There's bits and pieces of pies and rivers and ferries and fields in this segment of News Around Town:

(ECONOMIC NEWS: IS IT A RIVER OR A PIE?) Some businesspeople describe their world in terms of a pie of which they need a slice. Great effort is exerted to carve out their own slice instead of having to share a slice with other businesses. But this week a businessperson said that's wrong; the economic prospect in Port Townsend is a river, not a pie. That's because a pie is only so big and there's only so much to go around. But a river, well a river can be deep and wide and flows all the time. As this person said: "I look at Water Street as a river from which every business can take a drink. The more we have in the river, the better we are all." Chew, or drink on that for a while.

(MEMORIAL ATHLETIC FIELD NEWS) When the week started, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Manager Matt Tyler said that Memorial Athletic Field is closed for 2010 unless someone comes up with a bunch of money including grandstand roof repairs. He said it three or four times. Naturally, the school districts and community groups who rent the field for events were dismayed to learn what Matt said. City officials were concerned as the field hosts events that bring business downtown. Well, at week's end, the county backed off the manager's crystal clear statement that the field was "closed". In fact, by some turn of good fortune, it's going to be open for spring events - although it will require a "partnership" to pay for the maintenance the county can no longer afford. Of course, neither can anyone else afford it…

(EARTHQUAKE NEWS) What earthquake? The earthquake in the Caribbean Island of Haiti, of course. How is this News Around Town? Consider that we live in a major earthquake zone, and when you view the tragically sad images coming out of Haiti, think a moment how prepared you are to care for your family, relatives and friends should "The Big One" strike close to home.

(FERRY NAME NEWS) Rose Dunlap, a fourth-grader from Blue Heron School in Port Townsend, came up with the name for the new class of 64-car ferries being built primarily to serve the PT-Keystone run. Now, we all need lessons on how to say it: Kwa-di Tabil, (pronounced kwah DEE tah-bale) which means "little boat" in the Quileute language.