Readers: After missing last week's update I note that this week's includes news from the past two weeks

Superintendent Retires

Many expected Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Art Jarvis to announce his retirement in the coming months, but few expected it to come as early as last Wednesday. Jarvis, who has been an educator in Washington for 47 years, announced he will retire at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

Jarvis was hired as interim superintendent in 2007 after the dramatic departure of Superintendent Charles Milligan, who served for only one year.

In a press release issued by the Tacoma School District School, Board President Kurt Miller praises Jarvis for stabilizing the district after a tumultuous period in its history. "We brought Art in at a difficult time to be a healer, and he has been that and more for our district," Millers says. 

However, few in the education community seem to be mourning the loss of Jarvis. It seems, throughout the community the exciting possibilities of strong new leadership are drowning out any sadness over Jarvis's retirement.

The Redistricting Saga Continues

The Pierce County Redistricting Committee released its fourth rendition of the new county council districts last Thursday night. The new map, Map D, may be the most appropriate yet. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland was on hand at the meeting to testify in support of Map D, praising it for doing the best job of keeping Tacoma neighborhoods together.

After the gerrymandering of 2002 the committee has made incumbency a non-priority, and currently seems likely that two current Pierce County Council members will be drawn out of their districts. It has become the status quo for this process for whoever is drawn out under the latest plans to come to the meetings and argue the map is flawed. So it should have come as no surprise that Stan Fleming, drawn out of his current District 7 in Map D, has been a leading critic of the new map.

Also temporarily drawn out of her district by Map D is 2^nd District representative Joyce McDonald, who spoke sharply of the process' partisanship until she was drawn back into her district. 

A final map is due by the deadline Tuesday, set to be followed by a two-week amendment period in which the committee can approve the map or make changes to it. During this period it will take four votes to amend and only three to approve it.

You can bet many debates are still to come.

Union weighs in on Zina Linnik probe

The City of Tacoma announced last week it will be hiring a third party to investigate the police department's handling of the Zina Linnik case. With scrutiny of police personal likely soon to come, the police union, Tacoma Police Local 6, was vocal this week in insisting that terms of the investigation be agreed upon by the Union. Lewis Kamb of the Tribune has details and quotes in his article here.

Much Ado About Digital Billboards

The Tacoma City Council and Planning Commission continue to address the present state of the digital billboard dilemma. During a study session last Tuesday the council considered recommendations from the Planning Commission calling for a rejection of the terms of Tacoma's settlement with Clear Channel.

Council members run the gambit on their individual stances on digital billboards. Mayor Marilyn Strickland supports the billboards, at least in theory and on a limited basis, while council members Jake Fey and David Boe are the biggest skeptics.

A public hearing on an updated billboard code has been set for July 19. It'll probably go similar to this ...

City Funds Gang Research

The City of Tacoma is planning to a fund a study that will investigate gangs, as reported by the Tacoma Weekly's John Larson last week (full article here).

Earlier this month the Tacoma City Council awarded a $50,000 contract to Execution Interface LLC, a firm based in Missouri specialization in studying gang activity. The Council says the study will give the city a deeper understanding of the gang problem in Tacoma.

Another Increase in Tuition

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges unanimously approved a plan to increase tuition at local two-year schools by an average of 12 percent. The increase, which was authorized by the Washington State Legislature, will increase full-time tuition by an average of about $400 a year.

Increases in state college tuitions are beginning to seem like an annual occurrence. Check out my feature on this topic that ran earlier this month.

Award for Tacoma Power

Tacoma Power received the award for "Excellence in Energy Efficiency" from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) recently, recognizing the utility company's "exceptional creativity, leadership and achievement in the pursuit of energy efficiency."

According to the stats, since 2007 Tacoma Powers has increased its energy conservation savings by 950 percent and launched more energy-efficiency programs than it had in the previous decade.

"We went from being a utility that was less aggressive than the best in the region in regard to energy efficiency to one that is now recognized as a leader in the field," says power manager Chris Robinson in a press release. "That is a big accomplishment and we are very appreciative of the award."