If you haven’t noticed before, I’ll point it out now. I rarely bother repeating negative news in this blog. Why not? Because the commercial media revels in reporting it and they waste no time. “Home sales are down again”, “The jobless rate is up for the ninth consecutive…” Why bother? They frame their newscasts and headlines around it. So, it IS nice to read a headline like the one in the May 31st Business Examiner. “Jobless rate falls”.
Back in 2002 housing in this country was fully one quarter of the gross domestic product. THAT was the red flag so many ignored. You can’t sustain that! And we did not. Housing fell, the banks fell, employment fell and conditions are still not conducive to a full-scale recovery. As has been the case in the past, housing led us down the path and housing will lead us back up. History has shown that time and again and our recovery from this e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d slump should be no different. Recent upturns in home sales have and continue to be encouraging and it’s all part of a slow, sober recovery but when you get a good shot in the arm like the April employment numbers, that adds clearly to the overall picture.
The state “…unemployment rate fell for the first time in more than three years.” The Business Examiner just reported.
When we read percentage rates of unemployment in our state we see numbers like 9.5% but what does that translate to in jobs? Well, the recent increase took unemployment in Washington from 9.5% in March to 9.2% in April but what that translates to is 5,800 additional jobs and that’s a damned good thing! Bring it on! I know too many good folks right here in University Place scrambling for income. This is the first significant and positive change to the state’s unemployment rates in 36 months! I’ll take 3/10ths of a percent as an increase. Oh, hell yes! Onward!
And this is all a vital part of the recovery. Declining unemployment, favorable interest rates, shrinking housing inventory…it all adds up to economic recovery and it IS a damned good thing. It’s coming slowly, every-so slowly but it’s coming and I for one continue to be encouraged.
Now, for the nay sayers who like to write me and want to tear the good news down and say “No
Way, there’s no recovery in sight”. Save your time. I won’t print you. Write the News Tribune. They love ya.
Meanwhile, back home…
University Place: What’s UP? DUCK DAZE! That’s what’s up. The unofficial kick off to summer in U.P. 
happens this weekend. So I hope you have your yellow rain slicker and your duck-billed cap ready.
Saturday … THIS Saturday, the 5th, 10am, the Duck Daze parade begins at 27th and
Bridgeport and heads all the way up to Town Center. It’s fun to gather along the parade route and view the get ups and antics of our neighbors but they tell me it’s even MORE fun to get out there and join in!
If you want to march in the parade, they need you at 27th and Bridgeport by 9:00 a.m. and you should call 
Dixie Harris first at 564-6373. Following the parade, they all head for the Treasures in the Park Antique Show and Flea Market and then most everyone heads over to the Public Safety building for the Fire Department and Police Department open house. Treasures in the Park is scheduled for 10am to 4pm and they feature fun for the kids, too. If you might be interested in a last-minute vendor opportunity, call Councilman Ken Grassi at 278-1946. The Fire Dept and Police Dept open their doors from 10am to 2pm at the Public Safety building and that is all an open house with the firefighters and cops SHOULD be plus if you need a life jacket, bike helmet or a multi-sport helmet, they’ll be on sale there and the pros will properly fit you, which is even more important. Good prices, too. Life jacket $14, bike helmet $7, multi-sport helmet $10. And there’s more fun down there for the kids with temporary tattoos, face painting, refreshments, etc.
Did you know that the UP Town Cruisin’ Association will also be out in force on Saturday from 9am to 3pm. Call Charlie Maxwell to find out more at 405-9014. And the United for UP Coalition will be in the Town Hall Courtyard with informational booths from local businesses and nonprofit organizations and they, along with some of the other functions that day will all be collecting non-perishable food donations.
You’ll encounter all sorts of entertainment throughout the day, even over and above the entertainment value of just seeing your friends and neighbors dressed up like DUCKS! Tell me you don’t want to see Councilman Eric Choiniere in yellow feathers! I would PAY to see that!
Karaoke, storytelling, a band, a performing pianist, in fact, a lot of music and more! Duck Daze is always fun and you know what? One of these days each of us need to grab Dixie Harris by the arm, look her in the eyes
and tell her sincerely THANK YOU for making University Place a better place to live and raise a family! Among her other community endeavours, she has been behind the parade and Duck Daze itself since it’s inception, as I understand it. And this is the 11th annual event! She would immediately point out all of the other folks who have contributed, too but they would all turn and point back at Dixie. Credit finds its way where it belongs. We all owe much to that sweet lady, hard worker, leader and really great neighbor! ( Don’t you really think we should start calling her DIXIE DUCK? )
Oh, and finally…take a cue from Dixie and Dress Like A DUCK !!!
29 years! That’s a heck of a lot to give to the people of Pierce County but it’s what U.P. Chief of Police Jim 
Andrews has done. Since April of 1981 he has served us throughout the county and as our own chief for the past five years. The announcement was just made by City Manager Steve Sugg and Pierce County sheriff Paul Pastor that Lt. Rusty Wilder will succeed Chief Andrews effective July 2nd.
And while Chief Andrews will certainly be missed on the softball field… Oh, we’ll save that for later!
Hey, it’s good to be back.
In our next installment of the blog, we’ll get back into the University Place Real Estate Sale of the Day. (I WISH there were that many!) There are plenty and we’ll start profiling them again for you. So, you can keep tabs on what YOUR marketplace is doing and how it will affect your home value.
Do set a side some time this Saturday to watch the parade up Bridgeport and/or come walk through the activities in the park and around the area to include the open house at the Fire and Police Departments. After all it’s DUCK DAZE and it only happens in UNIVERSITY PLACE, WASHINGTON!
And that’s What’s Up!
PAT MADDOCK
Coldwell Banker Bain REALTORS 3560 Bridgeport Way University Place, WA 98466 patmaddock@cbbain.com
Who is this guy?
As a top producer with Coldwell Banker Bain REALTORS in University Place, Pat Maddock is the former President of the Tacoma-Pierce County Association of REALTORS and the 2009 Vice-President of the Washington REALTORS, the statewide trade association of professional members of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). He also serves the University Place – Fircrest Division of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce on it’s Board of Directors and he serves the City of University Place on the Economic Development Commission. But most importantly, he’s been a University Place native since 1953. Pat is also a 20-year Air Force veteran. ( And he ain’t runnin’ for nuttin’! )
You can find Pat at the Bridgeport office of Coldwell Banker Bain. If you want to know most anything about University Place real estate, talk with someone who knows it, understands it and can explain it !
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University Place: What's UP? 
