August 11, 2005
Thursday

If this bond issue passes, the small local business folk who operate in the Newtown area will be forced out by enormous rent increases. I think it's inevitable. Cruise line representatives are not going to promote stopping by the Senior Center and having a cup of coffee with men and women who have lived here for fifty years and who know some great local history, unless those older folks can hold a really BIG rummage sale and cough up about fifteen thousand bucks a season in order to be "recommended." A few buildings will probably get spruced up, though, once the rents go up. Goody. I can't wait to see how "free urban renewal from the tunnel to the mall" enhances our quality of life when that strip too is boarded up and empty from October through April every year, because there are going to be very few locals who will be able to afford to keep a business there.

Those who insist that Ketchikan's economic survival depends on our accommodating the cruise lines' request that we provide them with still more docking space, regardless of how this may affect the quality of life of those who live here year-round, remind me of Peter Arnett's reporting of a quote from a U.S. officer during the Vietnam War: "Regretfully, we had to destroy the village in order to save it."

Suzan Thompson
Ketchikan, AK - USA

On the Web:

Ketchikan Port Berth Expansion Bond Initiative

Ketchikan Port Berth Expansion Bond Initiative Vote August 16, 2005  The City of Ketchikan is proposing to expand and improve facilities along the waterfront to provide enhanced public use and additional economic benefit to residents, business owners, and the City. A bond initiative will be placed on the August 16, 2005 ballot to gain approval for up to $70 million to fund the project. - More... Port Expansion Project Information

 

Write a Letter -------Read Letters

E-mail the Editor

Sitnews
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska