My Town
As the profile bar suggests, I live in Bremerton, WA. Bremerton is a Navy town, surrounded by thick forests, high mountains and the numerous inlets from Puget Sound. Most people are lower-middle class to midline middle class (25k-45k a year) and the vast amount of our focus lies on Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Base Kitsap, which dominate the Southern reaches of central Bremerton.
People work hard, life is slower than big cities, the scenery is magnificent and last year four people were murdered within three blocks of my apartment…There were five robberies, six rapes and thirty-six assaults within those same three blocks in 2005. There are 16 sex offenders registered within five miles of me of which, six are class III offenders. Needless to say I carry a gun
Our crime rate has been rated as the highest per-capita in the state with such local descriptions as “A city of renters. A city with heavy drug use. A city with nighttime drunkards who like to brawl. A city with an understaffed police force. A city whose local jail has a "revolving door." A city whose landlords allegedly ignore their renters’ criminal activity.” From the Kitsap Sun.
My neighborhood is evidently on the crappier end of town, but this summer we have had no murders. Either because they all killed each other or because more people have been calling the police, more pay attention to their neighborhood and land lords are held to a higher standard. My landlord has added some appropriate landscaping, gravel over the mud edge of our driveway and replaced our roof. He screens the tenants and pays attention to what goes on. Bums no longer sleep behind our place, the hookers (nasty ones!) no longer visit the side of our apartment to ply their trade and I haven’t heard one gunshot this summer.
Bremerton is trying. The community and local government work hard and understand that filling the prisons will not fix our problem. The mayor said himself “We cannot police our way out of this.”
Programs aimed at helping youth stay in school, raising their goals in life and helping the underprivileged to establish an economic grip and strong work ethic have been implemented well. Neighborhood Watch programs have become more frequent and the community has been encouraged to get involved. The latest trend has seen upscale apartments being built and a beautification effort around parts of the city. Property taxes have gone up, which has moved out the failing businesses of some areas in downtown Bremerton and are being replaced with public structures and more prosperous endeavors.
The down side.
There are no millionaires in Bremerton. No one will ever start a successful business in Bremerton. Bremerton causes insanity. Land is too expensive for most businesses to start fresh, and ancient city ordinances prevent major retailers from building in many areas. Most people have little work ethic and I can walk two blocks up next to Olympic college and buy a light bulb filled with Crystal. There are a large number of people with mental handicaps and severe addictions everywhere you go. Some are wards of the state, deinstitutionalized and dropped into our laps, while others are self induced drug users and the elderly senile, forgotten by their families. The Navy floods the town with low-mid range income people, out for a night on the town and fuels the industry and night life, but never with positive results. Our greatest cultural gifts seem to be overweight, single mothers leading packs of multi-ethnic children to the bus every morning and a surplus of Asian fast food. Mmmm…lumpia.
The up side.
NASCAR may be coming to town! If this happens I will immediately get involved with organized crime. Or maybe politics. Or maybe both. A 1,000 yd rifle range coming soon!!! Community festivals. There are a TON of community festivals involving a thousand types of food and drink. From Allen Days and Blackberry Fest to Viking Fest and Whaling Days, we know how to throw a party! Hoards of small bands, but the bars that usually have the best come and go so quickly that venues change every year. Motorcycles, there are more bikers here then any place I have been too. Great outdoor activities and athletic fun, local sports and reasonably priced family activities. Although, with rising fuel prices and none of this actually taking place “in” Bremerton, we are still limited by our own wallets, especially me. So read this blog so I can get sponsors and pay for my addiction! The good kind, that is; adrenaline, on the rocks, with a twist.
People work hard, life is slower than big cities, the scenery is magnificent and last year four people were murdered within three blocks of my apartment…There were five robberies, six rapes and thirty-six assaults within those same three blocks in 2005. There are 16 sex offenders registered within five miles of me of which, six are class III offenders. Needless to say I carry a gun
Our crime rate has been rated as the highest per-capita in the state with such local descriptions as “A city of renters. A city with heavy drug use. A city with nighttime drunkards who like to brawl. A city with an understaffed police force. A city whose local jail has a "revolving door." A city whose landlords allegedly ignore their renters’ criminal activity.” From the Kitsap Sun.
My neighborhood is evidently on the crappier end of town, but this summer we have had no murders. Either because they all killed each other or because more people have been calling the police, more pay attention to their neighborhood and land lords are held to a higher standard. My landlord has added some appropriate landscaping, gravel over the mud edge of our driveway and replaced our roof. He screens the tenants and pays attention to what goes on. Bums no longer sleep behind our place, the hookers (nasty ones!) no longer visit the side of our apartment to ply their trade and I haven’t heard one gunshot this summer.
Bremerton is trying. The community and local government work hard and understand that filling the prisons will not fix our problem. The mayor said himself “We cannot police our way out of this.”
Programs aimed at helping youth stay in school, raising their goals in life and helping the underprivileged to establish an economic grip and strong work ethic have been implemented well. Neighborhood Watch programs have become more frequent and the community has been encouraged to get involved. The latest trend has seen upscale apartments being built and a beautification effort around parts of the city. Property taxes have gone up, which has moved out the failing businesses of some areas in downtown Bremerton and are being replaced with public structures and more prosperous endeavors.
The down side.
There are no millionaires in Bremerton. No one will ever start a successful business in Bremerton. Bremerton causes insanity. Land is too expensive for most businesses to start fresh, and ancient city ordinances prevent major retailers from building in many areas. Most people have little work ethic and I can walk two blocks up next to Olympic college and buy a light bulb filled with Crystal. There are a large number of people with mental handicaps and severe addictions everywhere you go. Some are wards of the state, deinstitutionalized and dropped into our laps, while others are self induced drug users and the elderly senile, forgotten by their families. The Navy floods the town with low-mid range income people, out for a night on the town and fuels the industry and night life, but never with positive results. Our greatest cultural gifts seem to be overweight, single mothers leading packs of multi-ethnic children to the bus every morning and a surplus of Asian fast food. Mmmm…lumpia.
The up side.
NASCAR may be coming to town! If this happens I will immediately get involved with organized crime. Or maybe politics. Or maybe both. A 1,000 yd rifle range coming soon!!! Community festivals. There are a TON of community festivals involving a thousand types of food and drink. From Allen Days and Blackberry Fest to Viking Fest and Whaling Days, we know how to throw a party! Hoards of small bands, but the bars that usually have the best come and go so quickly that venues change every year. Motorcycles, there are more bikers here then any place I have been too. Great outdoor activities and athletic fun, local sports and reasonably priced family activities. Although, with rising fuel prices and none of this actually taking place “in” Bremerton, we are still limited by our own wallets, especially me. So read this blog so I can get sponsors and pay for my addiction! The good kind, that is; adrenaline, on the rocks, with a twist.
posted by Petey at 12:47 PM
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