Editorial Rants and Raves

Due to inherent prejudice, preference given to surly old curmudgeons in general, and veterans in particular.

Thursday July 28th, '05.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

A note from Donna of Las Vegas NV.

Donna
Las Vegas, NV

Hello Donna;

The county has not been very interested in arresting the thousands of folks using bottle rockets on the 4th and New Years. The impact on the judical system, the jail and public opinion would be amusing to some and ridiculous for most. That aside, the family of the dead child hardly requires further sanctions, even if it could be proven they had some hand in the childrens behavior. Prosecutions predicated on "what ifs" rarely succeed. I have known Mario Haley since he was a Cub Scout. He has always presented as very well mannered and intelligent. He is a dedicated family man with an unfortunate tendency to lose his temper when provoked. I am sure he is devastated by the unintended consequences of his ill considered actions. It appears the prosecutors office is unsure what, if any, laws have been violated with regard to this incident and is carefully investigating the incident and reviewing the pertinent statutes. My sympathies lie with the family of the dead child, Garnet Wilis II, age 12, a terrible loss and a tragedy for the community. They also lie with Mario's mother, spouse and children. I find the typically lurid press coverage disgusting.

John Long

editor@spanweb.com

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Hi, I have been a Spanaway resident for over thirteen years now. I've really enjoyed having the closeknit feeling the community offers. However, on mothers day my family and I awoke to find that my son's car was stolen. This was right out of our front ya rd. I have noticed from past circumstances that if and when the assistance from the police department is needed, they sure can take their time to respond. They did respond fairly quickly when I called May 8th. My question to you is, How would we get neigh borhood police patrolling to step it up a bit more. After speaking with my neighbors, they too feel it would be a great sense of relief if a police car was seen every so often browsing the neighborhood. Instead of noticing them off to the side of the road , trying to knab speeders. Any suggestions? Thank you for your time.

Trish C. Spanaway

Hi Trish;

The people of Parkland and Spanaway had a clear and succinct opportunity to address the issue of adequate police protection with the City of Gateway election in the fall of 2003. The people made their position very clear, defeating the effort by an 80+% margin. The county government is very aware of the needs of our community. A measure of that is the fact that during the 60 days prior to the election police presence was dramatically increased in the proposed City of Gateway city limits. Subsequently coverage returned to baseline. Another measure is the large number of building permits being issued without appropriate road, sidewalk, sewer and storm water infrastructure being placed. Given the results of the election and the historical indifference of the county towards our community I think it highly unlikely the county government is going to feel any need to respond to concerns such as yours. Due to the severity of the electoral defeat the rules preclude another run at city hood for several years. May I suggest you contact MariAnne Lincoln of the Spanaway Community Action Network. This organization is the only extent political action group remaining. Her number is 253-847-8000. I would be interested in hearing about your experience with this group.

John Long

editor@spanweb.com

Fluoridation controversy: Much to the surprise of this writer, Marianne Lincoln of the Spanaway Community Action Network has managed to hit the county mule between the eyes with the proverbial 2X4 and actually got a meaningful response!! The following excerpts are provided by Citizens Opposing Fluoridation in Pierce County. The base issue here is the preemptory and unilateral decision to impose water fluoridation on much of Pierce County by the Board of Health without meaningful citizen input and public debate. Faced with extensive outrage and the threat of lawsuits the Board of Health has indicated its intent to study the issue and make a determination about the safety issues versus health benefits of water fluoridation. Given the seeming arrogance of the Board in imposing on 240,000 people the fluoridation of public water supplies it seems to me that the Board should recuse itself from conducting this study and request the County Council appoint a citizens oversight committee to monitor the actions of a scientific outside organization that would conduct such a study. This would hopefully eliminate the risk of having a study that is stacked in favor of the Boards previous decision. This need is demonstrated by the crude effort of the Board to preclude lawsuit activity by local water supply companies by threatening to withhold matching funds from any water company that participates in a lawsuit. This is further demonstrated by the statement of health department director Federico Cruz-Uribe: "We want this to be a slam-dunk," he said. "Since we're setting a precedent for boards of health and their authority, we wanted to make sure we had clear documentation that fluoride doesn't affect health or the environment." It may also save the tax payers a lot of money by limiting the risk of yet more lawsuits generated by further government agency boondoggles.

John Long, editor@spanweb.com

The following letter to the editor is excerpted in whole from the News Tribune of June 23, 2002. The material was provided by Marianne Lincoln of the Spanaway Community Action Network.

Mandated fluoridation policy flawed, outdated

It is unfortunate that Dr. Federico Cruz-Uribe, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, has decided to characterize people questioning fluoridation as "not quite as nutty" as the characters in "Dr. Strangelove." He is, of course, referring to some of the people of South and East Pierce County. The mandate passed by the Board of Health (at his suggestion) will force citizens to consume fluoridated water for the rest of their lives.

Here is the scenario: a substance - a highly controversial one, by the way - will be added to our drinking water in order to fulfill a purported health claim. Were Pierce County citizens allowed adequate time to research the issue? No. Are citizens extremely upset at the lack of consideration they were given? Of course they are.

The "wild accusation" that Cruz was referring to should be considered a logical challenge, viewing the circumstances. Not long after the board's resolution passed, close to half a million dollars - in the midst of a severe economic slump - suddenly became available from outside sources to help pay for fluoridation set-up costs. This isn't the type of money you get from passing the hat around at your monthly association meeting. So, someone raised the questions: Where did this money suddenly come from? Can we see the receipts, please?

Putting an idea to a vote of the people allows time for due diligence on the subject prior to the election. This health director purposefully directed his board to act swiftly to avoid public debate. Disgruntled citizens are demanding a choice. Welcome to the consequences of your sudden mandate, Dr. Cruz!

There are studies - good, peer-reviewed studies in reputable journals - that show problems with ingested fluoride. I didn't need studies to convince me, because I have had negative physical reactions to fluoride in several forms. It is noted on my dental and medical charts. Since this mandate I have heard from many people across the country that have fluoride-sensitive reactions like me. We cannot let elected officials continue to ignore the fact that problems with fluoride exist. We need to keep our public water as pure as we possibly can, so it can serve the broadest possible population.

On June 4, 2002 the people in Dublin, Calif., were poisoned by a malfunction of the city's fluoridation equipment. The water at fault was 200 parts per million instead of 1 part per million. Twenty-three people were hospitalized. Fluoride, when added to water, can be especially dangerous because you cannot smell or taste it. Unlike chlorine, there is no way you can detect an accidental misfeed. Not a very comforting thought, is it?

The health board should reserve its power to mandate for saving humans in real, life-threatening epidemics - not to enforce seriously flawed and outdated policies that put citizens at unnecessary risk.

Local water districts have been taking polls. There are significant numbers of people opposed to fluoridation. Candidates for public office this year should be scrutinized on this issue.

The formal opposition to fluoridation in Pierce County has been doing its homework; we intend to see that the Board of Health does not set a precedent here in Pierce County.

Living in the shadow of Mount Rainier, most of us have access to pure, uncontaminated water of which we can be proud. Let's keep it that way!

Marianne Lincoln of Spanaway represents Citizens Opposing Fluoridation in Pierce County.

On June 4 of this year, the people in Dublin, Calif., were poisoned by a malfunction of the city's fluoridation equipment.

(Published 12:30AM, July 14th, 2002)

_____________________________________________________

Excerpt from Enviornmental Protection Agency website on water purity: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/hfacts.html ----->>>

Fluoride. Many communities add fluoride to their drinking water to promote dental health. Each community makes its own decision about whether or not to add fluoride. EPA has set an enforceable drinking water standard for fluoride of 4 mg/L (some people who drink water containing fluoride in excess of this level over many years could get bone disease, including pain and tenderness of the bones). EPA has also set a secondary fluoride standard of 2 mg/L to protect against dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis, in its moderate or severe forms, may result in a brown staining and/or pitting of the permanent teeth. This problem occurs only in developing teeth, before they erupt from the gums. Children under nine should not drink water that has more than 2 mg/L of fluoride.

Bone disease (pain and tenderness of the bones); Children may get mottled teeth.

____________________________________________________

From Marianne Lincoln:

This RCW says it is the Pierce County Council that decides how the health board is constructed.
I firmly believe we should insist they change the composition of the health board to include representation from parts of the county south of the city Tacoma!!
Case in point, the members who made the fluoridation mandate were all from the areas receiving fluoridated Tacoma water.
This board needs to be more responsive to the entire county electorate!!
It is time the Pierce County Council stops dodging their responsibility for this issue!
Sharpen your pencils its time for letters and petitions to the council!

RCW 70.05.035
Home rule charter -- Local board of health. In counties with a home rule charter, the county legislative authority shall establish a local board of health and may prescribe the membership and selection process for the board. The county legislative authority may appoint to the board of health elected officials from cities and towns and persons other than elected officials as members so long as persons other than elected officials do not constitute a majority. The county legislative authority shall specify the appointment, term, and compensation or reimbursement of expenses. The jurisdiction of the local board of health shall be coextensive with the boundaries of the county. The local health officer, as described in RCW 70.05.050, shall be appointed by the official designated under the provisions of the county charter. The same official designated under the provisions of the county charter may appoint an administrative officer, as described in RCW 70.05.045.

Today (6-5-2002) was the Board of Health meeting.
They were planning to pass a resolution on implementation
of fluoridation... but the letter from the attorney
stating they were required to open SEPA
made them table the implementation resolution.
They "voluntarily opened SEPA," but did not give the
timeframe for the process yet. Hopefully their
response to the attorney will have more information
in that regard.
I will keep you posted on how this progresses.

With SEPA we can get all the environmental and health
detriments of fluoridation (that they avoided before)
onto the table. If there is cause, this could show the need
for a full EIS (Environmental Impact Statement).... that
would really slow them down.
Marianne Lincoln

06/06/2002 The News Tribune
County will study effect of fluoride on salmon
Board of Health: Analysis should take two months

Sandi Doughton; The News Tribune

The Tacoma/Pierce County Health Department will study the environmental impacts of fluoride - including its effect on salmon - before continuing with plans to mandate water fluoridation.

The Board of Health made the decision Wednesday after meeting in executive session to discuss the possibility of lawsuits from fluoride opponents.

No other community in Washington - and possibly the country - has conducted an environmental review of drinking water fluoridation, said health department director Federico Cruz-Uribe.

Washington statutes are unclear on whether an environmental review is required, but the board and the health department decided to do the study to quiet concerns and make it easier for other health boards to mandate on fluoridation, Cruz-Uribe said.

"We want this to be a slam-dunk," he said. "Since we're setting a precedent for boards of health and their authority, we wanted to make sure we had clear documentation that fluoride doesn't affect health or the environment."

The review will take at least two months but might not derail the current schedule that orders fluoridation by Jan. 1, 2004, he said.

Motivated by what health officials describe as an epidemic of tooth decay, the board voted unanimously in April to require fluoridation of all water systems in the county that serve more than 5,000 people.

Fluoridation will affect about 240,000 residents in Lakewood, Steilacoom, Puyallup, Bonney Lake, Sumner, Milton, Edgewood, Parkland and Spanaway.

About 300,000 Pierce County residents - mostly in Tacoma, Fircrest and the military bases - already receive fluoridated water.

Most of the 14 water districts affected by the mandate have said they will reluctantly comply. But a few water utilities and the community of Edgewood are actively opposing the fluoridation mandate and have threatened to challenge the health board in court.

The environmental study was spurred by a letter last month from a group called Citizens Opposing Fluoridation in Pierce County. The group argued that an environmental study was necessary.

Some environmental organizations, including The Sierra Club, are concerned that fluoride discharged from storm water drains and sewage treatment plants can harm salmon and other aquatic plants and animals.

The health department estimates it will cost about $1.5 million to install fluoridation equipment. With help from a $420,000 grant from Washington Dental Services Foundation, the agency has offered to pay half the cost. The remainder would be recouped through higher water bills.

Nine water districts have signed letters of agreement, to ensure a share of the matching funds.

But Jim Sherrill, general manager of Parkland Light & Water Co., angrily objected at Wednesday's meeting to a provision that would prohibit water districts from joining any legal challenge if they accept matching funds.

"Your blackmailing us to withhold funds is laughable," he told the board. "I can tell you now that people are going to file suit."

Three communities below the 5,000-resident trigger - Fife, DuPont and McKenna - are interested in fluoridating voluntarily if they can share in the matching money, said Steve Marek of the health department.

Pierce County's health board is one of the few in the nation to mandate water fluoridation. But Cruz-Uribe said tooth decay clearly is a public health issue within the board's authority.

Since the April vote, health department directors across the state have congratulated the county on its stand and said they will follow suit if the mandate stands up in court, Cruz-Uribe said.

"They're all waiting to see what happens here."

Sandi Doughton: 253 597-8516

sandi.doughton@mail.tribnet.com

© The News Tribune

Sunday TNT 6-23-02

In public discourse, the boogeyman ploy will get you if you don't watch out

Federico Cruz-Uribe;

"Mandrake, have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation? Fluoridation of water?"

"Do you know what it is? Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot that we have ever had to face?"

- dialogue from the movie "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

I saw "Dr. Strangelove" just recently with my 14-year-old daughter. I had seen the movie 30 years ago and enjoyed watching her see it for the first time. She giggled constantly, but I wondered how she would react to the lines about flouridation.

She's heard much of the public debate about the pros and cons of fluoridation, about the prevention of tooth decay and the concerns about side effects. She has had a lot of questions about why the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is mandating fluoridation.

As the scene I quote unfolded and the lead character linked fluoridation to a monstrous communist plot, she got very quiet and asked me, "Is it true?" Only when I told her that it was not did she get giggly again.

Today, public debate about fluoride rages in parts of our community. Forty years ago, when fluoridation was recommended in communities across the country, debates were often derailed by linking it to a public fear - the "monstrous communist plot."

Communism was the boogeyman of the day. Just the hint of association with communists lost people their jobs and reputations - even when there was no evidence.

This sort of ploy is still used today. There's something about raising the specter of something fearful that effectively stops discussion about a topic.

I am not accusing people opposed to fluoridation or other public health issues of being as nutty as the characters in "Dr. Strangelove." That's not what I'm trying to do.

I think it's important for us to consider how best to participate in controversy in this democracy of ours. When we don't have time to do all the reading and research required to make our best decisions as community members and voters, all kinds of people take advantage.

Opponents involved in complex public issues frequently use the boogeyman ploy to disrupt public discourse. Often, when facts aren't there to support a particular position, individuals attack the credibility of their opponents, casting anyone with a different understanding than theirs as being untrustworthy, with hidden agendas associated with all kinds of fearful notions.

Recently I made a public presentation on the health board's decision to mandate fluoridation of public water systems in Pierce County. During the question period, I was accused by a local elected official of having a financial relationship with the "pesticide industry" and of pushing fluoride in order to spur sales by this big business.

With no evidence, this speaker conveniently placed me into two boogeyman categories: One, I am a government official, a nameless, faceless bureaucrat with hidden agendas who can't be trusted; and two, I am linked to Big Business, making money off a connection with the kind of people who brought us Enron and the energy debacle.

This demonization often works. Some people think you must be hiding something.

We help the boogeyman creators win when we don't check out their assumptions, data and innuendoes. We let others decide what's important for us when we agree with them, without thinking, questioning or researching on our own.

I like a healthy public debate that is honest, fact-based and above-board, not based on hints of plots.

Public officials certainly can be skunks and scalawags, and they do need forthright feedback and questions about decisions. But we need to call each other to task when someone tries the boogeyman tactic to stop dialogues.

At a recent public meeting out in the county, I spoke about health department services and answered questions. One man in the audience asked about black helicopters bringing health department staff onto his land to inspect his property without permission.

I wasn't sure how to respond, but several people in the audience confronted him first. "Bob," they said, "if you don't have anything of sense to say, just be quiet!" The discussion continued usefully after that.

In a democracy, it takes people of sense speaking up, getting to the real issues and the data leading to decisions. This is the 21st century. We don't need to hide because somebody says the boogeyman is coming.

Federico Cruz-Uribe M.D. is director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. He writes once a month as a guest columnist for the Perspectives page.

(Published 12:00AM, June 23rd, 2002)
_______________________________________________________________________

From: Marianne Lincoln
To: David Seago (Editor, The News Tribune)
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 8:27 AM
Subject: Formal Response to Dr. Cruz

Mr Seago,
After boogeymen, communists plots, and black helicopter statements, I thought it would be prudent for the TNT to consider a viewpoint from the formal opposition....
Marianne Lincoln
Citizens Opposing Fluoridation in Pierce County
PO Box 875, Spanaway WA 98387
253-875-9992
mscott@mashell.com


It is unfortunate that our Health Department Director has decided to characterize people questioning fluoridation as ‘not quite as nutty’ as the characters in Dr. Strangelove. He is, of course, referring to the people of South and East Pierce County. The mandate passed by the Board of Health (at his suggestion) will force citizens to consume fluoridated water for the rest of their lives.

Here is the scenario: a substance -- a highly controversial one, by the way -- will be added to our drinking water in order to fulfill a purported health claim. Were Pierce County citizens allowed adequate time to research the issue? No. Are citizens extremely upset at the lack of consideration they were given? Of course they are.

The 'wild accusation' that Cruz was referring to should be considered a logical challenge, viewing the circumstances. Not long after the Board's resolution passed, close to half a million dollars -- in the midst of a severe economic slump -- suddenly became available from outside sources to help pay for fluoridation set-up costs. This isn't the type of money you get from passing the hat around at your monthly association meeting. So, someone raised the questions: Where did this money suddenly come from? Can we see the receipts, please?

Putting an idea to a vote of the people allows time for due diligence on the subject prior to the election. This Health Director purposefully directed his Health Board to act swiftly to avoid public debate. Disgruntled citizens are demanding a choice. Welcome to the consequences of your sudden mandate, Dr. Cruz!

There are studies -- good, peer-reviewed studies in reputable journals -- that show problems with ingested fluoride. I didn’t need studies to convince me, because I have had negative physical reactions to fluoride in several forms. It is noted on my dental and medical charts. Since this mandate I have heard from many people across the country that have fluoride-sensitive reactions like me. We cannot let elected officials continue to ignore that problems with fluoride exist. We need to keep our public water as pure as we possibly can, so it can serve the broadest possible population.

On June 4 of this year, the people in Dublin, California were poisoned by a malfunction of the city's fluoridation equipment. The water at fault was 200 parts per million instead of 1 part per million. Twenty-three people were hospitalized. Fluoride, when added to water, can be especially dangerous because you cannot smell or taste it. Unlike chlorine, there is no way you can detect an accidental misfeed. Not a very comforting thought, is it?

The health board should reserve its power to mandate for saving humans in real, life-threatening epidemics -- not to enforce a seriously flawed and outdated policies that put citizens at unnecessary risk.

Local water districts have been taking polls. There are significant numbers of people opposed to fluoridation. Candidates for public office this year should be scrutinized on this issue.

The formal opposition to fluoridation in Pierce County has been doing its homework; we intend to see that the Board of Health does not set a precedent here in Pierce County.

Living in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, most of us have access to pure, uncontaminated water for which we can be proud. Let’s keep it that way!

Editorial note: The above exchange points out... again... the utter contempt with which our urban government cousins regard the people of unincorpated south and eastern Pierce County. Just who is demonizing who here? Dr. Cruz-Uribe: have you no standard of shame? Do you not see the hypocrisy of you commentary in view of the callous attempt to throttle the opposition with threats of withholding matching funds from small local water companies if they... and the people who are their stockholders... should have the nerve to oppose your edicts in court?

John Long editor@spanweb.com

 

Hi John, This is Sandy Humphries from A Great Link. I heard you were going to revamp the site and I finally had a few extra minutes to go and see. What a nice new look! I really like the ranting going on between the opposing sides of the cityhood issue. Our founding fathers should be smiling at it all...I looked at your keywords and site description. Would you like me to send you a list of words to add to each? It will help boost you in the search engines for keyword matches. I would hate for you to come in behind spanaway.com considering the owner has left for greener pastures on the East Coast vowing to never return here. So much for local site ownership! He thought he would make a killing by selling the domain name back to Spanaway boosters for some big bucks. That might be a little something to show how much more involved your site actually is to the community. I know it sounds like sour grapes. I don't know, it bugs me when people are like the spanaway.com owner. Our daughter is on the Teen Advisory Committee for bringing the Boys and Girls Club to Sprinker. She is so upset that the council would even think about selling Sprinker. She's getting a good lesson in just how loud money can talk to a politician. Anyway, let me know about the keywords and description .Send any email to the jthump@stumpyjohn.com address. I am so busy with web sites I don't have too much time to download mail from the great link site, Congrats on the new look. It's a winner! Sandy Humphries
jthump@stumpyjohn.com

www.cityofgateway.org

METH…

the scourge of our community By Joe Fulda

Editor; Parkland-Spanaway POST

editors note: Joe Fulda died in April of 2004, and the newspaper died with him. He, and the paper are sorely missed by the community.

Recently, a group of concerned citizens met at the Spanaway Library to listen to Eileen Bisson, Chief of Operations, Pierce County Sheriff's Department, and Sergeant David Perry, Special Investigations Unit, Narcotics/Vice, discuss the problem of methamphetamine in our area. We learned a great deal about the items and the people typically found in the operation of meth labs.

And, we heard the bad news that the Parkland-Spanaway area leads Pierce County in the number of incidents involving meth manufacturing and distribution. In the year 2000, law enforcement agencies cleaned up 1,449 labs in Washington. That figure is an increase from 38 meth lab busts in 1990. Officials in Pierce County, long considered the state's meth capital, uncovered 543 labs in 2000.

The encouraging news was that citizens of Pierce County have professionals like Bisson and Perry working their behalf to thwart the traffic of despicably-illegal drugs. The County has set aside money, (about $328,000) for a full-time clandestine lab team which consists of deputies who spend their days busting labs and doing their utmost to stop meth cookers from getting ingredients. The assignment of six new officers and the work of Perry and Bisson has been responsible for a significant reduction in meth lab numbers.

What makes meth so dangerous and unique is the fact that it's largely American both in origin and consumption. We cannot blame the influence and importation of these drugs on the Orient or our South American neighbors. Asa Hutchinson, our new chief administrator of the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, said, "It's our own consumption and our own production that must be resisted." Hutchinson added, "The drug culture in our country erodes and ultimately destroys the fiber of our democracy."

Some of the ingredients a meth user ingests are: drain cleaner, iodine, lye, muriatic acid, toluene (paint thinner) and red phosphorus (striking caps of flares and matchbooks). Twenty years down the road, medical research will begin dealing with a whole new batch of ailments and reproductive problems. The good news is, meth will go a long way in thinning out the population of idiots in our society.

What can you do to help wipe out the irresponsibly cancerous growth of methamphetamine manufacture, distribution, and use? (1) Be a whistleblower. (2) Contact Kevin Wimsett, your County Council member, or other elected officials to give or get information on this specific problem. (3) Start neighborhood crime watch/block watch/ safe streets groups. If you suspect a meth lab "cookout" (or any level of illegal drug operations) call: Special Investigations Unit at (253) 798-6095.

____________________________________________________________________

When Sprinker Field was built, it was under utilized. We didn't know why it was built. We played tackle football on the practice field at PLU, all summer from all over Parkland, we played basketball seven days a week in the summer at the outdoor courts on lower campus at PLU. We played football at Border's field, and had plum fights just east of 108th between Pacific & Park Avenue.

In the mid sixties, we were surprised to find out that the Pierce County commissioners determined that per capita, Parkland had a higher rate of juvenile delinquency than anywhere in the country!!! Quite an honor. But in those days, Franklin Pierce has class gangs - the Siblings, Bittersweets, our first class at Washington was the Dardanelles. The McDonalds at 72nd & Pacific was a place of rumbles every Friday night - usually between Mt. Tahoma & Washington/Franklin Pierce - in later years, it would be between Washington & Franklin Pierce.

If Washington types ever got south to the Dairy Dell (the line of demarcation), there would be fights with Bethel types.

Parkland/Spanaway is a much different place today. When I was in Jr. High, Mayfair was where all the rich kids lived, probably not like that today.

We used to drive out past McKenna an pay $2 to go on a farm bordering the Michelle River for a day of peace and solitary enjoyment. Pacific Avenue was 95% wooded from 132nd south, with a few roadside attractions, and nothing but woods and farms and modest homes to the east & west. Spanaway Lake had a concession stand and an anchored dock for diving, no golf course, and little else.

The problem with your area is a lack of community identity caused by clutter - too many people, congestion, and no sense of identity. But that is no different than any other formerly autonomous neighborhood from Lynnwood to Olympia.

I don't know how you solve it, but I wish you all the best.

Jay D. Page
12301 Heritage Road
Anchorage, AK 99516

907 345 7243