Exit133

October 7, 2010 · Derek · archive: txp/article

Joe Biden at UWT Tomorrow

Just in case you haven’t heard, Vice President Joe Biden is coming to the heart of Tacoma sometime tomorrow morning to attend a ‘Get Out The Vote’ rally. Of all the places they could have campaigned for Senator Murray, they chose to put nearly 1000 people onto the UWT campus. Here’s an opportunity for us to show him how committed partnerships between business, education, the state and the city can turn a neighborhood around.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration open at 9 am at South 19th and Jefferson. Interested, RSVP at www.pattymurray.com/pierce.

Whether you’re attending or not, VP Biden’s visit may affect you if you live or work downtown …

Street Closures and Transportation Disruptions
Tacoma Link service will be shut down from 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

All streets around the UWT campus will be closed, no through traffic or parking:

  • Pacific Avenue between S. 21st and S. 17th
  • S. 21st between Pacific Ave. and Market St.
  • S. 17th St. between Pacific and Market St.
  • Jefferson St. between Pacific and Market
  • Likely Market St between S. 17th and S. 21st St.

And stay tuned – this is likely not the last of the big-name visits we could be hosting this election season. We’ve been hearing rumors of a certain former first couple.

Filed under: General

10 comments

  • Erik B. October 7, 2010

    UWT is serving as a great place for VIPs to visit.

    A model for the expenditure of public funds.

  • Scott M October 7, 2010

    Really? Closing the Link down? Rather than posting some Secret Service on it and at the relevant stops so that people can get to the event, to school, to the court house, the museums and local businesses and shops?

    Are they handing out notes for the people that work downtown that can’t get to work?

    Are the bus routes that go through there also going to be closed down or rerouted?

    Bugs me a bit that they can’t be bothered to come here to talk about what they are working on, but can visit on our dime to stump for a local candidate’s political campaign.

  • Ms Tara October 7, 2010

    I had no idea this was all happening until this morning when I see a tiny blurp in TNT, and then a brief email from work. Why wasn’t this talked about earlier in the week so all of us who will be impacted can make plans to avoid this mess?

    Not excited at all about the Link closure in the morning. There are over 2400 parking spots at the Tacoma Dome Station – and they are quite frequently filled by 8:30am. That’s 2400 people that are going to have to hit the streets and walk to school and work. Our work is doing a shuttle, but its not going to be able to move people like the Link can

  • Tim Smith October 7, 2010

    This is a National Security Event and the Secret Service does not care. Last minute notification precludes nefarious pre-operational planning by the evildoers. One would have thought that maybe, just maybe, Sen Murray could have picked a better spot – say the Tacoma Dome, or the Stadium Bowl. Nope. Center of downtown on a Friday morning.

  • RR Anderson October 7, 2010

    imagine the disruption if they picked seattle!

  • the Jinxmedic October 7, 2010

    When I was working in Allentown, PA, then-VP Dick Cheney decided to pay a visit to the city. Everyone working downtown who was parked on the street on the motorcade route had their vehicles towed and impounded. Dick Cheney still owes me $370 for that one. I would go and try and claim it, but I don’t want to be shot in the face.

  • Tacoma1 October 7, 2010

    Jinx
    You would probably just be water boarded. I say go for it.

  • Scott M October 8, 2010

    Jinxmedic: When the Tacoma Twilight Criterium Bike races were held, there had to be no parking signs in place 24 hours in advance. Also, any vehicles towed were impounded at no cost and returned after the event. But I guess that is how you do things when you care about impacting the lives of the people that live and work there. It also took over a year to get the permits to shut down Pacific and the surrounding streets on a Sunday. I am curious if the Secret Service needs to even bother with a permit process or evaluating local impacts for events that are NOT part of the Vice President’s official duties.

  • Florence October 8, 2010

    I wondered that, too, Scott.

    This is not a required duty of the VP on Federal business… it’s a political party event. Shouldn’t the Democrats have to pay for this security and inconvenience? Murray is going to annoy and alienate a lot more people than win them over.

  • RR Anderson October 8, 2010

    I was just informed by my radio watch that the VP would like to make an appearance at the Frost Park Chalk Challenge! The stimulus IS helping to put 300,000 sidewalk chalk artists back to work. In other words: Up your nose with a rubber hose Dino Rossi!