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TACOMAWEEKLY NEWS FREE • FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018
WWW.TACOMAWEEKLY.COM
Graduate Tacoma reaches key milestone, begins work on next phase
PHOTO BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER
Graduate Tacoma held its Community Impact Forum at the STAR Center last week, announcing that the district’s graduation rate has passed its 2020 goal, with 89 percent of high schoolers now receiving diplomas, but more work remains to be done with improving academic performances by younger students. Tacomans can expect to soon see a large flag with the number 89 on it waving on the Tacoma Dome and government buildings around the city to mark the milestone. By Steve Dunkelberger
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stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
raduate Tacoma celebrated a key milestone in its community effort to improve student achievement in Tacoma Public Schools last week with the announcement that the most recent data shows 89 percent of students
received diplomas within five years of high school. Improving graduation rates was a key indicator of progress in Tacoma Public Schools that dates back to a time when the school district was labeled a “dropout factory” in 2010. Just 55 percent of its students graduated on time. That wakeup call led to the creation of Foundation For Tacoma Students, a nonprofit umbrella that has grown to represent 268 gov-
ernments, nonprofits, businesses and community groups with the singular goal of improving student learning under the Graduate Tacoma banner by monitoring student activities, academic performances and setting “cradle to career” goals with a deadline of 2020, 10 years after the district’s low point. “That is what is so different about the Tacoma story,” Tacoma u See GRADUATE / page A8
TIKI RESIDENTS GET EXTENSION ON EVICTIONS By John Larson
jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
Moved by the plight of residents of the Tiki Apartments, Tacoma City Council has passed a temporary ordinance extending the notice for certain types of evictions from 20 to 90 days. This would cover a change in the use of a dwelling, demolition or major renovation. The longer period would not cover other reasons for eviction, such as failure to pay rent. The ordinance will sunset on Sept. 30, in order to give the council time to craft a longer-range policy. Residents of the complex, located on South 12th Street near State Route 16, received eviction notices after it was purchased by CWD Investments LLC. During an emergency meeting on April 26 to discuss the situation, Councilmember Keith Blocker said the new owner had been contacted and agreed to give Tiki tenants until the end of June to move. The new owner’s offer of relocation assistance will stay on the table, with those leaving by the end of May offered $900 and those at the end of June $600. Blocker brought up his own experiences with homelessness in his youth. “This issue hits homes to me.” The meeting drew many Tiki residents, as well as others concerned about their plight. Dr. James Williams noted the “grave shortage” of affordable housing, especially for the disabled Tiki residents. “Their rights and needs were not being addressed,” he said. “With the housing market the way it is, there will be more Tiki Apartments.” Sarah Howe, a Tiki resident who is blind and in a wheelchair, said she wants to live independently and not in an assisted living facility. “What do people in my situation do?” she asked the council. u See TIKI / page A8
Nancy Davis
July 11, 1949 – April 26, 2018
Department hopes to replace historic Tideflats fire station By Steve Dunkelberger
stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
An evaluation of the mothballed fire station on the Tacoma Tideflats has concluded that it would cost too much to renovate the historic building to accommodate modern equipment and systems needed for an emergency on the working waterfront. “Significant structural upgrades would be necessary to achieve minimum building standard requirements,” Tacoma Fire Department Chief James P. Duggan wrote in a memo to City Manager Elizabeth Pauli and the City Council’s Community Vitality and Safety Committee. “After a thorough review of the structural analysis and renovation concept, it was determined that the existing building did not meet the programmatic and operational needs … The renovated station would still not meet essential facility code requirements for fire stations.” Reinforcing the building, Fire Station 5, to meet the minimum building standards would limit access to one of the doors used by emergency vehicles, for example. The station is also too small, so the department’s preferred
PHOTO BY BLAKE KREMER
Fire Station 5 dates back to 1928 and is on the city’s registry of historic places, but the Tacoma Fire Department hopes to replace it with a new facility because it is too small and could not easily be renovated for modern emergency response systems.
option is to remove the building and build a new facility on the site, located at 3510 E. 11th St., at a cost of more than the $1.3 million available under the current budget. That means additional money would come during the budget talks in the fall for the 20192020 biennium. The need for a fire station on the Tideflats has been a matter of debate
ever since the station was closed during the budget cuts of the Great Recession a decade ago. The rise of more industrial operations on the Tideflats, specifically fossil fuel refineries and Puget Sound Energy’s plan to manufacture and store 8 million gallons of liquefied natural gas at a facility that is currently under construction, has made
u See FIRE STATION / page A8
CAGESPORT 50 ROCKS
WILLIAM TURNER
BEATLES TRIBUTE AT JAZZBONES
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GUEST EDITORIAL By forcing animals from their habitats and bringing them into closer contact with humans, deforestation accelerates the spread of dangerous animal-borne diseases. PAGE A5
Pothole of the Week.....A2 Bulletin Board...............A2
Sports..........................A10 Hot Tickets..................A11
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After a long illness, beloved Tacoma activist and friend to countless people Nancy Davis passed away at home on Thursday, April 26. A community memorial service is currently being organized, as the public was always her domain. Nancy was a gift to Tacoma like no other. Her sincere care and love for community took her to a wide range of places – from serving on boards and volunteer groups to being appointed a seat on Tacoma City Council and working for Metro Parks Tacoma. She was close to the Puyallup Tribe as well, working side by side with Puyallup Tribal Councilmember Sylvia Miller on numerous projects. Nancy had a way of fitting in anywhere and everywhere such that her breadth of community involvement knew no bounds – and she never sought credit for her accomplishu See DAVIS / page A8
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Two Sections | 26 Pages