By Scott North
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Michael Cox said he was hoping to get a few laughs with his computer over the weekend.
But nobody’s smiling at the Everett Public Facilities District, the agency that hopes to build a $62.5 million arena and event center on Hewitt Avenue.
The district last week unveiled its Web site, which explains in detail what it sees as the advantages of the Everett Regional Special Event Center .
Cox, who is opposed to building the arena on Hewitt, liked what he saw on the Web page, but not what was written there, he said Tuesday.
So he copied what he found and retooled the content to question arena plans. He then posted his revised version on the World Wide Web, linking to it from the Web site he established for Citizens for a Better Arena. That’s the group he leads, which on Feb. 8 presented an initiative calling for a vote on the arena.
Cox’s version of the page duplicated the graphics and layout of the district’s event center site. But it implied — falsely — that the district supported the initiative.
"It is parody," Cox said. "I thought their site was very well done. I thought I’d have a little fun with it. And I did."
Cox said he took down his site after his Internet service provider warned him that people who designed the district’s Web page were alleging copyright violations.
Don Hale, the district’s executive director, said his agency is glad to see the site shut down.
"A parody is fine if you want to make a parody," he said. But to "take material and misuse it is probably not a good use of their time or of our time."
Hale said he had no plans to discuss the flap with Cox. He was more focused on preparing for an Everett City Council meeting, scheduled for this morning, that could determine how the city responds to the initiative from Cox and his supporters.
The district contends the project is too far along, and a vote now would jeopardize millions of dollars already spent and all but guarantee the arena will never be built. The district also has a lawsuit pending against the city, seeking a judge’s ruling that the initiative is too late and legally flawed.
There was no hint of that history on Cox’s revised version of the event center Web site, which flatly declared "The Everett Public Facilities District Wants you to VOTE!"
Cox defended the statement.
"I would think, at some level, all of the people who work for the public facilities district would like people to vote," he said.
Frank McCord, president of the Downtown Everett Association and chairman of a group of business owners and arena backers, said the Web page is just the latest "distortion" by Cox and his group.
"If they have their way there wouldn’t be any arena," he said.
McCord said his group, called Citizens for the Hewitt Avenue Location for a Special Events Center, this week began circulating petitions in support of the project. He said they’re getting numerous signatures.
"We see this as a tremendous opportunity," he said.
You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431
or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com.
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