Eureka City Councilman Kerrigan called me this morning and asked if I would give an update on the status of the pulp mill at a Rally for the Clark/Atkins campaign at the Labor Temple. I am not attached to any campaign in Eureka so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to go and hear the two Democrats speeches and also get a chance to talk to 4th District Supervisor Bonnie Neely. When I pulled up, Bonnie was just getting out of her car at the same time. I gave her a short update concerning Evergreen Pulp Mill and she assured me that she was in contact with Patty Berg's and Mike Thompson offices about what actions to take. Then Bonnie shared a piece of information she had and I was floored. I am waiting for conformation and will have to do some investigation but I am quite alarmed. (Bonnie's information sources are endless. I thought I was updating her, and here she has something I should have seen coming. If you work at the Mill and want to know what it is, call me. I don't want to go public with the information until I see proof with my own eyes.)
The crowd there was good for a Saturday afternoon. Chris made introductions and Bonnie spoke to the crowd. She was well received and spoke well, as usual. Chris then introduced me and I gave a quick synapse on what was going on at the mill. People came up after to offer their condolences and offer help for the holidays. That was nice.
George gave a great speech. I did not know he had it in him. He actually ignited chants from the crowd and this past union organizer was impressed. He made it no secret that he does not like this Republican administration. Linda's speech was more calm but focused. They both hit all their talking points and charged their supporters to get active. (And no, they did not corner me or pressure me to help in their campaigns.)
Oh, and the sign thing, their campaigns are about to blanket Eureka. I have already said the Clark/Atkins campaigns will have a huge advantage by focusing on Democrat voters and identifying them as endorsed by the HCDCC. But having the extra advantage of endorsement by all the largest local union organizations will make them tough to beat.
Then there is the wild card..........I know many people in Eureka and have talked candidly, without political loyalties to any Eureka City Council race camps. I don't have any poll numbers, (I guess Polly Endert does though.) but word out there seems to suggest Jager has a good chance for winning, and the Endert/Atkins race will be close. Non-Scientific of course. I still say the two Democrats are the people to beat.
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Let me guess. 401(k)'s?
I'll guess that the company filed papers or made contacts that indicate they are preparing for the liklihood of permanent closure.
If they filed for a waiver of the 60 day layoff rule, I wouldn't take that as dire, its routine.
Word I have heard is that they are due for a (6 yr?) reevaluation for licensing of some kind - and knew they were going to get attacked by the Baykeeper types, and chose to fold up the tent. Not worth the hassle. Only a rumor at this point.
What's up, Richard? When can you tell us?
And no more Mother's Cookies, according to Nathan Rushton's column this morning - bankrupt -
Interesting spin on the races, Richard.
I would think that Polly has an excellent chance, due primarily to Linda's relatively recent move to Eureka - but, who knows.
One thing I do believe though, is that many Eurekans look way past party affiliation when it comes to these nonpartisan Eureka city council elections, and I have seen several Endert and/or Jager signs in yards with Chesboro & Thompsen signs.
I guess we'll see on the fourth.
Is that what Kerrigan does for his "consulting" fees?
Richard, you have reached a pinnacle of political power, Chris Kerrigan called you and Bonnie told you a secret WOW
Kerrigam is a putz.
Wait till Chris moves to Jills territory another leming for Bonnie.
Load me up another bowl Chris!
Oh, 8":7, you mean THAT secret? The one where they're going to move Kerrigan into the Fifth District so he can run for Supervisor?
Planning ahead, these guys, all the time. Working for the end game.
Analysis: Viet Nam has 84 million people and an old, out-of-date paper industry made up of salvaged paper machines 100 years old. The government is planning to invest nearly US$6 billion into the development of a modern pulp & paper industry between now and 2020. They have already planted 120,000 hectares of cajeput trees (an acceptable papermaking fiber plus leaves that produce medicinal oils and a spongy bark used as a packing material). The climate is very conducive to planting fast growing eucalyptus and acacia trees. China’s Lee & Mann recently announced plans to build a containerboard mill that will produce 320,000mt/year of containerboard and 150,000mt of unbleached pulp.
They hope to have the mill up and running by the last quarter of 2008 or the fist quarter of 2009.
The company pointed out that Vietnam is a relatively low cost country with attractive shipping costs to nearby potential customers and with a climate that supports fast growing trees. To meet the projected need of 2 million mt by 2010 a number of multinational companies will have to invest in as many as 12-15 major facilities in the very near future. These would seem to be excellent investment opportunities.
https://www.glgroup.com/News/Viet-Nams-Pulp–Paper-Industry-Comes-Alive-15605.html
Shouldn't Bonnie Neely be doing her job instead of interfering in every political race in the county. I thought I heard the Supes ranting about how overworked and underpaid they were. If Bonnie truly has so much extra time that she can muck around full time walking and fundraising in SoHum for Clendenon, going door to door in Eureka for clark/atkins,setting up kerrigan in his new digs in McKinleyville, and starting her own campaign two years early maybe the Supervisor job is really only part time. The time she spends on shuttling back and forth between Bill Piersons and the tribal offices picking up checks is close to a full time job. Check it out, Bonnie misses more meetings than she attends. I thought the Supes worked for the people...wrong.
For this we will be paying her close to $100,000/yr, or three times the average Humboldt wage.
Time for TERM LIMITS
Time for REAL CAMPAIGN REFORM/LIMITS
I don't like term limits. We suffer from loss of institutional memory as it is (like the recently-discovered code enforcement statute that might have avoided some of the recent angst over government abuses in rural Humboldt).
Estelle Fennell has it right about this "longevity pay" for supervisors: the job is a four-year contract, renewable at the option of the electorate. Longevity in office already means a bigger pension, and the additional increase in salary after 20 years is wrong.
Greg staff has institutional memory politicians change thier memory to suit them, ask Bonnie she used to support jobs and working families not so anymore.
Greg your argument might have some merit with a complex organization like the State, but the county? Come on! You are aware that the county pays for a professional manager, right? Come on Greg!
2:54 You have a point.
Staff turnover can cause loss of institutional memory, too. We are speaking about government, not so much politics. Most successful politicians seem to forget very little.
How about voting for someone else if you want to limit an incumbent's term in office? Why do "conservatives" advocate for the Nanny State when it comes to popular office-holders they don't like?
CPR, Incumbancy alone gives a candidate a big a advantage over a challenger. Money, ability to give patronage, an established campaign apparatus, and usually support from the incumbant's political party. So, term limits can "level the playing field" and reduce the entry costs for political aspirants.
From an economic consumer perspective, reducing costs results in better value. Its not quite the same for political leaders but I think there is some similarity. My point is that making rules against monopolies and price fixing isn't the "nanny state", its recognizing the reality of a market and protecting weaker consumers from stronger producers.
BTW Lee and Mann stock is hitting new lows, closed at $1.60, was bouncing around $5.00 before early Sept.
I've heard several rumors about Evergreen packing up the mill and moving it to China or Vietnam.
Yep, theyre moving equipment. My guess is theyve been running the mill since 2005 to keep money flowing in while they set up with the Asian governments to subsidize their operation over their. No intention all along to have this mill run sustainably. They will move all the expensive equipment over to Asia, THEN LET THE REST SIT AND DECAY LIKE THE other mill.
The actual announcement said that the Samoa mill was being transferred to another company and the first payment is only $2.5 million. This is a precursor to the following course of action:
1) sell cheap and take a tax loss on the investment to date;
2) sell the equipment back to the former parent, Lee and Man, at a good price for them;
3) claim tax losses as the sale price for the equipment is less than the amount invested in the mill;
4) the newco tries to sell the land for a number greater than the environmental remediation costs;
5) if there's no sale, the supposedly new owners, David Tsang, runs back to Canada and leaves the taxpayers with the remediation costs.
6) don't be surprised if the suppliers aren't the only ones that don't get paid, there won't be any severance pay either.
So much for 2007's business of the year!
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