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.
Vaccination rates are falling. COVID cases are rising. Will Pierce County ever reopen?
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 5/8/2021 Debbie Cockrell, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
May 8 Pierce County, you have a COVID vaccine problem: Not enough people are showing up to get it.
The why to the story is complicated. There is an abundance of places to get vaccinated, but appointment slots are going unfilled.
Amid steadily rising cases, the county seems to have hit what one health department representative described as the tipping point of supply and demand.
Kayla Scrivner, immunization branch director for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, told the Board of Health on Wednesday that mass vaccine sites started to see a noticeable drop-off in recent weeks.
McKinney Nominated for State Board of Health
Yakima and Eastern Washington remains under phase 1 of the state s reopening plan. The Yakima County Commissioners continue to push Governor Jay Inslee to open up Eastern and Central Washington in phase 2. As that work continues Yakima County may soon have a voice on the Washington State Board of Health. The Board of Directors of the Washington State Association of Counties has formally nominated Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney on behalf of Washington State Association of Counties for consideration and appointment to the State Board of Health. Local officials say having a voice on the Washington State Board of Health could help the area open up more because McKinney could explain and possibly help the board understand the unique circumstances facing Eastern and Central Washington State.
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.