Pierce County plans to use some of the proceeds from the sale of 63 acres near Graham to help buy the Tacoma Narrows Airport.

Selling the county’s Elk Plain road shop property on Highway 7 near 224th Street East would bring in $17.5 million – money that would be used to buy the airport, improve roads and help pay for road maintenance facilities.

But some local residents object to the sale. They want part of the property set aside for a community park.

The County Council’s Rules Committee approved the proposed sale by a vote of 2-1 on Monday. The full council will take it up at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

For months Pierce County has been negotiating to buy the airport from the City of Tacoma for $5 million. The Peninsula Metropolitan Park District – which would acquire the adjacent Madrona Links Golf Course – is picking up $2 million of the cost.

County officials already have set aside $1 million for the purchase. Now they plan to use $2 million from the sale of the Elk Plain property to cover the remainder of the airport purchase price.

Another $1.3 million in proceeds from the sale of the Elk Plain property would be used for runway safety improvements.

County Council Chairman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, said if the council approves the Elk Plain property sale the airport purchase could be finished in a matter of weeks.

The county is selling the Elk Plain property to Managing Green LLC of Tacoma. It’s zoned for a mix of commercial and residential development.

Other proposed uses for the proceeds from the sale include:

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I didn't keep an official count of how many times the word "grassroots" was used during a conference call for reporters this morning with Barack Obama campaign leaders.

But it was a lot.

Patrick Gaspard, national political director, and Carol Albert, Washington state director, told reporters that Obama's Washington state campaign will combine old-school get-out-the-vote efforts with innovative high-tech tools, including mybarackobama.com -- the social network on Obama's Web site known affectionately as "MyBO."

Albert said the site already has 230 active grassroots groups in Washington, and lists 191 events being held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention.

Gaspard spoke of the "grassroots energy" evidenced by the record turnout during the Democratic caucuses in February.

They claimed to have more than 10,000 volunteers in Washington.

No doubt many of them have already signed up to receive word of Obama's veep pick, which will be announced via e-mail and text message.

More details from the conference call, including a listing of all 18 Obama campaign offices in Washington, are included in a press release sent out by the campaign.

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