They called us and sent out this press release after everyone here went home. It's not clear if there were any arrests but I didn't notice anything when I checked the jail roster this morning.

Port Militarization Resisters detained by police

BREAKING NEWS:

LAKEWOOD, WA -- As citizens converge on Fort Lewis to resist the deployment of Stryker vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan, police have stepped up their interference with the legal activities of activists and bystanders. As of 11:40 pm, police have stopped numerous vehicles and detained and questioned their drivers and passengers.

=> Read more!

Safe Streets is taking registration for its neighborhood patrol academy. It's open to anyone who wants to help start or sustain a patrol group in their neighborhood.

Participants learn how to safely combat crime in their neighborhoods. Training lasts three sessions -- Oct. 9, 16 and 23 -- from 7-9 p.m.

Previous academies (read about one here) were held at the Tacoma Police Department headquarters building, but this will be at the Salishan Family Investment Center at 1724 E. 44th St.

To register, e-mail David Cantlin at choo_choo_dave@yahoo.com, call 253-272-6824 or visit safest.org.

Twelve neighborhood groups will take to the streets Friday in what is being billed as the biggest and most collaborative demonstration against crime in Tacoma.

The purpose of the demonstration is to send a message to criminals to get out and to enhance the people's awareness of crime in their neighborhoods and the community, Safe Streets reported.

The participating Safe Streets groups are:

* South Yakima Citizens Neighborhood Group and Fern Hill Neighborhood Watch Group.

* Larchmont Safe Streets Neighborhood Group and Upper Pacific Avenue

* Wapato Group and Stewart Heights Neighborhood Watch Group

* Park Avenue Neighborhood Group

* Pacific Avenue Business District

* Lincoln LAWGs

* Lincoln South Neighbors

* Lincoln West Neighborhood

* Mann Neighborhood Group

Each group will meet at their designated site at 5:30 p.m. to paint signs. They'll march from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Safe Streets will be providing all the materials.

We've gotten word this morning that all of the military vehicles have been offloaded and moved out of the Port of Tacoma.

Our military reporter Mike Gilbert has the details from the Fort Lewis folks on his blog here.

The vehicle's return was met with some protesters the past six nights as you might have read in The News Tribune and on this blog. Tacoma police report they arrested three people over the six nights.

Tacoma residents will come together tonight to march along the southern end of Pacific Avenue and bring attention to ongoing problems with drugs, gangs and prostitution.

The March Against Crime starts at 6 p.m. Participants will walk along Pacific from South 96th Street to South 72nd. The event is being organized by the Larchmont Safe Streets Block Group

Other Safe Streets groups will participate, including the Lincoln LAWG, Fern Hill Park Alliance Safe Streets and Upper Pacific Avenue groups.

Residents have seen some improvement along the stretch but want to maintain public awareness about the activity.

Sorry for the last minute notice ...

Buckley-area residents are invited to a meeting TONIGHT to hear from law enforcement officials and others about the latest news in the world of meth.

The forum is from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Buckley Multipurpose Senior Center, 811 Main Street.

U.S. Patty Murray (D-Washington) will be in Tacoma today to talk with law enforcement and community leaders about the gang and methamphetamine problems plaguing the region.

She will meet with a panel of officials at Tacoma Police Department headquarters this morning. Among those scheduled to attend are Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell, Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor, Tacoma Schools Superintendent Art Jarvis, deputy Pierce County prosecutor Greg Greer, state Rep. Chris Hurst, Tacoma City Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg and others.

Last month, Murray earmarked $500,000 for Pierce County’s anti-gang efforts and $1 million for the state’s anti-methamphetamine efforts in a spending bill moving its way through the U.S. Senate.

Gangs and meth are problems Tacoma and Pierce County residents have been dealing with for years. The battle against meth has evolved from highly explosive homemade drug labs to imported crystal meth that is distributed around the region. Law enforcement officials believe the highly addictive drug is behind some property crime and metal thefts as addicts look for ways to get cash so they can get their fix.

Last year, Tacoma received near $430,000 from the federal government to work on anti-meth and anti-gang efforts among the Latino gang population.

I'll be at the meeting and will report back on the review later today.

UPDATE: Here's the story I've got posted on the homepage. I'll have a more complete version in Wednesday's paper.

Safe Streets will be hosting a community forum Wednesday night to look the minority imbalance in the juvenile justice system.

The public forum, "Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact through Community Mobilization," will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the University of Washington Tacoma's auditorium.

It's presented by the Regional Gang Prevention Partnership, a group of prevention agencies and law enforcement representatives that are working to reduce gang activity.

According to a Safe Streets press release:

Research indicates that youth of color account for approximately 46% of the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration’s population, which is almost double the proportion of minority youth in Washington State. Safe Streets, the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and the Department of Social and Health Services plan to partner with the community to explore meaningful ways of addressing this inequity.

Midland-area residents are invited to a town hall meeting tonight at Franklin Pierce High School to talk about crime and public safety issues in their areas.

(Sorry for the late notice. We just got an e-mail about this meeting in our inbox.)

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at the high school, 11002 18th Ave. E. Pierce County Council members Barbara Gelman and Calvin Goings, Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor, Prosecutor Gerald Horne and representatives from Safe Streets will be featured.

"Public feedback is needed to help strengthen our crime fighting efforts," a flier for the event states. "Please join us and fight out more about this important topic."

We've been covering the ongoing issue of overcrowding at the Pierce County Jail.

They'll be two meetings surrounding aspects of that issue this week.

First, the Pierce County Council's Public Safety and Human Services committee will discuss alternatives to jail at its meeting Tuesday. Those alternatives include drug court, drug treatment, electric home monitoring, day reporting, probation, work crews and others.

The meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Pierce County Council Chambers, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Room 1045.

The second meeting is Thursday at 6 p.m. at The Evergreen State College Tacoma Great Room, 1210 Sixth Avenue, Tacoma.

Several community groups are hosting this forum to raise awareness of the "increasing problems surrounding the Pierce County Jail," a press release states.

Speakers include Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne, Sheriff Paul Pastor, Superior Court Presiding Judge Tom Larkin, Municipal Court Presiding Judge David Ladenburg and Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell.

Questions also will be taken.

The forum has gotten broad sponsorship from all of the city's neighborhood councils, the Hilltop Action Coalition, City Club of Tacoma and the B.I.A.

South End residents are invited to a safety summit tonight at Manitou Park Elementary School, 4330 S. 66th St.

The summit is scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

School and police officials will present information sessions on:

Is your child being bullied or being a bully?

Everything you wanted to know about gangs and graffiti.

How to keep your children safe on the Internet and MySpace.

There will be a free dinner for families, a raffle and activities for the young ones. Translators also will be available.

Members of the Dome Top Neighborhood Alliance and Safe Streets block watch groups will take to the streets, armed with homemade signs and bull horns, Saturday morning.

The groups plan to march against crime starting at 11 a.m.

The event is open to "everyone who cares about a better future for our community," said Darren Pen, a community mobilization specialist for Safe Streets.

The purpose of the event, Pen writes: "To demonstrate our unity, strength and resolve to the drug dealers, thieves, prostitutes and molesters."

Anyone interested in participating is asked to meet in the parking lot of the Tacoma Christian Center, 3523 E. McKinley Ave., at 11 a.m. After a few minutes, the group will march to the "drug-dealing epicenter" at East 34th Street and McKinley Avenue.

Pen says participants should bring homemade signs "with your special message for the criminals and for City Hall" and bull horns.