(Originally posted on What This Town Needs...)

What kind of year has 2006 been for Olympia?

If the Olympian were our only source of information, we might think that our city was hostile to business, ridden with crime, and wrought with poverty. Yes, things are looking meager for Oly according to our local news source, with their whiny editorials and interviews with the bitter Seattle condo developer who didn't get his way with the council.
The council, on the other hand, is optimistic about their new ordinance banning crimes such as sitting or standing without buying in downtown Olympia. They think the ordinance will do much to create what they call quality of life and address what they call downtown safety issues in 2007.

But what else was said about Olympia this year?

• Sperling's Best Places named Olympia the 16th Best Place in the country. For families, Olympia makes Sperling's top three!

• Forbes magazine ranks Olympia among the Best Small Places for Business in America.

• Inc.com's list of Boomtowns 2006 placed Olympia in both the Overall and Hottest Small Cities categories.
• Yahoo Real Estate said Olympia is one of the six Best Places in the U.S. to Buy a Home What are some of the factors that make real estate great? A strong economy, and high opportunity due to a lack of strip malls and corporate chain stores are some of the reasons noted. (Take that, Lacey.)
  

• Healthcare Traveler profiled Olympia, saying we are "one of the Nation's most popular small town destinations.". They are particularly impressed with our downtown's locally-based economy. (Oddly, they made no mention of the intimidating, uncivil behaviors of downtowners, vacant storefronts, or feces on the sidewalks. Don't they read the Olympian?...)

• Yet again, Farmer's Insurance ranked Olympia among the most secure mid-sized cities in the United States.

• We ranked in Relocate-America's Top One Hundred Places to Live

• Also, just for fun, check out Wikipedia's article on the Olympia music scene

It seems while the Olympian has been checked out, the rest of the country has been checking us out.
Happy New Year, Olympia. I hope our resolution this year is to honor the greatness of our town,find new avenues of greatness, and create even more of what we love.