Pierce County Council again rejects effort to ban fireworks in unincorporated areas Jonathan Choe, KOMO News reporter
Pierce County Council again rejects effort to ban fireworks in unincorporated areas
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Some Pierce County Council members on Thursday again tried to convince their colleagues to hold another vote on an emergency order that would temporarily ban in unincorporated areas the use of fireworks, saying they pose a risk of sparking fires in a region scorched last weekend by record-setting high temperatures.
“They come down, and we can’t control where they are coming down, said County Council member Jani Hitchen. And if that somewhere is a dry area with some dead grass or dead trees, right now it’s really easy to catch fire.”
Effort to ban fireworks in ‘tinderbox’ Pierce County fails when GOP council members say no By Josephine Peterson, The News Tribune
Published: June 30, 2021, 6:07pm
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TACOMA Despite dangerous fire conditions, the Pierce County Council failed to pass an emergency ban on fireworks Tuesday after council Republicans argued it was too short notice, broke state law and was “virtually unenforceable.”
The legislation would have authorized the fire marshal to ban fireworks from June 29 until further notice for unincorporated Pierce County due to extreme fire conditions.
Pierce County fire marshal Warner Webb told council in a Tuesday study session that a fireworks ban would be necessary because of dry conditions, low humidity levels and no rain forecast over the next several days.
County Council OKs Hazard pay for grocery workers. Here s why they likely won t get it
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 3 hrs ago Josephine Peterson, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
May 5 Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier on Tuesday night shot down a narrowly passed County Council ordinance that would have given hazard pay to grocery store workers.
Council Democrats passed the ordinance along party lines in a 4-3 vote. It would have given grocery store workers in unincorporated Pierce County a $4 per hour raise to compensate them for being essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill would have applied to grocery stores more than 10,000 square feet in size and stores over 85,000 square feet in size with 10,000 square feet or more of their sales floor area dedicated to groceries. Council staff estimated there are 18 to 20 grocery stores in unincorporated county that would have been affected by the ordinance.
By Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Executive.
In the midst of the most divisive time in our history, the Civil War, after the bloodiest battle in our history, with over 50,000 combined casualties, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a 271-word address at the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg. His speech was exceptionally powerful and memorable, including one phrase that made an indelible mark on our collective consciousness, that our government is “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Governing of, by and for the people is true at the national and county levels. The people of Pierce County choose our elected leaders, and our entire county team – both elected and not – exists to deliver key services for the people of our county. And we must carry out those responsibilities with the utmost integrity and transparency.