Belltown High

More than one person has asked me how I can be publisher of a Belltown neighborhood newspaper while living in Seward Park, seven miles to the south. I gently remind these busybodies that I was a hard-core Belltowner for a decade, ten important formative years that saw me mature from an ordinary person into the angry, trouble-making man whose column you enjoy reading every month. Anyway, the publisher's primary job is to get the print bill paid. I do that just fine from Seward Park. Our editor Clark, on the other hand, is a Belltown resident-for-life, and that'll have to be good enough for you.

I drop in on Belltown as often as I can, of course. When I bring my toddler, Max, we like parking near the fire station on 4th so he can study the fire trucks. Then he leads me over to the Market, or maybe to the Science Center to spend time with the dinosaurs.

We all know Belltown has a dearth of parks, schools, community centers and other resources for kids. Well, here's an idea: wouldn't it be great if it had its own High School? We could model it after New York's Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts. I reckon people would be clamoring to send their kids to a great school in our downtown cultural core.

Belltown High: it has a nice ring to it. I'll make you a deal: when Belltown sets up its own schools for me to send Max to, we'll make the big move back to my old stomping grounds.