Attachment
Sarah Palin appears bent to continuing her thirst for ‘bridges to nowhere’, as she continues to gain media attention in her latest spat with the late night talk host David Letterman. Letterman readily admits he, “Told a joke that was beyond flawed", and has invited Palin to be a guest on his show. This was an invitation that Palin has flatly refused to accept.
A small group of protestors who back Palin, still want to see Letterman fired, even though Palin has accepted Letterman’s apology. In the meantime, Letterman’s ratings have soared, since media attention has been following the argument.
A proposed bridge, the Gravina Island Bridge, that was designed to replace the ferry service which connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, (population 8,900) with its airport on Gravina Island, (population 50 people and 350 Sitka black-tailed deer), was Palin’s most famous ‘bridge to nowhere’. The second largest airport in Alaska, Kechikan International Airport handles over 200,000 passengers a year.
The Bridge to Nowhere would have been nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge, so as to be able to accommodate ship traffic underneath. The proposed bridge was to cost $398 million. Alaska and was seen as ‘pork barrel’ spending and the project encountered fierce opposition outside of.
During her campaign for Governor, in September 2006, Palin said the bridge was essential for the town’s prosperity. However, in August 2007 the Governor claims she formally cancelled the project, releasing $185m state share of the bridge funding. After Congress cancelled the funding for the bridge, $223 million provided for the bridge was used on other state projects. It was Sarah Palin who first dubbed it the ‘bridge to nowhere’.
Palin then spent over $25 million of federal funds building the Gravina Island Highway, which would have connected with the proposed bridge. According to Alaskan state officials, the $25 million would have had to be returned to the federal government. The road has now been called the ‘road to nowhere’ to match the bridge.
CNN reporter, Abbie Bourdreau, said "There's no one on this road." She took a helicopter ride over the road. "It kind of just curves around then it just stops". Locals, attempting not to smile, agree that the road was a waste of taxpayer’s money without the bridge.
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Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO's of YouMe Support Foundation (http://youmesupport.org) providing high school education grants for children from a third world country, who are without hope. Kids no one else is helping.
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