WHICH CITY IMAGE IS EVERETT TRYING TO GET RID OF AGAIN?

Having missed my eye doctor's appointment (and waiting for the bus to show up--and no, it's not my fault I wear shorts year around. The weather is simply not cold enough for my tastes), I looked around the block near Pilchuck's Books, and took in all the decrepit masonry on some of the buildings--especially the ones with those old furniture store ads.

And it got me thinking? "Why is the city trying to do spending a quarter mill on its image--when it has cool stuff like this?" (And I'm not even a native of these parts.)

Is it trying to cover up its age, its proud past, its rampant homeless, or some kind of drug problem--by proclaiming itself to be the most "squeaky-clean" city for the next quarter-century outside of Seattle? (Okay, so there's still debate on that one.)

$250K wouldn't do more than buy another bus, much less "clean up" an image problem it never had.

Face it Everett: You can't escape the problems you have simply by putting more pretty lip gloss on that pig we citizens call "reality".

Ask anyone living in the designated (and historical) Riverside neighborhood.

They'll say the same thing.

We are a city filled with a rich and vibrant history. And that's something which can never be replaced with a fancy promotional gimmick.

Or $250,000.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX