Wednesday, August 13, 2008

One Year Anniversary

Today marks the first anniversary of Twilight Zoning in Bellingham. Since its inception, I have created 133 posts, many with your suggestions. The blog has been visited nearly 10,000 times. With your assistance, we have seen the council move from no action on illegal rooming houses to the recent buzz of activity and a suggested comprehensive look at the problem.

I will continue to write about illegal rooming houses and the lack of enforcement of not only our zoning laws but other codes whose purpose is to maintain our quality of life. With 75,000 residents and attendant increased density, Bellingham, can no longer afford to operate as it did decades ago.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dick,

Congratulations on your 1-year anniversary, and thanks for your comment on my column at the NWCitizen site.

I admire your persistence and patience. It’s a lonely – and insane - world in the blogosphere. When I write a column or add a comment to a blog, I’m always hoping that a substantial conversation about the key issues will ensue. I wrote my first article about six months ago and have participated in local blogs for about a year. While I congratulate you on your success in moving forward the debate on illegal rooming houses, I haven’t found much satisfaction in the general conversation.

I can understand the general apathy; however, there is no shortage of activists in Bellingham. As I have suggested before, like-minded “public interest advocates” - to borrow a term from Tip Johnson – would be wise to hook up and develop a prioritized agenda. Many of these issues are interrelated; however, the fierce independence of local activists enables them to be marginalized by those who prefer, and benefit from, the status quo.

Sure, change can happen that way – but very slowly. On the other hand, consider how much influence these advocates could have if they developed a cohesive joint strategy and platform.

In any event, congratulations on staying at it for a year, and thank you for your valued feedback.

Good luck.

Larry Horowitz