Seattle Press on Line - Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Jan 31, 2002 -- Port Commissioner Owes Fishermen an Apology

Commissioner Miller,

My name is Andrew Lantz, and I have been a commercial fisherman for 12 years. I am also a computer programmer with a BA in History from Occidental College. I recently read a quote attributed to you in the Seattle Press ("Port of Seattle Votes Yes for Yachts, Fishermen Plan Initiative," December 20 issue) regarding the current debate over the fate of Fisherman's Terminal that I found deeply offensive and insulting. Responding to Philip Wohlstetter of Allied Arts' suggestion that the public be included in planning for terminal redesign, you replied "I don't believe planning will work--fishermen are 'from Missouri' and need to be shown."

How dare you! I am most definitely not "from Missouri" and I absolutely do not "need to be shown." I truly hope that your attitude about the members of my community is not typical of our elected port officials. Perhaps you underestimate the role that the fishing community has played in Seattle's history, and underestimate the pride that most Northwest residents have in that history.

The port's cynical campaign to deliberately increase the vacancy rates at Fishermen's Terminal is no secret. I have had my boat moored at the terminal since 1995, and in that time I have seen the loss of: car access to the docks, freely available utility carts, accessible dumpsters, accessible showers and bathrooms, a working dockside crane and a large amount of work space for net mending, to mention but a few. I have also seen, in the past year, previously under-enforced rules regarding live-aboards, late moorage payments, and proof of active vessel status being vigorously enforced with unprecedented zeal.

While the port has the right and the responsibility to enforce its own rules, the timing of these actions in combination with the neglect and elimination of essential services at the terminal betrays the port's agenda of freeing up as much dock space as possible, by driving out fishermen, in order to claim high vacancy rates as a justification for the proposed yacht moorage. This by itself is a grave insult to Seattle's fishing community; your comment regarding the value of our opinion is an added insult that I find inexcusable.

Commissioner Miller, you owe us an apology.

Sincerely,
Andrew Lantz
F/V Alma A

How Much will Monorail Really Cost?

To the Editor:

Your report on Monorail cost estimates (January 17 issue) failed to note a very important point: System capacity makes a big difference in cost. What is surprising is not that the 2-car monorail costs so much less than the 4-car. It is that Sound Transit's Link light rail does not cost far more.

This is surprising because Link will ultimately have 3 1/2 times the passenger capacity of the 4-car monorail plan, 20 percent more even at start up. This is based on 30 four-car trains per hour and allocating each standee a customary 5.1 sq. ft. Yet the initial Link segment has the same 14 mile length and is expected to have about the same or less cost after inflation (the preliminary monorail estimates are in 2002 dollars, the Link budget is in year-of-expenditure dollars).

There are also questions as to why the ETC cost estimates for technology (trains, switches, power, communications, control, maintenance equipment) are only half the cost, on a per mile basis, of the 4 mile Las Vegas monorail currently under construction. The Las Vegas technology costs are 3 times those for light rail and even exceed construction costs. The ETC construction cost estimates also have question marks, since when the bridges are excluded, they are less than the Las Vegas construction costs per mile, despite the nearly ideal conditions in Las Vegas. Good public transit does not come cheap in a built up environment.

Dick Burkhart

Mayor Nickels Should Keep "Seattle Process" in Place for Neighborhoods

To the Editor:

Regarding the Jim Brunner story "Measure of a Mayor" in the January 13 Pacific Magazine: Mayor Paul Schell's success with building parks, libraries, community centers and numerous neighborhood projects can be attributed to his trust in neighborhoods and city staff. Mayor Schell not only asked citizens for input but he listened to what they said. He also gave his department heads the confidence and support to carry out their jobs.

A few years ago, communities across the city generated 37 Neighborhood Plans. In earlier years, neighborhood plans never got any further than a storage shelf in some city basement. Not this time. Mayor Schell tripled the Neighborhood Matching Fund in the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) so that communities could apply for funds to build THEIR dreams. City staff in the DON work closely with neighborhood project leaders to access other city departments that are involved, often Parks, Transportation, and Public Utilities. In the process of building a community project, neighbors get to know neighbors, learn to solve problems and gain pride of ownership. Citizens get an education in the true cost of services in the city and become better stewards who are less likely to take city services for granted.

In the campaign, Mayor Nickels said that citizens shouldn't have to write grants to get things done in their neighborhood; the city should do it. Unfortunately, the city doesn't always know what a community needs. The Seattle process may be more time consuming, but it often results in a better project. The city is the winner when neighborhoods are partners with the City, not adversaries.

Joyce Moty

We Ski Corrected

To the Editor:

Thank you for the mention in your recent article, "Out of Work? Get Out of Doors!" (January 3 issue). I am writing to request correction. Harbor Resorts is a subsidiary of Harbor Properties that currently owns Stevens Pass and Mission Ridge ski areas in Washington and Schweitzer Mountain Resort near Sandpoint, Idaho. Whistler Blackcomb is owned by Intrawest Corporation. Stevens Pass and Whistler Blackcomb do share a reciprocal agreement. The agreement extends lift ticket discounts and specials on accommodations at Harbor Resorts to Whistler Express card holders and at Whistler Blackcomb to Harbor Resorts season pass and Harbor Advantage card holders.

In the article you said "at $43 per day, Stevens is the most expensive ski resort in Washington." Our daily lift ticket price of $43 is valid from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Crystal Mountain's lift ticket price was misquoted in your article. Their lift ticket price is also $43 and is only valid from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Crystal Mountain is the most expensive ski area in Washington. I also wanted to mention that Stevens does offer on-mountain accommodations for RVers, and accommodation packages are available in Skykomish just 15 miles west of the mountain. Thanks again for the coverage.

Lori Vandenbrink
Sales and Marketing Director
Stevens Pass Summit

Editor's note: I used information gathered from Web sites for my price reporting, and erroneously quoted $41 as the price for Crystal Mountain. I also misidentified Crystal Mountain in the article sidebar as "Alta Crystal Resort," the name of a nearby separate resort. (The correct web address for Crystal Mountain was listed in the sidebar.) I apologize for my factual errors, and urge Seattle Press readers to visit all our local ski areas as soon as possible--the snow's grand!
Sara Longley

Lobbying for Mental Health

To the Editor:

My brother, Rick, had suffered from a complicated case of bipolar disorder and co-occurring alcoholism all his adult life. Nine months ago at age 47, Rick died in Florida while switching to less expensive medications. Rick's sudden death inspired me to lobby in Olympia for Mental Health reform on Martin Luther King holiday.

My day started at my new Representative's office of Toby Nixon. Toby was wearing a lapel pin supporting breast cancer research. Did Toby know about the 20-25 percent mortality rate for people with bipolar disorder as compared to breast cancer's five percent mortality rate? I gave Rep. Nixon our Brain Disorder awareness pin. I hope he wears it next year.

Mike Rynas, The President of NAMI-Eastside, a mental health advocacy group, joined me. A published goal of Mr. Nixon is "to cut the bureaucracy and protect funding for front-line families and the most vulnerable families of the State." Who could be more vulnerable than the mentally disabled-homeless and uninsured? Yet, significant King County homeless housing funds have recently been transferred to funding bureaucratic infrastructure. We need you Toby Nixon! Good luck!

I visited three other Representatives--Jeanne Edwards, Al O'Brien, and Cheryl Pflug--in company with other citizen lobbyists. Most legislators commiserated about the stories we told: abandoned and homeless mentally ill family members, sick patients going broke from lack of mental health insurance coverage, patients left untreated in the streets owing to rigid, involuntary commitment laws, funding so scarce one therapist must manage treatment of 500 patient-consumers! Rep. O'Brien indicated about half of the State legislators don't even consider brain disorders of bio-chemical origin! It is our hope, with continued discovery of useful pharmaceuticals for the brain, that ignorance will soon be replaced by enlightenment within our Legislature.

My final visit to Rep. Laura Ruderman--last year's prime sponsor for the Parity Bill--picked me up! Laura stated to a packed office: Parity is a Civil Rights issue. Yes! My brother, Rick, died partly because he could not qualify for Medicaid in Florida (where mental health and pharmaceuticals are covered). And, individual insurance would not cover any of Rick's mental health needs. He had to switch to less expensive, less effective medications to save money. Had Rick a diseased heart, kidney, or lung he would enjoy customary and usual insurance and ready access to a specialist. As it was, without insurance and access to treatment for his diseased brain, Rick took personal care into his own hands and died.

If you want to help or learn how to help please call NAMI-Eastside at (425) 941-9099.

Bob Yoder

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