There's a reason Puyallup officials quickly approved an ordinance banning aggressive panhandling last night.

Apparently there are turf wars going on between Puyallup's beggars.

The kicker for me: Puyallup's homeless apparently have cell phones.

According to a police report, police responded to two men fighting at the off-ramp from Highway 167 to North Meridian Street Sept. 14.

The men involved said they were fighting over who got to "fly" -- or hold signs asking for money -- at the intersection.

One man said the other started swearing at him and and "pulled out a 4 to 6-inch knife and started waving it around."

The unarmed man said he then reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and called 9-1-1.

The other man then grabbed the unarmed man's phone, threw it to the ground and broke it.

Then all hell broke loose (my words, not the report's). The man with the broken phone started wailing on the man who allegedly had the knife. The man who had the knife ended up on the ground and got kicked in the head.

When police arrived, the fight was already broken up.

Officers arrested the man who broke the phone for malicious mischief and weapons possession, and the other man was booked for fourth-degree assault. They took a fold-up knife and a broken cell phone into evidence.

Under Puyallup's new ordinance to curb panhandling, begging for money at locations like cash machines, freeway off-ramps and bus stops will be banned.

No word yet on whether or not the new ordinance will cause transients trouble when it comes time to pay their cell phone bills.

I just got a call from Jody Page, the Pierce County Animal Control officer that was investigating the case of Bubba the dead peacock from Spanaway.

When she arrived in the neighborhood Friday, she was investigating claims that the peacock was beheaded and shoved under a porch. The bird had roamed the neighborhood for more than three years.

But later that day, residents said they found the peacock -- head intact -- in a sleeping pose under the porch.

Page said she's closing the case at this point.

“There's nothing that I can see as potential case of animal cruelty," Page said. "It appears he died of entirely natural causes. It’s unfortunate that the neighborhood pet has passed on, but that happens."

There's an old cabin two miles west of Orting that some residents would like to see moved to one of the city's main parks.

Members of the Orting Historical Society are talking to the owner of the old building about how they might acquire and preserve it. One option they've discussed is placing the building, shown below, in North Park on Washington Avenue North, the city's main drag.

Members also have discussed placing the building in Charter Park, located further south along Washington Avenue near the Orting Public Safety Building.

What exactly was the building used for? Society members weren't sure. But they know it's old, and that means it's part of the city's historic past.

They plan to invite the cabin's owner to their next meeting to see if she'd be willing to let them have it.

Should that happen, city officials would be willing to consider a proposal to place it in one of their parks, Mayor Cheryl Temple said.

"I'm sure it would be a wonderful thing if we could do that for our citizens," Temple said, "but there are still are many things that need to be looked into."

I'll be checking in with the Orting Historical Society next month to see if their plans have moved forward. Stay tuned.

Carrie Little, who has spent the last decade growing organic veggies and fruit for food banks supplied by Emergency Food Network, is leading in the race for White House Farmer.

No. There is no White House Farmer at present, though there is quite a lawn maintenance crew.

But Michael Pollan is making the case for one. He started with an Oct. 12 article in The New York Times Magazine. In it he makes the case for growing, and eating locally. It's healthier for consumers, he writes. It uses less fuel than the current system. It's better for the environment. It strengthens the nation's food security.

You can read the full text here.

He tops off the argument by urging the president to set the example for the nation by ripping up the White House's five-acre South Lawn and replanting it as a kitchen garden. The produce would feed the First Family and wow guests, with plenty left over for Washington D.C.'s food banks.

Eleanor Roosevelt kept a veggie garden, Pollan wrote, and inspired the Victory Gardens that kept Americans healthy during World War II.

With the Obama family in residence, Pollan's backers are keeping the idea alive with an internet campaign for a White House Farmer to join the White House Chef on the staff. Log on to whitehousefarmer.com for a vision of that.
You look at that bit of digital wizardry, and you can imagine Peter Rabbit crashing the White House Easter Egg Roll.

Here's the cool local angle: The site invites visitors to nominate that White House Farmer. On Wednesday evening, Little was the front-runner.

Voters can read the nominations for 20 farmers from Maryland, Iowa, Arizona, Indiana, Virginia, Washington and so on. It's encouraging that so many small farmers remain true to real food.

But former EFN director David Ottey's nomination of Carrie Little blows the others into the back fields. Read that nomination, and realize that at EFN's Mother Earth Farm between Sumner and Orting, "organic" does not merely refer to the soil. It describes the farm's place in the larger community.

So vote for Carrie Little. What she does has the power to inspire gardeners to till more, share more and dare more.

Then be grateful there's no chance Little will be planting carrots in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's South Lawn any time soon.

We need her here.

It’s not too late to get a seat at the table as the local chapter of the American Red Cross honors 20 individuals for quick action and bravery at its 15th annual “Real Heroes” breakfast Friday.

Awards will be presented in the categories of fire rescue, law enforcement, medical rescue, military, workplace safety, youth humanitarian, spirit of the Red Cross and the Marvin Klegman Memorial Award.

Winners range from a teacher who saved a student from choking on a piece of candy, to a barista who donated a kidney to a coffee customer, to firefighters who responded to the Atlas Foundry explosion.

We'll be writing more about these "Real Heroes" in Kathleen Merryman's Saturday column and in the Sunday You & Me section, page B2.

The breakfast, co-sponsored by MultiCare Health System, will be held at 7:30 a.m. Friday in downtown Tacoma at the Hotel Murano Bicentennial Pavilion, 1320 Broadway Plaza.
Donors can give what they want, with proceeds benefitting local Red Cross programs and disaster relief efforts. Those wishing to attend should call (253) 474-0400. Contributions may also be sent to American Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter, ATTN. Real Heroes, 1235 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98409 or make an on-line donation at www.rainier-redcross.org.

The American Cancer Society announced this week that the 2009 Sumner/Bonney Lake Relay for Life will hold a kickoff Feb. 8 at Calvary Community Church, 15116 Gary St. E., in Sumner.

The kickoff will feature 80’s music and costumes with food, fun and door prizes for attendees. The kickoff event begins with an open house and sign-in at 11 a.m. with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. and concluding at 12:30pm.
The theme for the 2009 Relay For Life of Sumner/Bonney Lake which will be held Aug. 7-8 at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner is “Back to the Future…Celebrating 25 years of Hope”.

For more information contact the American Cancer Society office at 253-272-5767 or 1-800-ACS-2345 or click here.

A local peacock enthusiast told me there might be something more than weather after all that caused Bubba, the Spanaway peacock, to meet his end.

Peacocks fare quite well in the snow, reports Phil Brooke of the Old Brick House Farm.

Just ask Namaste.

He does fine during cold weather, said Brooke, who takes care of the peacock on his farm in the Summit-Waller area.

He said another explanation for Bubba's death could be that the peacock got into some weed killer or rat poison.

"It's a good reminder to folks that if they are using rat poison or other toxins around their homes to keep the stuff concealed/out of reach from our furry and feathered loved ones," Brooke told me in an e-mail.

I'll be considering this possibility as I write an obituary on Bubba for the paper this week. By then, hopefully Pierce County Animal Control will be able to tell me more about what they think killed Bubba.

Remember Bubba, the peacock we wrote about last summer when he was getting aggressive toward people in Spanaway?

He's dead.

Residents of the Oakridge Manor manufactured home community found him frozen to death under a porch earlier this week.

Neighbors called us Wednesday to tell us of his passing. There was a rumor going around that foul play was involved.

But Friday, shortly after a Pierce County animal control officer arrived to investigate, residents learned the truth: Mother Nature got Bubba in the end.

"At least it was a natural thing," said Jody Miksovsky, who used to feed Bubba and let him roost in one of her oak trees. She is one of several neighbors who welcomed the peacock during the three years he roamed the neighborhood. No one ever knew where he came from, but he was a blessing, she said.

"We have so many wonderful memories thanks to him," Miksovsky said.

The community now is in mourning. I went down and spoke to several families on Friday. Several people shed tears.

Miksovsky called the peacock Bubba, but the McMullen family called him Bob.

"I miss Bob," said 7-year-old Megan McMullen, crying. She and her two older sisters used to play tag with the bird, she said.

McMullen's grandmother, Pam Tobin, left flowers and a card on the Miksovsky's fence in the peacock's honor.

"We wish it wasn't true," the card's envelope said.

Look for a story in the paper about the loss of the beloved peacock early next week.

My Wednesday column is on The Responsi-Bull Project, a cooperative effort to reduce Pierce County's pit bull population the right way, through spaying, neutering, training and education.

Let's start with some of the basics you can read in the column, then move on to interesting info that I could not shoe-horn into the allotted 670 words.

The project, coordinated by the Pawsitive Alliance, has three parts: Pit-Fix, Pit-Ed and Train-A-Pit.

Pit-Fix will offer free spaying or neutering to 30 pit bulls in Pierce County. Coalition HUMAnE Spay & Neuter Clinic at 2106 Tacoma Ave. S. in Tacoma. Call (253)627-7729 for information.

Pit-Ed is a free class from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18., at Positive Approach Dog Training, 1501 S. Center St. in Tacoma. You'll need reservations for the event sponsored by Positive Approach and BullsEye Dog Rescue. Call (360)981-7080 or e-mail lorrie@bullseyerescue.org.

Train-A-Pit is a series of four obedience classes from 4 to 5 p.m. or 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturdays beginning Jan. 24 at Positive Approach. Participants pay $40 at the beginning and get $10 returned at each class. Use the Pit-Ed contacts to register.

It's a great effort, but why would Pawsitive Alliance, which is based in North Bend, be spending its money and effort in Pierce County?

Simple, said its board president, Andrea Logan: "Tacoma takes in the most dogs and cats of any shelter in the state."

In 2007, the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County accepted 15,842 dogs and cats, more than all the shelters in King County. That's 43 pets a day. Of them, 6,654 were euthanized. That's 18 a day, including almost two pit bulls and two underage kittens.

=> Read more!

Don't be suprised if you see a little extra tie-straightening at the Puyallup City Council meeting tonight.

Starting with tonight's meeting, all Puyallup City Council meetings will be taped and broadcast on Channel 22. Residents can catch meetings Thursdays at 8 a.m., Fridays at 2 a.m., and Sundays at 8 p.m.

The city is spending about $60,000 this year on a televising contract with Rainier Media Center, the same group that broadcasts meetings for the smaller cities of Fife, Orting, Sumner and DuPont. Officials spent an additional $40,000 to install the necessary recording equipment.

Later in the year, citizens will be able to view council meetings online and and easily search meeting minutes. The city is working with a company called Granicus to stream video of council meetings on the Web and create a searchable database of documents.

Tonight's council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Puyallup City Hall, located at 333 S. Meridian Street. Be sure to look for it on TV this week.

Calendars are tough to toss.

They're like friends who keep us organized, never talk back and always cheer us up. I'm thinking of surrounding myself with song birds in exotic locations in 2009, having spent 2008 enjoying native plants in unlikely locations. My desk is way more cheery than the view out the window.

So why would I just flip those gorgeous photos away like used cereal boxes?

The kittens, puppies, trains, planes, automobiles, surfers, fish, mountains and firefighters on our walls had nothing to do with the events that unfolded during this miserable year. They deserve a better end than getting bundled into a big wad of recycling with ordinary newspaper.

Western State Hospital patients are giving us just that. The hospital offers art classes as therapy, and collages are a favorite medium. To replenish supplies, the Department of Social and Health Services is harvesting calendars, greeting cards, magazines, anything with pretty pictures.

You can bring them to drop boxes at:

* Western State Hospital Administration, Building 18, 9601 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W.

* DSHS Health and Recovery Services Administration reception, 626 8th Ave S.E., Cherry Street Plaza, Olympia.

* Frontier Bank, 1102 Commerce St. Suite 100, Tacoma.

* The News Tribune lobby, 1950 S. State St., Tacoma.

The Daffodil Festival is looking for volunteers to sit on a citizen advisory board and guide it through tough financial times.

Citizens on the committee would advise the Daffodilians, the group that runs the festival, about how to make 76-year-old event appeal to the local community.

Organizers have repeatedly said that without a substantial increase in fundraising, they won't have the money to put on the festival or its annual Grand Floral Parade in 2010.

The idea for a citizens committee came up in two public workshops the Daffodilians held in November. Citizens and local stakeholders said the festival organizers should seek community input through some sort of board or committee.

The committee will meet monthly with Daffodil Festival organizers and report to the Daffodilians' executive board.

"Initially, it will just be making sure we're on track and staying relevant," said Robyn DeLorm, the festival's development director. "We want to open our doors more and have the benefit of outside eyes."

The festival's Grand Floral Parade runs through Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting every spring.

Last year, 23 local high schools nominated Daffodil Princesses to compete for the title of Daffodil Queen and more than $50,000 in scholarships.

Festival spokeswoman Susan McGuire said she hopes citizen involvement will help raise awareness about all the things the Daffodil Festival does in the community.

"I don't think people understand what we do," McGuire said. "We're trying as hard as we can to keep it alive. That's why we're putting this idea in motion."

The first meeting of the citizen advisory committee is to be held 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 21. A location is still to be determined.

Anyone interested in being involved should contact Robyn DeLorm at 253-826-0275 or by e-mail at robyn@daffodilfestival.net.

It's tough to imagine a story more wrenching than that of the teen accused of drowning her newborn son in Port Angeles, then putting his body in the trash.

The girl was pregnant in October, when she moved from Pueblo, Colo., to Port Angeles to live with her father, who has a long, long criminal history. She may not have known that,in this state, she could have her baby, transfer him into caring hands, and walk away. The solution to her desperate problem was as close as a fire station or hospital.

She is in jail, as is her father, who is accused of helping her throw the baby away.

Searchers found the baby's body in a shipment of trash taken to Graham.

The state's Department of Social and Health Services communications staff is reminding reporters that Washington's Safe Haven Law was enacted to prevent these tragedies. They want us to get the word out, and we are happy to oblige.

Since 2002, it has been legal for parents to leave newborns at hospitals and staffed fire stations. The baby can be up to 72 hours old. The parent or parents do not have to give their name, or any other information. Yes, people will ask them questions, but the parents can just walk away.

This law is the emergency exit from an untenable situation: The baby lives. No one goes to jail.

If you'd like more information on the law, or if you'd like to order posters or get a list of resources, DSHS has a helpful Web site:

http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/ca/safety/sfAbLaw.asp?1

Are you annoyed of feeling like you're in the lunar rover when you drive home? Of course you are; that's why Jason Hagey and I wrote about Tacoma's potholes a few months ago.

Well, someone else wants to talk to you know: The History Channel. We received an email from a producer putting together a two-hour special about the country's crumbling infrastructure, and they want to hear from you if you're "directly impacted and passionate about describing the problem."

If you're interested, e-mail me at scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com and I'll forward it on to them.