“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
Before Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropy, before the turn of the twentieth century, public libraries were a rarity. Large collections of books were for the wealthy, for the intellectual elite, and definitely not for commoners.
The debate over global warming is testing long-held positions of politicians and environmentalists. For example, the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is reviving talk about nuclear power.
Ballots for the May 20 special election should have already begun appearing in area mail boxes, as local residents will have the opportunity to decide if Arlington needs a new library. There will actually be two measures on the ballot — an $8.8 million construction bond and a measure to form a Library Capital Facility Area. Both measures must receive a supermajority of 60 percent or more yes votes for the new library to be built.
So Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Jay Inslee have asked President Bush to create a task force to investigate possible fraud and price gouging by oil and gas companies. Gasoline averaging $3.50 a gallon is dragging the economy into recession, they said in their letter to the president and it’s time to get to the bottom of it. Remember back in the ’70s when the Legislature created its own Select Committee on the Energy Crisis which traveled all over the state conducting hearings in communities where lines for gasoline were getting longer and longer?
On May 20, voters in the Arlington area will be asked to approve an $8.8 million bond to construct a new branch library in Arlington. Residents of the greater Arlington community have an opportunity of a lifetime to greatly improve the quality of life and make a significant investment in the critical infrastructure of our growing community by voting Yes on the Library Bond.
How far is it to Seattle? That depends. Among other things, it depends on the time of day, the season, weather and the particular day of the week. Add the price of gas. According to the on-the-ground measure, Seattle is 38 miles away. My car’s odometer agrees with maps that 38 miles is close to accurate. Though the road still measures 38 miles, I can feel the distance growing every year.
In the performing arts center business, it’s known as the “Build it and they will come” syndrome. After so much time, money and energy is spent on the monumental task of building a civic theater, it’s commonly found that relatively little resources and planning are devoted to the even more difficult job of successfully operating the center after its doors open.
When I first arrived on the scene three months ago, our circulation distribution had recently changed from paid mail subscription to a free carrier delivered product. This change increased our circulation ten-fold as well as introducing a new carrier delivery system. And with our new carrier delivery system we experienced many bumps and hurdles; readers receiving multiple papers, while others stopped receiving any papers. We also addressed a major concern from some of our readers about the appearance of littering throughout our communities.
Since being purchased by Sounding Publishing Inc. nearly a year ago and getting a new publisher three months ago, The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times have undergone a number of changes. Most of those changes, however, were internal and not readily apparent to those we serve — our readers and our advertisers.
When we moved the books into the current Arlington Library in 1981, the world, and Arlington, was a different place. About 3,200 people lived in the city limits, there were two computers in the library (catalog access only) and approximately 30,000 books. Internet access in libraries was still several years in the future,
There are places we call “home.” Home is where we live. Home is where we grew up. Home is a community, a place we know, a place where we feel — well — at home. This is our sense of place.
Since I have most of my money in Washington Mutual Bank, every time I see a WaMu headline in the newspapers, I read the article under it very carefully.
