(Fri Feb 5, 01:39 PM by Steve Dunkelberger) Weekend Preview: Snoopy and Subtitles

While Super Bowl XLIV between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday anchors the calendar for most people this weekend, there are certainly non-pigskin events locally that are worth a look.

A fun time, for example, can be found at Charles Wright Academy this weekend as the students stage “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.” The show runs at 6:30 p.m. today and Saturday. The show is a standout for the private school since it is its first dinner theater production and involves almost one in five students at the school. And...

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(Thu Feb 4, 11:49 AM by Derek Young) Mobility Master Plan Community Workshops - February 2010

Join us for the Mobility Master Plan Public Review Workshops on February 11th!

Many of you had opinions during the last round of public review in September. A lot of work has been done since then. Now we need your feedback again.

You are invited to two presentations on the City of Tacoma’s Draft Mobility Master Plan on Thursday, February 11, 2010. Come to learn about the draft plan and to provide recommendations for improving Tacoma’s bicycling and walking networks and their connections to transit.

The draft plan is available via cityoftacoma.org

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Mid-Day:
11:30 AM to 1:00...

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(Thu Feb 4, 09:41 AM by Derek Young) Tacoma Twilight Criterium - June 12th, 2010

A bike race in downtown Tacoma!

Tim Waer from the Tacoma Pierce County Sports Commission came before the Downtown Merchant Group this morning to give them a heads up on a new event coming to Tacoma. The Tacoma Twilight Criterium will be held on June 12th, 2010. It is a high energy multi-lap short course cycling event that will circle Pacific and A Streets between 8th and 11th. The race is modeled after the hugely successful Boise Twilight Criterium and is already appearing on race calendars around the state. The race is made possible by the hard work of the...

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(Thu Feb 4, 09:22 AM by Derek Young) Sister City International Film Festival Starts Tonight

Tonight is the opening of the 2010 Sister Cities International Film Festival in Tacoma. The Blue Mouse Theatre will host a movie each week from today through April 8th featuring films from Tacoma’s lovely sister cities.

February 4: Okuribito – Kitakyushu, Japan
February 11: Faith Like Potatoes – George, South Africa
February 18: Noodle – Kiryat Motzkin, Israel
February 25: Orz Boys – Taichung, Taiwan
March 4: The Island – Vladivostok, Russia
March 11: Nada – Cienfuegos, Cuba
March 18: Raja – El Jadida, Morocco
March 25: Christmas in August – Gunsan, South Korea
April 1: Troubled Water...

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(Wed Feb 3, 03:12 PM by Derek Young) The Curse of Tollefson Plaza

It would seem that Downtown Tacoma’s award winning public space, Tollefson Plaza, is once again without management. The Chamber announced yesterday that it was walking away from its contract with the City after 18 months. From the BIA Blog:

… the recent and current economic situation has made it extremely difficult to secure adequate funding and sponsorships to fully underwrite staffing and appropriate marketing for meaningful programming of the Plaza.

Unfortunately, those challenging economic conditions and Plaza design issues have combined to thwart the Chamber’s ambitions to provide active management and programming for Tollefson Plaza. As a result,...

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(Tue Feb 2, 05:54 PM by Derek Young) Tacoma City council Meeting - Feb. 2nd, 2010

We are starting to enjoy having our Tuesdays back. Tonight’s Tacoma City Council meeting lasted less than 30 minutes. Nobody spoke during Public Comment. Only five people came forward for Citizen’s Forum. That said, here are the rest of our notes:

R E G U L A R A G E N D A

RESOLUTIONS
Purchase Resolution No. 37978 awards contracts to:

1. KPG, P.S., in the amount of $255,472.00 for a cumulative total of $1,263,865.00, budgeted from the Solid Waste 2006 Bond Construction Fund, to increase and extend the contract for additional
   architectural and engineering services associated with the...

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(Tue Feb 2, 04:01 PM by Derek Young) Lemay Museum Comes Back Before City Council

As you may recall, the Lemay Museum came before the Tacoma City Council late last year with demands a request to change their Option and Development Agreements with the City. Well, The Lemay’s David Madeira and board members came before today’s City Council Study Session to provide an update on the project and discuss a few more minor changes.

Madeira provided a background presentation on the project for the new Councilmembers. He listed off several big name sponsors and detailed the $35 million raised so far – and this doesn’t include the $17.5 million land donation from the City.

Their...

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(Tue Feb 2, 10:05 AM by Derek Young) Rypkema Lecture Now Online

We just received word that the December 7, 2009 lecture by Donovan Rypkema, Historic Preservation: the core of sustainable development, is now available for viewing online. Rypkema is one of the leading national figures in the field of historic preservation, economic revitalization and real estate market analysis. The lecture was hosted by the City of Tacoma as part of its Historic Preservation Plan and Policy update project and we saw many of you there.

Visit www.tacomaculture.org/historic/plan.asp and click on the link, “view video.” It’s a WMV file. Additional formats, including downloadable formats, are forthcoming.

And, should you want to...

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(Mon Feb 1, 04:35 PM by Derek Young) Satellite and Smooth & Juicy Grand Opening Party

We know that your Monday appears to be almost done .. but you shouldn’t miss this:

Tonight at 5:00 pm (30 minutes from now) is the official grand opening of Satellite Coffee and Smooth & Juicy at 1122 Market Street. Mayor Strickland will cut the ribbon. Free snacks and french press coffee. Check it out.

Support local business!

Previously on Exit133: Welcoming Smooth & Juicy and A New Satellite

(Mon Feb 1, 09:00 AM by Derek Young) Rick Talbert Aims At County Council Seat

While still feeling a bit hungover from the last election the next round is already beginning …

Former Tacoma City Councilmember Rick Talbert announced yesterday his intention to run for the Pierce County Council District 5 seat being vacated by Councilmember Barbara Gelman.

From the press release:

“County government needs to tighten its belt during these difficult economic times, but not at the expense of public safety,” Talbert stated. “We need to do a better job with less while providing law enforcement with the tools they need to make our communities safer. Our citizens need to feel more secure in their homes,...

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