Frosty, our fondly dubbed Fairytale Facsimile, and the hottest thing since hell froze over: after school Satan Clubs for elementary students, have more than a broomstick or a pitchfork in common. This coming December 14th is the announced arrival of Satanists at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Elementary School, pre-empting Santa’s appearance to chimneys around the world […]
Letter: Rental Inspection is a tax via the literal rental back door
First it was about safety they said. Then it was to create “intrinsic value to a surrounding neighborhood, improving quality of life and property values,” they said.
Letter: No business license for single-family rental properties
Not yet. “After much discussion, it was the consensus of the (Lakewood City) Council to implement a $60 business license fee for multi-family apartments per location; and the Council agreed to consider business licensing for single family rental housing at a later date.”
Letter: Gamble, get tanked then get tanked
Can you successfully sue the casino for serving you too many free drinks before you assault somebody? The Lakewood Police Department’s bar report (p.21 of 226) is out, as is the City’s review of gambling income (p.41 of 74), both reports covering the year 2016.
Letter: In lieu of Rental Inspection, what might have been
Lakewood had opportunity to institute a “robust tenant/landlord outreach educational program” in lieu of the onerous Ordinance No. 644 that mandates inspections on-and-in rental properties. Ironically, ‘robust’ means “straightforward and imbued with common sense.”
Letter: Journalism – when the bulldog escapes the leash
“We need to embrace, even relish, our legacy as malcontents and troublemakers, people who are willing to say the thing that makes everyone else uncomfortable.” The day after the election, the results of which seemed to mystify much of America, particularly mainstream media, Kyle Pope, author of the quote above, entitles his piece in the […]
Letter: RIP becomes rottener
It began as Rental Inspection Program, or RIP. The name was changed deleting the controversial ‘inspection’ and replaced with the more palatable ‘safety’ for Rental Housing Safety Program, or RHSP. Now, a business license fee is being tacked on plus per-unit fees and giving no quarter to landlords whose property has only one rental verses […]
Letter: Two extremes – the haves and the homeless have-nots
As we enter this season of Thanksgiving baskets and Christmas presents; bell-ringers and heart-string pullers; card-board sign displayers and more rain and cold nights under a tarp or park bench, what does true help to the homeless look like?
Letter: Marijuana – coming to a city near you
Buckley buckled; Bonny Lake has sprung a leak; UP wants MJ, Tacoma is already in the tank so any bets Lakewood will for long lag behind? “Lured,” is the word John Gillie used in his November 6, 2016 headline in the Tacoma News Tribune: “Bonney Lake joins Pierce cities lured by marijuana tax revenue.”