Links Saturday
Galleria Fire

I don't usually like to highlight bad news, but this event has me very shaken, as I used to live right across the street from this mall and spent quite a lot of time there. I happened to be going to Roseville the day this happened. The smoke was gone by the time I got there, and from where I stood, the mall looked fine, if empty and surrounded by helicopters and disaster crews. But it was still hard not to think of the huge negative impact one person has had on the lives of so many people.

Many of you are probably thinking it's just a mall, but it's a lovely and enormous place that defines Roseville. More than that, it represents a huge part of the local economy. I'm grateful that no one was physically hurt, but it has displaced more than 2000 employees who can ill afford such a disaster.

NEWS ARTICLES
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2010/10/22/state-of-emergency-for-westfield.html

The comments on this article are horrible. I think the SWAT team, police, and firefighters did the most they could in a terrible situation. People who think that the backpack probably didn't have explosives are welcome to go retrieve it themselves! The police and firefighters are meant to protect and serve us. They already risk their lives in the course of their work. As huge a blow as this will be to the local community's economy, I would not have preferred anyone to die in order to save property.

http://cbs13.com/local/roseville.galleria.store.2.1974197.html