There’s a reason Puyallup officials quickly approved an ordinance banning aggressive panhandling last night.

Apparently there are turf wars going on between Puyallup’s beggars.

The kicker for me: Puyallup’s homeless apparently have cell phones.

According to a police report, police responded to two men fighting at the off-ramp from Highway 167 to North Meridian Street Sept. 14.

The men involved said they were fighting over who got to “fly” — or hold signs asking for money — at the intersection.

One man said the other started swearing at him and and “pulled out a

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I just got a call from Jody Page, the Pierce County Animal Control officer that was investigating the case of Bubba the dead peacock from Spanaway.

When she arrived in the neighborhood Friday, she was investigating claims that the peacock was beheaded and shoved under a porch. The bird had roamed the neighborhood for more than three years.

But later that day, residents said they found the peacock — head intact — in a sleeping pose under the porch.

Page said she’s closing the case at this point.

"There’s nothing that I can see as

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There’s an old cabin two miles west of Orting that some residents would like to see moved to one of the city’s main parks.

Members of the Orting Historical Society are talking to the owner of the old building about how they might acquire and preserve it. One option they’ve discussed is placing the building, shown below, in North Park on Washington Avenue North, the city’s main drag.

Members also have discussed placing the building in Charter Park, located further south along Washington Avenue near the Orting Public Safety Building.

Carrie Little, who has spent the last decade growing organic veggies and fruit for food banks supplied by Emergency Food Network, is leading in the race for White House Farmer.

No. There is no White House Farmer at present, though there is quite a lawn maintenance crew.

But Michael Pollan is making the case for one. He started with an Oct. 12 article in The New York Times Magazine. In it he makes the case for growing, and eating locally. It’s healthier for consumers, he writes. It uses less fuel than the current system. It’s better for the

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It’s not too late to get a seat at the table as the local chapter of the American Red Cross honors 20 individuals for quick action and bravery at its 15th annual "Real Heroes" breakfast Friday.

Awards will be presented in the categories of fire rescue, law enforcement, medical rescue, military, workplace safety, youth humanitarian, spirit of the Red Cross and the Marvin Klegman Memorial Award.

Winners range from a teacher who saved a student from choking on a piece of candy, to a barista who donated a kidney to a coffee customer, to firefighters who responded to

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The American Cancer Society announced this week that the 2009 Sumner/Bonney Lake Relay for Life will hold a kickoff Feb. 8 at Calvary Community Church, 15116 Gary St. E., in Sumner.

The kickoff will feature 80′s music and costumes with food, fun and door prizes for attendees. The kickoff event begins with an open house and sign-in at 11 a.m. with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. and concluding at 12:30pm.

The theme for the 2009 Relay For Life of Sumner/Bonney Lake which will be held Aug. 7-8 at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner is "Back to

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A local peacock enthusiast told me there might be something more than weather after all that caused Bubba, the Spanaway peacock, to meet his end.

Peacocks fare quite well in the snow, reports Phil Brooke of the Old Brick House Farm.

Just ask Namaste.

He does fine during cold weather, said Brooke, who takes care of the peacock on his farm in the Summit-Waller area.

He said another explanation for Bubba’s death could be that the peacock got into some weed killer or rat poison.

“It’s a good

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Remember Bubba, the peacock we wrote about last summer when he was getting aggressive toward people in Spanaway?

He’s dead.

Residents of the Oakridge Manor manufactured home community found him frozen to death under a porch earlier this week.

Neighbors called us Wednesday to tell us of his passing. There was a rumor going around that foul play was involved.

But Friday, shortly after a Pierce County animal control officer arrived to investigate, residents learned the truth: Mother Nature got Bubba in the end.

“At least it

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