Last week, I spent a little time walking right along Colby. I was struck by the large number of vacant store front spaces. Which surprises me, since retail space in the region is in high-demand. I guess we can see the upper bound of that. Perhaps Everett is considered too far from Seattle. I find that interesting as it's only 35 miles, 44 miles to Seatac airport. There's a great arts community up here, with the Everett Philharmonic , the Village Theatre and the Schack Arts Center , just to name a few. Plenty of businesses occupy the larger buildings, banks, escrow companies, the offices for Snohomish County , and, of course, the City of Everett's offices. The city has an amazing amount of potential. I hope that the business community realizes it and helps Everett grow...and grow the right way. Maybe that can Everett's call to glory: smart and compassionate growth! Just a thought.