I've been thinking about a comment made by a young woman at the city council meeting. She mentioned how everyone keeps talking about how we need to "revitalize" downtown, but in her view it already IS vitalized -- as in, full of life.

I happen to share her view. I've lived downtown for a long time and I love it here. Almost everything I need (with the notable exception of affordable groceries) is just a few blocks away. Any time I walk down the street I cross paths with someone I know, or at least recognize. Community isn't just an abstract concept here, it's something you can see and feel. And hear... like the folks who saw fit to bang drums and sing songs at the top of their lungs on the street near my building tonight while I was trying to sleep. But hey, it's better than the pile driving that will wake me up tomorrow -- at least those people were enjoying themselves.

Anyway, what I'd like is to hear what people think is wrong with downtown Olympia. I'm especially curious about what the pro-condo crowd thinks, since they're such big fans of revitalization and all.

Homeless Pinellas residents are moving into Pinellas Hope, a temporary "tent city" operated by Catholic Charities on 10 acres in an industrial area in mid Pinellas County.

The five-month pilot program was the multiagency response to last year's homeless debacle that thrust the city into an unwanted national spotlight. That's when St. Petersburg police caused an uproar by slashing dozens of tents belonging to the homeless.

On one end of the spectrum we have, I guess, me, or, people who feel the way I do. That is, we need to build housing in such a way that everyone who lives here can afford housing.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the idea that we need to build housing that, in the words of newly elected city councilor Rhenda Strub, "most of us can't afford." The idea behind that being that we build housing that attracts people from other areas who are of a higher income level than most of us here now in order to stimulate the economy.

What say you, bloggers?