Pierce County citizens donated more than $100,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association through the Fill the Boot campaign during August – an increase of more than $30,000 over last year’s fundraising drive.

Firefighters stationed themselves at intersections and in parking lots across the county asked people to drop spare change into a fireproof boot during the nationwide fundraising campaign. Tacoma Fire Local 31 raised $41,641, the most in the county.

More than $32 million was raised nationally for MDA last year. Donations stay in the community and support people diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, a group of hereditary diseases of the muscles.

During a recent round of reporting on the East Side, I ran into an older woman who lamented what she called "Tacoma's disappearing Polish community."

One church, Saints Peter and Paul on Portland Avenue, still celebrates Mass in Polish. But there used to be more throughout the East Side and South Tacoma, she told me. And the Polish community center was sold to the Puyallup Tribe of Indians some years back.

So I've decided to look into this story this week. And I'll out the question to you: Did your ancestors come from Poland? Did your folks grow up in Tacoma speaking Polish? Is it just another community assimilating into the larger, English-speaking American mainstream?

I'm juggling around a few separate story ideas, but nothing concrete for today yet. If you know anything going on, lemme know.