LECHTANSKI.NET

So, there are two housing growth issues going on in Bellingham. One has been going on for a while, and the other I just found out about this morning. Both of these projects have gotten the local community’s hackles up over one primary issue. Stopping the growth. Good luck. It’s not going to happen, and frankly it’s not fair.

First: Chuckanut Ridge. For a year or so, I’ve been seeing “Don’t Let Bellingham become Bellevue” bumper stickers around town. This is as it pertains to Chuckanut Ridge/Fairhaven Highlands/100-Acre Wood… Different names being used for marketing and sympathy purposes. And a developer wants to knock down a bunch of trees and build a bunch of water-view houses. Activists are concerned about too much traffic, a negative affect on the aesthetic of the area and the environmental impact on area wetlands.

Second: a former WSDOT site on Sunset Dr. This is very near my house. Someone dropped a leaflet on our porch announcing with great concern that a developer is proposing to build 50 living units in the rather small site. Activists in the neighborhood are concerned 50 units is too much for the space, and will result in too much of a traffic increase and a negative impact on the neighborhood.

My house is 80 years old. But 80 years ago, my neighborhood was part of Bellingham’s sprawl. It was way out in the country, with the Cornwall trolley as the mass commuter into town. Now we’re about as downtown as you get. I wonder if anti-growth groups were around in 1920s Bellingham.

Anyway, people opposed to two developments above have been able to buy a house and live in the neighborhood of their choice. And now that the area has grown enough to accommodate their house and to produce a neighborhood of their liking, the growing must stop? They want only enough growth to support them?

Packing 50 units into the former WSDOT site is exactly what we should be doing! Density. It makes better use of the area’s utilities and resources, and you create a more populated area. It is the opposite of sprawl. The site is now an empty fenced parking lot, with waist high weeds growing through cracks in the cement. It’s not a blight, but it’s no nature refuge.

While I’m not a huge fan of knocking over 100 acres of trees, and I’m not partial to lots of traffic, who am I to say that people can’t move to the town I found great enough to call home? If the market commands it and a contractor is able to build and sell a neighborhood, so be it. It may not be a very modern liberal mindset on my part, but let the market work. (Yes, I am a liberal. No, that is not changing.)

And, City government’s are very effective at being a pain in building contractors’ keisters. This is over things such as parking, traffic and nature. Sure they are not always right, sometimes corrupt and mistakes happen. But growth is going to happen. Growth is what’s next. Whether we like it or not. So make friends with it, pet it, invite it over for a drink. I hear drunk growth is really fun.

There is a much talked about trait of our culture that we love to see a fall from grace. When something gets too successful, we like to see it brought back to earth. I wrote a little bit about it a couple of years ago.

My case today? Starbucks. I admit it. I have made fun of being able to see three different Starbucks within 20 yards. I have wondered how many stores could possibly be supported. But also, I have gone to Starbucks in England, Frankfurt and virtually every other city I have visited in the last 10 years, if available.

Sure, people complain that it’s too corporate. That local coffee shops are way better, and that Starbucks is to coffee what Disney is to the real world. Whatever. They make good coffee and I like it.

Starbucks is recognized as having ridiculous growth for years. Like, way too much ridiculous growth for too many years. Metro corners, grocery stores, airports, shopping malls, drive thrus… anywhere people moving or sitting may want coffee. More locations than McDonalds?

Speaking of McDonalds (smooth segway…), the home of the Big Mac wants to take on Starbucks by selling “designer” coffee. So, McDonalds sees an opportunity. It has a launched a full radio and billboard campaign going right at Starbucks.

“Four Bucks is Dumb”

“Espresso Served Cold, Not Snobby”

And radio commercials that have some kind of message about coffee and intelligence not going together or something. Not sure.

And earlier this year, when the financial woes, employee training and store closure plans were reported, one would expect that people would be hooting and hollering that it’s about time Starbucks falls.

But, No. People are vying for their Starbucks! The day after I heard about the campaigns to save the neighborhood Starbucks scheduled for closure, my wife casually mentions she is going to avoid McDonald’s coffee because of the bad ad campaign (shouldn’t be too hard, since we don’t hit McDonald’s too much, but she said it none the less).

So I think Starbucks is turning the cultural trait on its head. People like their coffee, and appreciate their Starbucks. And besides: McDonald’s, the epitome of American fast food, thinks the public will rebel against Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world. If anything, Coffee drinkers are rebelling to neighborhood coffee shops. They’re not going to trade one mass-market venue for another.

I fell for John Edwards back in the early aughts, when Esquire featured him as one of America’s Best and Brightest. I followed him. Read his book. Voted for him. He was my first choice in 2004 AND 2008. I still have the 2004 Edwards for President button. But I think I’m done.

I throw out these three things that broke my political heart.

1. The 2004 vice-presidential debate against Dick Cheney. I was mortified that Edwards went to such great trouble to point out that Cheney’s daughter is gay. He succeeded in making the black-hearted Cheney seem compassionate. That is some feat. I looked past it at the time because everybody says stupid things every now and again. But then…
2. Hillary gets a little emotional this last Spring when talking about being on the campaign trail. A reporter asks Edwards about Hillary shedding a tear, and he goes off on some bizarre answer that what this country needs is a strong leader… you have to be strong… show no emotion… or some shit like that. And finally…
3. Two words: Love Child. True or not, the confounding lack of any kind of response to the Enquirer story (it’s mine, it’s not mine, it’s a family matter, leave me alone… something!) tells me I do not want this man representing me to anyone.

For some reason, I have been torn over participating in the Chuckanut Footrace. I want to do it, but I don’t feel like doing it at the same time.

It’s a seven-mile run on Bellingham’s Interurban trail from Fairhaven to Larrabee State Park. Usually, I procrastinate long enough that I miss the registration deadline or they’ve reached capacity. Well, this year, I waited until four hours before the deadline and still successfully registered. I had no excuses and had to do the run.

It was a beautiful morning. There was a 9 am start time, and nearly 1000 people showed up to run or walk the event. There were a bunch of guys from work (Don, John, Bil, Brandon), and I saw a few other people I know (Keefer, Maureen). I did the run in an hour. I’m still not sure why I’ve been reluctant to run this event. I need events to keep up my motivation to keep running, cycling or swimming. I get bored otherwise. This is a great race.

It was put on by Fairhaven Runners and they did a great job. And the Interurban trail is by far the most scenic run in the county. It runs up on the hill alongside Chuckanut Drive. So, if you’ve ever driven Chuckanut and couldn’t look at the incredible waterscapes and scenery for fear of driving off the cliff, the running trail is for you.

We are having a pretty nice summer shaping up, and Saturday was a perfect example. Sunny, clear and by the time I was crossing the finish line, it was getting hot. My only complaint is the clog dancer at the finish party. Clog dancing for some reason makes me angry. So I had to avoid eye contact with the stage, and then hurry to catch the bus back to Fairhaven.

I had a goal for this eight-day work trip to Philadelphia. It’s not a lofty goal, but it’s important we set goals. Mine: eat a Philly cheese steak at least once a day. I want to find the best, or more specifically, my favorite.

First out, we have Geno’s. It’s 1 am and Trade Show Lyle and I are on the way to the hotel from the airport. We have the cabbie stop at Geno’s. Order, the sandwich (steak wit whiz) at one window, and the soda and fries from the other. And make sure you order in English. Why? Because they’re grouchy and think it’s funny. This place is across the street from Pat’s (more later). Two competing cheese steak places on opposite corners of the same intersection. The area has a miniature Time’s Square feel to it: lots of neon, a diagonal intersection and plenty of pedestrians milling about. The sandwich was disappointing. Dry sliced beef and semi-melted provolone cheese. The fries were nothing special. I almost wonder if my expectations were so high, Geno’s was doomed for failure.

Trip two, we walked by Rick’s, near the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This is a touristy part of town. Rick’s is billed as a third generation steakhouse. Somewhere I read that companies being run by third generation family leadership have an 80 percent failure rate. Rick’s is a good example. If it wasn’t in a tourist haven, Rick’s would really have little reason to live. Fatty, pre-sliced beef and cheese whiz. Sub par fries and cheap ketchup. This is strike two.

Third on the list is Jim’s. This was a good steak! Jim’s on South had a long, but quickly-moving line, and when it comes to cheese steak establishments, lines are important. Jim’s does it right: tasty chopped steak with optional peppers, onions, whiz and mushrooms. A fair amount of grease. NO fries. Just a fabulous sandwich. Indoor, upstairs seating with a view of the busy street below. Tons of celebrity photos. Oh, and this is the only place that’ll serve you a beer with your steak. The standard has been set.

Next is Pat’s, across the street from Geno’s. Again with the two windows for ordering. Like ordering your soda with the sandwich will affect the quality. Chopped beef on a roll. It’s good, but second-place good. If I lived in the neighborhood, I might come back again. Otherwise, there’s not much to say.

At Ishkabibble’s you order on the street. It’s in view of the standard setting Jim’s, and comes highly recommended by D.J. Jazzy Jeff. If you want to eat inside, you have to secure one of the eight stools or stand at the tiny counter space lining the walls of the skinny dining area. Decent steak. Chopped beef and an interesting dish: Spanish fries. They toss some raw peppers and onions in with the fries while they’re cooking. It’s a little spicy, and pretty good. I guess you’ll notice I paid more attention to the fries than the sandwich.

On day five, we get in the taxi and head out to Johnny’s Hots. It got five out of five grease stains from an online reviewer. $12 into the ride, we discover, Johnny’s Hots is closed. The building is still there, with a sign and everything, but there’s an empty parking lot and boarded up windows. So we move down the list of joints. $20 into the cab ride, we find Gooey Looies located in the middle of a sketchy looking strip mall, with one employee and absolutely NO line. We pass. But the cab driver came to the rescue with his favorite place: Tony Luke’s.

Tony Luke’s is right next to the freeway, in the vicinity of the Philadelphia ball parks. This was a really good sliced-beef steak. The sandwich was on the greasier side of this week’s steaks, and I went through a respectable stack of napkins. Deciding how this compares to the standard of Jim’s, I have to think about it. I would definitely come back for this. But no beer. : (

On our final night, it’s back to Jim’s for a repeat visit. Confirming our previous steak experience, this is SO good. Sandwich, beer, view, pictures, bought the T-Shirt. Done.

Cheese Steak Ranking:

1. Jim’s Steaks
2. Tony Luke’s
3. Pat’s King of Steaks
4. Ishkabibble’s
5. Geno’s Steaks
6. Rick’s

Final note: Philadelphia is Sandwich Town. Dinic’s, in the Reading Terminal, is the sandwich place. I ate there four times (partially due to it’s proximity to the convention center, but mainly because their sandwiches are completely addicting). Get there for lunch, because if you show up for an afternoon sandwich, they might be out of meat. It’s reassuring to know they don’t have an endless supply of suspicious meat. And they don’t offer a cheese steak.