Letter from Nancy Pelosi to Dirk Kempthorne - March 16, 2007

[Omaha Steve]

http://alcatrazunion.com/node/1476

Dear Secretary Kempthorne (Department of the Interior)

My office has received several complaints about Alcatraz Cruises LLC's lack of compliance with the contract requirements set by the National Park Service (NPS) in delivering landside facilities and operating the Alcatraz ferry vessels at Pier 31-33 in San Francisco.

The Port of San Francisco has not received a full and detailed plan of the proposed modifications to its facilities at Pier 31 1/2 and Pier 33 needed to deliver the extensive landside improvements promised by the comply in their contract with NPS. The Port Commission has received only a conceptual drawing of the project which was presented by the comply during a public hearing on June 7, 2006. To date, no applications for building permits or environmental review have been submitted for the permanent landside facilities.



The delay in delivery of detailed plans to the Port seems inconsistent with the specific time requirements set forth in the NPS contract (Attachment 6) which requires the concessionaire to submit to the Superintendent a Landing Plan accompanied by detailed and complete plans and specifications for altering and modifying the Sari Francisco Landing Facilities within 30 days after the effective date of the contract (October 25, 2006). As specified in the contract, the goals of the Landing Plan are to use the San Francisco Landing Facilities as a gateway to Alcatraz Island and to utilize the waiting time of visitors to increase visitor appreciation and understanding of the resource.
Please respond to the following questions:

(1)Has Alcatraz Cruises complied with the contractual requirement for submitting a Landing Plan for altering and modifying the San Francisco Landing Facilities to the Superintendent? If yes, when was it submitted and why wasn't the Plan submitted to the Port of San Francisco for their review? Did Alcatraz Cruises intend to commence the landing plan by the end of February as required by the contract?

(2)If the Landing Plan to the Superintendent for the permanent facilities was not submitted, why was this requirement waived?

(3)Did NPS examine whether Alcatraz Cruises controls the property needed to deliver the visitor facilities that would produce the landside gateway to Alcatraz islanders including covered waiting areas, educational and interpretive exhibits, an auditorium for special events, an educational bookstore and outlet for the NPS Conservancy? Has the NPS evaluated the feasibility of Alcatraz Cruises delivering the required visitor facilities at this site?

Alcatraz Cruises' conceptual drawings show use of at Pier 33 in their project. Yet the company currently controls only 3,575 square feet of indoor shed space in Pier 33 which according to the lease may not be used by passengers, and was prevented by the Port from acquiring additional space in Pier 33. The Port has repeatedly expressed concern over Alcatraz Cruises "piecemeal" approach to the Port and not fully disclosing information needed to understand the full scope of present and long-term approvals needed from the Port to support Alcatraz Service, and has stated that Alcatraz Cruises was aware of the limitations for future use of Pier 33 at least two months before signing the contract with NPS.

FULL letter at link.

[partylessinOhio]

1. Isn't this a very narrow focus for Madame Squeaker? Isn't she third

in line for the presidency?

Didn't she take impeachment off the table before the 2006 election?

Didn't she fight to get a larger non-stop plane for her entourage to fly weekly across country to California at taxpayer expense?


Didn't she cut down Jane Harmon?

Didn't she setup a week of inaugural parties for herself?

What has she done to stop this BushWar?

[ncteechur]

2. She also represents the folks in that district-she's their representative.

She represents them.

[partylessinOhio]

3. Well, good. What's she doing for the rest of the US?

She wanted the title but she don't want to pull the heavy load.

[CreekDog]

12. Oh no, I'm not letting this go...

Partyless, please don't be clueless as well,

You suggest that Pelosi is not working hard enough to serve the rest of the country but is focusing solely on her district. Of course, to believe that, you would have to ignore the leadership she displayed getting the Iraq Supplemental passed with 218 votes, she got a majority of the house to vote for that and it was hardly easy. She also did this while ably representing the people of San Francisco.

She is smart enough and has enough staff to do both. You can bet that Hastert both managed the House as a whole and represented his Illinois district simultaneosly too and Pelosi is a heck of a lot more able than he was.

Pelosi has moved leglislation through the House on issue after issue and has served the Democratic party and the USA very well in less than 3 months.

Furthermore, when faced with the prospect of losing a vote on a troop withdrawal and defuning bill, instead of accepting that defeat, and possibly harming the antiwar effort by giving the prowar folks an out and out victory, what Pelosi did was fashion legislation that set a deadline for troop withdrawal and to do that, they tied funding the troops that are currently their to the withdrawal, which was the combination that leglislation to end the war needed at this point, to garner a majority of votes.

Imagine how much harder it would be to stop this war following headlines stating that a vote to end the war could not muster even close to a majority in the Democratic House of Representatives.

I am so glad the grownups are in charge and not some that think they know better.

[ncteechur]

13. Exactly creekdog, it is about 218 and 60. A grat bill without 218 and 60

is dead.

[KingFlorez]

4. She didn't ask for any plane, that's Republican spin

The Sergeant at Arms requested it, she didn't. As for the nonsense about impeachment, why start proceedings that would fail? It would be pretty idiotic and pointless.

[Rusty MacHenry]

5. I've learned from being on DU for my brief time

Tht's impeachment is not just about conviction it's about sending a message and accountability. The Bush Crime Family have basically broke law after law and lied out of there asses about it. As Congress basically being a watchdog it's up to the Democrats to show accountability in impeachment that when you broke laws you will get in trouble and impeachment(regardless of conviction)will send that mwssage of accountability.

It's all about serving the people and accountability my friend.

[partylessinOhio]

6. Does Madame Squeaker control the Sargent at Arms?

I rest my case.

MS has been quite smug and quiet since she got her way and can fly non-stop across country.

You may defend her, I will not.

Jack Murtha would have been a far superior Speaker of the House.

[KingFlorez]

7. No, she doesn't

She didn't ask for that plane, check the facts http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/08/pelosi-snow-livingood/ instead of using right-wing logic.

[CreekDog]

9. Madame Speaker is more than Speaker, she is representative of the 8th Dist.

Partyless,

This issue is in the 8th District of California and there is no other congressperson in the House that can represent the 8th district than the one elected from that District, Nancy Pelosi.

Please get your facts straight and stop with the discredited Republican talking points about the plane, the parties, about what Speaker Pelosi's job is and so forth. And regarding what she has done in regards to the war, well Jack Murtha, whom you feel is superior, supported the supplemental and supported Pelosi.

I frankly don't know who appointed you to be the expert on the matter that you are posting, but with so many errors in your statements, I can't rely on your conclusions regarding the problem or the issues.

[ProudDad]

8. I will defend her about the stupid plane

It was the Sergeant at Arms who tried to get her an airplane that could fly non-stop to S.F. from D.C.

The rest was right-wing spin...

I wish she'd mentioned the striking workers who Hornblower is screwing over though... THAT's who she's supposed to be working for.

[CreekDog]

10. Pelosi did write a letter regarding labor issues re: Alcatraz ferry

That letter was to Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao:


Letter from Nancy Pelosi and George Miller to Elaine Chao - February 14, 2007
Submitted by intexile on Fri, 2007-03-23 09:34. Alcatraz | Hornblower

The Honorable Elaine Chao,Secretary
U.S Department of Labor,
200 Constitution Ave N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20210.

Dear Secretary Chao:

We are writing to express our concerns about enforcement of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) in regard to the Alcatraz ferry transportation services contracts.

As you know, the Service Contract Act requires federal service contractors to pay prevailing wages, including wages and fringe benefits at least equal to those paid by predecessor contractors pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. Importantly, the Service Contract Act ensures that no federal agency contractor undercuts prevailing wages in any community in the United States.

The Alcatraz concession contract, is originally negotiated by the National Park Service (NPS) and Alcatraz Cruises, failed to include Service Contract Act protections. In May 2006 a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring the award of the contract on that basis.
» read more | add new comment
Whistleblower gets the ax: Alcatraz employee released after talking to the Guardian
Submitted by saoirse on Wed, 2007-03-21 17:14.

[CreekDog]

11. I'll defend the plane issue too

The White House insisted on it for the Speaker of the House, both during Republican and Democratic speakerships.

As third in line for the Presidency, there is justification for a plane that can fly directly from her district to Washington D.C. without stopping or refueling. If something happened to Bush and Cheney simultaneously, you can bet that none of us want Pelosi stuck in Denver refueling.

The sad thing is that the person I'm responding to is so clueless on this, that I'm almost more angry at them than at the Republicans, but I guess I expect Democrats to know better. Sheesh.