Crimes and Jobs
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1/31/2009
Crime is up in Bellingham, WA and jobs are dropping like fly's.
Your Job report on Bellingham is way off how old is this report?
Since early 2008 the area has been on a steady losing skid. at least 3 major furniture retailer's closed their doors in 2007 along with two other major retailer's saying good bye to Bellingham, even the Restaurant chain that had been in Bellingham for decades, the "Black Angus Restaurant" closed it's door's late 2007 or early 2008 saying the business climate was not getting any better in Bellingham, a lot of long time employees were stunned. Let's see, oh yea, Bob says the local Burger King on the south side of town closed two years ago and the Popeyes Fried Chicken place closed... it had only been opened a year...the long tome centerally located KFC closed over a year ago..the owner Bob says gave a "B.S." reason for closing saying something that is rent was going up, the building still sits empty over a year later.
A retail business mall they started planning for 3 1/2 years ago and finished last year..a beautiful looking set of buildings my freind says...have no announced tentants to this very day and apparently none in the near future to be announced.
Ther list goes on and on over proced housing higher utilities costly food, marginalized healthcare due to lack of competiton, University students announcing they will be leaving the local school because they want the "Full University Experience" which means attending a cllege football game on a crisp fall day to cheer on their school...a truly American experience..I've ben there to cheer on my team on those fall days.
The local University which a month or so ago won a Division 1 football Bowl game and has played football for at least 100 Years hascut the discontinued the program and layed off all the staff.
The local Aluminum Plant continues to layoff it's employees and independent retailer's are falling by the wayside.
My friend Bob say's he believes that Bellingham's slow decline actually began back in the 80's when it seemed that ever highly placed elected official, i.e. mayor... who after leaving office took a job with a major developer in the region that they interfaced with while in office...sort of like all the high ranking retired generals who become consultants (for what Eisenhower called the "industrial military complex") selling over priced weapon systems to their buddies still in the armed services where the cycle just seems to repeating itself.
But back to the point, the job market in Bellingham is SHRINKING...FAST...it is not growing.
jim | Bellingham, WA