 |
|
|
This series examines how prosperity -- its
promises and its paradoxes -- have touched lives and communities around Puget
Sound.
Big bucks going back to
school [December 10, 2000]
In an era of unprecedented private giving, philanthropists big and small are
taking up the cause of K-12 education. They're adopting schools, reform movements
and entire school districts.
Today's aspiring basketball
players need talent, money to be competitive [November 26, 2000]
Joyce Walker now is being asked to restore glory to Garfield's girls-basketball
program as the Bulldogs' head coach. Despite her personal dynamism and star
appeal, Walker faces a disadvantage: Several of her players hail from families
without much money.
One neighborhood and its identity
crisis [November 20, 2000]
Around the start of the 20th century, executives of Kirkland's steel mill built
mansions for themselves on the western edge of town, shaping a neighborhood on a
progression of slow-rising hills that peer down upon the blue, blissful chop of
Lake Washington.
Younger generation's expectations
have become far greater than parents' [November 13, 2000]
It is hard for the younger members of the Finlay family to avoid focusing on the
gulf between their situation and their expectation of what middle-class life
should be. But as Kevin Finlay's parents see it, rising costs alone don't explain
their frustration. Expectations themselves have inflated along with the cost of
living.
A grand indicator of wealth: demand
for Steinway pianos [November 10, 2000]
A Steinway & Sons piano is the grandest in the grand piano market. In the past
few years, it also has become an instrument to measure Seattle-area wealth.
Pricey saltwater aquariums bring
the vacation home [November 10, 2000]
If the Steinway piano is the most classical gadget for the area's new rich,
then the saltwater aquarium is their most exotic diversion.
Service workers find jobs easily,
but still struggle [November 6, 2000]
Norma Lopez rises at sunup to begin a workday that won't end until 1 the next
morning. Son Ricky, her "little angel," is asleep when she leaves and asleep when
she returns.
In 'job gap,' there's just no getting
ahead
[November 6, 2000]
Being a single parent in Seattle on an ordinary income is an extraordinary
challenge. Troy Grugett, a musician with a college degree, is raising three kids
on his annual salary of about $35,000.
New money:
How prosperity is changing life here [November 5, 2000]
The prosperity of the past decade is unprecedented in local history.
The Puget Sound area always has been a place built on economic booms -- of Alaska
gold, of timber, of airplanes. Now the region is living the high life because of
high tech.
Sudden wealth, hard questions:
Can you enjoy your money and continue to be the person you always were?
[November 5,
2000]
As she pondered the floor plans for her new, custom-built, lake-front home, Lisa
Goldfarb was struck by the symbolism of sinks. Newly wealthy at 35 after selling
to Microsoft the audio-technology company she and her husband had nurtured for
seven years, she was working with the architect to plan the bathroom for her two
toddlers.
|
|
|
|
 |
| Comment on the series |
|
| Do you
see this region's value system changing? In philanthropy, government, your
neighborhood? Tell us how and we'll use some of the best responses in an upcoming
story. E-mail us with your
comments. Please include a daytime phone number.
|
| |
|
