I received a comment from Charlie Conner, who owns the helicopter that was the subject of discussion in earlier blogs. He offers his phone number, and wants to address any questions or concerns you may have.
See his comment by clicking Here
Daily archives for January 2nd, 2008
Charlie Conner, owner of the Kennydale-based helicopter, wants to address any concerns you have
Jan02
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Tawny Davis, owner of the Weitzel house, thanks you all for your support
Jan02
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
Many of you expressed appreciation and admiration for Tawny Davis and Ian Wilson, the couple who own the century-old house that was just moved though four cities, and across Renton’s airport, to get to it’s new site.
Tawny wrote in today, on behalf of her and her husband Ian, expressing gratitude for your support.
See her comment by clicking HERE!
And Tawny and Ian, thank YOU for your amazing accomplishment in saving this piece of local history. I can’t wait to watch the special on the Discovery Channel.
Guest contributer Rose McMayhem; “Take an active part in the perpetual betterment of your community”
Jan02
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
I made this friends-only for a while, because Rose is getting picked on by the annonymouse Renton masses. (I think they might be taking it all too seriously.)
What do you livejournal friends think I should do?
Here is her article:
I’m not one for resolutions, but invariably at this time of year my thoughts turn to how things could be improved. Not just in my personal life, but on a grander scale: how can we work together to make our living situation better? Here are a few subjects of personal ire that will never be resolved lest we all contribute:
(1) The left lane is for passing. The left lane is for passing. The left lane is for passing. If you’re still not getting it: KEEP RIGHT UNLESS YOU ARE PASSING. Traffic flows much more smoothly when drivers make proper use of the road- and keep in mind that you’re there to get from point A to point B, not to teach others a lesson. You know those times when someone creeps up on you from behind, highbeams a-blazin’, and you mutter: “I’m already doing 60. They don’t need to get past?” Just let them pass anyway. Let them do 70 if they want, and maybe you’ll get the giddy justification of seeing them pulled over further down the freeway. If not, no skin off your nose, right?
(2) While we’re on the subject of not teaching lessons on the roadway, don’t do that thing where you see someone trying to merge coming up from behind you, and you see they’re going to pass you, so you move over to block them- especially not if the actual merge point is 200 yards ahead. If they have enough lane left to get past you, let them get past. You’re just making the backup worse by stopping them before it’s necessary.
(3) As my dad has pointed out many a time, you ever notice that people walk like they drive? Rule number one above applies to walking as well, and this is a critical one in malls. Further, do not stop in the middle of the aisle when you are shopping. This transgression was one I saw countless times over the holidays. I will run into you, if only to prove a point. I know I said no teaching lessons, but it’s less dangerous on foot than by vehicle. If you stop short of me in the middle of Southcenter, expect that I’ll keep going and demonstrate exactly how I’ve been inconvenienced, because it’s infinitely more fulfilling to prove a point about common sense than it is to swerve around you and let you think it’s an acceptable practice.
(4) I’m not sure how this one is fixable, really, but have you ever been in a checkout line for more time than when you shop at Fred Meyer? I could be buying a single box of cereal and going through the U-Scan checkout, and STILL it takes ten minutes, whether I’m on Benson, downtown, or in Crossroads. I guess there’s not a workable solution here; I just needed to get that out there.
(5) Get your coffee anywhere but Starbucks. I know, it’s hard- I have trouble keeping myself away from their ubiquitous stores as well; I can hardly call myself a Starbucks teetotaler. Sometimes it’s just too convenient. And I do recognize that they came from the area so technically buying there is supporting local business, but COME ON. It’s completely, utterly soulless, and there’s better coffee to be had elsewhere. My favorite is Sips on Sunset Blvd, which not only has excellent white chocolate mochas, but also hot baristas. We are the coffee-buying market here, people- the rest of the world doesn’t have a Starbucks on every corner like we do here. Clearly we consume a helluva lot of caffeine, and if that caffeine (and those Joni Mitchell CD’s!) was bought elsewhere, we could take a substantial bite out of the market. Next time you’re complaining about the calories in your Frappucino or burnt taste of your Christmas blend, consider the other local coffee shops and stands that make the area in part what it is, and how their razor-thin profit margin could really use your help.
(6) I guess what I’m getting at here, what the overarching theme is, is: have a little courtesy, huh? You can live a full and fast-paced life without being a total schmuck about it. Pay attention to the people around you. If you accidentally back into them with your pool cue, apologize. If you pull halfway out onto Grady from 167 right in front of someone, wave a sorry and back the hell up. And also, look out for your neighbors. One of the greatest things about my house is the older couple who live across the street and keep an eye on things, while one of the worst things about my boyfriend’s place is that it was broken into twice with no leads. This place is what it is because of the people who are here- take care of each other or I’ll hurt you.
Happy New Year, and may you take an active part in the perpetual betterment of your community.
Rose McMayhem
Kari Kopnick; “Minnesota is full of people who are a lot like Washingtonians”
Jan02
2008
Written by Randy Corman
2008
Written by Randy Corman
So I just spent a few days back in the cold tundra that I used to call home. Before I made my home on Benson Hill here in Renton, I lived in Minnesota.
Minnesota is full of people who are a lot like Washingtonians. There are more Scandinavians back in the Midwest; less density of people in neighborhoods and less traffic and it’s really, really cold in the winter, but in both states the folks are nice.
I grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota in the shadow of the Mall of America. Well, where the MOA is now—back then it was an old baseball and football stadium—an outdoor one if you can imagine that. But now it’s a place where tourists flock to shop. And I really do think you can buy anything that you could possibly need there and a whole lot of things you would never, ever need.
This trip back I noticed that Bloomington is actually a lot like Renton. It’s an inner ring suburb, meaning it was one of the first places people fled the cost and crowding of the city for their own little home. It’s big, covering a huge amount of area. And Bloomington has a real industrial base just like Renton.
In both towns you go from the neighborhood that has new condos and quad homes to the old “war boxes” in a block or two. You have a nice downtown, although ours here in Renton is better, and we are getting some really decent shopping with the Landing—not a mall with an amusement park in the middle, but it has what we need.
When I was growing up a thousand years ago, Bloomington was the third largest city in Minnesota. As of January 1st Rochester, MN is the third largest.
Rochester feels like a smallish city. My family and I spent New Years Eve visiting old friends in Rochester.
Well, we weren’t really visiting friends. We were visiting our Cheezeball family, they may not be related officially, but we bonded early on trying to catch those little crunchy “food product snacks” after a friend threw them for us. That was 20 years ago. We’ve been there for each other ever since, so it’s better than family. A whole passel of us made the trek to Rochester to celebrate the New Year and all our new beginnings.
The folks we know in Rochester moved to Southeast Minnesota for a job at the Mayo Clinic and are still there 10 years later.
Getting to Rochester from Bloomington is like driving to Olympia for us, except instead of driving thru what feels like one continuing city; you pass a million farmsteads, some of them still clearly producing crops during the 5 month growing season. And the terrain is flat like the ocean. Flat, flat, flat.
On New Year’s Eve, the Rochester town paper had a feature about how the City of Rochester was annexing some neighborhoods so they could provide services for the people there. Sound familiar?
The Rochester City Council has been talking about annexation since the 90s. And it was all voluntary. Not everyone is happy about it of course. That’s how things go. Some folks think things were just fine as is. But like here in Renton, the services were really needed. People needed one place to call to get their city related issues handled.
And like it will be here in Renton, things are changing.
Like building the Mall of America right where Minnesota Twins Star Harmon Killebrew hit homeruns.
click on images to enlarge
And like the super fancy boutique stores going in where there used to be five and dimes.
And even like having a Starbucks just about everywhere you can want one in my hometown now; including Target. I’m not complaining. I’m just noticing
The times, they are a changin’.
Now I have to go listen to some Bob Dylan.
Happy New Year!
Kari Kopnick
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