June 06, 2013 @ 11:31 am
The Washington State Department of Health has released initial data on same-sex marriages in the state following legalization last year.
Nearly 2,500 same sex couples were married in Washington between Dec. 6, 2012 and March 31, 2013. Same sex marriages represented more than 20 percent of the 11,661 marriages that occurred in Washington during this 16-week period.
Same sex marriages occurred in 35 of Washington’s 39 counties during this time period, which began on the first day same sex couples could legally get a marriage license in the state. More same sex couples were married in King County than in any other county; one-third of the marriages performed in King County during this time period were same sex marriages. Ferry, Asotin, Garfield and Wahkiakum counties reported no same sex marriages so far.
More female couples married than male couples; 63 percent of all same sex marriages were among female couples. Same sex couples may be more likely to travel to Washington to marry. In 14 percent of same sex marriages, both spouses were residents of another state. Among opposite sex couples, both spouses were from another state in only four percent of marriages.
The state health department may not yet have received records for all marriages during the reporting period. Information on a marriage certificate is reported by the couple and officiant. After the ceremony, the officiant files the marriage certificate with the county auditor that issued the marriage license and the auditor files the marriage certificate with the Department of Health.
By Matt Nagle
June 06, 2013 @ 10:53 am
On May 28, James Hardie Siding Company representatives Amy Launiuvao, Kevin Johnson and Adam Gapsch stopped by to surprise teacher Kathleen Casper’s Fawcett Elementary School’s 3rd grade JAWS Highly Capable Program class with pizza and treats for winning a special award for being the top team in a project where more than 100 JAWS students competed to create designs of “back safety” banners for the James Hardie warehouse.
In turn, the students showered the representatives with thank you cards and cheers because with their $500 donation to several local charities in the classes’ honor, the James Hardie Siding Company was their biggest donor in their “Apprentice Game Project.”
All of Casper’s five classes of highly capable students from across the city of Tacoma participated in this unique program that she created in order to connect nonprofit organizations, local businesses, families and the students to special education opportunities. In the project, teams of students participate in challenges similar to the format of Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” television game show. Each student picked from a list of nonprofit organizations that each spent an entire week at the beginning of the school year teaching the students about their issues. Then businesses and individuals including many friends and relatives of the students pledged donations in exchange for the student teams completing projects that the donors could use in their businesses or homes.
Some needed designs for brochures, reviews of books they wrote, packaging for tea light candles they sold, name tag designs for their organizations, and more. The donations ranged in dollar amounts from $7 to over $100 at first, with the donors sending the funds directly to the nonprofits after choosing the winning team’s product and being directed to the winning team’s chosen charity. But when the James Hardie Siding Company pledged $500 the classes were ecstatic. They knew that was a lot of money for the local nonprofits.
“$500 is good because it can do more to help and cover bigger projects for the nonprofits,” said Alexi Zygmunt, 4th grader from Edison Elementary.
Jarod Gilmore, a 4th grader from Manitou Park Elementary also understands the impact that $500 can make, saying “It’s good to help the organizations to help their dreams come true.”
With the James Hardie Siding Company donation, the five classes of Casper’s JAWS students at both Fawcett and Skyline Elementary Schools raised almost $1,000 for local Tacoma nonprofits such as Citizens for a Healthy Bay, D.A.S.H. Center, Habitat for Humanity, The Humane Society, St. Leo’s Food Connection, and United Way’s Youth United.
The students learned a lot from having audiences from real businesses and individuals, they had to manage their time and materials and work well with each other. Even though no one was actually “fired” like the Donald Trump T.V. show, with each new project, a new project manager was chosen from the team and given the authority to make all the team decisions- a great honor, but also a great responsibility as the students evaluated each other’s participation and contributions strictly after each round, usually giving the project manager the most criticism.
“I learned how to cooperate and let other people have a turn, and I was really happy that the nonprofits got money because I think they will use that money to help other people and the city,” said Jane Sikes, also a 4th grader from Manitou Park.
These students are now more confident they can work in team situations in the future and produce all sorts of products, and also know that even as children they can affect change in the community.
By Published in the Tacoma Weekly
June 06, 2013 @ 10:49 am
Even the Stone Age people knew the sun brought life on Earth and that is one reason they used to worship it. But the sun can both heal and destroy. Sunlight can be the kiss of life or death. It depends on the way we use it.
Pierce County Aging & Disability Resources is sponsoring “The Sun and Your Skin: What the Sun Can Do,” a special workshop to help lay out the truth about the consequences of exposure to the sun, potential short and long term harm, and things people can do to prevent skin damage.
The workshop will be repeated four times at four different locations:
• June 17 - 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. Pierce County Annex Main Meeting Room, 2401 S 35th Street in Tacoma
• June 17 - 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Summit Branch Library, 5107 112th St E. in Tacoma
• June 19 - 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. County-City Building Rainier Conference Room, 930 Tacoma Ave S, 7th Floor in Tacoma
• June 19 - 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sound View Building, 3611 S. D Street in Tacoma
“After months of clouds and rain, people in the Northwest can’t wait to enjoy the sunshine,” said Aaron Van Valkenburg, manager of Pierce County Aging and Disability Resources. “But it’s easy to go overboard and, in a very short time, cause serious damage. Knowing how to avoid harmful overexposure is important for everyone.”
“The Sun and Your Skin: What the Sun Can Do” will be presented by Cascade Eye and Skin Centers and the Pierce county Aging & Disability Resource Center. The workshop will offer the best information science can provide and show ways that people can prevent potential damage as well as what to look for as potential problem signs. Additional community resources will also be provided.
The workshop is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required. For more information call the Pierce County Aging and Disability Resource Center at (253) 798-4600.
By Published in the Tacoma Weekly
June 06, 2013 @ 9:13 am
It seems Trent Reznor's announced retirement from touring a few years back was a bit premature. The angsty rocker's band, Nine Inch Nails, will be back on the road this fall with a Nov. 22 stop slated for KeyArena in Seattle. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on June 14,Live Nation announced today. Reznor and writing partner Atticus Ross have spent the last few years racking up Oscar nods and critical acclaim for their soundtracks to "The Social Network" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." But Columbia Records will drop the next bonafide Nails album, “Hesitation Marks” - the band's first since “The Slip” in 2008 - on Sept. 3. Its lead single, “Came Back Haunted,” was released via iTunes today.
