Neary-Sighted

Those of you who get my email newsletter know not only that a citizens' advisory committee is not only proposing road projects, but also new taxes.

You wouldn't think the Lakewood City Council would be too receptive to someone proposing new taxes, and you would be right. The enthusiasm for such talk was muted on Monday. Many of our residents are on fixed incomes; and the times Lakewood voters have been asked about spending more than the usual - as in, one police station bond and two parks proposals - voters have turned the idea down.

But that said, I could be wrong. I sure called the recent debate over school traffic enforcement wrong. Maybe some other council members do want higher taxes. Whether that will prove true or not, council members complimented the Lakewood Traffic Advisory Committee, made up of volunteers, for coming forward Monday and speaking their minds.

Monday night, the committee of Ken Canfield, William Larkin, Bill Kittrell, J. Paul Wagemann and Sam Wagner, acting through member and chairman Kit Baker, told the city council through a report that if we want to manage roads sufficiently, we need:

- To impose a tax on new development.
- To charge everyone in town $20 per registration on their car tabs.
And/or
- To impose a utility tax.

You can read the committee's deliberations about this proposal in the official record of their meeting. You'll see they feel transportation funding is "in crisis."

One thing I realized at the Monday meeting is that the question of raising taxes is separate from approving a plan for traffic projects. That is one reason that I split these blog postings in two. You will find another posting here about the projects themselves. The posting is also relevant, because the committee members predict in a document mentioned below when they think the city will run out of money.

Meantime, I'd be very interested in your thoughts about traffic funding, and if you want to pay more for better roads. As I mention in the post below, there will be a formal hearing on July 16.

It is very possible that the idea of new taxes may not even come up at that hearing; we may just stick with the question of what roads and street lights to put up when. But the formal project plan does have $80,000 set aside to hire a consultant to study the feasibility of charging the new development tax. It will be very interesting to see if that expenditure makes it past the council when we actually vote on the project list in August.
Forward this post

Those of you who receive my email newsletter are aware that the city's transportation committee offered a bunch of new ideas Monday to deal with traffic issues. You might find it helpful to look at a map of proposed projects. Click here for a copy of the map. I apologize but because of my scanner, you will need to tell your compute to rotate the map counter-clockwise (unless you want to severely tilt your head).

Check this link for a list of requested projects. I strongly recommend you call this up because it is a very comprehensive list of pretty much everything that someone wants to do involving Lakewood streets. Odds are that something at or near your location is on the list.

A wise thing that our Public Works department started doing within the last couple years is keeping a master list of all the neighborhoods that ask for street lights or other improvements. If you don't see your group on this list, get in touch. But of course you will also see there are far more requests than there are ways of paying for them. We have many years of neglect from previous government to repair, and it will have to be repaired over time.

The other interesting document to come out of Monday is a list of what can be accomplished with current funding The reason the transportation committee presented us with this is that there is about $1.1 million in available funding, according to them, but there is much more in need. You'll see that on the document.

A formal hearing about the transportation plan will be held July 16. You are certainly welcome to email me your thoughts, but you are extra welcome to either write the council a letter or speak out at the hearing.

One thing that concerns me deeply is that solutions for the intersection of Custer and John Dower are put off until at least 2010. That's too long to wait. It is particularly too long to wait because it is not like we are spending a lot of money on the western side of our town. Take a look at the map.

And speaking of that ... I can't resist making one other observation. It might not ever come to anything, but you can't say you were not warned. Right now, council members in Lakewood are elected "at large." We are all elected by about 25,000 registered voters (though of course not all vote) Sometimes people propose that at least some of the council members be elected by districts - smaller groupings of neighborhoods and citizens. If anyone ever pushes that issue, you can expect them to use this map in their campaign. The map shows a clear imbalance in where we are doing road projects. (now, yes, gang, I know the need is greatest around the highway and Bridgeport; I'm just issuing a prediction in case anyone does ever campaign for district elections)
Forward this post

Those were words of Major Chad Sundem at Fort Lewis about three men this week, as he presided over a memorial service for Stryker brigade members. The city of Lakewood is part of a "community connector" program that has provided Lakewood with a large corps of young, strong volunteers. But now the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry is under fire abroad; it is time for Lakewood to show its respect for them. So the city of Lakewood is sending official delegates to their services.

On Tuesday, four of us represented city government in Lakewood: yours truly; my wife Cindy; Councilwoman Helen McGovern; and Charlene Richardson, whose husband, Doug, is a general in the Reserves and was in service elsewhere. And of course former Mayor Bill Harrison and other folks from the community were also there. Those of you who have been with me from the beginning, at the Lakewood Journal, can imagine how unworthy I felt to be in the second row of the chapel with other chosen members of the community.

A News Tribune story about this and other services can be found here.

I hope you have never had to attend one of these because you lost a relative. If you have never been to one, you might be interested in what the program looks like. My wife, who works at Madigan, notes that each of these men were promoted early in their careers. They had so much promise.

The men mourned on Tuesday were:

Sgt. Cory M. Endlich, who was remembered for his enthusiasm, his collection of mechanical items and his love of visiting Tactical Tailor.

Sgt. Danny R. Soto, who was remembered because when he said 'Good morning,' it was because he really wanted you to know it was a good morning.

Cpl. Zachary A. Grass, who was remembered as a dedicated soldier who also loved watching sports on TV late into the night.

The service has been with me and Cindy all week. These men died for us. Cindy keeps thinking it could have been any of her students at Madigan. When the division returns, Lakewood will enshrine their names and the names of other heroes at the veterans memorial outside City Hall. It seems so appropriate, and yet so insufficient.

These men died for us.
Forward this post

Thousands of people had a lot of fun Saturday at SummerFEST in Fort Steilacoom Park. Attendance swayed up and down, thanks to a mid-afternoon storm. But at about 5, we saw some of the best weather of the summer: sunny and clear, with some puffy clouds for scenery and just enough bite to the air to remind you that we live in the Great Northwest.

You can check out The Suburban Times' collection of photographs,
though guys, I could have lived without the photo of the dog. The news article is here.

It's the people who make SummerFEST, and I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of them at my campaign re-election booth. I had been a bit concerned that no one at a family event would want to spend any time with someone running for office, but I was quite wrong. Late in the afternoon, a teen volunteer in the Lakewood First Baptist booth next to me said, "You sure know a lot of people." Many of them I met for the first time, while many others were folks I'd not spoken with in years.

I came out of it with a pad full of ideas, and things to follow up on, or just contemplate. Such as ...

- A young father who was concerned about what he's concerned might be gang activity in apartments on the Steilacoom Boulevard side of Oakbrook.

- An older father who wanted to know if I knew that Lakewood police are ticketing people for parking their cars in the wrong direction on residential streets. For the record, I didn't, but I have sure asked about it. It's a little embarrassing when your campaign platform is to add police officers but someone says police have time to ticket cars parked in the opposite direction of traffic.

- Several folks who know or learned that I co-wrote the Lakewood history book, and offered some great potential sources for old photographs.

- The woman from China who slowly and in a language not native to her explained how difficult it is to understand English-speakers on the phone.

- A grandmother deeply concerned because a grandchild had been injured while riding the mini-train that was circling the park.

- Several folks who wanted to know more about the tax structure. One person Saturday wanted to know why Lakewood is assessing property at such high prices; and this gave me the opportunity to explain that city government does not do property assessments and that the city only gets about 15 percent of your property tax anyway.

- One or two folks who follow Lakewood politics and are intrigued by evidence that the Lakewood CARES collective is trying to rebrand itself. Yep, every community festival has to have gossip.

- Several folks who are confused by the council's recent decision on the Cabrini school zone. In repeatedly talking with people, I finally figured out a pithy way to capture the lack of logic in the council majority's decision: "We will install flashing lights on busy streets unless citizens actually ask for them, and then we will say no." A lot of people are having trouble with that one.

- The city staff who scrambled when the generator blew during a country music band's performance and right before the Comcast Outdoor Cinema. The inflatable screen began to deflate. Hundreds of people were watching and were probably a bit confused. But staff quickly set up an alternate generator, rigged up a new system for the cinema control tent, and the show went on as scheduled.

- And with all the various questions, criticisms and suggestions in mind, I could never count the number of people who said they were happy with what various aspects of city government have done for them (including organizing SummerFEST!) Lots and lots of money was raised for a variety of good causes, ranging from the Lakewood museum to agencies that provides clothes and school supplies for children.

The scenes go on and on. I told the council last night that the council ought to have a booth next year even though there's no election. Council members could take turns sitting there. Most people go to SummerFEST to check out the sights and sounds and cars and bands, not to talk public policy - but it was a great drop-in opportunity for those who did have questions.
Forward this post

Lakewood City Councilman John Arbeeny chose not to run for re-election this year, and has been relatively quiet about the topic. The Lakewood CARES email list sent out a message from him Wednesday that is well worth reading. John has told a number of folks that his brush with death changed some priorities. That certainly shows in his latest statement. I thought I would reproduce the letter as a PDF here since I think that will read better than trying to paste the letter into a blog file. But this excerpt is the shortest explanation of his reasoning:

"I guess I always had the idea in the back of my head of running for just
one term as an object lesson to Lakewood and its City Council. However
it really hit home to me when I was badly injured last year in a
motorcycle accident. What if I had been killed? Council would have said
some nice things about me, held a moment of silence and then opened
nominations for my replacement and a new deputy mayor! So it was time
for me to set an example, to open up an opportunity for others, to again
push Lakewood politics in the right direction.

"No one is indispensable, something I learned in the Army and 2 years of
combat in Viet Nam. Regardless of who gets elected to what position, the
sun will still rise, the seasons change and Lakewood will advance
because ultimately our future resides in the hands of its 60,000
citizens, not just those 7 who sit on Council. I think this is the kind
of government our country's founders envisioned. They trusted the wisdom
of our people both as voters and as elected officials."

I could quibble with parts of his letter that may be read as discouraging experienced people in running for office. But there is one thing John does not mention in his letter that should be noted in any discussion of his legacy thus far: John's deep commitment to trying to develop leaders in Lakewood. Nearly every time we have talked, I have heard him agonize that the community has not done enough to give its potential leaders enough experiences to develop and grow. There's no doubt that one of his hopes for Lakewood CARES was that it would be a growing place for new leaders.

His repeated comments have had an impact on me, and it's one reason I am a strong believer that the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce needs to develop a leadership program. Lakewood CARES created a citizens' academy two years ago that was meant to be such a boot camp in running for office. It was a worthy effort. But other cities have tended to find success when leadership programs are held over a period of many months and with a large group of organizers. It will take a huge amount of work, but it is worth doing.

There's no one solution to the challenge of developing future leaders. Chamber programs certainly help. In some cases, the "graduates" of such programs do run for office, as John would passionately expect. In other cases, graduates of these programs join the boards of nonprofit organizations or other groups and work to improve the community. Either way, the community is stronger.

There are many local examples of leadership programs that have done enormous good for their communities, such as the chamber leadership programs in Auburn and in Federal Way. If you just open Google or another search engine and look up 'chamber leadership program' you will learn of diverse programs enriching cities throughout the nation.

I hope that when John goes 'off duty' from council at the end of the year, he will consider joining with those of us who will be working to put such a leadership program together that is right for our area. I will certainly extend the invitation.
Forward this post

It's taken me forever to figure out the technical issues, but I finally wanted to share a couple of neat excerpts from a recent City Council meeting that you should be able to listen to on your computer. By way of context, I am going to grab a story from the Northwest Guardian and paste it below.

The short version is that the 4-2 Stryker Brigade soldiers have been volunteering in Lakewood for many months as part of a military 'community connector' program. Now, most of them are overseas. The community connector program builds connections between members of the military, who come from many different parts of our land, and people in local communities. I had the pleasure of working with some young men from the Stryker Brigade who participated in last year's Parks Appreciation Day. They were repositioning headstones in the old patient cemetery for Western State. Given their work there, it is thus extra sad for me to contemplate that some of these soldiers now themselves rest in a cemetery for sad reasons.

As the 4-2 begins a long road abroad, our council presented representatives with a proclamation. Councilman Doug Richardson, who is a general in the Reserves, read the proclamation. Doug announced we will forever memorialize the names of the dead at our veterans memorial at City Hall.

Then Maj. Chad Sundem of the 4-2 made what I thought were extremely astute remarks as someone who lived in Lakewood 10 years ago, and lives here again today. That's the main reason I have put some audio files below.

So, and this is a first for me so I hope it works, here are some audio files you can listen to on your computer. Let me know if they don't work (heck, let me know if they do work!)

Comments by Councilman Doug Richardson in WAV (Windows Media Player) format
Comments by Councilman Doug Richardson in mp3 format

Comments by Maj. Chad Sundem of the 4-2 Stryker Brigade in WAV (Windows) format
Comments by Maj. Chad Sundem in mp3 format

Meanwhile, here's that story from the Northwest Guardian (original at http://www.nwguardian.com/news/story/6542900p-5822654c.html )

City of Lakewood proclaims support for Soldiers’ efforts

Neighboring city issues proclamation honoring 4th Bde., 2nd Inf. Div. troops

By Don Kramer, Northwest Guardian
Published: June 7th, 2007 12:31 PM

With troops in harms way, the city of Lakewood Monday night honored Soldiers in general and one Fort Lewis brigade in particular.

At a city council meeting, member and military liaison Doug Richardson read a proclamation of support for the city’s community connector partner, the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. In it, the council proclaimed “the next year as a time of continued support and special friendship” with the Dragoon Raider Brigade.

Representing the brigade were rear detachment commander, Maj. Chad Sundem, rear detachment sergeant major, 1st Sgt. Max McLaughlin and Stacey Lehr, wife of the brigade commander, Col. Jon Lehr.

Richardson, a reserve general officer, thanked the Stryker brigade’s representatives for their Soldiers’ efforts on behalf of their adoptive community.

“I want to say a word about the community connector program,” Richardson said. “We’ve been aligned with 4th Brigade since they stood up: you talk about “Make a Difference Day,” the activities in building a playground at Fort Steilacoom Park, any number of items. The chief of police could talk about programs they’re involved with as well. They’ve done an awful lot of work in connecting with the city of Lakewood.”

The brigade deployed to Iraq a month ago and elements immediately engaged the enemy in Baghdad and Diyala Province northeast of the capital city reaching all the way to the Iranian border. Richardson said the Lakewood council’s gesture arose from its Soldiers’ and families’ support of the city, but also out of the desire to commemorate the sacrifices its members are making on behalf of the country.

“Now the brigade finds itself in Iraq for 15 months supporting our nation and certainly our city,” Richardson said, “so we, the council, thought it appropriate to recognize the 4th of the 2nd with a proclamation this evening and to recognize how much they meant and will mean to this community as they endure on Fort Lewis.”

Mayor Claudia B. Thomas spoke before the meeting of the need to support the brigade’s family members while its Soldiers are deployed.

“It’s very significant,” said Thomas. “The connector is very important. We want to work closely with their families. We know they’re going to have certain needs. We just want to partner with them and do what we can to make our community, our city and our area as friendly as possible.” The current conflict brings a special sense of urgency for Lakewood’s council to help military families, the mayor said.

“It could not be more critical to do whatever we can as a community to support their efforts,” Thomas said. “They’re protecting our country as well as our city. We want to do what we can to make their stay in our community as comfortable as possible and to see that their needs are met. We build relationships and collaborate with them to see how we can make not just our area but the whole country better.”

The 4th Bde. commander spoke to his wife from Iraq recently about the proclamation.

“He thinks it’s great,” Stacey Lehr said.

“He listed four priorities, and of all the things he said, one of them was to make sure that the community connector program is at the top of our list,” Sundem said.

The rear detachment commander accepted the proclamation for the brigade and thanked the city for its support.

“They are our extended family to a degree,” said Sundem. “We want to get them involved. There’s a lot of pressure on these families and a lot of pressure on us. Any extra hands and team members we can get, we’re happy to have.”

The council reserved a place on the wall outside its chamber for photos of the 4th Bde. command team, Lehr and Command Sgt. Major John Troxell.

When the brigade returns, the city will also dedicate a portion of the veteran’s memorial at the front of the building with its unit crest and memorialize those killed in action, all with their own bricks in the sidewalk.
Forward this post

Late Friday update: Since I posted this earlier in the week, I've learned that the road projects will be discussed at the Lakewood City Council study session this Monday. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at Lakewood City Hall. There will also be a formal hearing later in July.

Monday's hearing should be interesting. Staff and our volunteer traffic commission will report that roads are deteriorating and many other needs are unmet. Among their suggestions of alternatives: starting a traffic impact fee on new development, charging people $20 to renew their car tabs and charging a utility tax.

Monday's hearing should thus be pretty interesting. It is always interesting to hear people propose new taxes for Lakewood. Stay tuned. Anyway, I think the rest of the posting stands as is, and the link below will take you to a chart of proposed road projects. I'll let you know what details come out of the Monday meeting, or of course you are welcome to come by.

I have a bit of a tradition in this newsletter, where I publish a list of proposed road projects and ask for feedback. Generally, to be just very candid, this topic does not get a lot of feedback. It's funny, because when you talk to people, the question of traffic in their neighborhood is usually a pretty high priority. But there is something about the Internet, maybe, that discourages people from browsing through a long list for projects for any of interest to them.

I thought what I would do this year is provide a PDF of the various proposed projects and see if anyone is interested in downloading it and sharing thoughts. I'll let you know when the city will have a formal hearing about the projects. I will also have a copy of the document at my SummerFEST booth, and will share it to anyone willing to stand there and listen.

Most of these projects are tentative; the ideas come from city staff and the traffic advisory commission that is made up of other citizens. So feedback is both welcome and useful. One thing that's a bit confusing about the charts themselves is that they don't explicitly tell you when the construction might take place. You have to do the calculation yourself, based on when the project is listed as funded.

Here's how to figure that out: The charts often list a project as being funded over multiple years, as funds are accumulated. In general, it means the project is meant to be built in the year that shows the last bit of funding. So, for example, the very first entry shows the city accumulating funds in both 2011 and 2012 to widen Gravelly Lake from Nyanza to I-5 for a dedicated right turn lane. (The lane would serve all those people driving to Olympia to ask for part of the state budget surplus!) Since this means the last funding would come in during 2012, it means the construction would actually take place in 2012.

But again, all this is tentative and open for discussion. If you have time, browse the file and let me know if you think we have the right projects on the list.
Forward this post

You could have knocked me over with a feather. The majority of Lakewood City Council members last night decided to backpeddle on our previous decisions to place flashing yellow lights in school zone enforcement zones along major roadways. The road in question is 108th, where it connects busy Bridgeport and the mall. The council voted 5-2 not to put up flashing lights by St. Frances Cabrini School.

If you'd like some context, The News Tribune had a good story on the topic recently.

The News Trib published a thoughtful letter about the topic today.

I don't mean to be over-dramatic - really, I don't. But the precedent is scary.

What I find extremely frustrating is that people got so distracted about what should be the core issue. According to a council policy approved last year, the city's employees should put flashing yellow lights on major roads. There should be no question about it. There should not be a debate unless someone wants to revisit the original question. A council majority approved the school zone policy specifically because the police had committed to enforcement only at such times when children are actually likely to be around. That's why there are flashing warning lights on 112th, or Gravelly Lake, or Bridgeport, etc...

But instead of doing that with 108th, the city's own managers came up with reasons not to put up flashing lights as discussed in the TNT story. They tried, with what I am sure are the best of intentions, to cloak it as a debate about the daylong speeding problems on 108th. At the end of the debate, only Councilwoman Helen McGovern and I voted for consistency with the original policy.

I spent a good chunk of Saturday afternoon walking on 108th, knocking on doors there and nearby roads. Without exception, the people on 108th told me that they did not understand why the city did not put flashing yellow lights on their school zone. People expect it. We made them a promise. Our failure to be consistent undermines our public policy.

The neighbors also expect the city to do something about how their road has become a speedway. That's understood, and a separate question from the council policy about flashing lights.

The good news is that I don't think this has implications for the other roads. I don't think staff will dismantle the existing flashing yellow lights on major roads. But the sad part is that now the city staff know they can. That's a poor example for new and junior city staff who watch their elders.

What the junior employees have learned is that all city staff have to do is categorize the roadway by a particular term in order to circumvent council policy - the policy set by the people that YOU elect.

So there you go. Today's lesson: if you define the term regardless of reality, you have the power. Not the taxpayers or the public. Is that heady and empowering? You bet. Is it good government? No.

It's a sad day for accountability and responsibility in government.
Forward this post

Every year, City Council members from around the state gather to learn and share ideas at the annual meeting of the Association of Washington Cities. This year's meeting was pretty easy to get to: the meeting was in downtown Tacoma.

The most interesting talk I heard was by Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman, who discussed the 'inside story' of the renaissance going on in downtown Bremerton. If you have not been there in awhile, you would be amazed. A photo of one of the new buildings is above. In some ways, their situation before all the change is similar to what will be going on in Tillicum as sewer service comes to the area. I was very impressed with a chart, which you can view by link below, which lists how many partners Bremerton knitted together to create improvement.

The large group of projects was not done just with city tax money ... or just with federal tax money ... or just with private sector money. Bremerton has knitted together many groups to bring real improvement to that community. You can take a look at a very attractive PDF that shows what they have done - and how many groups are involved - by clicking here.

The lists of the many groups involved are in the boxes at the bottom of the chart. As the months approach, you can look forward to many lively public discussions about what approaches might be best for Tillicum. I should quickly note the plan will undoubtedly be very different than Bremerton's. Most of the waterfront land in Tillicum is in private ownership, which argues against hugely dramatic proposals along the waterfront. But unlike Bremerton, Tillicum sits at an incredibly desirable location along I-5. Change will come. It's very likely that private development and the people living in the community now will drive change in Tillicum. But Lakewood as both a city government and a community will be challenged to work with many partners to improve the residential and business climate there. That's the lesson from Bremerton.

One thing we are already proud of is that the private sector, in partnership with the city, is already exploring possibilities for Tillicum. You can check out that Web site here. It's already well-known that thanks to a lot of hard work by the community and by the city, Tillicum already has one of the lowest crime rates in Lakewood. That's change, and for the better.

Doing justice to the many changes that will come to Tillicum will certainly be one of the biggest challenges facing the community and the council. I have high hopes that in five to 10 years, someone from Lakewood can share a story of successful partnerships at the annual Association of Washington Cities meeting.
Forward this post

Today was the deadline to file for election in a number of local races. So now we know the shape of things to come, at least politically.

One aside I just need to make is about something that I worry many people are still not aware of. We can't warn people about enough is that the new and earlier primary date means trouble ... or, I guess, it would be more precise to say that the new primary date means confusion.

The primary this year will be Aug. 21. That's crazy early. I've already seen two groups that normally hold campaign forums nearly schedule them for too late because they did not realize the primary was so early. So keep watching.

There will be many ramifications. One interesting thing to note is that this year, a primary will be required in only one of the three Lakewood City Council races because the other races have two people each. It's interesting to wonder if the compressed time before the primary chased candidates away.

So, here's the lineup for Lakewood City Council:

Position 4: Don Anderson, Bruce Banfield

Position 6: Matthew D. Church, Lisa Ikeda, Claudia Thomas (incumbent)

Position 7: Walter Neary (incumbent), J. Paul Wagemann

Hang on, folks. It should be quite the ride!

I continue to welcome your support; send me a note, give me a call or please fill out my campaign web form.

His lack of presence in the list for Position 4 means it is official that John Arbeeny is not running again. I respect John's wishes for a different future, but am personally sorry. He has showed a lot of honor, and I am sure will continue to do so. I think it is safe to say that John has surprised everyone, one way or another. I'll write more later ... no sense treating him like a lame duck because he will have many more vital months of service.

There are many other races in the area. Check out http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/xml/abtus/ourorg/aud/VoterPamphlet/filings.htm for more info.

Not to make this posting that long, but some of you will want to know about other local races. Here's the quick list:

Clover Park School District Director, Dist 1: Walt Kellcy Jr.
Clover Park School District, Dist. 2: Carole Jacobs, Daniel Livingston, Ken Witkoe
Clover Park School District, Dist 5: Eleanor Falk

Lakewood Fire District, Commissioner, Position 1: Bart Dalton, Darrel D. Shiley Jr.
Lakewood Fire District, Position 5: Ted Wier

Lakewood Water District, Position 1: Russell Albright, Bill Philip
Forward this post

Here are a couple of updates about Fort Steilacoom Park. First off, you may be aware that the city is sponsoring meetings to consider what to do about the Ward building and its surroundings in the park. The next meeting has now been scheduled: Tuesday, June 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St SW. If you want to get up to speed on what's been going on with this project, you can check out the earlier posting in The Suburban Times and/or download the report from the community meeting at Pierce College.

Speaking of Pierce College ... Another interesting development affecting the park is that the city is processing Pierce College's plan for major changes on campus. Pierce College, as you may be aware, is a valued center for education within Lakewood. The college is located at the edge of the park.

You can download a map of the projects as a PDF by clicking here. I apologize for the quality of the scan; I forgot to put a hard backing down on top of the paper when I scanned it in.

You'll see that, among other things, the college plans an 83,000-square-foot Science and Technology Center and a 64,000-square-foot Arts and Communications Building along the top of the hill there at the college. They'll be covering nearly three acres of what's now open space; but of course there will be education taking place within those buildings.

If you have any questions about this project, let me know and I can pass them along. The city is in the midst of a bureaucratic process in which people who want to challenge the plan have to file a formal appeal. I only note that to be complete; I don't know if anyone wants to go that route, but if you did, your best bet might be to skip me and go directly to City Hall to get more informed about the project. Files are available for public inspection. But as always, let me know what you think. I'm sure that Pierce College will be working to inform us all about the projects, and more information will be coming along.
Forward this post

The all-night annual Lakewood Relay for Life raises funds for cancer research. Teams field enough people so that at least one member of the team is walking the track at Clover Park High School throughout the night.

Whenever someone asks me to walk as part of their team, I have to tell them the truth. I only live a couple houses down from Clover Park High. So all I really have to do to get there is wake up, stumble out of the house and point myself down School Street. It thus makes sense to give me a very early shift. That's how I drew the 4 a.m. shift. I wish you could haved been there too! As I turned the corner of CP High's auditorium, and began to see the stadium lit by candles, I simply stopped and stood a moment. It was breathtaking.

Here are some very, very dark images from a still camera that can take video in a pinch. I apologize for the quality. The bright thing above the stadium is the moon. The candles in the grandstand spell 'Hope' (on the other side of the stadium, they spelled 'Cure'). The bags on the ground are decorated with names of people that walkers were thinking of as they paced the track. (Are the bags called 'luminarias?' Or something like that? Walter needs to get back to sleep)

And the final segment is of a couple of girls from the Lochburn Leos club. They were determined, for fun, to crawl backwards once around the track, and by, golly, they did!

(Just to warn you, I put the video on the YouTube Web site to make it easier to view. Many of the videos on YouTube are pretty tasteless, so feel free not to click on their links)


Forward this post