So I've read what other people on OlyBlog have written. I've read the Olympian. I've exchanged a few e-mails with some of our City Councilmen. And I've been letting it all stew in my gray matter. So here're my thoughts on working within the community to counter the negative publicity of downtown Olympia:

• Redevelop the Sound Hours program as an incentive for voluntary downtown cleanup year round.  The Hours would need to be redeemable at all downtown Olympia businesses (part of the price of doin' business in downtown Oly, like paying for that "environmental maintenance worker" now).
• An open call for local artists to develop positive image reinforcement pieces for potential mass distribution (read: propaganda for good).
• The creation of more housing downtown (across the income spectrum).
• An outdoor stage for theater, political stumping, protests, impromptu performances, etc.
• Municipal WiFi.  Seriously, as a city we should be investing in technology that will increase the odds of future income sources.