Pretty darn close.....

This Shell station on 164th in Lynnwood has gas starting at $3.98 a gallon. This was taken while waiting in traffic. We will be at $4.00 pretty soon now.

More photos of the fire

House Fire in Lynnwood

Here are the first photos from a fire at my rental property in Lynnwood. Link to the article in the Herald: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080514/NEWS01/518360444&news01ad=1#Family.safe.after.kitchen.fire

Luckily everyone made it out safely. The address is 2424 135th Pl SW, Lynnwood. This having been my former residence, it was pretty sad to see it in such a state. But hopefully starting tomorrow the insurance people will be on this and the place will be put back together.

Something New Growing at St. Thomas More

Here's a catchy article from the Lynnwood Enterprise about a new community garden started at St. Thomas More Church in Lynnwood. The plan is for some of the fruit and vegetables grown to be donated to the nearby Lynnwood Food Bank.

Link: http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20080425/ETP03/546842644/0/ETPZoneMC&template=ETPZoneLTart

A story about "Natives" and "Outsiders"

This story comes courtesy of my father, Gary Schwertley:

This is a story about the "natives" and "outsiders". As you know, there was a minor wave of Californians who emigrated to Washington state in the late 1980's-early 1990's and was greatly resented by some "native" Washingtonians. Moving here in Jan. 1987, we were a little early in that wave, and interestingly enough, it has been reported in the newspaper that a certain number of the emigrants from California from that time have moved back. Anyway, for many years, there were all kinds of slurs being thrown around about "outsiders" from California, "Californicators", and that sort of thing. I remember one loud-mouthed former co-worker saying, "I wish every realtor in the state would grab a Californian under each arm and go back there." He, of course, blamed increases in real estate prices on the influx of Californians.

Anyway, we learned to keep our previous state of origin to ourselves if people didn't already know that information. So, 21 years went by, and I figured that this kind of provincial, petty attitude had faded away. Those old complaints are rarely heard now. Recently, I was involved in a Group Health Cooperative study at their fancy head office at 320 Westlake Ave. N. in Seattle. I was talking to this lady across the table from me who lived in Lynnwood. She mentioned that she had lived around Edmonds and Lynnwood all her life, and hearing that I was from Edmonds, had I lived there all my life too? I said, "No, I've lived there for 21 years." She then asked, "Where did you live before that?" to which I answered, "California." Her next comment was, "Oh, one of those." I swear, the next time some congenitally inbred Norwegian-Washingtonian asks me that question, I'm going to lie and say, "Iowa." To that they'll probably say, "Oh, that's nice, what a cool state." Stoopid sonsabitches.

You know, you'd think these people still believe they live in a town of 5,000 people. This is a major metropolitan area. It's so childish and provincial of them to harbor these attitudes. What do they say to a Chinese-American, "Where did you used to live?" When he says, "China," if they respond with the same answer I got, "Oh, one of those," they'll be facing a civil rights violation lawsuit.

I guess being a native Washingtonian counts for something, and when I was a native Californian, it didn't count for shit. California was a state that was always growing with new arrivals of emigrants from all over the country and the world. When I went to grade school, lots of kids were from elsewhere, like Texas, Michigan, Ohio, you name it, even Iowa!! In Lakewood, California, the city where I grew up, entire neighborhoods consisted of people from somewhere else. Nobody ever said anything to neighbors about their former states of residence, except maybe, "Hail, fellow Iowan!"

Seattle and the metropolitan area around it strives to be a cosmopolitan, progressive place, but old attitudes die hard, I suppose. The history of mankind has been one of movement, and the "Washington native" mentality ain't gonna stop it.

What do you think? Post a comment to join the discussion.

Lynnwood Red Light cameras

The City of Lynnwood recently installed several red light cameras at some of their busiest intersections. The result? Way more people run red lights than the city had expected, which means way more $$$ for the city than projected.

This discovery does not come as much of a surprise to me. Traffic has gradually increased in the city to the point that it can take a ridiculous amount of time just to move a few blocks in the "downtown" area. (I put "downtown" in quotes because Lynnwood doesn't really have a clearly defined "downtown" area. But that's a topic for another post).

The Lynnwood Enterprise has written a plethora of articles about the red light cameras. Many local cities (including neighboring Mill Creek and Edmonds) have sat back and watched what Lynnwood has done and are considering adding cameras within their jurisdictions.

The debate rages on about whether these cameras are the right thing to do. I have yet to be the victim of one, so I can't really complain.

Support Clothes for Kids' Coins for Kids

Now through May, the annual Clothes for Kids, Coins for Kids fund drive is happening in the Edmonds School District schools. This year the CFK fund drive is benefitting from matching funds donated by local businesses. To Accept the Local Business challenge or to donate directly to Clothes for Kids, go to their website at Clothesforkids.org

Clothes for kids is a local non profit, located in the Meadowdale area of Lynnwood, WA providing clothing and other resources to less fortunate children in an effort to reduce barriers to learning in our schools.

Originally posted at Jim Warner's blog Lynnwood Undressed