Drivers still have plenty of distractions other than cell phones
FEEL SAFER? - Today is the 156th day since it became a primary offense to drive while holding a hand-held cell phone to your ear, and already I feel safer.
Of course, the old guy with the little, yapping dog sitting on his lap cut me off and the guy eating the hamburger ran the red light when some of the special sauce fell onto his pants leg.
I was able to get out of the way, but the professional woman drinking her latte while putting on eyeliner nearly ran over two pedestrians.
Along came the teenager playing a song with apparently only bass notes that I could hear four blocks away, and that rattled the change in my cup holder when he pulled up next to me. He must not have heard the ambulance sirens and probably wondered why everyone else was parked on the sides of the road.
The teen narrowly missed the chain smoker, who was trying to light another cigarette while cruising along at 70 miles per hour and drifting in and out of his lane.
But I certainly feel safer knowing those drivers with hand-held phones aren’t taking calls anymore.
PERCIVAL HONORED – The American Planning Association has named Percival Landing as one of the Top 10 Great Public Spaces in America. The association also recognizes great neighborhoods and great streets every year.
The nearly mile-long boardwalk along the West Bay waterfront has some storied company in the APA’s Top 10, including: Main Plaza in San Antonio, Texas; Bryant Park in New York City; Fountain Square in Bowling Green, Ky., and the historic Ferry Building in San Francisco.
The boardwalk adjoins Percival Landing Park, a 1.3 acre open space on the former Unocal oil storage tank site purchased by the city in 1996. The city has grants to help rebuild and renovate Percival Landing, which is named for Sam Percival, a settler from Massachusetts who built a wooden steamship dock in 1860 as an entry point to Olympia for passengers and cargo.
Jerry Reilly, chairman of the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation, says, “Imagine the national recognition that will come when we are able to link Percival, the Isthmus, Heritage Park and the Capitol into one continuous civic space. When the ‘mistake by the lake’ comes down, we will surely be home to one of the greatest vistas in the world.”
SHAKES! – I have good news to report on the quest to trace my historical connections through those with whom I have shaken hands.
Trent Hart of Anderson-Boone Architects has confirmed that as a young lad he shook hands with Jacques Cousteau at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. That not only puts me in a secondary handshake with the famous oceanographer and inventor of modern scuba diving equipment, but also in thrice-removed relationships with French President Jacques Chirac and U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy.
ET CETERA
The new owner of the Tumwater Brewery, Patrick Rhodes, is speaking at the Tumwater Chamber of Commerce forum at 11.30 am. Tuesday at the Tyee Event Center. The Hands On Children’s Museum will break ground at its new location beside East Bay at noon on Wednesday. The Senior Action Network recognizing outstanding caregivers this week, especially Connie Walker, who was named Outstanding Community Caregiver of the Year. Walker is the director of mission leadership and spiritual care services for Providence St. Peter Hospital. Among those also honored were: Krisandra Harden (youth caregiver), Joanie Bakken and Carley Nelson (volunteer caregivers), Ann Brewer, Vernon “Bud” Goldy and Tamura Narvasa (family caregivers).
George Le Masurier, publisher of The Olympian, can be reached at 360-357-0206 or glemasurier@theolympian.com.
This story was originally published November 14, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Drivers still have plenty of distractions other than cell phones."