I was never really taught the significance of Groundhog's Day. Plus, everywhere I've ever lived it's winter when it occurs (Feb 2, are you kidding me?).

How I know it's officially Spring is by the return of farmers markets to our area. This week and next mark the return of Tacoma's Farmers Markets; the Proctor Farmers Market (Saturday mornings) returns Saturday, April 23; the Sixth Ave Farmers Market returns a week from Tuesday (May 3); and Broadway Farmers Market opens Thursday, May 5.

Pierce County has committed to participating in two energy-saving challenges designed to the reduce costs and environmental impact of county-owned facilities. The county is taking the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Energy Challenge, which "... calls for an energy efficiency improvement of at least 15 percent in county-owned buildings," according to its website. To support the IFMA challenge Pierce County is also taking the "Northwest Plug Load Pledge," meaning that "the county has pledged to reduce energy use by becoming a leader in procuring efficient products to further reduce its impact on our natural resources and cut operational costs," according to the County's website. 

Have you noticed there are abandoned shopping carts all over Tacoma? The Central Neighborhood Council has - which is why they passed a motion urging the City of Tacoma to seriously address a problem they say has been largely ignored and is all but unregulated. The Volcano will cover this full story in the coming weeks.

More incumbents announced they want to keep their jobs this week. Tacoma City Councilwoman and current Deputy Mayor Lauren Walker announced her candidacy to retain Position 3, representing Central Tacoma. Walker is the Executive Director of the Fair Housing Center of Washington and the former president of the Hilltop Action Coalition. Currently she's running unopposed for Position 3.

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 having "re-prioritized the delivery of core government services, trimmed the size of government, consolidated programs, and challenged managers to find operational efficiencies while improving the quality of public service."

Currently no other candidates have filed to oppose McCarthy, but they still have roughly a year and two months to do so.