Comments for Washington State Opinion

Comment on Pierce County Tourism Cost Too Much, So Visit Astoria Oregon by Zak Nelson

Zak Nelson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:03:46 +0000

You’re right: nobody wants new taxes, and the proposed Tourism Promotion Area doesn’t include any. This is not a tax; local residents pay nothing. It’s a surcharge levied by hotels in the Area on occupied room nights, ranging from $0.50 to $1.50: less than one percent of the cost of a typical room night. TPAs are becoming more common; they spread the cost thinly and fairly among the visitors who use our hotels, attractions, and services.

Not only will Pierce County hotels remain affordable, but we boast a broad range of free or inexpensive attractions, from Mt Rainier to Puget Sound. A wine walk in Sumner, a golf course in DuPont: these are some of the things that may benefit from the TPA. Visitors benefit directly by having improved website and information services, and access to attractions that they would otherwise never hear about.

Astoria, Oregon is a beautiful place to visit but let’s discuss this fairly, and do what we can to keep Pierce County tourism viable and competitive.

Thanks,
Zak Nelson
Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau

Comment on Somebody Should Explain What’s The State Parks Business Results? by IamPam

IamPam — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:23:56 +0000

That interview with Derr really angers me. It was very dishonest of him to omit the fact that they laid off 14 park rangers last January. The reasoning given was that they needed to make room for the rangers who would be displaced when these parks closed.

They were laid off because of Park Closures, so it would have been completely appropriate to mention it in the interview.

I guess Derr doesn’t want the public to realize that they have laid of rangers before they laid off anyone at headquarters.

Comment on I Wonder Why Washington State Doesn’t Have Money? by Lon

Lon — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:41:07 +0000

This office would provide a voice for the vast majority of us citizens that can not afford a $250.00 dollar an hour attorney. Some bureaucrats do not feel they have to follow the laws of the state so they do as they please and citizens pay the price. I hope and pray that this bill becomes law so I can save my family property from DNR illegal actions that will result in my personal bankruptcy.

Comment on State Parks: Where Does All The Money Go? by johnesherman

johnesherman — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:03:03 +0000

Now the latest rumor published within the The News Tribune (Tacoma) Political Buzz blog (on-line) present an article about some agencies 'law-enforcement officers' positions might become joined and operated under one-named agency; for example, like the Washington State Patrol agency, and it just-happens one of the named agencies employees is listed Washington State Parks rangers that do law-enforcement, so you can read this blog article political news release: available at

Will Fish and Wildlife shrink dramatically in agency reforms?

Comment on State Parks: Where Does All The Money Go? by IamPam

IamPam — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:26:23 +0000

Too much money paying for the countless people working at State Parks Headquarters, and the cuts are being made in the field. They quietly closed several parks’ campgrounds that had previously been open year round. The (horrible) State Parks website says it is due to inclement weather, yet the closures came before the winter storms and were due to budget cuts.

It’s funny because they plan to have another hiring freeze, but park rangers are exempt… They stopped hiring rangers last fall, leaving 10-15 positions vacant, and they laid off 14 rangers last week. Ostensibly this is to leave room for rangers who are displaced when parks close, yet many of the parks won’t close until September!

Park rangers are so important for public safety that they are exempt from the hiring freeze, yet with all of the reductions in park rangers and park aides, most of the work at State Parks this summer will be done by volunteers such as camp hosts, who are generally retired couples.

If safety is important to anyone in Olympia, they should make the cuts at State Parks headquarters and leave the safety officers in the field.

The truth is there is talk of closing more parks and laying off even more park rangers. It could be a year or more until another park ranger is hired in this state.

Comment on We ‘Taxpayers’ and ‘Citizens’ Know More About The State Parks Agency by State Parks: Where Does All The Money Go? | Washington State Opinion

State Parks: Where Does All The Money Go? | Washington State Opinion — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:21:50 +0000

[...] Washington State Opinion Just thinking and using a WordPress weblog for rambled thoughts « We ‘Taxpayers’ and ‘Citizens’ Know More About The State Parks Agency [...]

Comment on Thirteen Washington State Parks should not be closed! by Commencement Bay Opinion

Commencement Bay Opinion — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:40:50 +0000

My Thanks to one Washington Legislator and Staff : Finding answers: Puget Sound Projects for State Parks…

My thanks to Washington State Rep. Dave Upthegrove and Staff that took their time to research, form an answer, and answer my question presented: “The Puget Sound Initiative Projects (30000050)” what is it and which specific WA State Park …