It happened in and around Tacoma this week. ...

Woodards Kicks of Re-Election Campaign

Tacoma's campaign season continued to take shape this week as yet another incumbent city official, Tacoma City Councilmember Victoria Woodards, kicked-off her campaign with a gathering of supporters at the Landmark Convention Center.

During her relatively brief remarks Woodards touted her work protecting public services and community programs during budget cutbacks, emphasized the value of small businesses and shared about her work addressing Tacoma's gang activity.

Woodards is currently unopposed and is not expected to field a serious opponent.

Van Dyk to Challenge Lonergan

Justin Van Dyk filed to challengeTacomaCity Councilmember Joe Lonergan for his District 5 seat. It's no secret that Lonergan is the only (moderate) Republican on the Council and in a city as blue as Tacoma it's not a big surprise that he drew a candidate who will look to unseat him by way of turning the race partisan - which is why it comes as a surprise Van Dyk is already using a trademark Republican tactic, lambasting Lonergan's salary in an interview this week with The Trib.

That noted, it's always exciting to see young people run for office. I'm looking forward to hearing what Van Dyk has to say over the next few months about what he would do differently for South Tacoma.

Link Debate Continues

This week the Tacoma City Council held a public study session with Sound Transit staff as they continue to consider which proposed route they will recommend to the Sound Transit Board.

There continues to be uncertainty regarding Councilmember Boe's plan, which was summed up well in this piece by The Trib.

The best link-related read came this week, as usual, from Chris Karnes of Tacoma Tomorrow and Town Hall Tourist who created his own charts further dissecting the five potential routes.

TAM Proposal Draws the Ire of Density Activists

The Tacoma Art Museum released plans for a large addition far less attractive than their current facility. Many downtown Tacoma activists are frustrated with the design for a variety of reasons. 

I-502 Implementation Timeline Announced

Just in time for 4.20 the Washington Liquor Control Board announced this week that it has established an official timeline for implementation of I-502. After Dec. 1 these sorts of escapades won't be necessary. 

South Downtown Subarea Plan Public Hearing

The City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services Department staff will conduct a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25 in the Carwein Auditorium on the University of Washington Tacoma campus (1900 Commerce St.) to receive comments on the draft South Downtown Subarea Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

Zach Powers has managed multiple legislative campaigns in greater Tacoma and previously served as a Legislative aide in the Washington State Senate.

Sound Transit Open House

Members of Sound Transit's staff including CEO Joni Earl met Pierce County residents in our neck of the woods Thursday evening, holding an open house at The Tacoma Dome Station. ST staff answered questions, navigated attendees through an impressive array of presentation materials, and encouraged attendees to share their feedback through conversation and written comment. Town Hall Tourist and Tacoma Tomorrow blogger Chris Karnes will post a more detailed account of the open house later today.

Campaign Ads Already?

It seems unbelievably early for it to be campaign season in Tacoma, yet every time I logged onto Facebook this week I was met by paid advertisements from recently appointed City Councilmember Robert Thoms' campaign.

A quick trip over to the Public Discloser Committee's website revealed that Thoms, a lobbyist by trade, certainly has got the campaign cash to spend as he has already raised over 25 thousand dollars. His opponent, small-business owner and Go Local Board President Patricia Lecy-Davis has raised about 6 thousand.

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Energy Star is a program created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that encourages energy-efficient building through product rating systems, guidelines and resources.

Last month, the EPA released the results of its 2012 study examining which cities had the most Energy Star-qualified buildings. Here are the 25 that top the list:

The South Sound didn't make the list.

Also last month, the EPA honored businesses and organizations for their outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency at the 2013 ENERGY STAR Awards ceremony.

Again, no representation from the South Sound.

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The Pierce Conservation District is a local government agency that works to preserve and manage Pierce County's diverse endowment of natural resources. It's an agency whose portfolio of programs is constantly evolving and whose work touches every corner of the county. The Town Hall Tourist fired a few questions the direction of PCD Executive Director Ryan Mello - yes, the same Ryan Mello who serves on the Tacoma City Council - to learn more about his agency's work and mission. 

TOWN HALL TOURIST: Can you briefly describe what it means to work with landowners to help manage natural resources? Is if often difficult to bring these landowners to the environmental/sustainability table?

RYAN MELLO: Working landowners are often the best stewards of the land.  Whether in an urban, suburban, industrial or rural setting, what we find at the Conservation District is that landowners typically are eager to "do the right thing" by the land, but what they are lacking is education about the best management practices or techniques and the funding to make the necessary improvements to their land or practices. That's where the Conservation District comes in. The District works one-on-one with all kinds of landowners to educate them on everything from how to better manage polluted rain water runoff, how to create more sustainable farm practices, or how to improve marine shoreline practices to ensure the long-term health of our shorelines for people and wildlife.  Helping landowners manage natural resources means giving them the know-how to manage their property and helping them implement the best practice and seeing them through to completion in helping with technical assistance, volunteer help and/or financial assistance. 

TH TOURIST: PCD seems to be a crucial player in a lot of the work being done to restore and protect the Puyallup River Watershed. What is the most important thing Tacomans should understand about the watershed - besides, of course, the fact that we live in it?

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