||| FROM SEATTLE TIMES |||
It’s easy enough to tap out a 10-second comment and hit “send.”
Sometimes it’s a thought that momentarily lands in your brain. Sometimes you can smile to yourself: Oh, I’m a clever boy!
More than 330 of you took those 10 seconds when there was a call-out in July by the state’s Transportation Commission for naming a new state ferry.
Well, so far, none of the proposed names have met the guidelines set by the commission. That would have meant putting in the time to write up a background history for the name and other things that go into bona fide proposals.
The new ferry is a big deal for the system. It’s been a decade since the 21-boat aging fleet has had an addition until the Legislature signed off.
The new ferry, to be built in 2022 and slated to sail in 2024, is called a hybrid electric ferry. That means it would mostly run on electric power and use the diesel engines for backup and to recharge the batteries.
And here you are, told of plans for this innovative hybrid electric ferry, and your name suggestions include:
- MV DB Cooper.
- Espresso.
- Money Pit.
- Always Late.
- Kraken Kruiser or The Krakenator.
- The Sea Hag.
- Kevin.
- Hector the Vector Connector
- Pete Carroll.
- M/V Sir Floats-A-Lot
The original deadline for submitting proposals was Oct. 1. Given the zero that met all the criteria, the commission has extended it to Oct. 8.
True, there were many suggestions with a tribal connection. All 21 state ferries have tribal meanings, from the Spokane (“children of the sun”) to the Puyallup (“generous people”).
But the commission wants more than you putting out a name. Explain in writing why the proposal has “regional significance; why it represents “state-adopted symbols;” why it meets “ethical standards;” why it has “broad familiarity;” why it’s “non-offensive.”
There is at least one person who, so far, has made an effort to perhaps have the Transportation Commission take her proposal seriously.
Cheri Filion, a Whidbey Island resident, is photographed with pieces of the Kalakala ferry at Salty’s in West Seattle. Filion hopes the state transportation commission will name the new hybrid electric ferry the Kalakala II. (Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times)
She is Cheri Filion, of Whidbey Island, who’s pushing for the name, “Kalakala II.”
READ FULL ARTICLE: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/the-pete-carroll-sir-floats-a-lot-with-zero-submissions-meeting-criteria-washington-state-extends-naming-new-ferry
