Petition Tag - kalakala

The 1935 MV Kalakala structure (vessel), "World's First Streamline Art Deco Ferry", is a story filled with State and National levels of significances and maritime heritage.

She has touched millions of hearts and souls around the world, and filled them with a sense of wonder and awe. Since the State of Washington retired her in 1967 she has been written off by politics. And, since 1998 the Kalakala has returned to Seattle to be preserved with public and private efforts. But not any public support has been able to be generated.

Today, the Kalakala Alliance Foundation is taking the efforts to the President of the United States of America. And, is going to ask him to sign the Antiquity Act to protect her and her 200 years of maritime history.

Her scientific, engineering, and social impacts around the world will finally be respected. Her cultural impacts to our states and nation will no longer be suppressed. And, our nations maritime heritage significances and her physical marvels will become a National Landmark if the Antiquity Act is signed by our President.

Please visit our website www.kalakala.org for more information. And follow the journey related to the Kalakala's Hope across America. Steve Rodrigues is travelling across our nation gathering stories for the President. And, Hopes to meet with President Obama on/before May 27, 2010 at the White House to request signing the Antiquity Act to protect both a homeport known as Washington Street Boat Landing, and the Kalakala both to be recognized as "National Landmarks".

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The 1935 MV “Kalakala”, meaning ‘Flying Bird’, is a significant and iconic international, national, pacific coast, state, and local Puget Sound renowned maritime heritage treasure. She holds a nostalgic and magical place in the hearts of countless ‘Friends of the Kalakala’ today. “Kalakala”, is notable for her unique, one of a kind, stream lined style, art deco interior, and is still an infinite world renowned symbol of “Hope” as first introduced to millions of citizens during the 1930’s great depression and WWII eras.

She entertained her majesty the Queen of England, a song “The Black Ball Line” was written and sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrew sisters, and she provided her own “Flying Bird Orchestra” that entertained passengers during moonlight cruises. She served our state and international communities well and transported millions of cars, tons of cargo, and over 100 million passengers as a ferry within Puget Sound waterways between 1935-1967. She impacted local and national economies and quality of life within cities, such as; San Francisco, CA. (Former Peralta hull); Seattle, Bremerton, Port Angeles, and Tacoma, WA.; Kodiak, AK., and Victoria, B.C., Canada.

The Kalakala Alliance Foundation petition is seeking petition supporters signatures to help the Kalakala to obtain 6% of HB2379 & SB6185 funding. The State currently generates boat license fee revenues. And, $1 dollar from every boat registered in the State goes to a maritime preservation fund. The Lady Washington and Virginia V are already written within the new bills. The Kalakala Alliance Foundation is asking to share such funds by recieving 6% share perpetually.

We are asking our legislators to revise existing HB2379 & SB6185l; In part,

"On page 6, line 26,
after "succesor" insert ", six-percent of the balance of funds to the Kalakala Alliance Foundation or its corporate successor,"

"On page 6, line 31, after "successors" insert ", Kalakala Alliance Foundation and its corporate successors,"

"On page 6, line 36, after "If" strike "both" and insert delete "((both)"

"On page 6, line 37, after "successors" insert, ",Kalakala Alliance Foundation and its corporate successors,"

EFFECT: Provides that 6 percent of the fund balance will go to the Kalakala Alliance Foundation or its corporate successors, so long as it legally exists.

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The State of Washington has never, to this date, saved any of our maritime ferry system as a part of our heritage that was given to them in 1951. Today, our original State of Washington fleet of ferries are all gone forever except the Kalakala. Privately we have saved her since being retired and sold by Washington State Ferries since 1967. October 28, 2008 we tried to save the Quinault, Nisqually, Illahee, and Klickatat. But, we obtained only 515 signatures before their departure to be cut up as salvage in Mexico.

We started saving the Kalakala in 1967, she was privately used in Alaska and returned to Washington in 1998. We must continue to save her today. We must never give in or give up on saving her for future generations to come. The Kalakala has always been and shall always be a true private and public partnership. And, after 42 years, it is time for the public officials to change and join us to support all the future efforts necessary to preserve the 1935 MV Kalakala, "World's First Streamline Art Deco Ferry". She is now on the national and state historic registers. She has many significant heritage, cultural, and engineering legends that impacted history within our Nation, State of Washington, California, and Alaska.

Also, the Kalakala is one of the last original maritime ships that still physically exists to represent the Peabody family Black Ball Line maritime history spanning over 3 generation (2 centuries). Today, the State of Washington is seeking a National Maritime Heritage Region within all of Puget Sound. The Kalakala is one of the most significant historic ferry system resources that should be included within such national heritage region protections. It is time for the State to recognize all the Kalakala's true historic and future community values.

The Kalakala has given to our State and Nation while serving within the Prohibition, Great Depression, and WWII eras. And, she was rated as the number 1 tourist attraction within Puget Sound prior to Seattle's 1962 World's Fair.

The Kalakala was retired too early, sold in such a way as to never be allowed to be reused as a ferry or other transportation infrastructure, has been oppressed since returning to Washington State in 1998, and has never received a sponsorship or any funding from King County, City of Seattle, State of Washington, or any other State or Federal heritage funds. Today, she is now one of the most historically significant threatened maritime heritage treasures.

Today, the Kalakala Alliance Foundation has submitted (3rd attempt) a Washington D.C. $700,000 National Parks Service Save America's Treasures grant (award notifications due Sept. or October 2009). This will be our first public-private partnership related to saving the Kalakala. The past 42 years we have saved her privately, but today we must continue our efforts towards saving her in the future via private and public partnerships. We look forward to never giving up on designing her a home that will provide perpetual mooreage for her. We look forward to working with a local community to enhance their tourist industry.

During 2009 we are going to speak on behalf of saving the Kalakala, and our focus will be to create a change of public opinion and State government perceptions of what the Kalakala represents of our past ferry system and her associated history. We also want to change our State's laws that they have used towards how they retire, sell, and never see any other reuses of our ferry system fleet other than as scrap, so that, they can obtain public approval that allows the State to fund building new vessels. We intent to change how the State laws prevent non-profit organizations from preserving and reusing the ferries beyond their useful and retirement life. We have no recourse today to recover our Black Ball Line physical significant losses related to the Kalakala maritime culture and heritage. We will take legislative using this petition to create change during the 2010 legislative session. We will stop the State from scrapping all of our historic ferries, especially the Kalakala.

It is not too late to save the Kalakala. She was world class and world renowned in the 20th century, and still can be preserved to regain her honor and past glory as a world renowned State wide tourist attraction in the 21st Century. She is a national landmark and economic resource for any future community after being preserved. She is our State and Nations maritime heritage, she can entertain millions, she can create permanent full time jobs, she can become the number 1 tourist attraction within any Puget Sound community that sustains tourist and entertainment jobs, and she can generate self sustainable revenues that create local tax revenues, she can enhance overnight hotel tax revenues within her homeport region, she is one of our last significant ferry system heritage and cultural resources, and we have never understood why the Kalakala has never been accepted by the politicians prior to today?

It is time for the State and communities to accept the Kalakala for what she has been and can be in the future. We must now continue to save the Kalakala all together as a private and public partnership. We see her as a beautiful ship even as she looks today. We know that she deserves to be known as a "Ship of a Thousand Years". And, soon after being preserved she can once again serve over 100's of millions of future visitors onboard within the 21st Century.

The Kalakala has never deserved to be envisioned as scrap, she never deserved to restricted from being reused within our ferry system somehow. She is our last historic ferry that truly deserves to represent our past and future ferry system's beginnings, roots, heritage, and past and future culture of our State, California, Alaska, and is one of our significant Nation treasures representing the past 100 years. The State has made many mistakes, and they have honestly mismanaged our 100 years of ferry system history since their ownership starting June 1, 1951.

Washington State Ferries ferry system mismanagements and physical losses have been a disgrace and disrepectfull to our ferry system founding forefathers, todays citizens, and our future citizens. They have also neglected the State of California and Alaska's maritime history by selling off and scrapping all of our past Alaska Steamship Company and Puget Sound Navigation Company physical Ferry System legendary resources.

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