Neary-Sighted

You may have already read that the Lakewood council decided to invest in a conference center within the new student center at Clover Park Technical College. The city will be able to host events for up to 1,500 people, which is a heckuva lot more than you can fit into any one existing room in Lakewood right now.

If you take a close look at a map of the center, you'll really appreciate just how ambitious the new center is. Its presence as almost a mini-city could have a huge effect on the college and the rest of the community. The center is something I would expect to see at UW, not in Lakewood. It's a great accomplishment for the college and a wise investment by the state.

One thing you might want to know, by way of my comments on The News Tribune blog, is how the council paid for the investment. You should be aware that the city would not have been able to spend the particular funds on most other needs in Lakewood. We could not have spent the money on police or roads. The money had to be spent on something related to tourism.

Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that the city made this investment because no one will think to look for us on the grounds of Clover Park Tech. We will be able to dig a secret tunnel under the building, from which we can launch our secret takeover of the Lakewood Water District.

Nope. That's not it at all. The council made this investment because it's one more piece in a puzzle that is shaping into a beautiful - and lucrative - picture. Other pieces: A new Lakewood museum. The first pioneer fort of Washington Territory. Lakewold Gardens. Thornewood Manor. Lakewood Playhouse. Two colleges. An international shopping district. Huge and historic parks. Lakes.

And I'm not even getting into how Tillicum will be a whole new world.
I could keep going with the list. Add a 1,500-capacity building to the list, and you begin to see how Lakewood will develop its economy. We don't need Intel to open up a manufacturing plan here. We can develop our own engine of tourism and destination attractions.
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