Localism: Clallam County, WA

How much does it cost to build a home per square foot?

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:58:53 -0600

What does it really cost per square foot to build a home in Sequim? Watch this video.

Port Angeles Classified Ads

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:51:44 -0600

Finally, there is a dedicated online classified ad service for everyone in Port Angeles and Sequim, businesses and individuals, and to introduce the service with a new promotion that benefits all businesses and citizens here, the service is being promoted absolutely free until next spring, May 1, 2009.

If you're a business, and you want to promote your business online free, just register and type your product or service description (with good persuasive sales script), and you can even include a photo of your business or your staff or your product. Include your address and phone number if you like, or your email address, and guess what? You can include a link to your website, too!

If you have something for sale, find the category and put it online. Again, you can include photos of your puppy or your car or whatever.

If you want something, find the category and tell us what you want. Be specific.

And for volunteer and non-profits, you can use this to promote your service and your needs. Is this not exciting folks? Who is doing this crazy thing? Yours truly as a community service. The domain names are easy to remember. You can use either one:

SequimClassified.com PortAngelesClassified.com

Hiking in the Olympic National Park: Incredible

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:01:26 -0500

It was Saturday morning, and being Mr. Spontaneous (not!), I decided to take a hike up the trails of the National Olympic Park just a few miles west of Port Angeles, Washington. The sun was already climbing above the tall pine trees when I parked at the base of the trail, which is about six miles into the Park up a winding narrow dirt road.

Having grown up in Alaska and spent my childhood running around in the woods in the bush community of Tok, and spending a great deal of time in the mountains of the great Alaska Range, I'm at home in the woods and mountains. I miss watching wildlife with my father's binoculars while perched high in the pinnacles of a mountainside. I still remember in one sitting seeing 13 bears (grizzly and black), two moose, a caribou, a small group of Dall sheep and several lambs with a wolverine lurking in the shrubs nearby. This was near the Tok Glacier, and it was 40 years ago. Even then I felt the power of nature all around me.

There's a quiet voice in nature that somehow speaks to us. It's the same message everywhere in the wilds, in the mountains of Alaska, Nevada, or Washington, in the dense old growth forests, or on a 32 foot fishing boat on Bristol Bay. (I named my middle son Bristol.) I hear the message when I dismiss all the noice and clutter of the world.

"I am as old as time itself. I am beautiful to the eye that can see the depth and breadth of my mountains and valleys. I am a friend who brings joy and pleasure to your life, and at the same time I am dangerous and unforgiving. I reveal myself to you in every step you take, and I am much greater and far more awesome than your little mind can comprehend. You see me in part, but you do not know me in full. Enjoy me, but respect me."

My hike into the Olympic National Park brought back a flood of memories from my childhood experience in Alaska. Crossing creeks and balancing with my arms out as I worked across the fallen trees made me feel like a kid again. The great big trees that are as straight and tall as any I've ever seen blocked most of the sunshine from reaching the moss covered vegetation below. Still there were beams of light breaking through and creating a portrait I only wish I could capture and share with the world.

These photos are my humble attempt to capture a vignette of something much greater. This far into the mountains I cross the Elwha River on a walking bridge before the Elwha grows big and powerful. In a few places it crashes and churns as the elevation drops dramatically. There's nothing as thrilling as standing in the presence of a mighty ancient forest high in the mountains with the thunderous applause of a river beginning its long journey to the ocean.

Is it any wonder that I love living on the Northern Olympic Peninsula?

Robin Hill Park in Sequim

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:23:53 -0500

It was a challenging day at work, and I was looking forward to a nice jog in Robin Hill Park in Sequim. So I opened up the sliding glass door to my deck and walked across the back yard where I opened the gate to the winding serene trails of Robin Hill Park.

I took the 2.4 mile loop, which gently meanders through the trees and across meadows, falls into a sweet little gulley and works its way up and around to my back yard again. I didn't see anyone. I rarely do, although I know others are out there walking, jogging, riding their bikes, and some are riding horses on the trails designated for that purpose.

The sun was already low in the sky as evening approached, and the beams of bright light were streaking through the pine trees, which were emitting the fresh scent of pine needles and all things green and woodsy.

The 195 acre park is maintained by Clallam County and is almost hidden from public view. The Olympic Discovery Trail runs alongside the park stretching for many miles in either direction. There is no limit to how far I can walk, jog, or ride my bike, except my own physical endurance.

Hmm. No wonder I love living in Sequim.

The Future and Vision of Port Angeles

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:30:43 -0500

Port Angeles now has it’s own Blog to openly discuss the future of Port Angeles, or in other words, the vision of Port Angeles. Many local businessman and local citizens have strong opinions about what can and should or could be done to promote Port Angeles as a great place to live, a strong business environment that fosters the growth of small and large businesses, and what the direction and plan should be for the future of Port Angeles.

There have been many discussions in the past dozens of years about the future of Port Angeles, and local government has made many decisions that have defined where we are today. Those decisions include land use and zoning, development restrictions, regulations, business fees and taxes, incentives, and thousands of decisions made on multiple levels, including city, county, the Port of Port Angeles, the Chamber of Commerce, quasi-government agencies, and private associations.

For many locals, the outcome on many issues has been unsatisfactory. For example, the bus depot downtown was a hot issue. Was it the right decision or wrong? There have been hundreds of decisions like this made in years past.

Some argue that Port Angeles has some of the most valuable and beautiful water front property in the world, but one only needs to look at the furrowed brows of visitors who drive through our water front to affirm that something has gone amiss. What about downtown buildings and development? What about business incentives? What about the philosophy of our city leaders? What is their vision for Port Angeles? Shouldn’t there be some cooperation on a vision among all government agencies? Or should we let them each do their own thing, even if the results are quite contradictory?

Why a blog on this subject? Because this is the one place where all discussions are documented and permanantly on public file for all to read and re-read and comment on. You can always come back and see what someone actually wrote, and how others felt about that position. When the Chamber invites a speaker on business development in Port Angeles or the future of Port Angeles, you might have 30 people attend, or on a good day you might have a 100. Those 100 people go home and each has a memory of the speech that fades over time. Meanwhile, the remaining 24,900 people in Port Angeles did not hear the speech and had no opportunity to express their position.

Or take a city council meeting. The same could be said. Limited people, limited opportunity to respond, and politicians only get 1% of the people’s perspective, and that 1% is often special interests. Now everyone has the ability to dialogue and express themselves on this blog focused on the future of Port Angeles. The Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce has over 500 local business members. They can all express their views here. And the person on the street can do so. Politicians will be able to hear more voices here than any other forum available. And politicians and regulators can intelligently express their positions, ask questions, and answer questions. And all articles and comments are archived for all to read and consider.

That’s the value of this blog. The good news is that it is a valuable community resource and absolutely free to all users. Check it out at PortAngelesVision.com.