Two occurrences over the last few days have reinforced why I love living here. Sure, after more than three years I'm still coming to terms with the layer of dust on my car almost every morning, and the often not-too-sweet smell of the dairies across the way on Highway 43.

So what's the reason I love living here? It's the people.

On Thursday evening, a coworker and I got an up-close glimpse at the good work being carried out by Kings EDC. The acronym stands for Kings County Economic Development Corporation, and the event was the joint annual dinner meeting with the Workforce Investment Board.

The food was tasty, the decorations in the Civic Auditorium were festive, the folks at our table were interesting and fun, and the news was good: Existing businesses are expanding and hiring, and new ones are moving into the area. Supervisor Tony Oliveira modestly accepted accolades for his tireless work on behalf of Kings County, and others in the community were praised for their support in helping get local folks trained and back to work.

All in all, it was a good evening (did I mention the tasty food, great decorations and good company?) which did a lot to reinforce the dedication local folks have to this community.

After a restful weekend that left me with a full bucket of candy after the solitary group of trick-or-treaters knocked on my door Saturday evening, it was back to work. I was eager to see how our office renovation was going, and if my office had its new window.

Thanks to the end of Daylight Savings Time, my short morning commute -- still early at 6:45 -- almost required sunglasses. But as the traffic flowed freely down 10th Avenue, I noticed red brake lights on the pickup and car in front of me. "I wonder if the city is doing tree work again," I thought as I slowed down. Then I saw a man walk out in front of the stopped pickup, and bend down. Oh no! I didn't want to look, but I couldn't help myself. To my relief, I saw a brown pit bull standing in front of the pickup, looking a little disoriented but no worse for wear. The man led the dog off to the side of the road, as the blonde woman behind the wheel in the pickup peered out of the driver's side window with concern.

I looked behind me. All the other vehicles had stopped; no one seemed to be in their usual hurry to get where they were going. Once we saw the dog was safe, we continued on our way. I smiled and said a silent "thank you" to my fellow commuters, who had reinforced my faith in the good people of Hanford.

(Nov. 3, 2009)