The majority of the Lakewood City Council recently decided to reduce its meetings from four Mondays a month to three. This decision prompts me to reflect on my own experiences as a council member and offer a practical perspective on what it means. We should be fine with it if council members had said, “We […]
The Untold Story of Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood: Battling Stigma, Saving History
“Timing is everything.” An exaggeration, you wonder? It depends on the subject. For example, let’s imagine John, Paul, George and Ringo had set up their amplifiers, drums and guitars outside the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 outside Westminster Abbey. Surely before they had finished “All My Loving” they would have been bundled up […]
Letter: Act by January 8, to let the Washington AG know that public records are important
Friends, today we widen our field of vision beyond Lakewood. We write today about open government in all of Washington. At the least, I hope this column educates you about work to keep government healthy and open. And perhaps some of you may write to the Attorney General by a deadline of Wednesday. Jan. 8, […]
Learning from the Past: Why Lakewood’s Heritage Needs a New Approach
One of the first things I ever wrote about Lakewood, back when we were all dodging pterodactyls and Moses hadn’t left for the journey yet, was about how a local government agency was hiding something from taxpayers. A big theme of the Lakewood Journal back in the day was that citizens should be informed of […]
Letter: Celebrating Native heritage in Lakewood is great for Fort Steilacoom Park in several ways
Sometimes, doing the right thing also brings added benefits — and that’s exactly what’s happening with an exciting new initiative at Fort Steilacoom Park. Let’s unroll some background to explain why. The park gets its name from an actual US Army fort, whose surviving 170-year-old buildings stand across Steilacoom Boulevard on the ‘front lawn’ of […]
A New Hope: Lakewood City Council shows restraint on the rush to apartments and condos
Years ago, the original Star Wars movie was renamed “A New Hope” when George Lucas decided to place it in the middle of a 9-episode saga. I wanted to share a small sign of new hope for Lakewood and development that balances community, small business and housing. The saga began last spring when the city […]
Two talks about Lakewood’s early military history, Nov. 17 & 20
I want to share two opportunities to learn a lot about Lakewood’s early history as part of the United States. One is online, and one is in person. They cover a big part of our community’s history as the first US military presence in all of Puget Sound. 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17: Learn about […]
Letter: Lakewood: Where the police are great, and the statistics first-rate
I wanted to share good news about public safety in Lakewood. I’ll begin with a personal experience. If anyone would like to skip that part and get to the news, just scroll below to the subhead “The Numbers.” I served on the council in 2004 when the police department began. It was a busy time, […]
Letter: Lakewood: Where citizens pout, and often sit things out
This is a letter to me. When I use strong language in this letter, it’s subconsciously addressed to me. However, it would be very weird to write a letter to myself in The Suburban Times. So I’m going to address this letter to all my fellow citizens of Lakewood. It’s up to any individual if […]