The St. Leo Food Connection folks have come up with a novel fundraiser:
Art That Feeds.

They've asked local artists to donate works, and to put a fair price on them. Instead of bidding in an auction, guests at the event will be able to choose what they like and take it home for the artist's price. That will give them the time and leisure to enjoy wine, appetizers, desserts, live music, and good company.

Tickets are a bargain at $5 each, and the event runs from 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at St. Leo's, 1324 S. Yakima Ave.

All the proceeds from the event will feed the needy people who depend on St. Leo's innovative programs.

This is the food bank that developed the Backpack Project. Every weekend, it sends 200 elementary school students home from school with backpacks filled with enough food to keep them fed over the weekend.

It runs a summer meals program.

And it sends the Springbrook Mobile Food Bank to a low-income neighborhood near Fort Lewis.

Every piece of art that benefits projects like those comes with an extra measure of beauty.

The controversial Lipoma Communities plat application will go before the Pierce County Hearings Examiner tomorrow at 9 a.m.

The 1,700-unit development would build over the Lipoma Firs Golf Course in Graham.

Residents of nearby housing communities plan to show up in force to oppose the development, I'm told. They don't want to lose their golf course views.

The county is planning for a big crowd. When I was at the county Planning and Land Services office last week, officials were debating whether they'd need three rooms for Thursday's hearing instead of one, which is customary.

Graham Fire and Rescue originally filed an appeal regarding the county's environmental review of the project. The county gave the project what is called a mitigated determination of non-significance and didn't address the fire district's concerns.

The fire district thought that the developer should be required to provide monetary support for fire service because of how the influx new homes would strain existing fire resources, among other issues.

The fire district withdrew their appeal this week, however. A notice from the fire district's attorney to county officials dated May 26 said that the fire district has entered a voluntary mitigation agreement with the developer. In other words, fire officials and the developer have reached some sort of settlement.

More on this to come. I'll be covering tomorrow morning's hearing, which will take place at the Pierce County Annex building located at 2401 S. 35th Street in Tacoma.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is sponsoring a "walking audit" of downtown Puyallup and South Hill tomorrow to help evaluate how pedestrian-friendly the areas are.

The exercise, which begins at 1 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Puyallup City Hall, will take citizens on a bus tour of downtown Puyallup and South Hill to get the conversation going.

According to a county press release, the walking audit is supposed to "identify opportunities to improve the walkability and safety of two Puyallup centers."

The person leading the tour will be Dan Burden, an urban planner and the executive director of the non‐profit Walkable Communities, Inc., based in Orlando, Fla.

Connecting Puyallup's downtown core with its commercial center in South Hill is one of city officials' long-term goals. The city's proposal to use $25 million in grant money from the state Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT) program focuses on building rapid transit between the two areas, along with trails and other pedestrian improvements.

So, how far do you think Puyallup officials have to go to make "walkability" in South Hill and Puyallup a reality?

Feel free to sound off below.

Gault Middle School grads, teachers and neighbors will have one last chance to visit the landmark East Side School.

Gault, like McIlvaigh Middle School, will close at the end of this school year. Next fall, kids who would have gone to the two schools will attend the new First Creek Middle School that's under construction off of Portland Avenue next to McIlvaigh.

That's a summer away.

Now's the time for nostalgia.

This Friday, May 29, from 5 to 8 p.m., Gault will host an end-of-an-era celebration for anyone with a history with, or an affection for, the school.

There will be speeches, tours, performances, and refreshments on the campus at 1115 E. Division Lane.

It will be an opportunity for alums to see if they recognize their classmates, or their teachers.

Do you have a memory to share? Post it on this blog, and we;ll make sure we get it to the celebration.

Erika and Shawna Hettick recalled how their cousin was a superhero, literally and figuratively.

The sisters from Gig Harbor would visit Jaxon at his house in South Kitsap County to have fun. The three would play games, watch movies and, of course, laugh uncontrollably when he’d dress up as Spiderman or the Blue Power Ranger.

He was full of energy. He was a regular kid.

But after awhile, Jaxon couldn’t swing from buildings or fight monsters the way he once did, a result of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephaliti. The rare and chronic neurological disorder is caused by the measles virus. It results in death for most children who have it, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Last October, Jaxon died at only 8 years old. (Pictured right)

It was especially hard on Erika, 12, and Shawna, 10, who both attend Minter Creek Elementary.

“When Jaxon died, it was hard to forget about him,” Shawna said. “It would be hard to forget about him because he was a big part of my life. I was really hoping to find a cure before he died.”

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