Local Musings

This morning while strolling with pooch I thought a lot about the fact that fall is just around the corner and on its heels the beginning of "giving" season in these parts. Word is out that the local charities are already feeling the pinch from Hurricane Katrina. I think we need to bear in mind with this time of soaring costs we're not living in communities with bottomless pits of money. I hope we all hold some back for local needs.

NOTE TO POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON - if you folks would drop or at least defer your pork rewards ,ie: the multimillion $ bridge in Alaska to an island with 50 residents who don't even want it, it would go a long way to funding the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. Bush could roll back the tax breaks but that isn't going to happen.

I think too we need to look seriously at the potential Kroc Center and how it is going to be sustained. In a county with approximately 100,000 people, many with two adults working, generating the $3 to 5 million a year for operating costs is going to be tough. When I see checks coming forth from huge realtors down to the smallest mom and pop business for a few hundred to maybe low four figures for the hands that are already out, where is this money to come from? This is not a criticism of the community by any means - those who give tend to give consistantly and as generously as they can but there is a limit.

Memberships? An awful lot of those 100,000 aren't going to buy memberships. I'd guess 99% of our neighborhood won't. Age, income and proximity all being factors. I would guess those who belong to clubs are going to continue to do so. That's a culture issue. I would suggest we as a community be careful of what we wish for.