Being an EOE (equal opportunity editorialist), it is only fair that we take a look at Avalon's proposed "excessive calls" ordinance with the same jaundiced eye used to evaluate Bellevue's "nuisance tenant" ordinance a few years ago. Both fall into the same category of well-intentioned efforts that have taken the form of terrifyingly bad laws.

There’s no season quite as fun as summer, you have to admit, and you don’t have to travel far to have a great time.

It was standing room only at Avalon Field for the annual North Boroughs Independence Day fireworks. Pyrotechnico promised us lots of "oohs" and "aahs," and that's exactly what they delivered. Unfortunately there was a slight problem getting the CD to work, so the fireworks went up without musical accompaniment. We'll try that again next year!

They say it's fairly easy to teach a dog to roll over. I haven't tried it yet with Arthur because, let's face it, at 150 lbs. I'm not sure I want him rolling all over the place. Sometimes he lays on his back with his eyes looking wild and his paws bent -- I call it his "Thriller" pose. He doesn't roll all the way over though.

So, how hard is it to teach people to roll over? And why are so many rolling over and letting the Northgate School Board increase property taxes by 3.1 mills?

A letter to the editor in this week's paper is very disturbing to me because it accuses several local elected officials of not being patriotic or loyal Americans because they did not attend a Memorial Day service.

Granted, there is a whole lot more going on here than who showed up where, but it has become the norm for many people to equate patriotism solely with support for the military. That bothers me, because America is so much more.