Economy

Impressions of southern California
Shot with a GoPro
Shot with a GoPro.
Shot with a GoPro.

I love traveling to places I know nothing about, in my own country or overseas. What you see is all new, particularly if you have no firm pre-set notions or biases. I spent a few days in San Diego and Riverside counties, specifically in Temecula (home to Native Americans for about 10,000 years), about 60 miles northeast of San Diego and the same distance southeast of greater Los Angeles. It is now a bedroom community, in the middle of the coastal ranges that once were dry and mostly arid spaces and are now home to freeways, Indian gaming casinos, agriculture businesses, shopping centers, miles of car-oriented subdivisions, strip malls, and also beautiful mountains and natural spaces. I was struck by how utterly and completely dependent the entire local economy and the built environment are to cheaply priced energy, notably petroleum.

The beaches of north San Diego County dazzled me. Numerous historic and scientific landmarks also impressed me, particularly the San Luis Rey Mission and the Palomar Observatory. I also was able to get in some hikes in Palomar State Park and the Santa Rosa Plateau. All provided excellent opportunities to enjoy the high desert mountain ecosystems. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Turkish laborers near Antalya
Laborers pause inside a hothouse in southern Turkey near Antalya.

Hothouses growing crops for local and international markets were common sights on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean Coast. During my trip in 2001, I travelled the entirety of that coast by bus (loved it!), and had a chance to visit a hothouse by a bus stop. The workers reminded me a lot of the male laborers I saw in my home state of Washington. They were friendly, their clothes revealed the dirt and sweat of their hard labor, and they had pride in who they were. It is a reminder to always stop and just look around the corner and see what you may find. More pictures of my travels in Turkey can be found on my Turkey photo gallery. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Seattle’s South Park neighborhood

South Park is located in south Seattle, surrounded by industrial activities, the Duwamish River, and some major arterials. It is, by Seattle standards, lower income, given the physical and built environment. Still, it is home to many families and others who live here, in single family homes, subsidized housing, and apartments. More Latinos call it home than any other racial or ethnic group. A number of Latino-owned businesses can be found in the main intersection at Cloverdale and South Fourteenth Avenue. The South Park Bridge, which has been under repair for four years, cutting off a lot of potential business for the area, finally reopened this summer. The bridge now includes a lot of steel artwork, which I like. I also spied some developments along the industrial Duwamish, on land claimed by the Port of Seattle. I have no idea what is happening there. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Must, must return to Hong Kong
Advertising is so totally over the top in Hong Kong. Wow. (Taken in 2004.)

My eyeballs exploded in Hong Kong. Everything was new, and every moment one I should capture on film. Here’s just one of those random moments. Advertising there had to be big, bolder, more awe-inspiring than what rank amateurs would practice elsewhere. Hey, it’s Hong Kong! Cannot believe it has been 10 years since my quick trip. Hmmm. (Click on the photo to see the picture on a separate picture page.)

The lower Ballard whiskey loon shoot
Remember, folks, stay off the loon.

The once industrial area of Seattle’s lower Ballard neighborhood is changing, much like the area around it. Ship and fishing businesses, tied to Salmon Bay, are now competing with yoga and karate studios. A few creative enterprises can be found, just below and near the Ballard Bridge. Here are a few of those businesses I spotted as I took a walk with my camera on a beautiful summer evening. (Click on each photograph to see a larger photo on a separate picture page.)

The barns of Lincoln County, Washington
This beautiful barn is located near Fort Spokane, a major spot for history buffs and those wanting to splash in Lake Roosevelt. I love this part of the state.
Coming southeast from Coulee Dam on Highway 174, this large barn and old farmhouse sit on a prominent point overlooking the Columbia River valley. This was one of those perfect photographic moments.

I recently completed a wonderful tour of central and eastern Washington. One of my trip’s highlights was passing through rural Lincoln County, which is west of Spokane. This is wheat country. There are fields upon fields of wheat in all directions. Given the price of wheat, this is also a very profitable business too. Right now harvesters are running night and day cutting down the golden grain in the hot summer sun. The landscape is dotted with grain elevators and some of the most beautiful barns. These barns remind me of the ones I used to see on jigsaw puzzles that I connected growing up. I still do not why red is the preferred color, but the effect is stunning, particularly against an evening sky and rolling hills of wheat ready to harvest. This is definitely a place worth a visit. Be sure to slow down and stop and savor the scenery. (Click on each photo to see a larger picture on separate picture pages.)

Wine country in the Pacific Northwest

 

Washington state is one of the major wine growing regions of the United States. According to the Washington State Wine Commission, the state has eight distinct wine growing regions. All told, the industry’s economic impact is worth about $9 billion annually. For most of us, what matters is the taste, but for me, I am much more interested in the people who grow and pick the grapes, the ecology for the distinct products, and way this ancient tradition of viticulture is changing this state. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Cherry pickers, Washington state
I took this photo in 1999 of cherry pickers who were living in the woods near Wenatchee.

Given that the fate of migrant children from Central America arriving at the United States’ southern border is now an international news story, I decided to dig up and publish some of my picture series taken in 1999, on cherry pickers and migrant workers in Washington state. The agricultural industry in Washington is staffed almost entirely by foreign-born labor to pick, harvest, and sort the many crops from cherries to apples to hops that make your local beer tasty. Some are workers who travel seasonally. Some are brought here under temporary permits, the H-2A visas. Make no mistake, the state’s economy would grind to a halt without these workers, and their work contributes to the wealth of this huge economic sector, which at last count in 2012 generated nearly $10 billion in the state.

When I took this photo, there was a housing crisis, and workers were camping on public lands, and efforts were launched to find affordable housing. These problems remain. Meanwhile, the debate over immigration and the fate of millions of undocumented workers continues. Here in Washington state, some of the workers will be authorized (they are being brought in from Jamaica, even). Others will be here without authorization. And nearly all of us who eat fruits and vegetables will be continue buying the low-cost produce picked by people why do hard work many U.S. citizens do not wish to do.

For more portrait photographs, please visit my portrait gallery on my web site. (Click on the photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Micro-houses and controversy in growing Seattle
Taken June 2014.
Taken June 2014.
Taken June 2014.
Taken in June 2014.

In the United States, our version of a micro-house is likely considered a castle in most developing nations. But some used to the single family home in this country view these new buildings with suspicion and even fear.

Because of growing pains in popular West Coast cities like Seattle, developers are now developing former single-family units into developments with three-story tall, slender homes. The advocates of this trend, developers who are meeting the markets demands and who are making good money, dub their efforts Smart Growth Seattle. They call these new four- or six-per lot developments micro-houses. Proponents of high-density urban growth, like Sightline Institute of Seattle, also support higher density developments.

Neighbors in single-family-zoned neighborhoods have other words for them. Some opponents also have voiced concerns on relationships between developers and city officials and rules for notifying neighbors of developments. Foes of these new homes have called them monstrosities because of how they have been erected uncomfortably close to homes that used to have more buffers, and now those neighbors are dealing with building shadows and obstructed views.

The emotions have run very high because of how the city’s bureaucracy managing new developments was handling the change that is still transforming Seattle into a city with many younger and wealthier tech workers who like these homes and who have no kids. Eventually, the fights spilled into the Seattle City Council, which in May 2014 took action on what kinds of developments can occur on lot sizes smaller than 2,500 square feet. The council voted to lower the height limits for these slender homes on single-family lots. The Times reported that under new rules, no development is allowed on lot sizes smaller than 2,500 square feet.

It is remarkable to witness this growth. I have lived next door to these developments. I have looked out my kitchen window and watched my neighbor sit in his chair watching TV, and I could practically whisper to him, he was that close. I cannot walk one block in Seattle’s bustling Ballard neighborhood and not see these developments springing up. These homes fetch at least $300,000, depending on the area, and likely more in desirable neighborhoods like mine (I am not wealthy, and rent). Here is the new Seattle, in its new form, and more will be coming–many more actually.

 

 

Two multi-billionaires’ visions in concrete, stone, and steel
Taken in June 2014.
Taken in June 2014.

The two principal co-founders of Microsoft Corp., Paul Allen and Bill Gates, have both left a huge mark on the region and the world because of the concentration of personal massive wealth and their willingness to use that wealth to express their passions, quirks, and visions. Allen is reportedly just the 26th richest man in America at 61 years of age. He has spread his cash, and a lot of it, in things beyond his mega-yacht, two professional sports franchises (the Blazers and Seahawks), University of Washington buildings, spaceships, foundations, and lots of prime real-estate in the Seattle area. A guitar enthusiast, he helped to fund and build the Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum. Located next to the Seattle Center, this wildly shaped interactive museum, designed by Frank Gehry, pays homage in its name to Seattle’s favorite native-son guitar legend, Jimi Hendrix, as well as Allen’s love of all things science and science fiction.

Gates, at 58, has a net worth of about $76 billion, according to press reports. He remains atop the list of the United States’ mega-billionaires. As many know from countless sponsorship promos, he launched his vaunted and sometimes criticized Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1997, in no small part due to his very savvy wife’s influence. The Foundation reportedly has assets now valued at nearly $39 billion. It remains focussed on global health initiatives, technological innovations to improve global and maternal health, poverty reduction, information technology access, and education. The Foundation’s world headquarters literally sits across the street from the EMP.

For us normal and not-so-wealthy folks in Seattle, we are in the shadow of these very rich and influential super-rich billionaires many times over. I recommend any Seattle visitor check out both facilities. In a short walk, you can gaze upon the manifestations of these two mens’ very large egos that continue to shape not only Seattle, but in the Foundation’s case, quite literally direct the global health agenda. Now that is true power beyond the software running on my desktop and laptops.