TACOMA — The state Department of Natural Resources has dropped its suit against the foundation that owns the Kalakala, allowing the aging art deco ferry to escape more than $20,000 in fines.
The old boat had run up the penalties while moored on DNR tidelands on Lake Union in Seattle.
In March, it was towed to Neah Bay — where it is embroiled in another lawsuit — and finally found safe harbor in Tacoma in September.
“The Kalakala Alliance Foundation and other defendants and the attorney general on Feb. 12 signed an agreement to drop the 2004 lawsuit regarding the Kalakala,”‘ Steve Rodrigues, the foundation’s president and founder, announced Friday.
“We would like to express our sincere apologies and our appreciation to both the new and former attorneys general for dropping this case.”
The new attorney general is Rob McKenna, and the former one is now governor, Christine Gregoire.
Symbol of progress
The Kalakala, the world’s first — and presumably last — art deco-style ferry, was retired 35 years ago after plying Puget Sound as the symbol of Seattle progress during the Depression and World War II eras, and then the Port Angeles-Victoria route in the late 1950s.
