Upside Downtown: Making community a more vibrant place to li

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Community/Creativity Catalyst

Leita Hermanson Crossfield

Welcome to Upside Downtown and the Sparks for Innovation Newsletter.

Upside Downtown. Caring. Connecting. Communicating. Working together for humanity, community, and connection in Everett and beyond.
(425)344-7599.
We publish a FREE e-mail Newsletter in coordination with the Upside Downtown web site and we welcome your submissions. Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Leita Hermanson Crossfield. All rights reserved.

Whether you're a survivor or a loved one, dealing with PTSD can be a lonely journey. Fortunately, there is help. Click on the image above for a great starting point in your journey. "My mission is to ensure that other people never have to be alone with the pain of PTSD, struggling to heal without help or support." --Patience Mason

Patience Mason publishes the website, patiencepress.com as well as books such as "Recovering from the War...", news articles, and information about her and her husband's personal experience with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and how she and they, found healing in their journey. This site and her written works have been highly recommended to me, and I have read many, which have all been very helpful. Her most recent work is "Home from the War," which can be downloaded directly from her website. Her site is full of information, and other useful documents which you can download as well, some for free.

Leita and Robert

WHAT'S NEW?

For more details on Jennifer R. Bartley's book, Designing the New Kitchen Garden An American Potager Handbook, click here.

Well, it's fall, almost winter, and while I did plant a garden, it didn't quite look like the one featured on the cover of Jennifer Bartley's book. The four raised beds I created are now empty. The only thing remaining are the Sweet Peas, which are still climbing up the back fence. I learned a lot this year, and relied a lot on Mel Bartholomew's book "Square Foot Gardening," which is excellent and a book I'd recommend to anyone starting a garden. Let me know if you have a garden, small or large, even if it's just a few containers of tomatoes. I'll also be sharing information I've gathered from my own research into living an organic lifestyle. I'd love to hear your news and stories, too. So stop in often, e-mail, or call me at 425-344-7599.DIV>

For more information about Kitchen Gardening and the International Kitchen Garden Day 2007, click here.

SELECTED ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAYS SATURDAYS. MUSIC AT ESPRESSO AMERICANO, At the Main Library branch, downtown Everett, 2702 Hoyt. 7-9 P.M every Friday and Saturday night. No cover, no age limit, kids welcome. Espresso Americana is also now at the Everett Transit Station. Same great coffee, freshly made sandwiches and salads, and, of course, great local artwork.

COLBY ARCADE ART AND DOWNTOWN SCULPTURE EXHIBIT features sculptures in the downtown core. The Colby Arcade leads from the EverPark Garage to Colby, next to Renee's. The downtown art sculpture exhibit is sponsored in part by Craig Skotdal/Skotdal Real Estate, John Haugen/Crown Photo Systems and Rodney Moody. Sculptures are for sale. For more information: Van Valey House, 2130 Colby Ave, Everett, WA 98201, (425) 257-8300.

EVERETT PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS MANY COMMUNITY EVENTS. From free children's plays to Puppet Shows, a Mother-Daughter Books Group, and kids story times, the library has many activities to please all. Call 425-257-8030. Events are held at the Main Library on Hoyt and at the Evergreen Branch. www.epls.org.

QUOTES FROM READERS

“Hi Leita! I just wanted to drop a line to you to say I am so happy for you that your husband is home safe and sound. This must be a huge relief to you, even in the midst of readjusting to life with your partner around. I bet Robert is pleased as punch. I admire your strength and positive attitude through your husband's absence. Not everyone can handle those circumstances. I'm glad you were rewarded with his safe return. This also keeps me grounded in the knowledge that not all strong spouses get the same happy result - and they are in my heart and thoughts always,” MJ.

“Hi Leita, Thanks, as always for your newsletter. I went to the Neighborhoods section and noticed a couple of tiny things that could do with some tweaking: On the right hand description part: the description of the neighborhoods says "Bayside encompasses most of downtown". Oh boy, somebody from Pt Gardner might take exception to that. The boundary is Hewitt so we actually kind of share the core and they have the train station and all of the industrial stuff around it. Also, Mary Ehrlich is still showing up as the Chair - Elle is correctly mentioned on the left side. Keep up the good work. Thanks again.” Valerie.

“Hi Leita!!! Thank you so much for what you are doing for our community! Your newsletter is wonderful, and I'm sure it's making a big difference to the many events in our area!!!! I'm so glad that your husband is home safely. A big thank you to him and to you for his service. I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon!” – Myrna.

“A special thanks from me to your husband for making sure that my family is safe each and every day.” Mark.

“Hi, Leita: I enjoyed reading that your husband made it home safely and that Robert and he were enjoying doing ‘dad’ things together. Also, there's so much going on in Everett. I really believe you're making a difference by keeping everyone connected and informed.” Keep up the good work! Llynda.

“Leita, I probably have stated this before but it deserves to be stated again. Thank you so much for the weekly updates on the Everett happenings. It helps me to stay connected to Everett (since I have left employment in Everett). I am glad that your husband is back home. Take care! Have a great weekend!” Tammy.

“Dear Leita Hermanson: Thank you for having me on your e-mail subscription of Upside Downtown. I am a member of the Bayside Neighborhood, which incorporates most of the downtown businesses. I wanted to inform you and your readers of a Neighborhood event that is coming up, Clarke Park Bazaar.” Aileen M. Langhans.

"Your e-newsletter is GREAT. I really caught up on what is going on in town!" David Shaw, Arts Presenting & Organizational Development, Art Beat, 425.444.5052 phone-message-fax, www.artbeatshows.org.

Your guide and webhost.

Leita Hermanson Crossfield (click photo to learn more)

CONNECTING. COMMUNICATING. WORKING TOGETHER.
Thank you for visiting Upside Downtown. Upside Downtown was originally created to provide relevant and helpful information to help downtown stakeholders, businesses and organizations make connections and to spread the word about downtown Everett, to be a catalyst to help make downtown a more vibrant place to live, work, learn and play. We've expanded our focus to include healthy living, with a special focus on organic kitchen gardening and a simpler, more healthy lifestyle.

Please feel free to browse our site to learn about downtown Everett. If you're a visitor, click on our Visitor's guide where you'll find a wealth of information especially for you. At this site, you'll find the important associations , groups and businesses that make up our downtown; an online Visitor's Guide that features dining, shopping, entertainment, accomodations and more; a constantly updated events calendar; important downtown news; important information to grow your business as well as future plans, marketing opportunities and more. This site is constantly evolving, and we'll be adding more content all the time. We also welcome your suggestions.

Our vision is that Upside Downtown can be the voice and the clearing house that downtown groups and others can tap into, so that we can all work together to augment and support the efforts of the many non-profits, organizations, groups and businesses that are all working in our city to make it an even better place to live, work, learn and play.

From riverfront to waterfront, together, we will choreograph Everett into a beautifully orchestrated community symphony. We hope you will join us in these efforts, and thank you for your inspiration.

With warm regards,

Leita

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Saturday, October 25, 2003

Your Voice. Your Freedom.

As the election draws near, I hope you will take the time to exercise your right to vote. Many important decisions lie in your vote. The future of our city is in your hands. That's what this great democracy is all about, the freedoms we have, freedom to choose our leaders, freedom of speech, freedom of press. Freedoms that have been won through the sacrifices of many brave men and women. It's often easy to think our voice, our votes don't matter, and our lives are so hectic it's easy to miss an election. Your voice, your vote does matter. It's important to stay involved. And especially this election year. I encourage you to talk to the candidates, read the voters pamphlet, view websites, do your home work. And don't be frightened or mislead by those who try to assert their will, to silence us. Please, exercise your rights. During these times I like to recall a quote a mentor of mine gave to me over twenty years ago: "Given the choice of a free government or a free press, I prefer the latter." - Thomas Jefferson. Remember, "the Government derives its power from the people. The people do not derive their rights from the Government. When the people fear the Government, the people live in tyranny." - from our Founding Fathers. I think it's important to respect the opinions and ideas of others that sometimes are not our own. I am happy to discuss my opinions with you privately, but out of respect for my readers, I will refrain from publicly announcing my views on our election. But I will not be silenced.

Another very important issue that lies before us is our current downtown Business Improvement Area, also called the BIA. I met with Brad Segal, the consultant hired by the City of Everett to study the BIA issue, yesterday, and I look forward to his final report on this subject. I would also like to make sure that you have a chance to voice your opinion, so if you'd like to speak with Brad yourself and have not had the opportunity to do so, please call me so that I can assist you. Please see related story in this issue.

Now for something really scary: Thursday evening, I took Robert to the Everett Jaycees Haunted Forest, their 7th annual, held at Forest Park. The Everett Jaycees are a community organization that provides leadership training for individuals ages 21 to 39. I highly recommend learning about this organization to see what they have to offer. Proceeds from the Haunted Forest go to the Greater Everett Community Foundation. See story in our events section.

12:08 am est

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