32°

What a shame. The travesty contin-ues in the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

In addition to the disappointing judgment decision by the Supreme Court that those affected by the spill be paid $507.5 million 19 years after that tragic day in Valdez, now ExxonMobil is fighting the $488 million in interest incurred for dragging this case out.

The company's lawyers filed a nine-page brief Tuesday protesting the payment because "there's no good reason" to pay that much interest.

Obviously, ExxonMobil has opted to keep the blinders on all these years in an effort not to see the effect the spill has had on the 32,000 fishermen and the other plaintiffs.

ExxonMobil said the interest only should apply from the day the Supreme Court ruled, not for the previous 19 years. The court ruled June 25 that the damages be cut from $2.5 billion to the $507.5 million mark. With interest, and minus attorney fees, an estimated $628 million would be divided among the more than 32,000 plaintiffs in the civil case.

No interest payment was addressed by the court, which recessed after the decision last month. It remanded the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to carry out the punitive damages award. However, the court's Web site, states that during the summer the justices will continue to analyze new petitions, consider motions and prepare for cases scheduled for fall argument.

"We're anxious to have the matter resolved," an ExxonMobil spokesman said.

So is everyone else.

"Everybody should be just livid about this kind of thing," said Cordova commercial salmon fisherman RJ Kopchak. "We're all exhausted at this point. The big guy in the corner just keeps kicking our asses."

We agree. This tragedy has lingered long enough, and it's time for ExxonMobil to back down.

It's also time for the Supreme Court to remember its decisions are to be made for the betterment of the people. Taking 19 years to resolve a case -- which is still not resolved -- is ridiculously absurd.

What a shame that the cries for justice have fallen on deaf ears.

As the judgment amount continues to drop and the plaintiff numbers dwindle, as people die waiting for some finality to this catastrophe, it's time to put this nightmare behind us for good.

It's time for ExxonMobil and the courts to do the right thing.

The Supreme Court needs to finish the job and rule now.