Perennials are permanent plants that come back every spring. At least that is what they are supposed to do. Some may be short lived and fade away after just a few seasons. Others may multiply rapidly and need dividing after a few seasons. But most of them just keep chugging along year after year after year, gaining a little girth each season and becoming more substantial as time goes on until it is impossible to imagine your garden without them. That is the attraction of perennials. They can't help but grow on you. (No pun intended.)

For me, perennials give me the same kind of excitement I receive from opening Christmas presents. There is the anticipation of what lies inside the wrapping, or in the case of perennials, what lies just under the surface of the ground. You know there is something special down there just waiting to wake up and spring to life. And the really thrilling part of it is that whatever was there last year is going to be bigger and better this year. More shoots, more flowers, more impact than ever before. These plants truly appreciate in value and enjoyment every year they remain in the ground. It's a solid investment that never crashes.

ARLINGTON Arlington High School senior Jacob Aylesworth will be starting his freshman year at the University of Washington in the fall, but this summer, he'll be taking a historic trip to China.

Aylesworth is one of 600 high school and college musicians from America who will be part of a group of 2,008 student musicians, from 40 countries around the world, at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.

"I'll be playing the sousaphone," said Aylesworth, whose road to the Olympics began a few months ago when the UW band director spotted him at a solo and ensemble musical contest at the school.

Taste of the Times
Aug 28 2008, 5:31 PM Here is a slow cooker recipe for meatballs. This recipe should be simmered 4 to 5 hours. You won't have to worry about having any leftovers of these tasty meatballs. Also very good with pineapple.

How far is it to Seattle?
Aug 28 2008, 5:48 PM How far is it to Seattle? That depends. Among other things, it depends on the time of day, the season, weather and the particular day of the week. Add the price of gas. According to the on-the-ground measure, Seattle is 38 miles away. My car's odometer agrees with maps that 38 miles is close to accurate. Though the road still measures 38 miles, I can feel the distance growing every year.

Why vote Yes for the Library Bond?
Aug 28 2008, 5:48 PM On May 20, voters in the Arlington area will be asked to approve an $8.8 million bond to construct a new branch library in Arlington. Residents of the greater Arlington community have an opportunity of a lifetime to greatly improve the quality of life and make a significant investment in the critical infrastructure of our growing community by voting Yes on the Library Bond.

Last car for gas
Aug 28 2008, 5:48 PM So Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Jay Inslee have asked President Bush to create a task force to investigate possible fraud and price gouging by oil and gas companies. Gasoline averaging $3.50 a gallon is dragging the economy into recession, they said in their letter to the president and it's time to get to the bottom of it. Remember back in the '70s when the Legislature created its own Select Committee on the Energy Crisis which traveled all over the state conducting hearings in communities where lines for gasoline were getting longer and longer?

Know how much gas was then? Thirty-five cents a gallon. It wasn't the price then so much as the supply. Actually, we'd been warned in 1970 by Secretary of Labor George Shultz of the possibility of a manufactured crisis in the oil industry created by shutting off supplies. It hit in 1973 but nobody could put the finger on exactly why. The industry blamed the shortage on lack of refinery capacity, since most refineries are built outside the U.S. because of tax advantages.

Domestic reserves were running low. Some oil dealers smelled a rat in the arrival of the crisis on the heels of a court decision holding up extension of the Alaska pipeline. One dealer told me the stickler in the decision was the requirement that there had to be at least a 50-foot right of way in the path of the pipeline and in some areas the oil companies just didn't have that.

New Arlington Library deserves support
Aug 28 2008, 5:47 PM Ballots for the May 20 special election should have already begun appearing in area mail boxes, as local residents will have the opportunity to decide if Arlington needs a new library. There will actually be two measures on the ballot an $8.8 million construction bond and a measure to form a Library Capital Facility Area. Both measures must receive a supermajority of 60 percent or more yes votes for the new library to be built.

Having a local library that can meet the growing needs and demands of the community is a quality of life issue that should be supported by local voters. We urge all those voting in the May 20 election to vote yes on both measures.

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