The Puyallup Fair begins its 17-day run today, starting with the annual Western Rodeo Parade and Cattle Drive at 10 a.m. in downtown Puyallup.

North Meridian Street will be closed from 9:50 to 10:50 as a result of the parade.

Afterward, you can get into the Puyallup Fair for free before noon, though you should bring a can of food for the Puyallup FISH Food Bank. (It's recommended.)

This year, the fair theme is "The Big Fantastic." Click more to see the fair's press release about opening day.

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If you want to catch the Western Rodeo Parade that heralds the start of the 17-day Puyallup Fair, you can grab a seat along Meridian Street tomorrow.

The parade and cattle drive starts at 10 a.m. and runs along Meridian from West Main to 8th Avenue SW.

If you're driving, you'll want to avoid North Meridian from 9:50 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. tomorrow. You won't really have a choice -- the road will be completely blocked off for the procession, which includes 60 Mexican Corriente cattle followed by drill teams, marching bands, cowgirls and cowboys, you name it.

The Fair opens at 10 a.m. Just walk down Meridian to the Puyallup Fair and Events Center at 9th Avenue SW after the cattle drive and you can start your fair adventure.

Or just follow the crowd. There's really no way to get lost when several hundred people are all headed toward the same thing.

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Residents can visit and share their thoughts on the historic Curran House on Saturday in University Place.

The event takes place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The house is located at 4009 Curran Lane W.

For the past year, University Place has wrestled with what to do with the historic property. It belonged to Charles and Mary Curran, longtime University Place residents and community supporters. Some UP residents would like to preserve the house for public use, although consultants say it isn’t worth saving.

I wrote about it in June.

CHIPS (Curran House Investigating and Planning Study Committee) organized Saturday’s event. "CHIPS, the UP Historical Society and hundreds of residents believe that this mid-century home, designed by renowned local architect, Robert B. Price, should be preserved for the community to enjoy and use for public purposes," according to a press release.

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It’s official. The aging Vaughn Bay Bridge is history.

Pierce County, which is replacing the 43-year-old bridge, ripped out portions of the span this week.

Crews began working on the project last month. The 1,625 vehicles that cross the bridge every day have had to take a 2.2-mile detour to cross the bay.

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Lakewood will honor the 45,000 members of the military and their families who live in the city and neighboring communities with an appreciation celebration Saturday.

The Honoring Our Military Event — H.O.M.E. for short — takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday at Lakewood Towne Center, 5731 Main Street SW.

The event is free and open to the public.

Lakewood Towne Center is hosting the event. (Shown above is the event's logo shown on the shopping center's Web site) It will offer various activities, including:

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A bus commute and ferry ride to the mainland were the last things on Rosanna Martinez's mind today.

After all, today was the first day of middle school for the 11-year-old from Anderson Island. She was thinking about stuff any student new to a school would wonder about: class schedules, lockers, her cell phone.

She has plenty of time to grumble about her two-hour commute that I mentioned in my previous post.

"I'm nervous and excited," Rosanna said while chatting with friends on the ferry.

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Today was a big day for sixth-graders from Anderson Island.

Not only is it the first day of school, but five students for the first time embarked on a two-hour trek that will become their routine until high school graduation.

The students of the island community are part of the Steilacoom School District, and last year attended elementary school at Anderson Island's two-room schoolhouse.

They've since graduated to middle school, and this year they're attending school on the mainland, starting at Pioneer Middle School.

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A few weeks back, I wrote about the new Tillicum Youth and Family Center.

Tacoma Area Youth For Christ announced it will hold a grand opening celebration for the 3,000-square-foot center on Sept. 17. It starts at 4 p.m., with a ceremony and barbecue.

For more information and to RSVP for the event: grandopening@tacomayfc.org.

Here is the flier for the celebration:

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Fircrest, the island-of-a-city known for ticketing speeders and fighting off Wal-Mart, must make another choice that could forever change its character.

The question: Should a coffee shop in the suburban city’s commercial core be allowed to operate a drive-through?

OK, it might not be on the same level as defeating a global retail giant, but Fircrest officials will discuss the request by Trans Pacific Properties Inc., starting with tonight’s planning commission meeting.

The Fife-based company that has an office in Fircrest owns the 40,000-square-foot Village Square complex, which it refers to as Town Center.

Property Manager Tyson Johnson said the company purchased and renovated the complex on Regents Boulevard more than a year ago. It also began to attract tenants, including a coffee shop.

He said the owners of the Greener Bean Coffee Company plan to open their business possibly by this month in a spot that used to be a bakery.

One of the reasons the coffee shop agreed to locate in Fircrest Town Center was Johnson’s willingness to offer drive-through service.

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