MailChimp Coming Soon

Hola Amigos,
I have signed up for MailChimp and will begin using it after I learn the program. It looks like it wants to integrate this blog and our neighborhood facebook account with our email. Not sure how that will all pan out yet, but time will tell. One thing it does do is allow me to send emails out using a single list of contacts. Currently I have to divide the list in order for emails to go out.

On another note, I'm going to change the looks of the blog. I'm still looking at other templates that I like and will get it done as time allows this winter. I'm really not looking forward to that nasty frozen stuff though.
Duke

Tumblr Photo Account

OK. Our new Tumblr account is now up and fully working. As I said in the email, I'm looking forward to residents or former residents to send me your photos of our neighborhood. I've uploaded what I have and also a few others that were sent to me. It's meant to be fun and engaging for neighbors. A conversation piece, if you will. And I'm looking to tap in to others' vanity! LOL, if you go out and take a close up photo of a Morgan Acres bee, why not share that? Just make sure it's one of our residents flying around out there.

Tumbler Account Created

We've created an account at Tumblr where we're adding photos from the neighborhood. If you've never been to a tumblr site before it will seem a little unusual. On the 'archive' page you'll find all the photos in thumbnail size. Click on any picture and it will enlarge. You may be able to click on it again and get a larger version of the photo. I'm willing to add any other neighborhood photos, new or old, to the site for all to see. Tumblr organizes the photos/videos by month. The constant scroll is on so as you scroll down to the bottom the photos will keep loading. If you see a photo that you think misrepresents you or the neighborhood, let us know and we'll remove it. If you have other ideas on what to add let us know. We cannot add minutes or pdf files. I wish we could. Send us any photos you'd like to see on the site to morganacres@gmail.com.

Our tumblr site:  http://morganacresneighborhood.tumblr.com/
Remember, click on 'archive' tab at the top right to see thumbnails.

Todd Mielke Scheduled

We've scheduled Spokane County Commissioner Todd Mielke to be our guest on September 20. If you have a question you'd like us to submit to him let us know.

At our April 19th meeting our guest speaker will be Luke Tolley with SustainableWorks. He will be there to help area residents take part in making upgrades on their homes so they are more energy efficient. They have access to loans at 0% interest, even if your credit isn't the best. If you're thinking of new windows/doors, insulation, or other items, do come and hear his pitch. After all, the price is right!

Our guest speaker on March 15 helps people learn about alternative forms of healing other than just traditional medicine. I've set up a new poll question to help gauge the interest in our neighborhood to this subject. I may do another poll one day about types of guest speakers, but this one is about this subject only. We've had guests from different parts of government and one or two about gardening, but never one like this. If there is an interest we may explore this idea again.  I'm looking for feedback from residents.
Duke

POLL #16: Sheriff's Bond

I've added a new poll. The sheriff would like to place a bond on the ballot for additional revenue during these lean time so he can boost patrols. Crime is higher right now and some are looking for easy money. Would you be willing to pay more to have a higher police presence? Take the poll. The numbers are not cast in stone. 

Events Updated for 2012

I've updated this year's area neighborhood events. I'll fill in the dates as I learn more. There are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved and volunteer at any event if you'd like. It's a great way to get to know more people and have some fun.

POLL #15

Hey Folks
As you have probably heard, there is discussion going on to consolidate police services between Spokane's Police Department and the Sheriff's Department, with the hope there will be a cost savings for all and improved services. The police chief, Ann Kirkpatrick, will be stepping down next month and Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has offered to step in and be the new chief as well as still be the sheriff. You can read about it in a recent Spokesman Review article.

So I have created a new poll: Should Police Agencies in Spokane Be Combined?

Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich will be our guest at our January 20th meeting.

On a separate note, Murphy Brothers has been selected to rebuild Francis from Freya to Havana starting in April. You can read about it in the most recent edition of the Journal of Business.  Eldon Brown is scheduled to be our guest speaker at our February 16th meeting. I'm hoping to also have someone from the WDOT there so residents can ask about the Francis reconstruction rebuilds and the Francis bridge project.

POLL #14: Initiative 1183: Privatization of Liquor

On November 8th we will be voting on Initiative 1183. This is the Costco backed effort to get Washington State out of the liquor business. If voters pass this initiative, it will allow all larger business to purchase hard alcohol directly from manufacturers and sell to the public or another retail merchant at maybe lower prices. This is similar to laws in other states.  The usual laws about minimum drinking age and checking ID still apply. And the state would still get it's tax revenue on all sales. Poll question is: do you support ending Washington State's monopoly on the sale of 'spirits'?

I have finally created a new poll. It's about the demonstrations spreading across the USA called 'Occupy Wall Street'. They're even here in Spokane holding down the intersection of Monroe & Riverside. Their purpose to call attention to the financial giants on Wall Street, blaming them for the economic hardship sweeping the country, including home foreclosures. They're  upset with the lack of jobs, the unwillingness of institutions to loan out the money taxpayers loaned them so small businesses could expand. They're also upset with tax rates of higher earners and corporate influence in politics.


What are your thoughts? Do you feel they're right on? Or do you think these are mostly uninformed people who just like to complain? Do the poll.

Weekend Over, August Meeting Coming Up

Hey Folks,

The weekend is about over. It’s been a fun-filled but lots of work week for me. The Hillyard Festival was all last weekend and the Hispanic Festival was yesterday. There’s a lot involved in setting up and taking down of stuff. But it’s a lot of fun for me when I get to chat with people. Never know what you may find out.

I’ve finally uploaded photos of our neighborhood yard sale last month. I’m not a yard saler by nature, but from what I’ve heard it’s the best yet. There were a lot of other residents who had unannounced sales that weekend, taking advantage of the signs we posted. I also uploaded some additional pictures the the  Historic Hillyard folder.

I talked to the sheriff, Ozzie Knezovich, yesterday. He said he’d like to maybe visit our meetings twice a year. He also said he’s planning to assign someone to visit our monthly meetings maybe every other month. They’ll be there to gather your input on things happening around you. Take advantage of it.

Also, speaking of meetings, our next meeting is this coming Thursday at 6:30pm at the fire station. We don’t have a guest speaker scheduled, but if you’ve never been to one, this would be a great time to come and let us get to know you.

Duke

Morgan Acres Photos

I've added pictures from last weekend's neighborhood wide yard sale event. Click here to see them. If you have any others you took and would like to share send them my way.

POLL #12: Hillyard & Hispanic Festivals

As many of you are aware, the Hillyard Festival is coming up on August 5th and the Hispanic Festival August 13th. So I thought I'd ask: are you planning to go to either event? There will be a little bit more news of these events at our next neighborhood meet this coming Thursday (July 21st).

New Poll: Happy 4th of July

Hey Folks! Happy 4th of July. In celebration of our national holiday I've created a new poll, in fun, to see what you think should be our national anthem. I've chosen a few songs. There could maybe be others that would qualify, but these will be the choices. Click on the song to listen to the video. One video was chosen because of the comments I read below the video on YouTube. Your comments are always welcome.

America the Beautiful
God Bless the USA!
Star Spangled Banner
My Country Tis of Thee

Do the poll!

Upcoming Neighborhood Yard Sale

Folks, if you're planning to host a yard sale the weekend of July 8th thru 10th and would like your address listed on the blog in the upper left hand corner under 'Yard Sale', send me an email, morganacres@gmail.com and I'll add it to the list.

Hillyard Hobo 4.20.2011

I've uploaded the April 20th edition of the Hillyard Hobo. Feel free to click on the link and read or download it.

Duke

POLL #10: Neighborhood Watch?

Are you a little worried about crime on your block? A potential upcoming guest is Simone Ramel, Spokane County Neighborhood Watch Coordinator and SCOPE Program Assistant. Have you thought of having a 'block watch' on your block? Would you be willing to help put one together? Do you know if any of your neighbors are interested? Do the poll and give us some feedback.

Upcoming Meeting and Guest

Our regular monthly meeting is this coming Thursday at the fire station, 6606 N. Regal, at 6:30pm. Our guest speaker will be Karen Kearney. Karen feels the time has come to change the number of county commissioners from three to five. Under our current system, no two commissioners are supposed to be at any meeting or really be together at the same time because it may constitute a quorum and thus be illegal. By having five people on the commission then any two could discuss county business or attend a community event together legally. She has asked the commissioners to place this on the ballot. If they choose not to then she says she is prepared to begin a petition drive herself. What are your thoughts? Come listen to what she has to say and ask questions.

POLL #9: Neighborhood Involvement

Not sure how this poll will pan out. We sometimes wonder why more residents don't get more involved with us. Usually we come up with the same conclusions: people are too busy, they're pretty much satisfied with the way things are, they just want to be left alone, or they're not even aware of us. Some neighborhoods are more organized than us, some less or not at all. We know the world is made up of all kinds of people and not all can or want or should do the same thing. But there is strength in numbers, especially if those numbers are unified in vision and soul or purpose. So this poll is for those who don't usually participate with us. I guess I could have added a couple of more choices now that I think of it. Maybe later this summer I'll ask something similar but phrased a little different. Anyway, we're interested in any feedback.