Dear Editor,

Based on the intelligence that we have, it appears that the Bashar Assad regime has used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. If true, this is a sad and worrisome development in an ongoing humanitarian crisis. We must work with our partners in the region and the international community to confirm beyond a doubt that chemical weapons were in fact used and, if so, determine who used them and when. The seriousness of the situation dictates a thorough and thoughtful approach. 

If it turns out that chemical weapons were used, it would be the latest atrocity committed by the Assad regime. The civil war in Syria is an enormous humanitarian catastrophe caused by a brutal and desperate regime. But as we consider option to respond to this atrocity, I am not convinced that military action is appropriate at this time. There is no evidence that United States military action will achieve anything, except cost American lives and treasure. As we respond, we must remember the lessons we have learned from the war in Iraq.

We should work with the international community, as well as our allies in the region, to consider the best options to remove Assad from power and promote a regime that has the support of the Syrian people. However, we should be under no illusions that this will be easy. It will not. We must exercise extreme caution, and we must not assume that the United States military can resolve this civil war.

The Syrian people deserve the right to live free of tyranny and oppression and the United States must continue to be a force for good in the world. I encourage the administration to take the time necessary to confirm what has taken place and to develop an appropriate response.

U.S. Representative Adam Smith

(D-Bellevue)

Neutralboy is, technically, a Bremerton band. But with two decades of rocking Tacoma under their belts, and members that honed their musical chops here at the Community World Theater in the late '80s, few acts have become more synonymous with the local punk scene.

The band became so synonymous with defunct Tacoma nightclub Hell's Kitchen that it was booked to play the final show there. On May 17, the band will return to play its first show here since the Kitchen closed its doors last year, this time at O'Malley's Irish Pub on 6th Avenue. We caught up with bandleader Mike “The Pike” Moen to mark the occasion, and to learn more about his band's brand new CD.

Tacoma Weekly: Every time I have caught you guys it has been at Hell's Kitchen. Have you played anywhere else in Tacoma?

Moen: Not really. That was something I always kind of held true to. They were always so good to us; always a good part of why we even have a following in Tacoma.

TW: Will it be weird to play somewhere else?

Moen: Yeah, a little bit for sure.… But O'Malley's, a lot of my friends work there, and a lot of people I know hang out there. It kind of made sense.

TW: So it could be your new home away from Bremerton.

Moen: Yeah, I don't even really live in Bremerton any more.

TW: Really? So where are you nowadays?

Moen: I've been bouncing around California, mainly in the van. That's where I pretty much live. I just got done playing with another band down here this whole last weekend with Cinco de Mayo. Then I go back up there and we start the tour.

TW: How long have you been down in California?

Moen: I've been there all this year. I've come up to do a couple of shows. A friend of ours' daughter got diagnosed with leukemia, and I couldn't be there (for an April 19 benefit show at Bremerton's Charleston Music Venue.) So the bass player in the band sang instead of myself.

TW: Man, sorry to hear that.

Moen: Yeah, it's a drag. We're actually donating all the money from our newest record that we put out for that. You can download it on our Bandcamp site. She's 15. And, speaking of Hell's Kitchen, there's pictures of her at Hell's Kitchen when she was 6 years old watching us. So she's a close friend and a big part of the band.

TW: And what is her name?

Moen: Jade (Stevens). She's originally from Bremerton, and her mom is a punk rocker. They moved down to Phoenix, so this all happened down there. (We thought) “What can we do? What can a bunch of touring punk rockers do that don't have jobs?” The easiest thing to do was, OK, let's just get this record out and do that.

It was something I was puttin' together. I record a good part of all our music at this studio, Monkey Trench, in Bremerton. So I had it, and I was already in my mind beginning to lay out the record and all that.

TW: Now, Monkey Trench, that is the place owned by the guy from MxPx.

Moen: Yeah, Mike Herrera, he owns it. That's where we recorded our last three records, I think. Mike's really cool. He's kind of let me intern there for a few years, learning how to record. I've gotta have my hands in everything. (Laughs) I don't know why. Whether it's the artwork or the recording or booking the tours. Some things that you enjoy you have to work for, you know.

TW: And so you worked really closely with him.

Moen: It's funny 'cause, travelin' around, we get to these places and there'll be somebody that's like, “You're from Bremerton, man. MxPx,” and they start talking (trash.) And it's like, yeah, Mike's one of my best friends. I probably wouldn't still be doing it – I definitely wouldn't do it with the work ethic that I do it – if it wasn't for my friendship with him and growing up with him and seeing how things operate.

I don't ever put liner notes in our records, but I think he's played lead guitar and then backup on almost every one of our recovers over the past 18 or 19 years.

TW: When did you record this new record?

Moen: It was about six months ago.

TW: The last CD of yours I got my hands on was “Everybody Dies.” What can we expect on this one versus what you were doing a couple of years back?

Moen: We've kind of stuck to the same recipe as far as Neutralboy is concerned; three chords and rockin' backup vocals. I don't necessarily think “Everybody Dies” is metal, but I think I kind of leaned that way on a lot of the guitars. This one's a little more poppy if anything. It's called “Pussy.”

TW: And you are talking about a cat, I am sure.

Moen: Yeah, there’s one song that's about a cat. A lot of the songs have “pussy” in it, in one way or another. And none of it is a sexual reference.

TW: Who is in this incarnation of Neutralboy?

Moen: This tour it will actually be myself, (bassist) Bill Mann. Dirty Ray, he's the drummer. He's from a band called the Swinos. And Shawn Durand from Portrait of Poverty and Subvert is going to be filling in on guitar for this tour. It kind of made since. We've been friends ever since the Community World (Theatre) days in Tacoma. We've been in bands since we were teenagers and played together all the time.

TW: Like you said, you are kicking off a tour up here. Where are you going this time?

Moen: We're going to Punk Rock Bowling down in Vegas. That's kind of our middle point. We're touring through Oregon, California, Nevada … then coming right up to the coast.

TW: So what is a tour story that you can tell? Maybe with names changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

Moen: I was datin' this girl that worked down at Adidas in Portland. She was a graphic artist, and she had this great idea of sending posters out to all the clubs on the tour that we did – like, 53 shows. She made an STD warning poster with my face on it.

Woman's scorn, man. She mailed it out to every club. You'd see a family eating, and over the table was my face. “Public health warning! STDs!” (Laughs)

TW: Was that while you dated or after?

Moen: I think we were done dating at that point. I think she'd had it. But it was pretty humorous. There was a contest to see who could find the posters first when we got to each town.

The 39th annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) kicks off on May 16, and organizers are especially excited about this year’s Native American programs, which promise to be a highlight of the fest.

At the Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie and the Harvard Exit Theater in Seattle, feature-length films and shorts by and about indigenous peoples will be screened including premieres and youth-made films. There will be Q&A sessions, visiting actors and more to complete this focus on Native American contributions to the world of modern cinema.

Not all film festivals so enthusiastically embrace indigenous artists like SIFF does, making Seattle’s festival a standout and become a leader in encouraging other film festivals to include the works of Native Americans.

Tracy Rector (Seminole) is founder and executive director of Longhouse Media in Seattle, a nationally recognized Native media arts organization that has partnered with SIFF for the past eight years.

“As an indigenous filmmaker and having spent time in the indigenous filmmaker circuit, there are certainly festivals like Tribeca and Sundance that support and nurture Native filmmaking and the exhibition of indigenous films,” she said. “But in my experience, (SIFF) is really rare and a unique opportunity. Having a (Native American) film showcase at SIFF, for a lot of indigenous filmmakers it opens the door to more opportunities. When the films have premiered here they’re able to use that acknowledgement and that platform to get into film markets that may not have recognized them before, so it’s really an opportunity to support the future of Native filmmaking.”

CELEBRATING AT SNOQUALMIE CASINO

First up will be a celebration of Native American cinema on May 17 at the Snoqualmie Casino. Admission is free, 21+ only. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a retrospective of short films created by youth over the past seven years involved in the SIFF/Longhouse Media program SuperFly (read more about this program below) and other short films from around the Puget Sound tribal region with representation from Lummi, Muckleshoot, Suquamish and other tribes. At 7:30 p.m., there will be a free public screening of Sherman Alexie’s “Smoke Signals” to honor this remarkable film’s 15th anniversary. Three actors from the film are expected to be in attendance for a question-and-answer session following the film – Evan Adams, Michelle St. John and Elaine Miles.

“It’ll be a fabulous night at the casino, and an opportunity to experience SIFF and Native American cinema free of charge,” said SIFF Educational Programs Manager Dustin Kaspar.

ON THE FLY WITH SUPERFLY

More films made by Native American youth are on tap for the eighth annual SuperFly Filmmaking Experience, which has been part of SIFF since 2005. SIFF’s education arm for youth, FutureWave, and Longhouse Media join forces to produce the annual SuperFly, in which filmmakers and actors aged 13-19 showcase their skills, collaborate with other artists, and premier original work during SIFF. SuperFly is Longhouse Media’s keystone program as an organization and it has always a hit with SIFF audiences.

It works like this: On May 30, 50 young people, the majority of whom are Native American, and 20 adult mentors from across the country will convene in Seattle, be split into seven or eight teams for production, soundtrack, animation and photography, and be given just 36 hours to storyboard, direct, shoot and edit a collection of unique stories based in the Suquamish Tribal Community, home of Chief Sealth (Seattle). SuperFly Filmmaking challenges filmmakers by condensing the filmmaking process into a tight production schedule with limitations imposed on time, funds and other resources. Then just four hours after completion, the five short films will be debuted to the public at the Harvard Exit Theater on Capitol Hill (807 E. Roy St.) at 4 p.m.

In past years, the student participants were charged with making their film based on a narrative story by an established Native writer, but this year SuperFly is going into documentary mode with the Suquamish Tribe.

Rector said preparations have been underway for the past three months. “Doing documentaries means we (Longhouse Media) have more work to do so we’ve been working with the tribal community figuring out stories that are okay to tell and getting community input,” she said. “We started out with something like 120 ideas and brought those down to seven ideas.

“The tribes are so individual and beautiful in their own way up here, and it’s really great this year to be able to highlight how different Suquamish is and their stories,” she continued. “And being the birthplace of Chief Sealth, it’s a great opportunity to remind people that we’re on indigenous land and that the city is named for a very important indigenous leader.”

Additional short films will be shown at this event as well:

Barefoot (United States premiere): In a tight-knit Cree community in northern Saskatchewan, 16-year-old Alyssa’s plans to become a mom begin to unravel.

"Hummingbird:" The hummingbird dives and darts with great agility, representing fertility and joy. Huitzilopochtli is an expression of willpower, strength and survival carried forward through dance.

"In Your Heart:" A young guitar player really puts his heart into his music.

"We Prayed in Water:" Going to water was once a very common place for morning prayers of the Cherokee people. They now face issues and fears of the pollution in the local streams and rivers.

"Wind:" Young Nodin expresses his Anishnabe cultural pride through hip-hop dancing.

Also included at this year's SuperFly screening will be a live acoustic performance by returning SuperFly mentors Them Savages.

Tickets to the SuperFly showcase at the Harvard Exit Theater are $12 for general admission, $10 for SIFF members. Visit http://www.siff.net for ticket information and everything you need to know about the Seattle International Film Festival, which runs through June 9. This year SIFF will screen 447 films: 272 features (plus four secret films), and 175 shorts representing 85 countries, including 49 world premieres (18 features, 31 shorts), 48 North American premieres (38 features, 10 shorts) and 17 United States premieres (six features, 11 shorts).

A new cocktail lounge is on its way to Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Hilltop Kitchen is under construction at 913 Martin Luther King Way, the spot formerly occupied by Tempest Lounge. And owner Chris Keil plans to have his new establishment up and running by June 1.

“It's going to be another craft cocktail lounge,” Keil said. “We’re gonna focus a little bit more on Latin American spirits, so mezcal, tequila, rum – that kind of stuff. But we’re still going to have a pretty expansive back bar, so we’re gonna have a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Hilltop Kitchen, or HK, is setting up shop around the corner from 1022 South, a trendy cocktail bar that has served up tasty alcoholic confections at 1022 S. ‘J’ St., since 2009. Keil was that establishment's general manager and driving force until last week, when he posted an online farewell letter to patrons, saying he had been fired.

“I don't know what is going to happen to the bar, but it can't and won't be the same because the owners don't share my values,” Keil writes in the post, located at http://www.1022south.blogspot.com. “I would be shocked if they continued to work with local farmers and vendors or if they sourced ingredients based on quality and not profit margin.”

1022 South co-owner Neil Harris, who also owns the New Frontier Lounge, did not return calls seeking clarification. But his bar remains open, and a classified ad seeking a new general manager and bartenders has been posted since Keil's departure.

Ernest A. Jasmin, Tacoma Weekly

An endangered clouded leopard gave birth to a healthy cub at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium last week.

Zoological staff members are providing round- the-clock feedings and care for the half-pound cub, said zoo General Curator Karen Goodrowe Beck.

“We are delighted with the birth of this cub,” she added. “Clouded leopards are very endangered and every one is a precious addition to the population.”

He is the third litter born to Chai Li (pronounced Chai-lye) and her mate Nah Fun (pronounced Nah- foon).

They are part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which manages and maintains a population of these highly endangered cats. The mating of Chai Li and Nah Fun was approved as part of that plan.

The cub, born at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, is being bottle-fed and will be hand-reared by zoo staff with extensive experience in the care of these exotic cats. This is routine for the species and has produced the best results in terms of health and well-being of newborn clouded leopard cubs.

In the meantime, an endangered Sumatran tiger cub, born at the zoo two weeks ago, continues to thrive and gain weight. The female cub, who was about 2.5 pounds at birth on April 17, now weighs 6.2 pounds. Zoological staff are hand-rearing her as well because she was not getting the milk and atten- tion she needed from her mother, 10-year-old Jaya. Neither cub has a name yet. The zoo will announce how and when they will be named and when visitors will be able to see them.

“These cats are very rare in zoos and in the wild,” Goodrowe Beck said of the clouded leopard and Sumatran tiger cubs. “We hope visitors to our zoo will connect with them and be inspired to take action to help save their species in the wild.” News of the new addition came as the zoo was already celebrating the unveiling of its Stingray Cove, which opened Saturday, giving visitors the opportunity to reach into the water and touch five species of stingrays.

The exhibit brings a new level of excitement to the zoo, headlining an exciting summer season that will be filled with the wonder of animals in the water as well as on land. Varied shapes and colors of stingrays inhabit the 1,000-gallon tank, some swimming placidly in the clear water as human hands dip in to gently touch them and feel their somewhat velvety surfaces.

Others lie camouflaged in the sandy bottom, barely visible as if hiding from predators in the ocean. A stingray touch pool and an adjacent glass fronted tank are set into volcanic like rock, providing the ambiance of a faraway cove. A four tiered waterfall burbles in the background, next to a lagoon filled with a variety of coral reef inhabitants.

“We’re delighted to present Stingray Cove to visitors at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium,” Neil Allen, the zoo’s curator of aquatic animals, said. “It fits our mission of helping our visitors appreciate the great diversity of the world’s land and sea animals. Allowing them to touch these animals provides an even greater connection to nature.”

With the way things had been going for them lately, the Tacoma Rainiers were not worried after being no-hit by Reno starter Randall Delgado through five innings on May 6. They quickly put things together, striking for six runs in their final three innings for a 7-4 win over the Aces to close out their home stand with a 7-1 record.

“I think we just never stopped fighting and continued to battle back,” said Rainiers shortstop Nick Franklin, who was the catalyst at the top of the lineup by going 2-for-3 with two doubles and three runs scored. “It was just a matter of time until we would get to (Delgado). We were all talking about what he was throwing. I think that was the biggest key, just knowing what he was going to try to do to us.”

Center fielder Corey Patterson – who was making his first appearance for Tacoma this season after arriving from extended spring training in Arizona – smashed a game-winning two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh that put the Rainiers up 5-3.

“I was thinking about him bunting there…they were playing him back,” said Rainiers manager John Stearns, who took over for the promoted Daren Brown on May 2. “I’m glad I didn’t put that sign on.”

That would end up giving the win to Rainiers starter Andrew Carraway, who overcame a rocky start in which he gave up a two-run homer to the Aces’ Matt Davidson in the first inning for a quick 2-0 deficit. But Carraway shut Reno down the rest of the way, allowing just three runs in seven innings, with one walk and two strikeouts to pick up the win.

“It was really satisfying to me, because he battled his butt off for seven innings and kept us in the game,” Stearns said. “He was the key to the game today.”

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, left fielder Stefen Romero plated Franklin with a single into left, and later came around to score on Mike Zunino’s sacrifice fly to tie it up.

Franklin then laced a double to left center with two outs in the seventh, breaking out of a 1-for-19 slump in the previous five games.

“I was hitting it right at them this whole series,” Franklin said. “That’s baseball, it’s going to happen. I’ve just tried to stick to my approach, not change anything and let things happen.”

Patterson followed with his blast that landed well beyond the right field wall, and Carlos Peguero launched an opposite field two-run homer into the Rainiers’ bullpen for some insurance runs in the eighth inning.

With the team winning three of four games to that point since he took over and remaining in first place with a 21-11 record, Stearns noted that his job is to just make the right moves. “They make it easy,” he said. “If I can just get the right guys where they are supposed to be, these guys usually deliver. This is a fun team.”

The space behind the vast Tacoma Weekly complex on Pacific Highway was, we admit, on the seedy side.

Long before our thriving enterprise moved in last summer, some fine citizen ditched, literally, a sofa in the drainage canal behind the building. Last year, the surface water maintenance crew working the slope under I-5 found it and, casting accusing looks at blameless journalists, hauled it out and set it by a cluster of derelict newspaper racks.

There was another box back there, wooden and bent on becoming one with the morning glory, horsetail and nasty grass around it.

We were not alone. Our neighbors to the north had laid out an obsolete wall cupboard next to the platform on which they store pallets, wood and a pickup canopy. They invited recyclers to make free with the materials, and, to this community’s credit, a good deal of the stuff has been taken to new uses.

Still, our semi-industrial backyard was graceless, the kind of place that attracts dicey elements. I have, with my own eyes, seen Steve Dunkelberger, Ed Curran, Ernest Jasmin, even Matt Nagle, hanging out there on smoke breaks.

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN

Are you up for the challenge of a workplace garden? More to the point, is your employer up for it? If so, we want to hear from you.

Tell us the kind of space you have, the work you do and why you think a garden is a good fit.

Let us know how you decided the size and form. Are you going raised or in-ground? What is your planting medium? Will you go with food, flowers or a combination? What will you do with the things you grow? What's your position on garden art? Do you fear gnomes? How about clown gnomes?

If you have problems, or unexpected successes, please share them with us. And photos. We want to see lots of your photos.

Send them all to kathleen@tacomaweekly.com.

Decatur second baseman Brandon Zimmerman went 3-for-3 with three doubles and two runs batted in, and starting pitcher Chris Carns threw four overpowering innings, limiting Wilson’s offense to just two hits as Decatur ended the Rams’ season with a 6-1 win in the 3A district playoffs on May 7 at Heidelberg Park.

“Just to see the progression of this young team during the course of this season, and the maturity that they gained, makes me really proud of their effort that they gave and will continue to give in 2014,” said Wilson head coach Doug Rupe.

While Carns was holding the Rams’ offense in check for four innings, Wilson starter Brady O’Keefe was also keeping the Gators’ offense from denting the scoreboard with a little help from his defense. Second baseman Matt Stortini preserved the scoreless tie in the third inning by diving to stop a grounder and throwing out the batter with a runner on second base.

Decatur finally got to O’Keefe in the fourth when Zimmerman stroked a two-run double down the right field line to break the scoreless tie, and a third run came around on an errant relay throw to give the Gators a 3-0 lead.

Wilson threatened in the fourth by putting runners on first and second with one out, but Matt Stortini would get picked off of first base and Nathan Sandoval struck out two batters later to end the inning.

“We shot ourselves (in the foot) twice, and for all intents and purposes it took us out of the game,” said Rupe.

Leading 4-0 in the sixth inning, the Gators put the nail in the coffin with a two-run inning that took the steam out of the Wilson dugout.

As they had been doing for most of the 2013 season, Wilson would leave everything they had on the field. Jared Horner lined a two-out single to right field to get the Rams on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh, but the season would end one hitter later as thoughts would turn to the 2014 season.

“There’s a lot we can take away from this season, especially with the gradual improvement of our younger players throughout the season,” Rupe said.

With Sandoval being the only graduating player, there is a lot to look forward to next season. “We’ll put the ball in motion with our summer American Legion program and get started on 2014 a little early,” said Rupe. “We can’t wait for next year.”

By Steve Mullen

Wilson’s depth on the track continues to wear down their opponents this season. Winning 11 of 17 events on the boys side and 12 of 18 on the girls side, the Rams easily coasted to team championships over Lincoln, Foss and Mount Tahoma at the All-City Track Meet on May 1 at Lincoln Bowl.

Junior Dontae Smith helped the Rams tally 104 points in the boys meet with a season-best time of 51.91 seconds in winning the 400-meter dash, while also edging teammate Devon Phillips to win the 200-meter dash. Phillips won the 100-meter dash in 11.58 seconds, while the Rams’ Austin Lawrence won the 800- and 1,600-meter runs.

Among the more impressive Wilson runners continues to be James Sivonen, who won the 300-meter hurdles in 40.74 seconds and holds the fourth best time in the state in 3A this year in the event.

“My coaches told me to get better. (I had to) open up my stride a little more and not stutter over the hurdles as much…(Now) I can stretch over the hurdle a little better than I used to.” James Sivonen Wilson

“At the start of the year, I was running (in 42 seconds), which was my (personal record) last year,” said Sivonen, who also placed third in the 110-meter hurdles. “My coaches told me to get better. (I had to) open up my stride a little more and not stutter over the hurdles as much…(Now) I can stretch over the hurdle a little better than I used to.”

Wilson’s Matthew Neiman added a win in the shot put with a toss of 44 feet and three inches, while Connor Patterson took the discus with a throw of 130 feet and nine inches.

Lincoln junior Kashawn Johnson helped the Abes place second with 67 points, setting a personal best of 15.9 seconds in winning the 110-meter hurdles while also helping the Abes win the 4X400-meter relay. Lincoln’s Mecca Amen won the 3,200-meter run, while ZeAyre Trimmings won the javelin, Ronald Carter took the high jump and senior Josh Eckwood won the long jump.

The Wilson girls sported eight different, individual event winners to put up 111.5 points on the day. Leading the way were seniors Sydney Stuckey, who won both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and Bethany Montgomery, who set a personal best of 17 feet and 1.5 inches in winning the long jump while also claiming the triple jump title. Sophomore sprinter Aujanique Doss won the 100-meter dash while fellow sophomore Kapri Morrow won the 200-meter dash while also finishing just behind Doss in the 100.

Morrow noted that the ultimate goal is the state meet, and that a little bit of friendly competition within the squad has helped her improve throughout the season.

“The first 100 (of the season), Bethany (Montgomery) said ‘I’m going to beat you Kapri,’” said Morrow. “She beat me once, and never again.”

Sophomore Tierra Walker won the 400-meter dash for the Rams, sophomore teammate Shelby Alongi won the 3,200-meter run and junior Rachel Russell won the 1,600-meter run.

Lincoln senior Jada Harvey continued a strong season in field events by sweeping the shot put, discus and javelin to help the Abes put up 41.5 points as a team. Mount Tahoma’s Damonique Ishman tied with Wilson’s Jordan Hogan to win the high jump, while Thunderbird freshman Sha’Quoya Walker emerged with a win in the 800-meter run.

Foss senior Abrei McClarron put up the Falcons’ best result in finishing second in the 200-meter dash, while junior teammate Mil-Lindsey Williams – battling shin splints – still managed to place third in the 100.

The Narrows 3A and 4A league meets are on May 11 at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard.

Mayor Marilyn Strickland and Tacoma City Council members recognized Tacoma’s top volunteers on May 7, during the 27th annual City of Destiny Awards. Held at the Stadium High School Auditorium, spirits were high as the award recipients received much applause for their selflessness and leadership.

“Tacoma is blessed with people who love this city and are willing to volunteer their time and talent to improve it,” said Strickland. “Instead of sitting on the sidelines, they are rolling up their sleeves and taking action that has a positive impact on our community. We owe them many thanks.” 

Youth Leadership – May Luu

As vice president of the Wilson High School Key Club, May Luu has impacted the lives of many by embodying the Kiwanis/Key Club mission statement: “Serving the Children of the World, One Child and One Community at a Time.” She volunteers at St. Joseph Medical Center’s Family Birth Center and led her fellow Key Club members to help very ill, premature babies by raising funds for March of Dimes and she helps foster children through Catholic Community Services. Over the holidays, she inspired Key Club members to hold successful food drives, and on the last Friday of each month Luu and the Key Club make 300 sandwiches for the Rescue Mission.

Youth Service – Tatiana Mason

Tatiana Mason’s volunteer career began at the Tacoma Nature Center, where she has put in nearly 400 volunteer hours. Center staff and teachers have been so impressed with her range of skills, devotion and enthusiasm that they have entrusted her with numerous leadership positions at the center – leading Girl Scouts at nature badge workshops, training and working with staff to survey wetland amphibian populations, leading beach hikes, supervising children and leading activities at the center’s nature day camps, and more. Her scholastic prowess is impressive as well, making her a perfect and positive role model for children and adults alike.

Adult Leadership – Adria Farber

Adriana Farber’s efforts on behalf of the American Diabetes Association border on legendary. She helped raise more than $25,000 through her Dine Out to Stop Diabetes event at Joeseppi’s Italian Ristorante and her participation in and promotion of the South Sound Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes, among her other efforts. At Tacoma Athletic Commission, she is a committee member in its Athlete of the Year program, where she helps choose student-athletes for scholarships, assists with events, presents awards and helps create a vibrant atmosphere at TAC and for those around her with her energy, enthusiasm and competence. She is an integral component of Pierce County’s role in the Faith & Family Homelessness Project and has done much more work for the homeless. She has served with Phoenix House, promoted the Pierce County Hunger Walk and helps children in foster care with new blankets and other gifts.

Adult Sustained Service – Donna Buck

It can be said truly that Donna Buck donates part of every day to her volunteerism and has so for many years, thus her award for “sustained service.” Everything she does for the community, for children, veterans and the underprivileged is of a multitude impossible to list here, but here is a sampling: She has ensured wheelchair accessible sidewalks where there were none; leads food, clothing and school supplies drives year-round; makes sure “Bears and Blankets” packages are at all police agencies in the city for children involved in policing situations; cooks and serves full Christmas dinners for all first responders all day long each Christmas Day; she is an active member of numerous local and national organizations like AMVETS, South End Community Council and South Tacoma Business Owners Association, and she even clips coupons every week to send to military families to use in commissaries overseas. One would be hard-pressed to find a more selfless soul than Buck’s.

Environmental Sustainability – Lincoln Tree Farm Camp Counselors

This past summer, 22 students from Gray Middle School were chosen to participate in this intensive program in environmental science. Out of their urban environment and into the forest, these East Side youth from at-risk populations needed guidance, and it was provided thanks to Wilson High School students Marianna Smith and Monique Vasquez-David. It was not always easy for these two camp counselors to handle middle-schoolers, but by the end of the camp the 22 students were fully excited about environmental sustainability and the things they learned. They were also grateful for everything that Marianna and Monique did for them to make Lincoln Tree Farm Camp possible.

Youth Group – Zoo Guides

Nominated for their efforts in educating about where Tacoma fits in global climate change, Zoo Guides are dedicated volunteers ages 14-18 at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium who engage visitors in learning more about the endangered animals housed at the zoo and how making simple lifestyle changes can help protect animal habitats. The 54 members of the 2012 Zoo Guide team spent 2,080.5 hours in pre-season training prior to setting out on their educational mission for a minimum of 152 hours for the summer season, during which they spoke with more than 350,000 people.

Employee Group or Union Group Award – International Association of Machinists District 751

When the working men and women of Machinists District 751 are not building components for the world’s best airplanes, or assembling these fine aircraft, through the Machinists Volunteer Program they have invested thousands upon thousands of hours improving lives and improving the city of Tacoma. They work once a week sorting foods at the Northwest Harvest warehouse and help out every holiday with the KING 5 Home Team Harvest food drive. In 2012 they collected 552 jars of peanut butter. They have built Olympic-style awards platforms for Special Olympics, helped out at the Rescue Mission and with Project Homeless Connect.

Neighborhood Group – Zina Linnik Project

Who in Tacoma can ever forget that awful day on July 4, 2007, when little Zina Linnik was kidnapped and killed? But thanks to a long line of caring people, this time of tragedy was turned into a moment of triumph for Tacoma when the Zina Linnik Project took off. With key help from students, staff and families at McCarver Elementary School and in Hilltop, and others too numerous to name, empty and aged landscapes were transformed into two of the city’s most impressive parks, Wright Park and McCarver Park, where children can play safely and Linnik’s memory lives on.

Community Partnership – Dr. Gordy Klatt and the Tacoma Relay for Life Volunteers

In 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt spent 24 hours running around a track to bring attention to those who fight cancer and those who care for them. At the end of his run, he had raised $27,000. Fast-forward 27 years later, and that humble effort has become a global movement spanning more than 20 countries in more than 6,000 communities. It’s name: Relay for Life. Having raised more than $4 billion to date, it quickly became the largest community-focused event in the world. And thanks to dedicated volunteers that put on Relay for Life Tacoma, the event raised nearly $600,000 in 2012 with more than 2,300 participants that included 600 cancer survivors, including Klatt.

The City of Destiny Awards event is covered by TV Tacoma and aired on both the Click! and Comcast Cable systems.

Stadium did not get on the board until midway through the first half at Bellarmine Prep. But once the Tigers notched their first goal, the floodgates opened as they cruised to a 5-1 win over the Lions to keep a slight edge in the race for the Narrows 4A title.

Andrew Foreman got the Tigers on the board in the 21st minute, breaking away on the left side and sending a low shot past Lions keeper Jacob Hillyer.

“We noticed they were dropping off a lot, so we exploited that by going wide,” Foreman said. “We were using our backs to move forward, and that’s kind of where we get our momentum from.”

Max Harvey made it 2-0 four minutes later after stealing a pass just outside the Bellarmine box, moving right past two defenders and drilling a shot between Hillyer and the right post.

Bellarmine’s best chance to score in the first half came in the 26th minute when Dacin Titus sent a nice chip over the Bellarmine defense and through keeper Ian Fry, but Alex Schneller slipped before he could get a shot off.

The Tigers increased it to 3-0 two minutes after halftime when Harvey’s header at goal was mishandled by Hillyer, and Garrett Harp sent in the follow-up shot on the back post.

“(He’s) the most underrated player on the team,” said Stadium head coach Adam Becker of Harp. “I love the kid…he’s a luxury to have out there.”

Bryce Ikeda put the game away in the 56th minute, swiftly moving around three defenders near the left of the box and squeezing a shot into the left side of goal. The Lions finally got on the scoreboard in the 65th minute when Brendan Hartley outraced the Tigers’ defense and drove a shot into the left side. Jacob Beardemphl added Stadium’s final tally in the 77th minute. The game was the most recent showcase off the Tigers’ offensive diversity, as five different players scored goals.

“We feed off each other,” said Foreman of the trio of himself, Harvey and Beardemphl. “They want to double team us, which gives us more room to feed it out. Our goals are evenly distributed throughout the whole team.”

The Lions’ loss, coupled with a draw between Gig Harbor and South Kitsap, officially eliminated them from postseason contention. With a chance at the Narrows 4A title, the Tigers fell 3-1 at Central Kitsap on May 7 to take the second seed to the district playoffs. They will play at noon on May 11 at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

CHASE ENDS IN ARRESTS

Puyallup Tribal Police Department responded to an altercation between a man and woman at Thunderbird Trading Post on May 4. Lieutenant William Loescher said the man fled in a car, firing shots as he left the scene. Tribal officers located the vehicle on Pioneer Way and followed it inside the city limits, where Tacoma police joined the pursuit. Two men in the car were arrested and taken to Pierce County Jail. They face charges of first-degree aggravated assault.

LINCOLN DISTRICT SHOOTING

A man was shot in the leg on May 1 in an alley near the intersection of South 37th Street and South Thompson Avenue. The suspect fled before police arrived. While officers investigated, Whitman Elementary School and Lincoln High School were briefly locked down. The victim was expected to survive.

SHOPLIFTER FLEES POLICE

A shoplifter fled the Sears store at Tacoma Mall on April 30 and got into a getaway car, which hit a police car. The vehicle with the suspects fled the scene. No one was injured.

BOX DRAWS BOMB SQUAD

A lunchbox left near the automated teller machine at the Bank of America’s downtown branch caused alarm on April 30. Employees called police when no one claimed the item. Officers blocked off the area, while Tacoma Police Department’s bomb experts investigated. It was determined to indeed be a lunchbox.

YOUNG AND WASTED

A young woman allegedly assaulted a Tacoma fire captain on April 29 after his crew responded to her call for medical treatment. She entered a bar downtown and requested an ambulance. She allegedly broke a glass door and threw chairs before firefighters tried to treat her. While the captain held her arm, she punched him and spit on the crew, according to police. Officers arrived and took her to a hospital, where she tested positive for heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. She was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault and malicious mischief.

GUN PULLED ON THIEF

A man tried to steal a jacket from the Nordstrom store at Tacoma Mall on April 25, only to have a gun pulled on him. A security officer spotted the shoplifter removing the anti-theft tag and exiting the store. She tried to stop him, and the two struggled. A stranger drove by, pulled a gun and told the shoplifter to stop. The guard handcuffed the suspect and took him back into the store. The man with the gun drove away. The suspect was citied for third-degree theft.

MOM, SON FIGHT

Officer responded to an altercation at a convenience store at the intersection of East 40th Street and Portland Avenue on April 24. A mother and her teenage son argued in their home. The son became hostile and shoved his mother. She grabbed a phone to call 911 but he knocked it from her hand. She went to the store and called police. Officers called his cell phone and said they had found his backpack with his identification card and wished to return it to him. They agreed to meet on East 56th Street, where he was arrested. He was booked into Remann Hall on suspicion of fourth-degree assault and interfering with the reporting of a crime.

The $4 million in road repairs funded through the new Transportation Benefit District and its associated $20 annual vehicle fee will help curb Tacoma’s pothole infestation. But residents should not expect big changes from that effort alone.

Many streets are beyond repair and simply need to be replaced after decades of neglect and deferred maintenance. But the $4 million will be added to the funding pool along with about $30 million in grants to start chipping away at the backlog of needed upgrades.

City estimates put the price tag of road repairs at an $800 million backlog, but even that estimate is low and out of date since it was calculated in 2003.

“It was a good number at the time, but it is really not comprehensive. It’s going to be more, much more,” Interim Public Works Director Kurtis Kingsolver said. “It will be significantly more.”

Public Works officials are now conducting a citywide review of its road and traffic signals to detail the needed repairs as a way to tackle them comprehensively. That report is expected to be finished later this month.

“This is the first time we have done this and is really going to help us a lot to figure out where we are,” he said.

What is known is that about $2 million of the TBD funding will go toward residential street chip sealing and overlaying, with about $500,000 going toward work on main streets, city documents outline. Specific road repairs and pothole filling will get about $1.1 million. About $300,000 will go toward curb and sidewalk work and $60,000 will go toward upgrading traffic signals that are failing or based on outdated technology.

Overall road conditions around the city vary by neighborhood, with the worst roads being found in the Central and North End sections. About 55 percent of their roads are rated failed or poor. The best roads can be found in Northeast Tacoma, where only 14 percent are failing. The citywide street score is 41 on a 100-point scale, putting it at the bottom of the list of similar Northwest cities.

In an effort to be strategic with road repair dollars, the city is set to spend about $500,000 on a Transportation Master Plan that will outline traffic patterns for cars, bikes and walkers as a way to outline improvements and target projects with the most immediate impact and outline future work.

“The Transportation Benefit District is going to help, but it’s not going to solve the problem,” Kingsolver said.

Legislative changes to allow cities to double the vehicle-licensing fee to $40 are being discussed as well as potentially establishing a street maintenance utility. A levy lid lift is also on the discussion table to fund street work.

“We really have to think this out,” Kingsolver said, noting that whatever mix is used, the funding for roadwork has to be sustainable and predictable.

The city has 855 lane miles of arterial roads and 1,345 residential lane miles, which combine to be the same as a trip from Tacoma to New Orleans.

It is that scope that Tacoma City Council approved the creation on May 7 of a citizen-advisory Transportation Commission that would help the city on street and transportation issues. The 11-member group would represent each of the city’s council districts and advise elected officials of transportation matters around the city.

When Shannon Brenner heard that the owners of her favorite pizza place wanted to sell the business two years ago, she quickly took action. She purchased Puget Sound Pizza along with longtime employee and manager Martin Osborn, and the rest is history.

The new ownership team kept the neighborhood hot spot’s menu intact and continues to offer specialty pizzas featuring high-quality ingredients. Some of the PSP specialties include the St. Helens pizza (pepperoni, Italian sausage, black olives and jalapenos, $22.75), and the new Torino pie is quickly becoming a fan favorite, featuring Hot Capicola (cured pig neck! Just try it.), red onion, capers and mushrooms for $22.

“We only use the highest quality ingredients,” Brenner said, adding that PSP’s pizza sauce is specially made in-house. “Our pizza is better than anything else you can get in Tacoma. Once you taste it, you’ll see why.”

The restaurant also offers daily lunch specials and happy hour from 2-6 p.m. every day and 9 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Thursdays. A full and fantastic breakfast menu is also offered on weekends, featuring bacon-laced pancakes served with two eggs any style for $7.50. Breakfast tacos are also a big seller, featuring soft corn tortillas with your choice of meat, eggs, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream.

Many ingredients are purchased locally whenever possible, and local craft breweries are often featured on tap.

Puget Sound Pizza’s infamous karaoke also takes place Wednesdays through Saturdays – often to a packed house, so arrive early if you want in on the action.

PSP is located at 317 S. 7th St. in Tacoma. Hours are Mondays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sundays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.psptacoma.com

The Tacoma Weekly knows no bounds to its coverage of local artists.

This week it ambushed University of Washington Tacoma art student Bryan Kelley on the beach at Pono Kai in Kapaa, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Kelley, 29, had gone down to the sand with art on his mind and a few coconut palm fronds in his hands. He’s fascinated by all the shapes nature takes, and what he can make of them.

“I like to use rocks, sand, anything at my disposal,” he said.

On that beach, he had the holes dug by sand crabs, bits of plastic thrown up by the sea and the many, many parts of the coconut palm.

“I came down to the beach and had no idea what I was going to do,” he said. “I found those seeds.”

They were the tiny proto-coconuts that hang in fluffy bunches below the palm tops. Like freshly-hatched ahi, most succumb to their environment over time, dropping away as the sturdiest among them grow larger and add layers. For the survivors, it’s a transformation rounded by salt spray and trade winds.

Kelley gathered and thought, and felt the round heat of the sun setting over volcanic mountains behind him.

Children, island keiki, who had been investigating reports of a reef shark up the way, stopped to see what was going on. The shark, lured by the blood of fish speared by local boys for dinner, had been on the beach side of the coral wall, but had made its way out. The keiki got an artist instead, and offered to collect sticks and leaves and bits of coral and shell for Kelley.

The objects began to make sense together in his mind, and in the outline he scraped in the sand above the high tide line.

“I was playing with the values, playing with ideas,” he said. “It’s therapy.”

He’d been in a serious accident a few years ago, wearing a seatbelt. He’d come out of it with a fresh sense of how, in one instant, every expected thing can blow away. He went back to college and reveled in the discipline of developed ideas. He’s made paintings and glass and sculptures and, on vacation with his family, art in the sand.

On Kauai, they have raced in a catamaran with spinner dolphins. They have peered 150 feet into the waters surrounding the island of Ni’ihau across from Kauai’s Na’Pali coast, and saw schools of fish – and one shark. They drifted into the spirit of Aloha, and felt at home.

“I’ll graduate in a year in interdisciplinary arts and sciences,” he said.

He sees his future in the arts. In Tacoma, there are murals to be painted, graffiti art to be explored. There are dead sites to be made fascinating, just as the iconic Graffiti Garage has been.

He sees Kauai in his future as well. The island has enchanted his family, including his parents. Kelley has a sense that the island is where his feet should be touching the Earth. That is the idea he gathered by the ocean, accepted from the keiki and formed in the sand.

“The universe is screaming that this is right,” Kelley said.

He is listening.

An audience of around 700 people heard inspiring stories of people who overcame obstacles in life to land gainful employment and the rewards that go with it. The occasion was Tacoma Goodwill’s annual Ready to Work Breakfast, held May 7 at Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.

Chad Wright, chair of Tacoma Goodwill’s Board, noted that once people attend this event, they want to return each year to hear the inspirational stories. Wright is director of Marine View Ventures, the economic development arm of Puyallup Tribe of Indians. He said all money raised from the event goes toward Tacoma Goodwill’s job training efforts. The organization places thousands of people into permanent employment in 15 counties in Washington.

Two business awards were presented to companies that are committed to hiring Goodwill clients. Fred Meyer was selected as Business Partner of the Year for identifying a need in the grocery store industry for cake decorators and helping develop a training program within Goodwill’s culinary program. Wal-Mart Foundation was chosen as Community Partner of the Year for partnering with Goodwill to expand job training placement and supporting women and veterans.

Tacoma Goodwill had 14 stores when Terry Hayes became its CEO 11 years ago. Now it has 31. Hayes spoke of how proceeds from sales of items in the stores helps the organization in its mission to provide people with second chances.

“We are doing all we can to reduce our footprint on the environment.” - Terry Hayes CEO, Tacoma Goodwill

Last year Goodwill opened Blue, an upscale boutique store, in Proctor District. It plans to open a second Blue in Olympia this summer and hopes to open a third somewhere in Pierce County this year. Its 32nd retail store will open in South Tacoma in June.

A Dalai Lama print was donated to Goodwill last year. It was sold at auction for $21,000. Extensive media coverage of the donation pushed the sale price well above the appraised value.

Hayes also spoke of Goodwill’s ongoing recycling efforts. It has launched Zero Waste Initiative, an effort to recycle just about everything that comes into a Goodwill facility. An outlet store that just opened on Pine Street in Tacoma is part of this program. “So if and when products do not sell in the stores, or if the product was not of the quality to sell, we have a way of getting that merchandise recycled and repurposed,” Hayes said. “We are doing all we can to reduce our footprint on the environment.”

Three individual awards were presented. The Michener Inspirational Award went to Patrice Porter. She used to operate a restaurant with her husband. Her life changed dramatically after he died suddenly and she found herself a single mother to five children. Porter told the audience she had not been in school for nearly 30 years before she went through the retail skills program at Goodwill. She was hired as an intern at Goodwill’s store in Puyallup. Goodwill provided her with the self-esteem, hope and skills to carry on, she remarked.

Jewel Smith was selected as Achiever of the Year. The death of her son hit her hard and she suffered from deep depression. She lost her apartment and job. A friend suggested she move from Sacramento to Tacoma. She enrolled in Goodwill’s Senior Community Service Employment Program, which is for people 55 and older. She now works as a receptionist in Goodwill’s headquarters in Tacoma.

Smith said she encounters people who walk through the doors who are broken and angry, which she can relate to. When people who have been out of work for six months speak to her, she tells them she was out of work for six years. “Angry does not get you anywhere. Positive gets you everywhere.”

Mercede Hall is Graduate of the Year. She grew up around drugs and poverty. She found herself a young single mother with a broken spirit when a stranger suggested she go to Goodwill. “It literally changed my life,” she said. Hall was trained in warehousing and logistics, then was hired for a warehouse job at Fastenal. “Reach for the stars and you may touch the moon.”