Daily Dim Sum - Monday, November 7, 2011

Galloping Gertie’s Anniversary

71 years ago today the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge came down in heavy winds a mere four months after opening to traffic. We’ve all seen the footage before, but it’s still a pretty impressive thing to watch, especially if you pass over the new bridge on a regular basis. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen the footage, you can view it, courtesy of The History Channel.

Things Every Voter Should Know

As of Friday, Tacoma was at a 21.71% ballot return rate. Lower than Bonney Lake, Buckley, Carbonado, Dupont, Eatonville, Edgewood, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Milton Orting, Puyallup, Ruston, Steilacoom and Sumner. Carbonado is the big front-runner right now, with 45.21% of votes returned (that’s 165 of their total 365 registered voters). Tacoma is beating out Fife and Roy.

Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before election day. Every year Pierce County elections gets ballots a day late that they can’t count – 1,153 last year arrived only a day late. If you’re planning to vote by mail, but haven’t done so yet, be sure to get it in the box before the pick up time. And don’t forget to sign your ballot. For more voting-related information, read Every Voter Should Know.

Titlow Improvements Ready to Break Ground

Bond improvements to Titlow Park are moving forward. Metro Parks recently announced that a contract for work on the park’s spray/playground had been awarded to Nordic Construction. Nordic’s competitively priced bid will allow for the addition of a shelter trellis and sea stones to be included in the design. The construction, which will begin with soil replacement can begin as early as today, with Metro Parks expecting the project to be “Substantially Complete” by June.

Read more about the project from Metro Parks. .

Port Program Aims to Achieve Greener Standards

Thanks to a combination of federal and state dollars, the Port of Tacoma has launched the Tacoma ScRAPS program, a truck replacement program aimed at achieving air quality standards. With a $2.5 million federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) grant and $400,000 from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Air Quality Program, the ScRAPS program offers eligible heavy-duty truck owners $5,000 when they replace a pre-1994 truck with a 1994-2006 model, or $30,000 when they replace a pre-1994 truck with a 2007 or newer truck.

The ScRAPS program is a part of the Port’s Clean Truck Program, which takes a “market-based approach” to meeting the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy goals for cleaner fleets. 2007 marked a change in EPA emission standards; by 2015 80% of trucks serving the Port will be 2007 model-year or newer. $30,000 back when you upgrade now… what does a newish heavy-duty truck run these days? Details available from the Port of Tacoma.