Jose Garcia has an idea that could make him rich.

It’s a board – sturdy, light and relatively cheap – that holds 20 tic-tac-toe squares made from red construction paper. You can take the board in the car and play with a passenger at red lights. Stick it in your backpack and challenge someone between classes. And, with a price tag of $3, you can just toss it in the trash when all the squares are filled up.

"It’s for people who like playing tic-tac-toe," said Jose, who will be a third-grader at Roosevelt Elementary School in Tacoma in the fall. "Everyone likes playing tic-tac-toe."

And Garcia had a chance to test his prototype in the open market. He was one of 53 elementary students taking place in Kid City, a two-week day camp at the Portland Avenue Resource Center that allows the campers to run businesses to learn financial responsibility and planning skills.

The campers, who come from McKinley, Blix and Roosevelt elementary schools, were split into seven groups selling everything from manicures to hand-drawn cards to snacks. They spent a few hours every morning honing their budding business skills, like writing checks, keeping inventory and filling out paperwork. They played outside during the afternoon.

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Today is Take 3 on talking to residents living on streets plagued with bad potholes.

Also, if you’ve got any stories about a run-in with a crater-sized chunk of missing road, feel free to e-mail me with it.

Tacoma-based charity A Child’s Right has been doing some good work in China following the devastating earthquakes earlier this year.

Director Eric Stowe recently sent back this e-mail. Take a minute to read to find out the impressive work ACR is accomplishing:

Hi all,



Hope this finds you all well.



A Child’s Right (ACR) has finished our China Earthquake Relief Project this week and wanted to update our supporters. This is easily our largest project, with the highest number of recipients, to date.



ACR was able to work with

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Intelligent Travel, National Geographic’s sustainable travel blog, swing through Tacoma and Ruston. Featured are the Museum of Glass and Don’s Market

Mark Kirsch paced the concrete expanses adjacent to the runways at Seattle’s Boeing Field. Every few feet, he leaned over and placed a level on the ground.

The Tacoma resident and owner of World Strongman Entertainment was trying to find the perfect patch of ground, a perfect mix of hard asphalt and a favorable slope, to set a world record and complete the centerpiece event of a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound on Saturday.

Three times he tried to pull a 200,000-pound Boeing 767. Two times, the jet didn’t move. A third time, it didn’t get very far – maybe 15 feet, and only after others pushed on the plane’s wheels. But he wasn’t going to give up.

"It’s frustrating," he said after his third attempt. "It’s really frustrating. I wanted to put on a show for everyone here."

The hundreds in attendance at the charity’s largest community of event of the year didn’t seem to mind. They cheered Kirsch, a 1998 graduate of Wilson High School, during his attempts. And after his three tries, he turned the fun over to them.

Twelve teams, most with about 10-15 people, took turns pulling on a tow rope attached to the jet. Each attempt followed the same form: The participants looked as if they weren’t making any progress for the first few seconds. Slowly, the jet began rolling. Once it did, the task became markedly easier.

"I was actually surprised how easy it was once we got that thing moving," said Puyallup’s Jeff Ernst.

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The Larchmont Safe Streets and other neighborhood organizations are marching down Pacific Avenue in Tacoma this evening to make their presence felt in the neighborhood.

Their stretch of Pacific Avenue – from South 72nd to South 96th streets – is improving but still a gathering place for prostitutes, drug dealers and gang members. The group will meet in the parking lot of Anahuac Family Mexican Restaurant at 5 p.m. and march about an hour after that.

"We just want to let everyone know we’re here," said Kathy Martin, a volunteer with the organization.

Ever wanted to know if one person can pull a 202,000-pound Boeing 767?

I’m gonna find out in a few hours.

Preston Sheldon wore a gold bar on his beret, a new patch on his chest and a wide smile on his face.

His grandfather, an 87-year-old Army veteran who served in three wars and his personal hero, stood about 15 feet away.

"It’s a little emotional," said Sheldon, a 35-year-old from Burien. "I’m trying to hold it in right now, to be honest. I’ve been trying to make him proud since I joined the military."

And nothing, he said, compared to Sheldon’s promotion from staff sergeant to second lieutenant during a modest ceremony at Fort Lewis on Friday.

Sheldon – a Reservist with the 3rd Battalion, 414th Regiment, a unit of the 1st Brigade, 104th Division – became an officer through the direct commission program, which allows experienced enlisted service members a chance to apply for a commission.

He applied during the waning months of his deployment, in which he served from February 2006 to April 2007 on a military interim transition team training Iraqi soldiers on their base at An Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad.

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