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South Sound Technology Conference 2009

Derek Young — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:58:21 GMT

Entrepreneurship and the South Sound Technology Cluster

Next Friday, November 20th, join us for the 10th annual South Sound Technology Conference at the University of Washington Tacoma. This annual technology showcase for the Tacoma and the South Puget Sound region brings together campus, civic and industry leaders, government representatives, university faculty and students. This year, panels and speakers will present on entrepreneurship, building technology companies in the South Sound and leveraging the commonalities of the companies that are here.

Bruce Kendall, CEO of the Economic Development Board of Pierce County will kick things off with a discussion of entrepreneurship and the economic development of the South Sound Region. The morning panel that follows will pick up the topic with Tacoma entrepreneurs such as Mark Briggs, Brian Forth, and me. I will be there to speak about the creation and growth of Seasonal View – our rarely-mentioned-here technology services company. Graham Evans of the Washington Technology Center and John Dimmer of the Tacoma Angel Network will talk about funding and innovation.

A lunch keynote from the CEO of Corporate Privacy Group, Richard Purcell, former Chief Privacy Officer of Microsoft and chairman of the board of TRUSTe will highlight the middle of the day.

The afternoon panel will feature companies from the area that represent the data integrity, information assurance and Cybersecurity cluster that is growing in Pierce County, including Vadium, NewTec and InternetIdentity. Breakouts will include discussion of how to support that infrastructure and will also give attendees the opportunity to view student research projects at the Institute of Technology.

The yearly event is made possible by the hard work of many volunteers and the generosity of corporate and community sponsorship.

More information at www.sstconference.org.

Gilda's Club Tacoma 2nd Annual Show and Luncheon

Derek Young — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:51:33 GMT

Gilda’s Club Tacoma will be hosting its 2nd Annual Surviving with Style Fashion Show & Luncheon on November 17th. The show features cancer survivors celebrating life and sharing their stories while modeling local designers and boutiques.

Gilda’s Club is bringing a program of services to Tacoma so that no one in our community will ever have to face cancer alone. Gilda’s Club Tacoma will provide a meeting place where men, women, and children living with cancer, along with their families and friends, will join with others to build social, emotional and educational support. Best of all, everything at Gilda’s Club Tacoma will be FREE because of your generosity and support.

We attended, helped organize, and participated in last year’s show. We saw many of you there. This year should be even more powerful and inspiring.

Details
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 – 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
Greater Tacoma Convention Center
Reserve Your Tickets Today

For more information and to register, head to GildasClubSeattle.org

Murano to Purchase Bicentennial Pavilion

Derek Young — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:24:57 GMT

The TNT is reporting this morning that Provenance Hotels, the owner of the Hotel Murano, has reached an agreement with the City to purchase the Bicentennial Pavilion for $2.24 million. The building – the “Coast’s sole Bicentennial building” and our original Tacoma Convention Center – is situated immediately up hill of the Murano and is already managed by the hotel. The deal is a bit more complicated as the building has unexpired US Dept. of Commerce covenants attached to it from when it was built in 1976. It’s not exactly our most iconic downtown structure. Anybody want to re:vision the Bicentennial Pavilion?

Link to The News Tribune

Previously on Exit133: Tacoma City Council Meeting Nov 10th, 2009

Tacoma City Council Meeting - Nov. 10th, 2009

Derek Young — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:58:36 GMT

This evening’s Tacoma City Council meeting was a minimalist affair with Fey, Manthou, and Talbert missing from the dais. The entire regular agenda was done in less than 20 minutes. At one point it was noted that there will most likely be two vacancies on the Council once this month’s election is certified. A proposed timeline for the appointment process was emailed to Council. Interested? Take a look at it here (Doc). Here are our notes or the rest of the meeting:

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

RESOLUTIONS
Resolution No. 37911 was moved to the meeting of November 24th. It authorizes the execution of an extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Tacoma Joint Labor Committee through December 31, 2012.

Purchase Resolution No. 37914 awards contracts to:

Pape & Sons Construction, Inc., in the amount of $90,000.00, plus sales tax, for a cumulative total of $1,214,510.13, budgeted from the Streets Special Revenue Fund, to increase the contract for the Thea Foss Waterway Esplanade
Ciba Corporation, part of the BASF Group, on its bid of $246,240.00 for dry polymer for biosolids dewatering for an initial two-year period, plus the option to renew for three additional one-year periods, for a projected contract amount of $615,600.00; and
Anthony Construction Company, Inc., on its bid of $3,843,561.78, including sales tax and a $150,000.00 Force Account, budgeted from the Wastewater 2006 Bond Construction Fund, for modifications to the existing dissolved air
floatation thickeners located at Tacoma’s Central Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Resolution No. 37915 authorizes the execution of an amendment to the agreement with David Evans and Associates, Inc., in the amount of $31,710, for a cumulative total of $249,551, budgeted from the Public Works Tacoma Rail Mountain Division Capital Projects Fund, for design and construction support services to repair the Puyallup River Trestle.

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27844 amends Chapter 1.23 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Hearing Examiner, to add an area of jurisdiction which will allow any administrative hearing relating to the breach or termination of cable television franchises to be heard by the Hearing Examiner.

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27847 amending Chapter 10.10 of the Municipal Code, relating to the contracting process, by amending Section 10.10.010 to align the retainage requirements on public improvements with state law, allow delegation of final acceptance of public improvements, provide flexibility to issue monthly progress payments throughout the month, and streamline the process for final contract payment calculation.

PUBLIC HEARINGS AND APPEALS
a. This is the date set for a public hearing by the City Council to set the proposed Ad Valorem tax levies. Confused the heck out of me and there were no comments from the public.

b. This is the date set for a public hearing by the City Council on the 2009-2010 biennial budget modifications and the 2010-2015 Capital Facilities Program. AOne person spoke during the public portion of the hearing. An interesting comment came from Councilmember Lonergan who noted that the City has reached a tentative agreement to sell the Bicentennial Pavilion. Hmmm… may need to find out more about that.

Any questions?

Complete Streets Guidelines Heading to Council

Derek Young — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:53:40 GMT

The City’s Complete Streets Design Guidelines came before the Tacoma City Council Study Session today after nearly two years in development.

Elliott Barnett from the City of Tacoma stated in an email to stakeholders:

The Guidelines are a comprehensive Complete Streets approach tailored to Tacoma. The objectives are to design, build and maintain streets that safely, comfortably and appropriately accommodate all users and transportation modes; foster a sense of place in the public realm; and, reduce environmental impacts when feasible. The Guidelines set a framework to achieve these objectives, add cost-effective tools to the City’s toolbox, and identify implementation steps. The final draft Guidelines incorporate changes identified through the extensive public input received on the previously released public review drafts.

This isn’t intended to be a one size fits all approach. Not every street will handle every mode of transportation, but the City is trying to make a system that can accommodate all modes of transportation. Tacoma’s Complete Streets guidelines:

Support a balanced transportation system
All users and transportation modes to be considered in street design
Provide options to reduce environmental impacts
Support efforts to make streets safe, attractive and comfortable
Provide options for streets that contribute to neighborhood character
Support growth vision for Mixed-use Centers; livability in residential areas
Add cost-effective street design options to Tacoma’s “toolbox”
Approaches tailored to Tacoma

The implementation of Complete Streets will be an ongoing process whenever construction, alteration, and maintenance occurs on our City streets. It puts the design elements at the beginning of the process.

On November 17th, a resolution endorsing Tacoma’s Complete Streets Design Guidelines is scheduled for Council consideration.

Complete Streets Project Summary (PDF)

More information at CityofTacoma.org

The Round No. 7

Derek Young — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:44:28 GMT

This is THE {TACOMA} ROUND:
3 songwriters share the stage,
slam poets, live painters…
audience sits in rapt attention.
It’s definitely not your normal concert.

In what some might call the collision of guerrila art and a tractor pull, Lance Kagey brings his friends along for an experience you won’t soon forget. Immerse yourself in the warmth of community while you participate, as this audacious team brings you to a new place, a place to re:concile who we are, and who we will become. Time to re:think, re:create, re:fresh.

the Round no.7
Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives
Kelli Schaefer
Luke Stevens
SOTA’s China Team
Lance Kagey
Tom Llewellyn

Details
Friday the 13th of November – Doors open at 7:30
The Warehouse
1114 Court E. Tacoma
$8.00 at the door or via Brown Paper Tickets

Unofficial Tacoma Election Results and Live Blog

Derek Young — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:06:12 GMT

Exit133 will be hanging out at the Pierce County Elections office while results are coming in this evening. We’ll then be posting what we know as we know it. The latest info, at least for the first couple hours, will probably be on our Twitter feed – which we have embedded below.

Polls are ~~still open for a bit more than four hours~~ closed. Who would like to speculate on the percentage split in each race?

Unofficial Results (Updated as of 5:05 pm Monday)

CITY OF TACOMA

Mayor
Jim Merritt: 48.37% (17,723 votes)
Marilyn Strickland: 51.37% (18,823)

Position 2
Jake Fey: 97.48%

Position 4
Marty Campbell: 60.53%
Roxanne Murphy: 39.02%

Position 5
Joe Lonergan: 59.68%
Beckie Summers-Kirby: 39.90%

Position 6
Keven Rojecki: 43.00%
Victoria Woodards: 56.53%

PIERCE COUNTY
Charter Amendment #1
Yes: 32.19%
No: 67.81%

Charter Amendments #2
Yes: 46.98%
No: 53.02%

Charter Amendment #3
Yes: 70.80%
No: 29.20%

County Auditor
Shabro: 41.29%
Anderson: 49.91%
Baker: 8.44%

TACOMA SCHOOL DISTRICT
Position No. 2
Jerry Thorp: 44.59%
Catherine Ushka-Hall: 55.02%

Position No. 4
Kurt Miller: 60.09%
Stan Smith: 39.39%

PORT OF TACOMA COMMISSIONERS
Position No. 1
Connie Bacon: 56.78%
Bill Casper: 42.69%

Position No. 2
Charles Kelly Creso: 38.03%
Dick Marzano: 61.43%

Position No. 4
Don Meyer: 68.31%
Cathy Pearsall-Stipek: 31.28%

WASHINGTON STATE MEASURES
(Pierce County Only)
I-1033
Yes: 48.44%
No: 51.56%

I-71
Yes: 47.58%
No: 52.42%

A Few Notes – way too late in the evening

Julie Anderson’s win for the unexpired auditor term will create a vacancy on the Tacoma City Council within the next few weeks. From what we heard this evening, the moment the election is certified she will need to be sworn in. Expect someone new on the City Council by Thanksgiving.

We find it interesting that Pierce County Auditor Jan Shabro and Chief Deputy Auditor Deryl McCarty apparently left, we were told, after the first round of results appeared – effectively leaving Katie Blinn from the Secretary of State’s office in charge.

Love Tacoma at SAX - Tuesday

Derek Young — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:22:53 GMT

Love Tacoma is back this month and we’re heading to SAX Restaurant and Lounge on Sixth Avenue. SAX will be providing a Love Tacoma Cosmo in addition to their regular happy hour menu which features $3 wells, $3 house wine, and food. Like always, there will be drawings and prizes! Tuesday’s at 9pm are open mic night for musicians, so feel free to stick around and enjoy the entertainment. Love Tacoma is an informal group of people dedicated to getting out, meeting new people, and enjoying our city. There’s no membership or fees. Join us!

Details
Tuesday, November 10th at 5:30 pm
SAX – 2309 6th Avenue

More information at LoveTacoma.com