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TACOMA 2012 STATE OF THE CITY >>> Last night at Go Local's second annual Shift Happens event Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland delivered her 2012 State of the City Address. This year's address was less of a pep rally than last year's State of the City Address, and instead was calm,
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ROCK THE VOTE (OR WHATEVER) >>> Every odd-number year Tacomans vote to determine which citizens will fill available seats on the Tacoma School Board, City Council, Parks Board, Port Commission and Civil Service Board. Often these campaigns can seem like nothing more than halftime acts between even-year elections, when citizens vote
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IT HAPPENED IN AND AROUND TACOMA THIS WEEK >>> It was a whirlwind week in the greater Tacoma area. In his column this week, Weekly Volcano scribe Zach Powers discusses the Tacoma School Distric battle, the Medical Marijuana Task Force roster, the medical pot moratorium public hearing, the latest from the
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IT HAPPENED IN AND AROUND TACOMA THIS WEEK >>> Last night hundreds of educators, parents and community members packed into the Tacoma School Board meeting to urge district leaders to reach a contract agreement and avoid a strike. Dozens more demonstrated outside the building before and throughout the
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COUNTY CHARTER UP FOR DEBATE >>> Granted, I'm relatively new to Tacoma and where I grew up we didn't have counties, but before last week I didn't know what the Pierce County Charter. I didn't know the details of why - all of a sudden - it may
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BACK FROM VACATION >>> Corrigan Gommenginger has announced his intention to run for Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer. According to reports in the News Tribune, Gommenginger is only 26 but has been serving on the boards of nonprofits for eight years. He says he works as Director of Finance for a
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IT HAPPENED IN T-TOWN THIS WEEK >>> Thursday afternoon dozens gathered outside the City of Tacoma's Municipal Building to witness the raising of the LGBT Pride Flag in honor of Pride Week in Tacoma. The flag can be seen as far away as three blocks. As it was
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IT HAPPENED IN OR AROUND T-TOWN THIS WEEK >>> What better way to celebrate America's independence than with news and rumors about an election that's a year and a half away. This week saw visits from hopeful representatives, declarations of candidacies, and even a heavyweight change his mind.
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AND WHAT THAT HAS TO DO WITH T-TOWN >>> Local news this week has been rightfully dominated by the down-to-the-wire state budget passed in Olympia. This week lawmakers worked fast and furious to pass a budget, ending the 30-day overtime in dramatic fashion. However, at the culmination of
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In search of some local political scensterism I stopped by Tacoma City Councilman David Boe's campaign kick-off party at the Maritime Museum Wednesday evening. Listening to the night's speeches made two things clear: apparently urban-focused architects make fantastic city council members (makes sense), and David Boe
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YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT >>> "As the saying goes, knowledge is power, especially for those living in the margins," reads the public invitation for the 15th annual Evergreen Tacoma Spring Fair. The goal behind the fair, which goes down Saturday at the Evergreen Tacoma campus, is to provide useful information
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AND OTHER STUFF THAT HAPPENED IN T-TOWN THIS WEEK >>> Around 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning I was woken by the sound of chanting protestors gathering across the street from my apartment in front of the City of Tacoma Municipal Building. "Yes we cannabis!" was the rallying call of
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THE MEATBALLS WERE DELICIOUS >>> Last Wednesday, April 27, a crowd gathered at the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma for the kick-off of Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy's campaign for re-election. I know what you're you thinking, and yes, you're correct - McCarthy isn't up for re-election until 2012. However, her campaign
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IT HAPPENED IN TACOMA THIS WEEK >>> State Senator Debbie Regala has announced she won't be running for re-election, meaning the good people of the 27th Legislative District (much of Tacoma, the City of Ruston and part of Fife) will be electing her replacement in 2012. Regala has held the
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We all know presidential campaigns are marathons, spanning multiple years. But so to, apparently, are Pierce County Executive races. County Executive Pat McCarthy recently launched a new website and is holding a campaign kickoff event April 27 at the Varsity Grill. On her website McCarthy touts
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LIFE IN THE 253 >>> Community Events There are few things the City of Tacoma enjoys more than commemorative celebrations. A new school, a second grand opening to a museum, or maybe even a new tree in Wright Park: if an argument can be made something makes the city a better place
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CITY WANTS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE >>> Tuesday, April 19, three days before Earth Day, the Tacoma City Council will introduce two new sustainability policies, one regarding the city's internal purchasing standards and the other relating to its construction and building maintenance standards. Both policies are designed to ensure that Tacoma
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Four months ago the Tacoma City Council voted 6-3 to build a surface parking lot at the vacant property on the corner of Pacific Avenue and 12th Avenue. The parking lot is being constructed at the request of DaVita Inc. with the help of state grants from
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THINGS THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK (AND ONE THAT HAPPENS LATER TODAY) >>> Parking lots Today at 3:45 p.m. Tacoma City Councilmen Ryan Mello and David Boe tell me they'll protest the decision to build a parking garage on a vacant lot at the corner Pacific Avenue and 12th -- once the site
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This past week was a busy one for 27th District Washington State Reps Laurie Jinkins and Jeannie Darneille, as both fought for progressive and community causes. A bill Jinkins sponsored calling for legal recognition in Washington of same-sex marriages from other states has been passed in both legislative houses and appears