The Springfield Improvement App

It's so quiet here in Springfield compared to Seattle, WA. I'm glad to be back. The air here is much cleaner, but the tap water is gross compared to the mountain spring water that comes down from the Cascades into the Puget Sound aquifers.

Now the city of Springfield is launching a city planning application so residents and visitors can submit their ideas to improve Springfield. This is a good idea and I have one based on what I saw in Olympia, Washington.

Parking Kiosks located throughout the downtown area. At these kiosks you purchase parking with a credit card or cash, then the machine prints out a parking slip you place on your car's dashboard. You can then drive around throughout the city and park as often as you like until the time runs out.

No more ugly parking meters.

The Prodigal Son Returns

West Washington State was good for a while, but in mid 2015 the cost of housing, utilities, food, and other staples nearly doubled while wages stagnated.

The city of Seattle is in the process of raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, but if the federal minimum wage was pegged to inflation from the mid-1960's it would be well over $20 per hour by now.

Things are just getting too expensive out here. Luckily I have a family that loves and mostly tolerates me back in the midwest so I'm coming home.

I'm going to dust off this old blog and start catching up on what's going on around Springfield, Illinois.

• I wonder what the gangs are like?
• What do the people west of MacArthur call the people east of MacArthur?
• I wonder if the class line has moved from MacArthur to Old Chatham Road? I know it moved from 5th Street to MacArthur when they built Veterans Parkway, it made a nice socioeconomic barrier. Maybe it happened when they developed Falling Brook
• Will anyone send me leaked dirt on local and state politics? Did someone  already start a blog called Springy Leaks? The reports must be worded in such as way that the sources are not exposed.and the subjects are not specifically identified.
• Could I get a regular full time job as a media analyst in Springfield?

I'm preparing to sell all of my stuff here as I prepare to move home so it will take a while, but I'm coming home.