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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Edgewood officials will host a forum tonight asking citizens for feedback about how to trim the city's budget.

The city is trying to close a $750,000 budget gap this year, and is considering options such as reducing its police force, cutting city staff and a raising its levy lid.

A utility tax is another option that may be discussed.

The budget forum takes place tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Edgewood City Hall, located at 2224 104th Avenue East.

Kevin Cavanagh with Pierce County Information Technology points out that the link we published in the printed paper for the weather tracker system left off one symbol.

The correct link is http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/PC/

If you can't bring it up, click here.

On the left side, it's titled "How hot is it?"

It's pretty cool. According to the site, "Eleven weather stations around the county record temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and more. Data is updated every 15 minutes."

The Pierce County Library System has a winning design for its first teen library card, and the winning artist is Michelle Barreto, an 18-year-old who graduated from Harrison Preparatory School in Lakewood.

“I use a watercolor technique with more paint and less water, which produces a bright, mural-like piece,” Barreto said in a library news release, describing how she created her fish-and-floral design.

Barretto's card will be available for free, in addition to other designs that the library system offers at its 17 branches, during the third annual card drive this fall. While the new design is intended to appeal to teens and tweens, adults can ask for it, too.

The contest began this spring, when 110 young contributors submitted creations in colored pencil, pen, paint, camera and computer-generated art. Judges narrowed the field to five finalists, and 1,240 Pierce County residents cast votes on the library’s Web site to pick the winner.

The Pierce County Library System will solicit feedback on a long-term facilities plan at 16 public meetings this month.

The plan will guide library growth through 2030. Among other things, it envisions adding more seats and computers in all locations, expanding or relocating some of its 17 branches and adding a library in the Frederickson area. The public feedback will shape the final version of the plan, to be completed this fall.

The meetings will run from 6:30-8 p.m. at the following locations and dates:

Bonney Lake Pierce County Library, 18501 90th St. E., Wednesday, May 20
Buckley Pierce County Library, 123 S. River Ave., Wednesday, May 20
DuPont Pierce County Library, 1540 Wilmington Drive, Wednesday, May 27
Eatonville Pierce County Library, 205 Center St. W., Wednesday, May 27
Graham Pierce County Library, 9202 224th St. E., Monday, May 18
Key Center Pierce County Library, 8905 KPN, Thursday, May 21
Lakewood Pierce County Library, 6300 Wildaire Road S.W., Monday, May 18
Milton Pierce County Library, 1000 Laurel St., Tuesday, May 19
Orting Pierce County Library, 202 Washington Ave. S., Wednesday, May 27
Parkland/Spanaway Pierce County Library, 13718 Pacific Ave. S., Thursday, May 28
Peninsula Pierce County Library, 4424 Point Fosdick Drive N.W., Gig Harbor, Wednesday, May 27
South Hill Pierce County Library, 15420 Meridian E., Monday, May 18
Steilacoom Pierce County Library, 2950 Steilacoom Blvd., Wednesday, May 20
Summit Pierce County Library, 5107 112th St. E., Monday, May 18
Sumner Pierce County Library, 1116 Fryar Ave., Sumner: Thursday, May 21
Tillicum Community Center, 14916 Washington Ave. S.W., Tuesday, May 19

For more information about the plan and the meetings, visit the library's web page.

Today marks the third and final day of the spiritual ceremony that Tibet’s Drepung Loseling Monastery is performing in the South Sound.

The monks, collectively known as the Mystical Arts of Tibet, have worked continuously creating a mandala (circular and cosmic) painting of colored sand at the University of Puget Sound.

On Thursday, the monks started the ceremony with chanting and mantas. They then poured millions of gallons of sand into place on the flat platform via a chakkpur, or metal funnel that trickles sand out when rubbed with a metal rod.

By 10:45 a.m., today at the Collins Memorial Library, two monks worked seemingly in unison as they put the final touches on the ancient, intricate design.

Around them, some 50 people watched and took pictures of their intricate, almost painstaking work. It’s the same design the monks created outside shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 at Ground Zero in New York.

The scene today was perfect. The library’s reading room was serene, as traditional chanting music played in the background. A shrine to the Dalai Lama, as well as books and other merchandise were seen throughout the library’s reading room.

It’s 11 a.m., now, and we’re a few minutes away from the mandala’s completion. It’s aesthetic beauty will be short-lived, however, as the monks will ceremoniously destroy the painting later today to symbolize impermanence, according to Tenzin Phentsok, a monk and the group’s spokesman.

The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory is offering extended evening hours until 8 p.m. tonight and Thursday to see its Dale Chihuly glass art display.

Tacoma native Chihuly loaned 250-some pieces to the conservatory for the three month exhibit to cap the glass house's centennial celebration. The display, which ends Sunday, intermingles a variety of Chihuly forms with the exotic plant life.

It's a particularly stunning sight at night, when the work is lit up. The conservatory has been offering the night display as part of the Third Thursday Art Walk. Tonight's display is to make up for the December event that was canceled due to snow, said conservatory manager Mary Anderson.

"It's been wonderful," Anderson said. "We've had probably triple our normal visitors and people have really enjoyed it."

Here's our earlier story on the exhibit.

The exhibit will be open regular hours - 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Friday through Sunday. A $5 donation is suggested. The conservatory is at 316 S. G St. in Tacoma's Wright Park.

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.

From reporter Mike Archbold:

I’m heading for the "Republic of Parkland" this afternoon to get a taste of what it would be like not to have our First Amendment freedoms.

A portion of the Pacific Lutheran University campus called Red Square will be roped off from the 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. during the second annual Free Food Festival.

Anyone who wants a free lunch of pizza can get a passport to the Republic of Parkland and eat their fill.

The catch is to get the passport, visitors must sign away their First Amendment rights – freedom of speech, assembly, petition and religion. Enforcers will be on hand to make sure the visitors follow all the rules and obey the authorities. Breaking the rules or failing to obey a command from an enforcer will lead to immediate expulsion.

Funding comes from the Western Washington Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Washington News Council and the Washington Journalism Education Association. Costumed actors from PLU’s Theater Club will portray protesters and enforcers.

“We look forward to giving the community a shock about how our First Amendment rights are taken for granted,” campus SPJ President Nate Hulings said, announcing the second annual event. “Americans don’t think about their rights until they feel them slipping away. We’re going to show them what it feels like to have them completely gone.”

The public is invited to participate.

Check out our video from last year:

Earlier this week, it was Los Angeles. Now it's New Orleans. I'll be back Tuesday.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction released figures from August retakes of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests.

According to a press release, “Of the seniors in the class of 2008, 88 percent have now met the reading requirement; 88.2 percent have met writing; and 84.5 percent – or 61,718 students – have met both. This is an increase of 657 students from spring testing.”

The OSPI wasn’t releasing district-by-district results, but I have calls into the Tacoma, Clover Park and Puyallup school districts. Four South Sound districts released their numbers.

In the Tacoma School District, 47 percent of the 64 students who took the reading portion passed, 63 percent of the 71 students who took the writing portion passed, and 21 percent of 122 students who took the math portion passed, spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht said.

In the Bethel School District, 83 percent of the 35 students who took the writing test passed, 62 percent of the 61 students who took the reading portion passed, and 25 percent of the 89 students who took the math portion passed.

The Puyallup School District released figures that factored in the original testing and the August retake. Of the 1,586 students enrolled in the Class of 2008 on Oct. 31, 1,473 passed the reading portion, 1,478 passed the writing portion and 1,155 passed the math portion.

In the Clover Park School District, six of 11 students who took the reading portion passed, seven of the 11 students who took the writing portion passed, and eight of the 38 students who took the math portion passed.

I sat down today with Kari Hockett, the corporate partner services coordinator for the Tacoma Rainiers. The 22-year-old Seattle woman was a contestant on the long-running game show “Wheel of Fortune.” It’ll air either on Dec. 20 or Jan. 4.

Below, Hockett says what puzzles she solved, what her go-to letter is and how things on TV aren’t always realistic.

Q: The first question I’ve always wondered: Is Pat Sajak as short as he looks on…?

A: Yes. Oh yeah.

Q: And is the wheel as big as it looks on TV?

A: No. The wheel is tiny! I was shocked. It weighs a thousand pounds, but it’s maybe two times the size of a table. They amplify it on television, and that’s the first thing you notice. You walk on set, and the set is a lot smaller. The wheel is front of the podiums, and it’s tiny. There’s a lot of space around it to make it look bigger.

Q: Tell me about Pat. How’s Pat?

A: We didn’t really get to talk to Pat very much except during the show. He stands on a podium during the show. I don’t know how short he is, but he’s not a big man.

Q: What about Vanna White?

A: Vanna is super nice. She came in in the morning in her pajamas while all the contestants were sequestered inside. She gave us a little pep talk like, “You’re going to do great.” There was about 30 of us there for the show, and she was just smiley. Very real. She had no makeup on and said, “I just wanted to meet you before I got all gussied up.” When she was on the stage, she was very robotic and did her thing.

Q: Does she look absolutely horrible with no makeup on, or does maybe the plastic surgery keep her looking the same all day?

A: She has aged well. She is the tiniest person I’ve ever seen in my life. Her legs are about the size of my hands. She’s this little itty bitty thing, but she is really in pretty in person with no makeup on.

Q: How did you get on the show?

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