Word on the Street

State Senate approves bill to allow objections to autopsies

Christian Hill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:17:28 +0000

The state Senate approved Thursday evening a bill that would allow families to stop autopsies based on religious objections.

Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, authored the bill in response to a court fight waged between the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office and the family of a New York man who died on Mount Rainier in December. The man, Brian Grobois, was an Orthodox Jew and his family argued an autopsy would run counter to his religious beliefs despite the insistence of Dr. Thomas Clark, the county’s chief medical examinier, that the examination was necessary and he had the legal authority …

Open house for relocated University Place police station Thursday

Christian Hill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:44:51 +0000

Residents are invited to tour the new University Place police station inside the civic and library building Thursday, Feb. 9.

City Council members, public safety commission members, city staff and personnel from the city police department and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office will gather for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and presentations starting promptly at 4 p.m. Tours will follow.

The police moved out of the nearby station for West Pierce Fire and Rescue when the agency needed more room following the voter-approved merger of the Lakewood and University Place fire districts.

The ceremony comes as the sheriff’s office, in consultant with …

Time to paint the town

Kathleen Merryman — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:56:10 +0000

The Tacoma Murals Project is ready to stir the paint pot for another season of crime and grime fighting.

Part of the City of Tacoma’s Safe, Clean and Attractive initiative, Graffiti Reduction Through Community Based Art aims to cut tagging and get residents involved in defining and beautifying their neighborhoods. To that end, the city wants to hear from people who live in areas battling blight and vandalism, and who have a wall ready for a mural. The application deadline is April 2, so start procrastinating now.

The city will provide the artist to develop the painting, and …

Public hearing tonight for proposed Narrows bridge toll hike

Christian Hill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:22:00 +0000

A citizen advisory committee will hold a meeting and public hearing starting at 6:30 this evening as it considers raising toll rates on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will hold an open house to answer questions before the meeting at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting and preceding open house will be held inside the Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview St. in Gig Harbor.

Staff has presented the committee with four options to raise tolls. They would increase:

1. The tollbooth rate to $5.50 from $4, Good to Go! rate to $4.25 from $2.75, and pay …

Puyallup council talks police, court move

Sara Schilling — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:37:48 +0000

Puyallup City Hall is home to an art gallery, a Subway restaurant, a yogurt shop and roughly 60 city workers.

Could it also become the new location of the city’s police department? Or the municipal court?

The City Council hasn’t made any decisions yet, but members indicated at Tuesday night’s regular meeting that they want to talk more about the possibilities.

“This building can’t remain as it is, with the taxpayers paying for people to have cubicles that are bigger than houses,” said Deputy Mayor John Knutsen, referring to the five-story City Hall.

He wanted to direct City Manager Ralph …

Pierce County Council rejects tougher fireworks restrictions

Steve Maynard — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:11:29 +0000

A proposal to reduce the number of days to legally ignite Fourth of July fireworks in unincorporated Pierce County went down to defeat with a thud today.

Dick Muri was the only Pierce County Council member to vote for his proposal to cut the number of days from eight to one: the holiday itself.

Several council members said restricting fireworks further was unenforceable.

“We can’t enforce the current statutes,” said council member Roger Bush. The county doesn’t have the manpower and resources to back up a stricter law, Bush said.

Council member Rick Talbert said Muri’s plan would unrealistically …

No waiver: Tacoma in school through June 22

Debbie Cafazzo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:21:15 +0000

Tacoma Public Schools have decided not to seek a state waiver that could have allowed the school district to shorten the school year because of January’s snow emergency.

Instead, the school district announced Tuesday, most Tacoma students are scheduled to attend school June 20 through 22 to make up for the three school days lost to snow, acting Superintendent Carla Santorno said. The Tacoma School Board had previously approved those dates as official snow make-up days as part of a series of calendar revisions made last September following an eight-day teacher strike.

(A few Tacoma schools that use an alternate …

Layoffs loom as Lakewood works to close $1M budget gap

Christian Hill — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:35:25 +0000

The city of Lakewood will lay off four employees under a plan City Manager Andrew Neiditz announced Monday night to close a projected budget shortfall of slightly more than $1 million.

Another four positions that are currently vacant would be lost under the budget-balancing plan Neiditz presented to the City Council. The city has about 250 employees.

Neiditz also proposed eliminating or reducing this year’s cost-of-living adjustments for managers, slashing training and supply budgets, reducing the number of city-paid cell phones and increasing certain fees.

“We don’t at all have a spending problem, but we have a revenue problem that …

Two new hotels coming to Pacific Highway in Lakewood

Christian Hill — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:15:45 +0000

Two new hotels will be constructed along the Pacific Highway corridor in Lakewood, City Manager Andrew Neiditz announced Monday night.

Groundbreaking of a four-story, 109-room Courtyard by Marriott and 101-room TownePlace Suites will begin later this year on adjacent properties. Both hotels will open in late 2013.

Once opened, Pacific Highway will have four newer hotels built in the last six years. LaQuinta Inn and Suites and Candlewood Suites opened in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

Louisiana-based InterMountain Management LLC will develop both hotels. One of the hotels will be built on the site of a mobile home park that …

UP council closing in on flag decision

Christian Hill — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:02:19 +0000

The University Place City Council will consider three alternatives for constructing a flagpole in front of the civic and library building at tonight’s meeting.

Two of the options would install a flagpole in front of the building or next to the public plaza in front of it. The third would install a bracket to fly the flag from the building’s tile facade.

The costs range from $5,255 to $24,785.

The discussion is scheduled to get underway at 8:20 p.m. during the study session portion of the meeting.

The presentation (including some laudable use of Photoshop) follows:

…