Pets of the Week - Feb 10, 2012 (Fri Feb 10, 06:35 AM by Exit133)

This week’s pets of the week from The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County are Kaiser and Jezebel. If you’d like to get to know one of them a little better, they’re waiting to meet you at The Humane Society on Center Street. Adoption hours until 5:30 weekdays and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:30.

Kaiser: 459353

The first thing that might pop into your mind upon meeting Kaiser is “that’s one big dog”! Kaiser is a German shepherd and 7 years old. He’s a neutered male and came to the shelter when his owner was...

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Challenges Continue for Elks on Broadway (Thu Feb 9, 07:36 AM by Exit133)

For some reason the words “parking” and “Tacoma” together never lead to a smooth road for development. Or at least that’s how it seems sometimes. Case in point: the latest on the Elks on Broadway development.

The large mixed-use project immediately adjacent to the Elks Building is in trouble. The project missed a deadline last fall to prove they had financing. McMenamins no longer needs the hotel rooms. The developers now claim to have financing available, but are still negotiating with the City over the parking garage that forms the foundation of their building.

The Elks on Broadway update presented...

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Tacoma Murals Project Seeks Neighborhood Mural Sites (Thu Feb 9, 06:46 AM by Exit133)

The Tacoma Murals Project is looking for canvases. The project pairs local artists with community groups who would like to see a mural on specific sites in their neighborhoods. To be more specific, the goal of the project is to help communities “reclaim spaces targeted by blight and vandalism.” Murals Project artists work with the communities to create murals that reflect the stories of the surrounding community. To see before and after pictures of previous Tacoma Murals Projects, visit www.tacomaculture.org/arts/MuralsComplete.asp

Proposed mural walls must be on commercial or public property and located within the official city...

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Public Health and Transportation (Wed Feb 8, 09:15 AM by Exit133)

UPDATE: Rescheduled to February 16

We all know that it would be better for us to walk or ride our bikes to work than to walk. And even when it’s nice, as it was this weekend, there seem to be a million reasons to drive. Knowing it’s better for all of our health, and knowing how difficult it is to talk us into changing our routines, what’s a city to do, if they want to promote active transportation?

To address this question Transportation Choices, in partnership with Downtown On the Go and the Coalition for Active Transportation, is hosting...

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Tacoma City Council Meeting - February 7, 2012 (Wed Feb 8, 07:34 AM by Exit133)

This week’s Council meeting was quick and efficient, with little to no comment from the public. The big highlight of the first reading of the large-scale retail zoning changes was a little anti-climactic, but it’s good to see that going forward, with a reasonable expectation that we’ll see it passed before the moratorium expires at the end of the month.

PROCLAMATIONS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nothing to proclaim, recognize, present, or announce.

PUBLIC COMMENT
One commenter came forward to offer support for changes to City codes on big box stores.

REGULAR...

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Spotted: Two Opportunities to Fight for Old City Hall (Tue Feb 7, 11:25 AM by Exit133)

Spotted: In response to a recent call for submissions to the Dwell Rethinking Preservation Contest, apparently at least two Tacomans decided to cast a vote for Old City Hall. You can read both online from Dwell. The first is more… traditional in tone and word choice.

The second submission is somewhat less conventional, and offers slightly different commentary and images. While the language is… not what you might traditionally expect from a historic preservation request, the author nonetheless is clearly passionate about saving the iconic structure. As are we.

To read and vote for the...

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The Latest Elks on Broadway Update (Tue Feb 7, 08:02 AM by Exit133)

We read in The News Tribune today that Elks on Broadway developers Grace Pleasants and Rick Moses are not altering plans for the project as much as we might have thought. According to the TNT, the developers plan to keep the design more or less the same, converting what would have been hotel space for the McMenamins next door into market-rate apartments. This means that the project will contain retail space, along with 111 apartments, up from the 69 originally planned.

And of course there’s the parking. Pleasants and Moses report that they have found...

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Urban Industrial Futures - UWT Urban Studies Forum 2012 (Tue Feb 7, 07:27 AM by Exit133)

This Thursday. Open to the public.

The University of Washington, Tacoma is inviting you to join them for their Third Annual Urban Studies Forum. This year’s topic is Urban Industrial Futures.

The all day event, hosted by the Urban Studies Program at UWT will feature guest speakers from Tacoma and around the country. This year’s forum will focus conversation on the challenge of achieving balance between industrial and post-industrial urban development strategies. Speakers include experts in green cities, economic development, and water research and industry.

The forum will feature conversations on topics such as investment in green development in...

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Rescheduled: MLK Neighborhood Scoping Meeting (Tue Feb 7, 06:46 AM by Exit133)

Reminder: This Thursday: The MLK Subarea Plan & EIS scoping meeting, originally set for January 19th and cancelled due to snow has been rescheduled for February 9th.

Status

The City of Tacoma is working with residents, businesses and property owners to prepare a Subarea Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood (“MLK”). The completed Plan and EIS are intended to encourage development and economic revitalization in the MLK Distirict on Tacoma’s Hilltop. The District is one of the City’s 16 mixed-use centers that are...

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Narrows Bridge Toll Meeting and Open House (Mon Feb 6, 09:08 AM by Exit133)

The conversation around the Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll increase continues this week. On Wednesday, February 8, WSDOT will host an informational open house, followed by a Q & A session with State officials, and a citizen advisory committee meeting.

We wrote last month on Exit133 about the possible scenarios for rate increases discussed so far. Last week we noticed a lengthy, but informative letter from a member of the citizen advisory committee in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal. If you’re curious about the behind the scenes conversation surrounding the toll increase, the article is...

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Recent Comments

• Occupy Tacoma - How Important is the Park? (14)
• Challenges Continue for Elks on Broadway (7)
• Tacoma City Council Meeting - February 7, 2012 (3)
• Digital Billboards on State Highways (6)
• Spotted: Two Opportunities to Fight for Old City Hall (2)