 DON'T SIGN THAT ANTI-JEWELRY STORE PETITION By David G. Hanger May 28, 2007
This petition, if enacted and approved, will not close one single existing jewelry store. It will reinforce their position by preventing any other jewelry stores from opening. So jewelry stores every three feet in the downtown area will be grandfathered in perpetuity. The real point of this petition is to attack the Newtown owners and seek to prevent them from profiting from the tourist industry. Apparently, one sponsor did not get what she wanted from the Newtown group, and so in a fit of petulance she organized this endeavor, a personalized and very vicious assault on property owners merely because they want something different from what she wants. I am quite aware of the old saw that a man never wins an argument with a woman; it's just the start of another argument. But this is ridiculous. Nor should this community tolerate this individual's arrogance and selfishness for a moment. The owners of Newtown properties have every right to want to profit from this tourist industry despite the fact it might deprive the downtown greedheads of some of their revenues, despite the fact that Charlene Dima is mad at the Newtown owners for not agreeing with her. If you want to limit the number of jewelry stores in Ketchikan, prepare a petition that does that, including the downtown area. It would be a suicidal move; those who emphasize that seven-month a year vacancies will be replaced by 12-month a year vacancies are not kidding. This town cannot be returned to the glory years of 1960 to 1980, and these kinds of efforts will merely ensure the town returns to the not so glorious years of 1890 to 1910. David G. Hanger and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sitnews.
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