Still believe the ultimate goal isn’t to resurrect the failed and highly unpopular CRC?
Rep. Sharon Wylie speaking tonight, Mar 21, 2017 towards the closing of the 49th Tele Town Hall
March 7, 2017
Son of CRC
I have stated all along that the failed CRC (Columbia River Crossing light rail project) wasn’t “dead,” but in a politically induced coma. And while the latest effort to “begin a discussion or process” is claimed to not be about resurrecting the failed CRC, the following short clip of Rep. Sharon Wylie (D. 49) speaking in support of HB 2095 indicates to me that the end goal is a resurrection, either in whole or part.
Due to several circumstances, Clark County Conservative will maintain a neutral stance on this as it moves forward. I am told by many self professed better than me’s that they have it handled, so I defer it to them.
February 23, 2017
Orcutt Speaks Against HB 2095
Rep. Ed Orcutt (R. 20th) speaks in opposition to HB 2095 before the Washington State House Transportation Committee, Feb 22, 2017, a bill to “develop a process for planning for a new Interstate 5 bridge.”
Likely one of the more sensible and logical comments heard yet.
TVW – House Transportation Committee
The bill passed out of committee by a 14 to 10 vote.
February 24, 2016
Rep. Wylie & Sen. Cleveland on “That Bridge”
An excerpt from the Feb 23, 2016 tele-town hall convened by Rep Sharon Wylie (D. 49) and Sen. Annette Cleveland (D. 49) responding to a constituent question concerning “That Bridge.”
Of note is how both craftily avoided using the words “light rail” since the effort to force light rail on the community against our wishes is what forced the bloated boondoggle into a comatose state.
read more »
March 25, 2015
Spider Freezes Traffic
August 3, 2014
Real Congestion Relief? Fuggedaboutit!
Now that the plug has been pulled on the bloated CRC light rail project, it is very apparent that proponents of that boondoggle are going to oppose any and every suggestion to actually work towards easing congestion along the I-5 Corridor through Vancouver, out of pure, hateful spite.
Never mind that their darling light rail extension from Portland that commanded the project never enjoyed the support of Clark County citizens, it was light rail or nothing at all, evidence by the calls of “no light rail, no bridge” from several proponents.
Figg Engineering has now provided the community with a proposal for an East County Bridge , a proposal they drew up at no charge to taxpayers. Contrast that to the CRC light rail project that sucked over $200 Million away from taxpayers, leaving us with nothing to show for our money, just bitter memories of out of touch elected officials ignoring our voices and attempting to go against our desires.
read more »
February 20, 2014
About the Inevitable CRC Cost Overruns
Still think Oregon will pay for any cost overruns associated with the CRC light rail boondoggle?
Oregon State Democrat Senator Michael Dembrow is letting you know, Clark County commuters, that you will be paying for whatever it is Oregon wants.
His cavalier attitude rivals the cluelessness of Washington State Democrat State Senator Annette Cleveland as she expressed the evening of Feb 19, 2014 during the tele-town hall held with constituents of the 49th legislative district.
I’d post the audio, but I guess you’ll have to wait for the Lazy C to post it since that is the preferred source of information.
October 11, 2013
Carolyn Crain, The Ugly Side of the CRC
Clark County, Vancouver, Washington citizen Carolyn Crain, speaking about the ugly underside of the Columbia River Crossing light rail project from Portland, Oregon being forced upon Washington State citizens against their will.
September 23, 2013
Economist warns: Renewed CRC Promises Gridlock on I-205
Joe Cortright is President and principal economist for Impresa, a Portland consulting firm specializing in regional economic analysis, innovation and industry clusters. Joe is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and senior policy advisor for CEOs for Cities, a national organization of urban leaders.
An Economist with impeccable credentials that when he releases a study, we are assured it is well researched, deeply considered and very relevant to the subject at hand. As an old commercial said, he is one that when he speaks, people listen. Or at least, they should.
Mr. Cortright has deeply researched and released studies critical of the Columbia River Crossing light rail project and has grabbed our attention for his efforts. And as we now know, the once thought dead project is being brought back up with allegedly new considerations, but realistically, just the same old, same old we have rejected.
read more »
June 15, 2013
Patty Murray, Still as Stupid as Can Be
It’s been nearly three years since conservative firebrand Ann Coulter rightfully labeled Washington State Senator Patty Murray “The Stupidest Person in America” and Ms. Murray appears hell-bent to keep on proving it.
Nowhere is this better shown than in her blind, rabid support of the Columbia River Crossing light rail project as she ignores bridge engineers, WSDOT, ODOT and past Dept. of Transportation Director Paula Hammond’s call of the current bridge over the Columbia River being “safe” so she can parrot other fearmongers erroneous calls of “the bridge is collapsing any moment.”
The Lazy C, staunch blind proponents themselves make Murray’s idiocy their headline news in the Saturday June 14, 2013 edition with Murray targets opponents of CRC wherein she repeatedly states how “unsafe” she feels the bridge is adding, “people who don’t want this to go forward don’t often think of the consequences if they win, and I think they need to think about that. … If this bridge collapsed here, there would be loss of life, there’s no doubt about it. I don’t want to go to anybody’s funeral to get federal funding.”
read more »
May 29, 2013
Trolley Cars, Dirt Roads and Coming Full Circle
Advocates of the Columbia River Crossing light rail project are pulling out all of the stops to coerce passage of funding to get moving on the project, ignoring citizen voices, pleas of the middle class to stop the bankrupting madness and throwing all caution to the wind that the current design calls for creating the lowest river clearance point on the Columbia River, making the new bridge more susceptible to collision from waterborne craft, unsafe in my estimation.
It didn’t take but minutes for proponents to grab hold of the Skagit River Bridge collapse to equate it to the need to replace the current Interstate Bridge with a light rail carrier. The Lazy C has run articles nearly every single day trying to tie the two bridges together and minimizing the collapse was caused by a semi-truck with an oversized load impacting and taking out structural support beams.
Waiting for results from the NTSB is out of the question when you have a crisis you don’t want to waste.
We even see the Lazy C running what can only be described as a ridiculous article claiming, Columbia River span could collapse if hit with big enough blow.
read more »
May 24, 2013
Bias, Dishonesty and Fearmongering for Light Rail – Updated
The ‘light rail at any cost crowd’ to include the Lazy C wasted no time in spinning last evenings collapse of a section of the I-5 Bridge over the Skagit River upstate to promote forcing Clark County into accepting Portland, Oregon’s financially beleaguered light rail.
Even before the reason was known, the structure being struck by an over-sized load on a semi-truck, the light rail at any cost crowd was blasting those who oppose dragging the light rail line into Clark County, presenting it as a ‘wake-up’ call with dire, ominous predictions of the bridge between Vancouver and Portland facing imminent collapse as well.
Rep. Jim Moeller (D. Portland/Vancouver) wasted no time crying how “unsafe” our bridges are, neglecting that he and his fellow Democrats have for years diverted transportation funds to studies to drag light rail into Clark County and the massive Alaska Way Viaduct project in Puget Sound, depriving the rest of the states bridges from funds needed for maintenance and repairs.
read more »
May 14, 2013
Competing CRC Ads – Who Really Has the Majority?
CRC proponents recently released an ad and Jim Moeller made sure to circulate it throughout the legislature in an effort to convince elected officials in Olympia they were in the majority.
Couv.com has released a more truthful ad featuring numerous citizens expressing why the CRC is a bad deal for Clark County.
Proponents ad may be seen at the Couv.com link above. Take note, those speaking in the pro-ad are all speaking from the exact same script with the editing cut to switch back and forth to say their pre-written message.
Couv.com did not have a written script, we each spoke freely of our views.
April 30, 2013
Cleveland, Wylie & Moeller Vow to Screw the Middle Class
Ignoring the concerns of their constituents in the 49th Legislative District, all 3 Democrats elected to represent us have now vowed to cast our concerns aside, continue ignoring our voices and work as hard as possible to screw us over to ensure funding of the highly unpopular Columbia River Crossing light rail project.
An email received from rookie Senator Annette Cleveland today says, “We are working hard to fund the Columbia River Crossing”, concluding with “Rep. Moeller, Rep. Wylie and I will continue to work on CRC funding throughout the special legislative session to ensure that our state meets the September deadline and qualifies for the $850 million in federal funds. Anything less would be fiscal lunacy and a terrible mistake for our community’s future.”
That voters have rejected every funding measure proposed and outright rejected light rail itself back in 1995 doesn’t enter into the equation.
read more »
April 26, 2013
Suck It Up, Oregon. Bail Out Light Rail Yourself
As we see more and more Washington citizens and businesses joining in opposing the Columbia River Crossing light rail project, the desperation seen from Oregon in wanting to tap into our tax dollars to bail out their folly of light rail increases.
From Governor Kitzhaber’s proclamations published in the CRC mouthpiece Kitzhaber: Without light rail, new span across Columbia is history and Kitzhaber: Removal of light rail will kill CRC project to now an editorial in the April 25 Oregonian, Hey, Olympia: Suck it up and help build the CRC demanding we just ‘get onboard’ and do as they say.
Kitzhaber’s call showed that the calls of “decrease congestion,” “unsafe bridge” and “improve freight mobility” have been nothing more than lies and reaffirmed what this blog and several others have been saying for several years, light rail is the only factor driving this project.
read more »
April 4, 2013
Growing CRC Opposition Amidst Oregon Wanting to Take Clark County’s Jobs
The Columbia River Crossing project, an ambitious effort to force Clark County citizens into accepting Portland, Oregon’s financially troubled light rail by holding a new bridge to replace the aging spans currently crossing the Columbia River between the two states evokes a lot of emotions.
Supporters raise their blinders and refuse to even look at critical studies while opponents continue to pour over documents, studies and ambitious claims, revealing their findings to any willing to listen.
An indication of just how troubled the project is was seen recently by the newly elected Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee sneaking into town to hold a private meeting with selected supporters, urging them to “increase the decibels,” meaning to drown out opponents.
Such an urging only serves to see increased efforts from opponents who continue to point out fallacies, untruthful claims and hidden data to expose what I can only describe as ‘corruption.’
read more »
March 20, 2013
Build That Third Bridge!
Access between the States of Washington and Oregon, separated by the Columbia River has long been a problem for commuters. For many decades there was only one bridge for several miles in each direction, down the I-5 corridor.
After much fighting between the states, Oregon trying to drag their feet, a second bridge was opened a few miles east of I-5 in 1983, the Glen Jackson or if you prefer, the I-205 Bridge.
That lessened a little congestion down I-5, but as we saw this week with the collision of a Semi-Truck driving the wrong way over the I-205 Bridge, essentially shutting it down, people were once again stuck in traffic on both arterials and access roads as many tried to avoid the mess on the I-205 Bridge and others sat for hours, unable to escape the back-up.
read more »
March 13, 2013
Rep Jim Moeller’s Latest Act of Desperation, Lie
It is becoming common knowledge that the Columbia River Crossing Project is falling apart as more and more, people open their eyes to the lack of transparency long associated with it and the many false claims used in promoting it.
From poorly designed plans to calls for tolls on top of tolls, increasing gas taxes and license fees on cars to come up with funding for it, people are waking up and standing up against it.
Tired of being silenced, marginalized and just outright ignored, those of us who will long be on the hook to pay for a light rail carrier we have rejected have been pushing back, defeating funding measures associated with CRC and electing officials who are willing to scrutinize the project.
None of that has fazed one of the strongest proponents of the CRC, 49th Legislative District Representative, Democrat Jim Moeller, quite possible the single most arrogant person elected to our state legislature.
read more »
March 12, 2013
A “Kangaroo Townhall” Won’t Help the CRC
We’re all familiar with the term, Kangaroo Court meaning “a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted.” Maybe it is time we also applied it to townhalls by elected officials who have no intent to listen to constituents and instead seem to think they have to sell us on a defective project the majority of their constituents’ have indicated they do not want.
A Townhall is supposed to be an “informal public meeting where everybody in a town community is invited to attend, voice their opinions, and hear the responses from public figures and elected officials about shared subjects of interest.”
But as we continue to see, many of those elected officials appear reluctant to listen to constituents areas of concern in Washington State 49th Legislative District, especially where the overly ambitious Columbia River Crossing Project is concerned.
read more »
