Apparently, the town must have “qualities that exemplify the best in the West”.  Awesome!  I kind of like the idea of us attracting people looking for the “best in the West”!

So when I read that Oregon is joining in on the Hanford lawsuit, I thought, “Dogpile on Hanford!”

Gregoire and McKenna issued the following statement:

We welcome Oregon’s support in this necessary litigation

Just as I appreciated the one brother’s support in squeezing the life out of the other brother.

Related (ha!) link: http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/35068619.html

Now that he’s the pres-to-be, they’ve decided he should know all about it. Our senators, Cantwell and Murray, are giving him the scoop.

Murray said she has had “several” conversations with Obama’s transition team about Hanford.

“I look forward to working with the Obama administration to make up for the funding shortfalls of the past eight years, and I am confident they will be responsive to our needs,” Murray said.

Cantwell also has been in touch with the transition team and also is optimistic the new administration will be easier to work with when it comes to Hanford cleanup money.

“The President-elect’s team understands that the current administration is leaving office with far too much cleanup work undone, and we are looking forward to working with the new administration to prioritize Hanford cleanup,” Cantwell said.

I watched his concession speech earlier today, and he said he’s got to find a job now that enables him to be home for dinner with his wife and four kids.  I have an idea, Mr. Rossi -take this guy’s job!  The Department of Energy chief of cleanup for Hanford is resigning.  Rossi was going to clean up Olympia, can a nuclear waste site be THAT different?  I think not.

Pluses -

1) he’d be on the side of the state where people who like his politics would surround him

2) he’d be able to afford a FANTASTIC house, as our median sales price is far lower than the west side

3) he’d be home for dinner all the time as no commute here is longer than 30 minutes unless you deliberately choose to live far away

4) we’ve got 300 days of sunshine

Minuses -

1) …hmmm, can’t think of anything…oh, the nearest Nordstrom and Krispy Kreme are two hours away in Spokane.  But that’s okay, we have the Internet for the clothes-shopping and Spudnuts for donut-lovers.

So, make that Minuses, because they’re aren’t any, and we’re golden!

C’mon, Dino – move on over.  We’d love to have you!

Now we live in Washington state – on the east side of the Cascades, and I find myself making jokes about being right!  It works here because the majority of eastern Washingtonians are registered Republicans, or at least lean to the conservative side of the spectrum.

I have been giggling for the past couple months every time I pass one of these signs -

I don’t actually think the west side out-and-out stole the election, but they sure as heck didn’t win it hands down, either.

This piece from the AP, by way of KEPR does a nice job of stating the case about how some of us feel about our current Governor and potential Governor.

Today in TJ Maxx, I was asked if I wanted to add a dollar to my purchase to ‘Save the Children”.  How does someone say ‘no’ to that?  I didn’t.  I also didn’t ask for clarification, figuring I’d find out more when I got home and looked it up online.  And I did, here.  As you can see, obviously the money goes to Save the Children, literally and figuratively, and also helps out with diabetes and autism.  Cool.

Did you know that when you use me, or any Windermere agent, to buy or sell your home, part of the money I am paid in commission get directly funneled to the Windermere Foundation, which in turn channels money to help low income and homeless families? Very cool.

Well, he’s totally wrong, and I remembered writing about how Washington state in particular has a low foreclosure rate in comparison to the rest of the country.

So I thought it might be a good time to run this info again, because it’s still true.

Check it out here.

Up in Grant County, interviews with Health District officials revealed that

measles should be suspected only if a case meets these diagnostic criteria: Symptoms include rash, fever and sensitivity to light; the patient likely has been exposed to the disease; and has not had the two-dose immunization.

But this is the part that scares me -

In at least one case, health district staff interviews determined a patient with suspected measles had been fully vaccinated, Hill said.

Yikes! I’ve been fully vaccinated, as most people my age have been. The builder is perhaps a bit younger than I, but he’s not 18-months-old, which is how young you need to be to have your first measles shot. So how did he get it?  And who else will?

I’m hoping he doesn’t really have it. Perhaps his child got a hold of a red marker and dotted him up pretty good while Dad was sleeping?  That’s what I’m going with until I know more.

In Sunday’s Tri-City Herald, they printed an interesting story about the LID (Local Improvement District) coming to Red Mountain, which is where the great grapes are grown.

Basically, if you want water for your land there, sign up to be part of the LID now, because otherwise, you’ll be stuck waiting for your well to be permitted and who knows how long that will take.  Some people have already been waiting for years. In addition, they say they won’t allow you to opt-in to it later.

Like all things real-estate related, it’s kind of a gamble.  If you have no plans to grow grapes and you own land in the Red Mountain AVA, then you might be thinking, “Why should I pay to irrigate land I’m not growing anything on?”

The bottom line is that it makes it more valuable, even if your plans don’t include viticulture.  Perhaps the NEXT person who owns your land will want it, and if it’s already in, that’s great, because word is, the next person wouldn’t be able to get it because they came to the party too late.

Eric, who was born in Walla Walla, can remember going to events like this when he was a kid.  His advice was great, I thought – keep working at it.  Try with all you’ve got, because with hard work and talent, you could be in the big leagues some day.

After the Q & A, my son and I got in line behind a woman with her own oxygen caddy and a baseball and various things to be signed.  We waited patiently in line, watched an old video they had playing of one of the greatest moments in Mariner history.  It was very calm and low key and nice; kind of small-town feeling, actually.

Finally, we got up to the table the players were sitting at and Eric signed a picture and a schedule for my son.  I noticed he was signing left-handed and just in time, I refrained from commenting to my son, “Look, he’s a lefty like you!” because OBVIOUSLY, if I were a true fan, I’d know he was a lefty and I wouldn’t need to see him sign something to figure it out!

The embarrasing moment came just seconds later as we approached Mark Lowe, but I was still staring at the incredible good looks of Eric O’Flaherty.  I was so focused on him that I tripped on the oxygen cannister of the woman in front of me.  Thank Heaven I didn’t fall to the ground, messing up everything.  Instead of the hot older babe Eric might have thought I was, he’d view me as the cruel, unfeeling broad who removed the other woman’s oxygen supply.  You know, sometimes God’s really watching out for us, don’t you think?