By Marianne Lincoln Let me be clear. If Spanaway and Parkland do not decide to incorporate as communities, Pierce County is on its way to decide to make you part of a big city called Frederickson. Are you Parkland? Or, are you a suburb of Frederickson? You are going to need to make that decision…
Tag: community
Library savings cost community connection
OPINION – Marianne Lincoln The Pierce County Library system changed its hours. Ostensibly, this was to save the system money. What is may be costing to communities is harder to calculate, but may be significant. The local library is one of the few places left where small community groups could meet without cost. The meeting…
Two meetings, two critical purposes
The Bethel School District, under the leadership of Tom Seigel several years ago, began having meetings with key leaders in the community. These meetings are held three times a year and they help steer the district in a direction compatible with sensitivities of the public. The most recent Mid- County Leadership meeting was October 22….
August 19 County Council meeting at Frederickson – Opinion
By Marianne Lincoln, editor Tuesday, August 19, 6:00 pm, is an in-district County Council meeting in Frederickson at the Pierce County Public Works Central Maintenance Facility – Elk Plain Meeting Room 4812 196th St. E. Spanaway, Washington. Agenda here. Here is a historical article about Frederickson from CM Amy Cruver. Also, here is an updated census report she provided….
June 30 – FP Performing Arts Center County Council Meeting
June 30 at 6:00 p.m. the Pierce County Council will hold and In-District Council meeting on District #5 at the new Franklin Pierce Performing Arts Center, 11002 18th Avenue E Tacoma, WA 98445. The building in next to Franklin Pierce High School. The Pierce County Council is set to hold its annual in-district meeting for…
Legislative smiles and assistance
By Marianne Lincoln It was a cold, February, Tuesday afternoon. Julie, Michelle and I piled into the car and drove to Olympia. We arrived a few minutes early and had a chance to check out the Capitol Gift Shop and peek into the Rotunda before heading to Room No. 4 in the Cherberg Building. There,…
Quiet heroes
Three times a year, in the Regency Room in PLU’s Anderson University Center, there is an 8 a.m. meeting called Mid-County Leadership. This meeting began several years ago as a chance for the two school districts and PLU to get together and talk about pertinent issues within the unincorporated, urban area south of Tacoma. Since…
Warming Centers are open – Parkland Community Center
Pierce Transit partnered with the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management to provide free rides to warming centers through Jan. 22. The free rides are in effect starting Jan. 19, according to Pierce Transit. There will be a free bus, Runner and SHUTTLE paratransit (for registered SHUTTLE customers) rides to local centers and shelters. “The…
Is the “Good Neighbor Village” being a good neighbor?
By Spanaway Concerned Citizens As concerned citizens, we rely on our elected officials to make decisions regarding topics that significantly impact the well-being of our communities — addressing critical issues such as providing housing for our chemically dependent, chronically homeless individuals is undoubtedly important. However, does this effort justify compromising regional environmental integrity and public…
Will a divided County Council fill the 5th District seat today?
The Pierce County Council currently has six members. Three are Democrat and three are Republican. That split is preventing the election of a Council Chair. That split is also preventing organizing the Council, choosing committee assignments and more. The Council has up to 60 days to choose the person who will fill the seat. As…
Restoring the people’s faith in Pierce County government: What I would like our new government to know.
by Claudia Riiff Finseth Pierce County will have a new government this month. What will the next four years be like? Will they be more of the same as the last eight years? I have great hope that they will be different. Different, first and foremost, in restoring a healthy county democracy. This can be done…
Recounting eight years of Dammeier
By Marianne Lincoln Each new Pierce County Executive brings changes to the County. Although we have a County Charter, the Executive is the chief department head approving job and volunteer appointments and legislation from the Council. Thus, that person has a significant influence on who holds a job almost anywhere in County Government offices. Leadership…
Unhoused people are like everyone else, until…
By Marianne Lincoln Becoming unhoused is a very difficult thing to experience. It happens to many very ordinary people. It could be a medical situation, a job loss, sale of a rental property, death of a spouse whose pension or income helped support the household, or many other traumatic life events. Many people have close…
Groundbreaking for Good Neighbor Village draws supporters and protestors
By Marianne Lincoln Good Neighbor Village, the village of tiny homes that the Tacoma Rescue Mission and the Pierce County Executive’s office are trying to build in Spanaway, had a groundbreaking today, November 21, 2024. The event was an invitation only event at the farm site near the intersection of 176th and Spanaway Loop Road….
CDEC to Hold Public Hearing on Comprehensive Plan Update Proposal
The Council’s Community Development and Environment Committee (CDEC) will hold its first public hearing on the proposed 2024 Comprehensive Plan update on Monday, Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m. in the Pierce County Council Chambers. The CDEC will likely continue its deliberations on the Comprehensive Plan update to its Monday, Nov. 18 meeting to allow time…
Nov 4 Council Committee Comp Plan Hearing
TACOMA – The Council’s Community Development and Environment Committee (CDEC) will hold its first public hearing on the 2024 proposed Comprehensive Plan update on Monday, Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m. in the Pierce County Council Chambers. What: Public Hearing on the Proposed Comprehensive Plan UpdateWhen: Monday, Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m.Where: Pierce County Council Chambers, 930 Tacoma…
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,…
Faith, Optimism and Community
It was the first community meeting for Interim Superintendent Brian Lowney. The first noticeable difference, after 23 years with Tom Seigel, was humor. He had the room laughing several times in the first few minutes. The meeting is called Faith Leaders. It began almost 30 years ago with the Bethel Superintendent and leaders of local…
Kiwanis selling Sees Chocolates for the holidays
If chocolates are on your gift list for the holidays, please get them through this link! The money you spend will include 25% toward your local community projects! It is their “Yum Raising” plan for the holidays. Other local projects coming up the Fall: • A Food Drive, for the Trinity Food Pantry.• Collecting bath towel donations (new…
Sept 25 meet the new Health Dept Director
On September 25, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., the new Tacoma Pierce County Health Department Director, Chantell Harmon Reed, will be at the Parkland Spanaway Library for a meet and greet event. Remember to register to attend. And FYI, the Board of Health meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 3p.m. Here…