by Kirk Kirkland Whenever I ride my bike through DuPont and Northwest Landing, I appreciate the intentional design. This town features wide bike lanes, active walking trails, and safe paths. Children can walk downtown or ride their bikes safely to the public library. These livable features now face an immediate threat. The CalPortland gravel operation […]
Your Pierce County mail-in ballot arrived a few weeks ago. The final deadline is August 4th. Because the voting window is so long, ballots are easily lost under a stack of mail or forgotten on the kitchen counter. This election is critical. Your vote will decide the future of our local landscape. If you are […]
“Our vote is the most powerful non-violent tool we have to create a more perfect union.” — John Lewis Join Grit City Community for a Sign-Waving Rally! Saturday, July 18, 2026 • 1:00–3:00 PM Defiant Goldfish (Point Defiance Entrance) 5310 N. Pearl Street, Tacoma
By Kirk Kirkland On June 11, 2026, the DuPont Hearing Examiner approved the South Parcel gravel mine expansion. The final decision confirms that this gravel project will create significant, irreversible environmental disruptions. The approved permit completely fails to provide adequate mitigation for the following structural impacts: Catastrophic Stream Loss. Active mining will drain the Vashon […]
By Kirk Kirkland The ongoing dialogue in May and June about the proposed Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Land Transfer focused on what the city and County Commissioners could do on the local level. Their concern was to reduce the impact of the decline in taxes and other fees when governance of the Tribe takes over governance […]
by Brett M. Johnson, Political Committee Chair Endorsements have been decided for most County Council and State Legislature races. Previous endorsements were carried over to this year for several incumbents. For those who interviewed with us last month, we truly appreciate their time and willingness to discuss important issues. A few of these races were […]
The existing Chambers Creek Bridge is structurally deficient and must be replaced. PSRC’s Bridge Pilot Program will fully fund the project’s design phase. Construction is scheduled for 2030. ________________________________________________________________ By Kirk Kirkland The Puget Sound Regional Council’s (PSRC) Executive Board approved $7 million in new funding to advance Pierce County’s Chambers Creek Bridge Replacement project. […]
by Kirk Kirkland The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and Protection Island are for the birds. They pause here annually to feed in preparation for their migration across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On August 16, 2023, Protect the Peninsula’s Future, the Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat, and Beyond Pesticides sued the U.S. Fish […]
By Kirk Kirkland A well-funded public relations campaign is sweeping the North Olympic Peninsula. It frames the proposed federal land transfer of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge complex to tribal sovereign trust as a conservation-friendly certainty. The narrative claims seamless management. The underlying infrastructure data, however, reveals an entirely different reality. The proposed transfer ignores […]
by Brett Johnson If you haven’t voted by now, it’s time to look around and figure out what you did with your mail-in-ballot for the April 28th special election next week. That’s next Tuesday. Don’t wait–make sure your vote is counted! Ballots were mailed out to Tacoma voters last week. We haven’t endorsed candidates for the summer […]
This beach on the left side of the logs is for people and the muddy areas on the other side is set aside for wildlife — many of them protected the the International Bird Migration Treaty. ________________________________________________________________ by Kirk Kirkland On April 13, John Garner and I traveled 110 miles to Sequim. We testified at […]
Every spring and fall, a silent tragedy unfolds beneath the glass canyons of our cities. While we sleep, Birds perish by the dozens all across the United States after striking illuminated windows [1]. On the Atlantic Flyway, the density of cities like New York and Boston creates a lethal gauntlet that claims upwards of 300 […]
by Kirk Kirkland A 110-year-old federal refuge is currently the center of a jurisdictional tug-of-war. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) shifted management of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe through a co-stewardship agreement. This move coincides with tribal plans to install a 50-acre industrial oyster farm within refuge boundaries. […]
by Kirk Kirkland Despite the chaos that resulted when the U.S. government started a war against Iran, there is the good news that shows how our state legislature, our Governor and the state’s Attorney General have pushed back against the ICE raids in our state. State Governor bans masked policing Last month we reported on […]
Join your neighbors and friends at the No Kings Rally. We will meet at the entrance of Point Defiance Park near the Goldfish Restaurant. On March 28, rise up and join the crowd on Pearl Street. Say it loud: no thrones, no crowns, no kings. We are not watching history happen. We are making it. […]
by Kirk Kirkland This is the critical time to contact your legislators and let them know which of these issues are important to you. In the last few weeks the 2026 state legislature has voted these important bills out of committee and now go to the floor of each house.. Before the cutoff date I […]
County Government stands up up for your safety and civil rights Most recently, the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officials in Minnesota have prompted many questions about immigration enforcement in Washington State and Pierce County. At the County level, Pierce county government took action last to: create new protocols for County […]
By Kirk Kirkland and Gemini AI A New Wave of Resistance hits Department of Justice Have you lost hope that the current administration can be stopped from creating chaos and returned to the Rule of Law in our economy, our schools, and our nation’s response to climate change? Each month, I use Gemini, an Artificial […]
State Governors and Supreme Court Stand Up to Trump’s Bullying by Kirk Kirkland It has been a gruesome year for those who see Donald Trump’s first year in office clearly. It’s been a parade of nightmares—corruption on a scale undreamed of and the shocking capitulation by many leaders in business, law, media, and academia. For […]
For the Friends of Burley Lagoon, it has been a challenging year opposing the Conditional Use Permit to allow Taylor Shellfish to plant one of the largest, 25.5-acre, geoduck farm in the County. After a challenging appeal before the Hearing Examiner, they group filled an appeal to the Shoreline Management Board. Neighbors and volunteers spent […]
