Our Voice: Thumbs up, Thumbs down
Land transfer finalized
Monday, the transfer of 1,341 acres of former Hanford property to local control became official.
The Tri-City Development Council, which received 1,641 acres from the U.S. Department of Energy in September, transferred most of it to the city of Richland and Port of Benton in a brief ceremony at Richland City Hall.
TRIDEC requested the transfer in 2011 and was the initial recipient under the government’s Community Reuse Organization program.
The port received 760 acres and the city 581. The side-by-side properties will be jointly planned and held in reserve for what economic development officers call a mega user that could use hundreds of acres for a jobs-creating development, such as an energy center.
It’s hard to overstate what an incredible economic development opportunity this affords the Tri-Cities.
It didn’t happen without years of hard work on the part of retired Congressman Doc Hastings, the dogged determination of TRIDEC’s Gary Petersen and many others. Thumbs up also for local Department of Energy officials who persistently push the bureaucratic behemoth of an agency to do the right thing for this community.
Another example of the Tri-Cities doing what many believed could not be done.
Misrepresenting military record
State Rep. Graham Hunt, R-Orting, resigned this week in the face of accusations that he exaggerated his military service.
Orting was appointed to a vacant House seat in 2014 and successfully ran for re-election in November 2014.
The Seattle Times first reported last month that military records did not back up Hunt’s claims of serving as a “combat veteran” in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he’d listed three medals on his official biography that the Air Reserve Personnel Center had no record of him receiving.
Orting reportedly served his country as a member of the Air National Guard from 1998 to 2005. He was deployed to active duty for a period of time where he performed security checks at a U.S. airbase in Saudi Arabia. He was not, however, a combat veteran who survived a mortar attack as represented during his re-election campaign. Serving our country in any capacity is something to be proud of. He didn’t need to make himself out to be some sort of war hero in order win reelection.
His actions were disgraceful and his resignation warranted. He embarrassed his district and particularly those who appointed him in the first place.
Our state legislators
In this space we often take to task the folks who represent us in the state Senate and House of Representatives. We also provide a platform for the public to question their actions through letters to the editor.
Every legislative session they’re tasked with being part of the solution to some very difficult challenges and deal with highly controversial topics. They’ll never get it right in the minds of everyone.
So while we may not always be thankful for their position on issues, we are thankful for their willingness to go to Olympia each session and endeavor to serve an often less-than-thankful constituency.
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Thumbs up, Thumbs down."