Tacoma: Rid our city of its 'toxic' reputation

Re: “Methanol hearing attracts jammed crowd, sharp debate” (TNT, 1-23).

I attended this meeting. Unions were out in force and vocal about jobs; the residents and opponents were concerned about massive amounts of Tacoma’s water sources that will be wasted by this plant, toxic emissions, irreversible harm to our waterways and marine life, plummeting property values, accidents at the plant, effects of an earthquake with a methanol plant built on a fault line, etc.

If the unions want jobs, let’s give them jobs building a light rail connection between Seattle, SeaTac and Tacoma. Let’s get them building up downtown so that Tacoma can appeal to businesses in Seattle and Bellevue that are being priced out of the rental market. Let’s appeal to people looking for an affordable place to raise their families.

Let’s change the direction of Tacoma by moving forward, not remaining stuck in the vicious circle of a “toxic Tacoma.”

The unions want the jobs, but once this job is completed they move on to the next one while we are stuck with a Chinese methanol plant raping our precious resources for the next 30 years.

Our governor and the Port of Tacoma are fully on board with this project. Speak now or forever hold your peace.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Tacoma: Rid our city of its 'toxic' reputation."