COVID-19 has sort of taken the wind out of our sails; but the silver lining (if there is a silver lining) is that it has also challenged us to live other ways, cope with new routines, and rise to meet new challenges in life. This website itself was born out of The Great COVID-19 Pandemic of Spring 2020, so I am definitely going with there being a silver lining to it all (although I don't deny that disease and death are bad things - the "main event" of the whole ordeal!).
As I have long since gone back to work and the pandemic has already been all but forgotten in my current "home away from home neck of the woods" (also read as "home away from Pullman neck of the woods") - despite the fact that the Deadly Second Wave already appears to be trying to rear its ugly head - I am taking the time right now to look back on the monumental undertaking that this site has been and start looking for ways to grow and improve it even more.
Here are some of the things you can expect to see coming here to The City of Pullman Portal website over the course of the next 6 weeks:
- A detailed blog post about myself, Andreas Gross, the webmaster of this site, how I am connected to Pullman, Washington, why I chose to build a website about Pullman, and what I hope the site can accomplish for you, my loyal site visitors.
- New pages coming soon: a much needed Privacy Policy, Cookies, Credits, and Disclaimers page (the technical and cover my rear stuff!), a Setting Up A Business in Pullman page, a Moving to Pullman page, and a Pullman Bloggers and Connections page.
- Along with the Moving to Pullman page, my hope and dream is to start a non-official all-volunteer Local Guides type of service. Local Guides would be local Pullman residents who would be willing to allow newcomers to Pullman to contact them to help them settle in in Pullman by showing them around, giving them local area tips, and generally helping newcomers navigate the ins and outs of Pullman life.
Here are some of the things that you can expect to see happening in The City of Pullman right now and in the near future:
- Pullman is starting to open back up again! Yay! This is, indeed, very good news for Pullman's economy; but this also means that we should all remember to take extra personal safety precautions as we go out in public and start moving around more freely again.
- Harbor Freight is here! Check them out in part of the old Shopko building off of South Grand. Look for discount groceries coming soon in the other part of the building.
- Although I am sure COVID-19 has thrown some delays into the works, Pullman's new City Hall on Crestview gets closer and closer to opening every day. We are all waiting with baited breath to know when the Grand Opening will be.
Keep the faith and stay strong, Pullman!
-Andreas, webmaster
City of Pullman Portal, a website by Andreas Philip Gross Enterprises
