It was difficult to narrow down the many important news events of 2008 to a list of 10. New leaders were chosen for several important organizations, including World Trade Center Tacoma and Tacoma/Pierce County Health Department. The selection of a new leader for Tacoma Public Schools emerged on top due to the strong level of public interest in the process.
The election cycle generated many stories, including visits by U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton to the University of Puget Sound and long lines at polling places on Nov. 4.
The following are the stories we deemed to be the most important for the past 12 months.
1. Jarvis selected as superintendent
After serving as superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools on an interim basis, Art Jarvis was selected to serve in the position by a 4-1 vote of Tacoma School Board April 24.
He previously served as superintendent with Enumclaw School District and South Whidbey School District, which board members cited as an advantage over the other finalist, Alan Ingram, chief accountability officer for Oklahoma Public City Schools.
Board member Kurt Miller cast the dissenting vote, although he said both men were excellent candidates who could bring different qualities to the position. He discussed his interest in bringing Ingram to Tacoma as deputy superintendent. Soon after, Ingram accepted a superintendent position on the East Coast.
The selection process included several forums where members of the public could meet the four final candidates and ask them questions.
2. McCarthy elected county executive
County Auditor Pat McCarthy prevailed in a four-way race for county executive during the general election in November. McCarthy, a Democrat, ran against fellow Democrat Calvin Goings, a member of Pierce County Council. The Republican candidate was Pierce County Councilmember Shawn Bunney. Tacoma City Councilmember Mike Lonergan ran under the party label “Executive Excellence” after failing to secure support from the county party to run as a Republican.
The use of the new ranked-choice voting method meant the first, second and third-choice selections of voters had to be calculated. It was about three weeks after the election that McCarthy emerged as the top vote getter. She will replace John Ladenburg, who had to vacate the position due to term limits.
3. Massive fish kill at Wapato Lake
Plans to address the algae problem that has long affected Wapato Lake took an unexpected turn in July. When thousands of gallons of chemicals were poured into the troubled body of water in South Tacoma, nobody was expecting a lake full of dead fish to be the result.
“This was not the outcome anyone expected, and it was not the outcome that we were promised,” said Larry Dahl, a Metro Parks commissioner, after visiting the lake July 27.
On July 25, workers from TeeMark of Aitkin, Minn. were at Wapato Park with tanker trucks pumping 33,000 gallons of alum solution and 16,000 gallons of sodium aluminate into the water, a process intended to kill algae in the lake.
It is likely, according to scientist Rob Plotnikoff of water monitoring company Tetra Tech, that a bad batch of chemicals was introduced into the treatment.
4. Joe Biden speaks at Cheney Stadium
U.S. Senator Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for vice president, fired up a crowd of approximately 12,000 supporters at Cheney Stadium on Oct. 19, shortly before he and his running mate, U.S. Senator Barack Obama, won the election.
Numerous Democratic elected officials warmed up the crowd for Biden, including U.S. Representatives Norm Dicks and Adam Smith and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell.
Governor Christine Gregoire lauded Obama for selecting Biden as his running mate. “On his selection of Joe Biden, he hit it out of the ballpark,” she said, one of several baseball references that afternoon.
5. Children’s Museum of Tacoma drops plans for Foss Waterway
An organization that provides fun, educational activities for children would seem an unlikely lightning rod for controversy, but that was the case for several months this year.
Children’s Museum of Tacoma had announced its present home on Broadway is too small and that the organization would seek a more suitable location. Some staff and board members were intrigued by a parcel on the south end of Thea Foss Waterway, which has been slated for the site of a future park.
The idea faced strong opposition from environmentalists, who argued that since the land was purchased with Conservation Futures Funds, building a museum on the site would be unacceptable and likely against the law. Kayakers and other watercraft enthusiasts also opposed this due to their hopes to convert a building that currently houses an industrial business into a facility to store their boats.
Clearly uncomfortable being at the center of the controversy, the board of the museum withdrew its idea after several public meetings were held on the topic.
6. ‘D’ Street overpass opens
The long anticipated ‘D’ Street overpass opened this year. Construction began on the $24.5 million project in April 2006. It was built to eliminate the at-grade street crossing of the railroad tracks, which had long caused traffic backups between the Dome District and Tideflats. A realignment of the tracks means trains can now roll through at higher speeds as they round Thea Foss Waterway.
Two lanes opened to vehicle traffic Jan. 11. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held June 25. “At times it was tenuous and tortuous,” Mayor Bill Baarsma said. “But we got here.”
7. Voters keep term limits
In November Tacoma voters rejected Proposition 1, which called for lifting the limit of two consecutive terms for members of Tacoma City Council. The vote total was rather close, considering there was no organized group promoting the measure. It was passing in initial vote counts, but eventually the no votes prevailed at just above 52 percent.
Councilmember Connie Ladenburg introduced the resolution to place the matter before voters. Several council members voted against sending it to voters. Mayor Bill Baarsma in particular was opposed because the idea had not gone through the charter review process, which is the forum generally used to propose changes to the city charter.
8. Port, tribe sign agreement on economic development
The Port of Tacoma, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and two development entities signed an agreement April 22 to facilitate economic development on the Tideflats. The port will transfer about 19 acres to the tribe and the tribe will transfer about 12.5 acres to the port. Both parties have agreed to widen Blair Waterway, a project that will be undertaken and managed by container terminal operator SSA Containers Inc. The parties also agreed to cooperate on intermodal rail, road infrastructure and other development opportunities.
“We have built a level of trust and cooperation that will lead our relations with the port,” said Chad Wright, CEO of Marine View Ventures, the economic development arm of the tribe. “This is just the start of a much bigger partnership with the Port of Tacoma.”
9. Smaller crowds for Tall Ships 2008
Tall Ships 2008 offered five days of celebrating Tacoma’s maritime heritage in July. Intermittent rain kept crowds lower this summer than the 2005 event. Organizers estimated attendance at more than 300,000.
An economic impact study concluded the festival gave a $19.2 million boost to the local economy. However, Tacoma Tall Ships Organization, which put on the event, found itself facing financial problems. In September it unveiled a plan to raise funds, pay creditors and begin planning for the 2011 festival.
10. Musical chairs for Ruston mayors
The amount of controversy in Ruston this past year could warrant a separate Top 10 list for the town surrounded on three sides by Tacoma. The town having two mayors resign seems to be the most noteworthy. Michael Transue resigned on June 2, citing the hostile direction Ruston Town Council meetings were taking. He and several council members had been routinely trading criticisms during meetings. Bob Everding, who had resigned from the council near the end of 2007, was appointed mayor June 4. He resigned the position not long after. Councilmember Bradley Huson was selected by his peers to serve on an interim basis.
