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.

New Websites have launched!

All of Sound Publishing's 30+ community newspaper websites have re-launched recently, with a completely new look and feel. We've also added the portal site pnwlocalnews.com, which incorporates some of the best of our Western Washington communities. Here are some screenshots.

On the Edmonds Kingston Ferry

Headed to Kingston

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 Revolution Rooted on Whidbey Island

There's a new third-party looking to make waves in this year's presidential election. David Jon Sponheim, a Whidbey Island web developer, started the "Cool Rock" party (later changed to "America's Third Party").

See the story in the Whidbey News-Times here.

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.