When is parking a national security issue? When four judges want a perkWhen does parking become a national security issue? When the automobiles belong to four federal judges. That is becoming clearer as public discussion unravels the matter of tunneling beneath the Pioneer Court House in downtown Portland to create a parking garage for judges of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Pioneer Court House is one of Oregon’s most historic buildings. Thanks to the late Judge John Kilkenny, the building was preserved. The General Services Administration planned to demolish this treasure.

Now the GSA is doing the bidding of a few judges who want convenient parking. It is cloaked in anti-terrorism talk of protecting the judges. But as Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton pointed out in The Oregonian last Thursday, Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia has been seen walking to that court. Judges are not protected like presidents, so it beggars our intelligence to tell us this is about security.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer is wisely challenging the legitimacy of the GSA’s project, saying that Congress has never approved this expenditure. Let these judges with lifetime appointments mix with the rest of us, and leave the Pioneer Courthouse undisturbed.