its intersection with Valley Road; then easterly along Valley Road to Orchard Drive; then continuing easterly on easterly extension of Valley Road to Nez Perce Drive; then northerly on Nez Perce Drive to Terre View Drive; then easterly on Terre View Drive to the east line of Section 33; then northerly on said east line of Section 33 to the northerly city limits line; then westerly and continuing along said city limits line in a counterclockwise direction to its intersection with Grand Avenue, said point being the point of beginning.

Ward No. 3 of the city of Pullman shall consist of the following described area of the city:

Beginning at the intersection of Grand Avenue and the southerly city limits line of the City of Pullman (at Fairmount Road); then easterly and continuing along said city limits line in a counter-clockwise direction to a point on said city northerly limits line where the east boundary and north boundary of Section 33, Township 15 N., Range 45 E.W.M. intersect; then due south along the east boundary of said Section 33 to the easterly extension of Terre View Drive; then westerly along Terre View Drive to its intersection with Nez Perce Drive; then southerly along Nez Perce Drive to its intersection with the easterly extension of Valley Road; then easterly on Valley Road to its intersection with Hillside Drive; then southerly on Hillside Drive to its intersection with Wheatland Drive, thence easterly along Wheatland Drive to its intersection with Upper Drive; then westerly along Upper Drive to its intersec­tion with Lybecker Road; then southerly along Lybecker Road to its intersection with Stadium Way; then westerly along Stadium Way to its intersection with Lake Street; then southerly along Lake Street to its intersection with Shaw Street; then westerly along Shaw Street to its intersection with "D" Street; then southerly along "D" Street to its intersection with Colorado Street; then westerly along Colorado Street to its intersection with Maple Street; then southerly along Maple Street to its intersection with Ash Street; then westerly along Ash Street to its intersection with Kamiaken Street; then southerly along Kamiaken Street to its intersection with Whitman Street; then westerly along Whitman Street to its intersection with the Palouse & Coulee City Railroad; then southerly along the Palouse & Coulee City Railroad to its intersection with Kamiaken Street; then southerly along Kamiaken Street to its intersection with the Blue Mountain Railroad; then easterly along the Blue Mountain Railroad to its intersection with Spring Street; then southwesterly and southerly along Spring Street to its intersection with South Street; then easterly along South Street to its intersection with Side Street; then southerly along Side Street to its intersection with Dexter Street; then westerly along Dexter Street to its intersection with Spring Street; then southerly along Spring Street to its intersection with Grant Street; then westerly along Grant Street to its intersection with Kamiaken Street; then southerly along Kamiaken Street to its intersection with Crestview Street; then westerly along Crestview Street to its intersection with Grand Avenue; then southerly along Grand Avenue to its intersection with the southerly city limits line of the City of Pullman (at Fairmount Road), said point being the point of beginning. (Ord. 02-3 §2, 2002; Ord. 95-14 §1, 1995; Ord. 92-2 §1, 1992; Ord. 86-19 §1, 1986; Ord. A-974 §4, 1971).

Sorry, I haven't been able to find any maps online as of yet.

Seen Around Town

This picture was taken recently in the parking lot of the Moscow Wal-Mart. It is kind of hard to make out (the picture was taken with a camera phone), but on the right end of the bumper is a sticker that reads: "Say No to Wal-Mart".

You have to love these anti-Wal-Mart loons. They always show the strength of their convictions. Is it any wonder no one cares about the stupid petition vowing not to shop at Wal-Mart? Believe me, PARD members will be shopping at the one in Pullman eventually. I would love it if Wal-Mart took all the names from the PARD petition and entered them into their store computers and then not allow anyone who signed to shop there.

Council Election Update

This is the official line up for the November Pullman City Council elections from the Vote Washington web site:

City of Pullman; Ward 1 Pos. 7
BILL PAUL, Incumbent.
JOSHUA COKE, Windows 2000 Administrator with WSU Student Computing Services. PARD affiliation unknown at this time, but suspected.

City of Pullman; Ward 2 Pos. 2
C.B. (BARNEY) WALDROP, Incumbent.
JOANNE SELLEN, Instructional Designer at the WSU Intensive American Language Center and another potential PARD candidate, was disqualified for filing in the wrong ward.

City of Pullman; Ward 2 Pos. 1
NO CANDIDATES FILED
I think Al Sorensen and Gary V. Johnson filed for this ward. Gary Johnson, a retired elementary school teacher, was disqualified for filing in the wrong ward. I'm not sure what Al's status is at this time.

City of Pullman; Ward 3 Pos. 5
ANN COX HEATH, Incumbent
DONALD HEIL, Retired WSU Architecture professor, Member of the Board of Directors, Pullman Civic Trust and Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. PARD affiliation unknown at this time, but suspected due to background.
JUDY KRUEGER, Investigator with the WSU Center for Human Rights and active PARD member.

Luckily this will not be the Armageddon I had feared it might be. There is at least one pro-growth person in each race, and two of those are unopposed, but Ann Heath and Bill Paul are going to need our support.

I will keep exposing PARD's tactics early and often. As one reader says: "They are running on one agenda, to bring Pullman back in to the dark ages and back in line with WSU's thinking."