New Councilmember for District #5 to be appointed

Since Marty Campbell has officially won the Assessor Treasurer seat, his seat, County Council District #5, is open for an appointment. Any registered voter that professes to be a Democrat can apply to the Pierce County Democrat Party for that opportunity. Here is the process: The Democrat Party of Pierce County will choose 3 people…

When the faucet is dry…

By Marianne Lincoln Where did the water go? That is a question a lot of us have been asking for years. It is the end of November. Clover Creek is still dry in From Brookdale Golf Course to Midland and Spanaway Loop Road. The Chambers Clover Creek Watershed is based on a Sole Source Aquifer….

Mid-County Leadership met Wednesday

By Marianne Lincoln The Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Community Plan Area is an unincorporated part of Pierce County, but it is growing by leaps and bounds due to the housing shortage. The worst of it all, is that the three are older communities and lack the infrastructure to deal with the new growth. Sidewalks streetlights, traffic signals, doctors,…

Alert! County changing zoning in sub plan areas

Sliding in a bit under the radar for the average land use change is a state mandated Comprehensive Plan Review. The reason is, state law changes and Comp. Plans need to stay current. This review and resulting changes don’t come with public notice or yellow signs posted on a neighbor’s property. No, this is only…

Free School Supplies! Saturday, Aug 17 at 10am.

The Annual Back to School Fair at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 4519 112th St. E., Tacoma will be held Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 10 a.m. Students must be present to participate. This is a drive through experience. The parking lot will open at 9:30 a.m. School supplies, backpacks and free coats (while supplies last)…

July 13 Seattle to Portland ride comes through Spanaway

Known as the STP, the Seattle to Portland ride has been running since 1979, except for 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. Registration closed today, July 7, 2024. The race begins about 5 a.m. at the University of Washington’s E-18 parking lot near all the sports facilities. The first riders will begin coming though…

Midland Resource Fair June 8, Amara

On June 8, a resources Fair will be open to the local public at the campus of Amara in the Midland/Summit area. The address is 3501 104th Street, Tacoma, WA 98445. Hours are Noon to 6 pm. Community Resources are valuable to many local families. Please come and check out what you may have available…

The Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Communities Plan: A People’s Document

By Claudia Riiff Finseth A remarkable thing happened in the early 2000s under the Growth Management Act. A grassroots board of residents, community association members, school board members, the environmental community, the business community and the fire district created the Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Communities Plan. The process was guided by Project Lead Sean Gaffney, of Pierce County…

Veto Override today? Aug. 22, 2023

By Marianne Lincoln UPDATED Spanaway, Parkland and Frederickson, being unincorporated urban communities get many promises for infrastructure and services. Since the 1980’s, the Cross Base Highway was promised to help alleviate traffic from all the housing developments the County allowed to squeeze into the area. The highways project meetings went on for decades, involving community…

Not This Time

In case you have not seen it, Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier wrote an op-ed in the Suburban Times of Lakewood. If you are from Parkland-Spanaway-Midland, it is critical you read it. If you are a county voter, you should also know this about what is happening in the county. Here is a previous press…

Water, water isn’t always everywhere, there’s nary a drop to drink

By Marianne Lincoln Land use planning meets sole source aquifer and the fight is on The Pierce County communities of Midland, Summit, Waller, Parkland Spanaway Frederickson, Graham, Elk Plain and South Hill along with Lakewood and University Place have one thing in common, they sit on a sole source aquifer. That means, their only supply…

Tiny Village in Residental Resource Zone?

The Pierce County Council is now considering the passage of the zoning change to South Hill, Parkland-Midland-Spanaway, Frederickson, and Mid-County Plan Areas to allow tiny home villages in the Residential Resource Zone. The current issue is whether a tiny home village is appropriate in the water resource are entering Spanaway Lake from the southwest. There…