That being that my old home zone is designated as a Metropolitan Statistical Area by those who pay attention to such things in the federal government, specifically designated as the Mount Vernon - Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The article where I learned that Skagit was a Metro zone interested me for a couple reasons, with the main reason being the news that the Skagit-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area has the highest Gross Domestic Product Growth in the U.S.
Another reason this article interested me was it was quite noticeable the stark difference between how the news in this article was told in my old home zone and the way it would have been told in my current home zone, a home zone which does not have what most people would consider a real newspaper reporting news in a factual, accurate, honest, un-biased, non-propaganda manner.
Had the Fort Worth Star Telegram the same type news to report we would have seen a GIANT headline at the top of the Star-Telegram's front page, screaming...
TARRANT LEADS U.S. IN REAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROWTH
While in GoSkagit the news that Skagit leads the U.S. in real gross domestic product growth is way down past the fold on GoSkagit's front page, as you can see via the screen cap above.
And the article about the Skagit Metropolitan Area leading the U.S. in GDP growth makes no mention of this fact making other Metropolitan Areas far and wide Green with Envy.
You had to click on the link on the GoSkagit front page to go to the actual article to see a big headline,
When I lived in Skagit County it was the least prosperous of Washington's Puget Sound counties. I don't know if this 10.6 percent growth has Skagit County no longer being the least prosperous Puget Sound county, or if the growth is helping the county catch up.
What I do know is this. That upon moving to Tarrant County, well over a decade ago, it was readily apparent that Tarrant County was not nearly as prosperous as the county in Washington from which I had moved.
A few examples.
Parks in Mount Vernon and Skagit County have modern amenities, like running water and modern restrooms.
Is there any other sporting venue in America which has more outhouses surrounding it on game day than the Dallas Cowboy Stadium?
The freeway exits in the two towns in Skagit County which I-5 passes through, that being Mount Vernon and Burlington, are landscaped.
Fort Worth's freeway exits to its only tourist attraction, that being the Fort Worth Stockyards, are not landscaped, instead they are littered, weed covered messes.
Arlington is in Tarrant County. The freeway exits in the Six Flags Over Texas, Ballpark in Arlington, Dallas Cowboy Stadium zone are very well done, with murals and landscaping.
So, some parts of Tarrant County seem as prosperous as Skagit County, freeway-wise.
Skagit County has a public mass transit system called SKAT. SKAT connects to the public mass transit systems of surrounding counties. When I lived in Skagit County it was free to ride SKAT. In 2014 a fare is charged. One buck for 90 minutes, two bucks for an all day pass.
A Fort Worth T bus charges $3.50 for an all day pass. Unlike SKAT, which has lines covering all of Skagit County, Fort Worth's T does not cover all of Tarrant County, just Fort Worth.
Tarrant County is a much smaller county, size-wise, than is Skagit County. And not nearly as prosperous....
2 comments:
I am really sick and tired of public parks built running along public sewer lines. OK, great dual use, but why can't we also built sewer vents that do not smell like an outhouse as you walk through the park.
Veterans Park in Arlington managed to bolt a cover on one sitting just off a footpath near the wildscape garden.
But also in Arlington, the grassy area of Village Creek has turbines which will curve up your nose. these run the entire length of the grassy area and paths along the waterway.
Obnoxious.
Just a little effort and it would be so much nicer. What is going on here?
Skagit County IS very prosperous compared to Grays Harbor or Pacific Counties.
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