Milt,

No hate here, just an observation that most of them appear rather light complexioned as Indians go. Racism requires an implicit superiority-inferiority relationship based on race. I meant nothing of the sort. It's good to point out that they have been involved in some habitat improvement projects, particularly when there is no assurance that they will get any direct benefit out of it.

Laterun,

I don't know what the Cowlitz Tribe did when Tacoma first proposed the Cowlitz hydro dams. Because the dams violated state law, It was the State of WA that took the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court and lost all three times because the Federal Power Act trumps state laws. Since the Cowlitz Tribe was not organized nor existed officially at the time, if they so much as filed a brief in any of the lawsuits, I never heard of it, nor did any Tribal official make such a claim during Tacoma's relicensing proceeding between 1995 and 2001.

Further, there is no reserve account that Tacoma Power deposits money from the Cowlitz Project in. The City of Tacoma is a non-profit municipality, and all revenue - of which there is much - simply goes into the City's general fund, where it can be used to subsidize the costs of police, fire, libraries, etc.

The power from the project goes onto the regional power grid, where energy from numerous sources is mixed. From that grid, power goes to Tacoma and everywhere throughout the region. Tacoma both buys and sells power. Claiming it's all sold on the open market is disingenuous when some is wheeled to Tacoma and some is wheeled to various customers.

Who was the retired state official? Tacoma didn't really need a lobbyist back in the days when Tacoma and Pierce Country were known as Little Sicily. It's safe to say that Tacoma owned political influence, judges, and others who were needed to get things done the old Tacoma way: "We stole it fair and square!"

Sg