This isn’t about Eric’s Little Heroes on Channel 4. This is about a stratospheric level of heroism that arises from inspired service on behalf of others. It is heroism typified by selfless acts that ask no reward other than the satisfaction of looking back on good deeds well done. We desperately need heroes of that measure to show us what can and should be done.
A friend of mine recently sent me a link to Disability Scoop (www.disabilityscoop.com), a website devoted to stories from the world of disability. The stories are interesting enough, but the comments posted by readers are really intriguing. In example after example from recent editions, an article sets off a storm of comments from people who share their sense of outrage about injustices inflicted whether purposefully or inadvertently on people with disabilities and their families. The more you read, the angrier you become.
The governor and the majority party in the legislature have referred to the state operating budget as a “moral document” that should reflect the values of our people. I believe public safety is a core value of our citizens and one of the primary functions of government. That’s why I am disappointed in recent legislation — not the least of which is the House Democrat budget proposal, House Bill 1087 — which spends $2 billion more than the 2009-11 budget, yet includes more than $31 million in additional cuts to corrections.
In a replay of Marysville’s decision of a few years ago, Monroe’s city council voted 6-1 in favor of a new Walmart. Promises of jobs, low prices and an extensive inventory tipped the balance as at 2,970 other Walmart projects from sea to shining sea. It was no-contest. Sam Walton’s site-securers came armed with sufficient legal precedent to discourage the city’s council from bucking their assault.
Back in 2005, forecasted revenue was projected to be $1.7 billion higher than the previous biennium. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a budget that spent nearly a billion dollars more than the state was taking in — despite an increase of incoming revenue. She did that knowing full well that the Legislature was overspending. “I don’t like it. It’s not sustainable. It’s what’s wrong with the budget in the state of Washington,” said Gregoire.
April is Community Volunteer Month in Marysville, a time to celebrate those individuals and groups who make a difference in our community in ways big and small, and to inspire and encourage people to seek out imaginative ways to get more engaged in the community.
More than 1,500 salmon were seen spawning in Coho Creek on the Tulalip Tribes’ reservation last fall. Pretty good considering 10 years ago the creek was nothing but a drainage ditch in the Quilceda Creek watershed.
Sometimes coffee groups run short of grist for the conversational mill. At least that’s my observation so I lob in a few conversational grenades to pep things up. The effect is the same whether at Haggen’s Café, a table at the YMCA or on the street. Utter “Obama” and certain blood pressures soar. Add Social Security, Medicare, TARP, Tea-Party, Libya, ACORN and Planned Parenthood and I can turn silent assemblies into screaming shout-fests.
At an event a few weeks ago I ran into one of the many satisfied customers of our employment division. This particular customer is a senior executive with a major retailing chain who oversees more than 250 stores in the United States and Canada including a dozen or so in the Puget Sound region. “I can’t get over it,” he told me. “In every store where we have hired people from your employment agency, in-store sales have improved, productivity has improved, morale has improved, and absenteeism has gone down. What’s going on here?”
What do these addresses have in common? 1530 Grove, and 1206A, 1250B and 1250C in Safeway Plaza. The answer is, they are among a number of nice commercial sites in Marysville that should be occupied and humming with business.
The Pentagon’s announcement on Feb. 24 that The Boeing Co. won the U.S. Air Force’s $35 billion contract to build 179 aerial refueling tankers provides a moment of triumph for workers and families in our community, Everett, Snohomish County and the region, and could not have come at a better time.
There are numerous protests going on around the world; like the people of Egypt that are demanding a change of leadership and want to vote on it. Another part of the world there are pirates that hijack tankers, yachts, etc. and rob people.
Several people have asked me why I and my fellow House Republicans recently swam against the tide and voted against a $360 million budget reduction bill. The answer is “education.”
With four months remaining in the state’s 2009-2011 fiscal cycle, House Bill 1086 was put forward to help close a $600 million shortfall in the current budget which runs through June 30.
