Oh those “Ankle biting hounds from Whinerville” as the Columbian’s editorial page editor John Laird so eloquently described those who have spoken out in opposition of the Columbia River crossing project. They’ve been ridiculed, demeaned, shouted down, gaveled down, marginalized and mostly ignored. Speaking out against the CRC, especially the loot rail component of the project has been treated as blasphemy by supporters such as John Laird and others at the Columbian.
But they didn’t stop, they kept speaking out, writing letters, holding meetings, scheduling seminars inviting experts from all walks knowledgeable about such projects. Seeing that some $130 Million was spent with nothing to show for it, cronyism in people hired and paid quite handsomely for producing very little and questions continually ignored, Vancouver Businessman David Madore, at his expense, hired a forensic auditor to go through the mountains of documents finally given under a FOIA request.
It’s an old tactic to flood a ton of documents, many unrelated when trying to hide what is really there. The concept is the one seeking information will get bored with pouring over frivolous papers and either give up or miss what is right before their eyes.
It didn’t work.
Irregularities were discovered and made public by Mr. Madore, Josephine Wentzel, candidate for city council and the auditor, Tiffany Couch.
Lo and behold, after weeks of still ignoring the ABHFW (Ankle Biting Hounds from Whinerville), Oregon news outlets began looking a little closer. In fact, a lot closer than our friends at the Columbian, who claim they are “Serving Clark County”, have.
The Willamette Week treated us to exposes’ in June HERE and HERE by Pulitzer Prize Winner Nigel Jaquiss.
The Oregonian, finally opening their eyes followed suit with Columbia River Crossing has spent $130 million, without lifting a shovel, In the Columbia River Crossing bridge game, we’re the dummies and Traffic estimates on Columbia River Crossing further muddy the financial picture.
While the Willamette Week and the Oregonian were digging and discovering questionable procedures and accounting of the CRC, the Columbian lauds CRC Director Nancy Boyd with New Crossing chief orders internal audit, which, given what was pointed out both by Oregon media and Mr. Madore for so many months is totally unacceptable. An internal audit at this time would be little more than the fox guarding the hen house.
In late June, we read in the Columbian how a majority of the Vancouver City Council accepted the Columbia River Crossing’s draft Final Environmental Impact Statement, even as Oregon media was beginning to publish problems they were discovering with the CRC.
Even earlier in June the Columbian made an effort to discredit a Willamette Week claim as it began circulation around the county.
I was a bit surprised yesterday afternoon, about a half hour after Victoria Taft and I discussed some of the questionable findings on her AM 860 afternoon radio program, that the Columbian apparently rushed to publish an initial article, Bridge tolls may fall $598M short Report challenges CRC’s assumptions, suggests pre-tolling still trying to paint a positive picture of this boondoggle.
That was followed Thursday with, Oregon treasurer questions traffic, toll revenue for new I-5 bridge but still trying to paint a gilded edge on this monstrosity.
Ignored by the Columbian but reported by the Oregonian, in CRC Director Nancy Boyd’s claims of seeing “no red flags” in CRC accounting,
“Because the CRC could not find a qualified “traffic consultant” in the Portland metro area, the empire builders hired David Parisi of Mill Valley, Calif., and paid $19,200 to help cover rent on his Pearl District apartment. Parisi’s consulting company — which doesn’t have a working website — has billed CRC more than $1.4 million.”
“Shortly after EnviroIssues hired communications director Linda Mullen away from the Washington State Department of Transportation in 2006, EnviroIssues was graced with a PR contract for the bridge project. The firm’s billings for this public-relations disaster now top $5 million.”
“At the behest of the Oregon Department of Transportation, the CRC hired Tom Markgraf, a former aide for Rep. Earl Blumenauer, and paid him more than $1 million to chaperone public hearings and schmooze the body politic over four years. Eventually, lo and behold, Markgraf’s son, Peter, was also drawing a CRC paycheck.”
Would you trust the above to be clarified by an internal audit?
Washington 49th legislative district representative Jim Moeller, representing the district that will be affected the most by the CRC chimed in with a comment,
“Pre-tolling is a common process considered in the rest of the state and it should be considered for this project,” and unbelievably also says, “I, along with the rest of my constituents would rather walk into this project with our financial eyes open. Transparency is the key to understanding this complicated project.”
If anything, he and other elected members of the ruling class have tightened their financial blinders and raced ahead with a full head of steam, ignoring, gaveling down and shouting down any request for transparency by citizens and Mr. Madore.
If we had had transparency all along, perhaps we wouldn’t have wasted over $130 Million and not have even a shovel full of dirt turned for it.
No, instead we see acerbic editorial page editor for the Columbian slurring us with childish names like Ankle Biters and Hounds from Whinerville.
I also have little doubt he will pen yet another editorial addressing the issues discovered.
I also have little doubt it will go something like, “will have little or no effect blah, blah, blah ankle biters, blah, blah, blah, hounds from whinerville, blah, blah, blah, stopping progress, blah, blah, blah Republicans, blah, blah, blah tea party, blah, blah, blah but Texas does, blah, blah, blah racism, blah, blah, blah, it’s all Bush’s fault.”
Personally, I’m very thankful that we do have “Ankle Biting Hounds from Whinerville.”
Someone has to have the best interests of taxpayers and citizens in mind.
It sure hasn’t been the Columbian, the Vancouver City Council, the Columbia River Crossing, the Governor’s Office or most of the State Legislature.
