Economic Boom (ok, muffled thump)

Some time ago, the St. Vincent De Paul thrift store here in Carnation closed. The town's just too small to keep it afloat, I guess. The size of the town and the opening of new businesses is limited because there are no sewers, and the increasingly tight environmental regulations basically forbid new septic systems in town. So the town is just getting choked off.

This little shop used to be a bike shop. It had erratic hours, catered to the weekend influx of urban bikers out to tour the countryside. I kept meaning to stop in and buy fenders for my bike, but somehow never got around to it. And then it was gone, with just the awning to remind us of what was there.

And now, it's another thrift store. That's good, we need one. I hope it stays in business.

Just after I took this photo, two teenagers dropped off a big, brown Barcalounger. That's where I live - no sewers, and people are selling off their Barcaloungers. The sewers are coming - construction on the treatment plant starts soon. So we'll have sewers, and new growth, and jobs for folks.

That's a good thing, but it's not without costs, too. With the coming economic boom, we'll have more people, growth - good things, sure, but with impacts I'm not looking forward to.