The City Club of Tacoma hosted a panel discussion on May 1, 2013 on "Gun Rights and Personal Safety." The four panelists represented a substantial part of the spectrum in the debate over how to deal with guns in our society and each managed to touch positively or negatively the emotions of the audience, who similarly represented a spectrum of opinions. Roughly 1/3 of the roughly 60 in the audience identified themselves as gun owners. Only a few owned their guns for hunting. One half of the 1/3 indicated that they owned guns for self-protection. Read more
According to the Pierce Progressive’s Calendar, Shiloh Baptist Church was to feature a film on April 16 entitled, "Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine." In the description the film is, "a documentary film about an African–American gospel choir that travels to Palestine to participate in a play with Palestinian actors about MLK and nonviolent resistance." Read more
When the League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County promised a panel of Pierce County leaders in the land development and environmental preservation, on Saturday, April 13 in the Rhodes Center with free parking and refreshments, it was an intriguing invitation. As it turned out, the prosciutto wrapping on the melon was exquisite as were the dates in their cozy little blankets of elegant and well-salted dead pig. The Russell Family Foundation, one of the real leaders in environmental education, hosted the refreshments and Henry Izumizaki, Director of Programs for the Russell Family Foundation, and Holly Powers, Russell’s Program Officer, certainly ended the two hour forum with a networking opportunity that stands among the very best. Read more
On Monday, April 1, 2013, the City Council of the City of University Place issued a proclamation acknowledging Michael Kagan's contributions to our community. It is more appropriate for me, the editor of the Pierce Progressive to write Michael's story than Michael himself. He is a frequent contributor to these pages, and a member of The Pierce Progressive board. The proclamation focuses on how Michael has turned his passion for baseball into a vehicle for international goodwill. Michael Kagan began playing in the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League at the age of 52 and shortly after began traveling to Cuba to play as part of a senior team.
While thanking the City of University Place for their recognition of his work, Michael used the opportunity to describe the Sister Cities International program, hoping to encourage others to get involved. Michael has provided me a more detailed account of this program and his experiences, including answers to such questions as, "How did one sister city, Tacoma, support its sister city, Cienfuegos, in Cuba, in spite of the blockade the US has maintained against the island for over 50 years?” Read more
On March 12 the League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County held a forum entitled "The Open Records Act: What are the Issues?" A panel of experts provided information on current issues facing citizens and government agencies in releasing public records, according to the Public Records Act. Those of us who want to know what the government is doing frequently use this particular legal tool. Read more
