For years, school officials have been lamenting the state's underfunding of transportation.

Without adequate funding from the state, they say, districts must devote more and more of their local levy dollars to get kids to school.

One of their loudest charges: the state doesn't reimburse districts for transporting students whose homes or daycares lie outside a one-mile radius from school. And instead of calculating the actual route mileage, the distance is measured as a direct line from school to home or daycare. Or, in the colloquial, "as the crow flies."

Actually, says Allan Jones with the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state does provide some money to bus kids within the one-mile radius. But not much.

Jones, director of pupil transportation, says the state gives districts some funding based on the total number of kids in kindergarten through through fifth grade within the one-mile radius.

The original intent was to help districts defray the cost of transporting youngsters who faced hazardous walking conditions, even though they lived close to school.

But it's a lower rate than what the state funds for students living outside the one-mile minimum. And the districts don't have to have hazardous walking conditions to get the money. They don't even have to use the money to transport kids within that radius.

Here's how Jones explains it, and the "crow flies" business in an e-mail to The News Tribune.

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Maybe not the landfill, but where ever contractors working on the Park Plaza South project put their old concrete and rebar.

The Tacoma Daily Index has this item about demolition of the hillclimb between Pacific Avenue and Commerce Street. At the lower right is evidence of the entry to the Escalade, Tacoma's famous moving sidewalks that were meant to ease travel up and down the hills of the shopping district. And we had the name before Cadillac did.

Here are some pix from the TNT morgue showing the excitement surrounding the opening. And yes, those do look like mink coats.

And this one from the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library.

As near as I can tell, the final archaelogical evidence of the system is beneath Park Plaza North, the stairway tunnel that leads from the Commerce Street bus stops to Pacific near 10th Street.

Tim Appelo writes about the role Alan Liddle played in bringing attention to – and beginning the movement to save – Tacoma's architectural heritage.

Titled "He Came, He Saw, He Saved – What would Tacoma look like if Alan Liddle had never existed."

The magazine is available at coffee shops and restaurants.

The community activists who are redefining Tacoma will have a chance to get together and brush up their skills Saturday.

The City-Wide Fall Neighborhood Conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Tacoma Campus of Evergreen State College, 1210 Sixth Avenue.

The Neighborhood Councils and Community Council of Tacoma are sponsoring the event, which aims to support the work that so many formal and informal groups have done to fight crime and blight. Thanks to their hard work, Tacoma is a nicer place to live.

Bill Garl, president of the Community Councils of Tacoma, will welcome the crowd, and Marion Weed will give the history of the community council program.

Elton Gatewood, of the City of Tacoma Neighborhood Council Office will give a quick course on "Grant and Proposal Writing Made Simple, and Mary Morrison will give advice on how to conduct a successful meeting. Allyson Griffith will share strategies on outreach and recruitment.

Lunch will be complimentary, followed by a presentation by City Manager Eric Anderson.

The conference is free of charge and open to all. For information, contact Gatewood at (253) 591-5229, or egatewoo@cityoftacoma.org.

I was hoping it was a Cristo art installation. But no, the plastic wrap around the Hylebos Bridge on the NE Tacoma side of the Tideflats is part of a bridge rehabilitation project that got under way this month.

The plastic keeps stuff that comes off during sandblasting from getting into the waterway. Once the first span (actually called a bascule leaf) is cleaned, the second span will get wrapped.

The bridge hasn't worked since 2001 and was left in the uplifted position to allow ships to use the channel. That, however, hasn't helped cars and trucks much.

Using $15 million from the federal government and the Port of Tacoma, the city has contracted with Quigg Bros. Construction to fix it. That will restore a second route out of the peninsula (in addition to Taylor Way, something that is not only convenient but necessary in an emergency.

The work will be finished by the end of 2011.

Tacoma Community House's gymolition celebration was a big hit Friday, as compared to a big whomp with a bulldozer this week. The gym's being demolished this week, and TCH leaders are working with neighbors to think of how best to use the space.

About 40 people showed up to bid the non-profit's old gym a fond farewell, and to tell stories of the things they learned and the fun they had there. Among the guests were two of the mighty Shrimps, the TCH basketball team that played in the 1950s. Tom Mustin, who coached the team, and Karl Washington, helped put names to seven of the 10 boys in the team picture.

Here's the roster to go with the picture.

Front row, from left: Unknown, Daave Kvamme, George Loretta, Steve Mustin and Rudy Webster.

Back row, from left: Karl Washington, Unknown, Harry Walker (No.12), Unknown, and Tom Mustin.

Tom Mustin said that was his first coaching experience in a lifetime of coaching. He earned national fame as a youth boxing coach and took a team to the Olympics.

I've been getting some calls from folks wondering about the increased activity around the University-Union Club. That's the white mansion just up the street from the old Elks Lodge that most-recently housed David's On Broadway restaurant. (OK, Winfields was the most-recent but it wasn't open long enough for most to notice).

The grounds are being cleaned up, the old Winfield's sign was removed and a fabric sign advertising the now-closed David's was hung on the water side.

So I asked Aleta Benedicto,the agent marketing the building, if there was some news.

Not yet, she said.

"There is a very interested party but no written offer yet. Just doing some clean-up around the property," she wrote.

NW Furniture Bank has been a success story for its donors and its recipients.

Founders Bill and Joelene Lemke took the simple idea of food banks, and transferred them to furniture. Working with loaned warehouse space, they collected furniture from dealers with slightly damaged sofas, manufacturers with too many book shelves and ordinary people looking for a good home for the old dining set. Agencies referred needy clients to the warehouse where, for $50, they can furnish a household.

NW Furniture Bank outgrew the loaned space and now rents a warehouse that was formerly a carpet store at 2650 E. Bay Street. The team was given a truck to use for pick-ups and deliveries. And the inventory, including surplus from IKEA, keeps on coming.

But some donations don't quite fit the main program. People moving into modest apartments might not need high-end vanities, extra-large entertainment centers and serious office furniture. Those items and expensive antiques can do the most good if they're translated into money for rent and gas for the truck.

Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can do some of that translating at NW Furniture Bank's "New and Like New" Furniture Sale.

"All proceeds will help support NWFB with operating expenses," Bill Lemke said.

The furniture bank is next to the Soccer center at the Bay Street exits 134 and 135 of of Interstate 5.

To learn more, and get better directions, visit the Web site at nwfurniturebank.org.

Tacoma Community House is tearing down its old gym, but not before a celebration of the venerable building's history.

TCH will host a "Gymolition" gathering Friday, Aug. 21, from noon to 1 p.m., at the site, 1314 South L South. They've invited anyone who's ever played basketball, bowled, danced, played shuffleboard, repaired computers, served a meal in the gym to share their memories of it.

Preparing for the event, Hana Kato and Candis Carbone found photos of boys in the tumbling class and two TCH basketball teams, The TCH Shrimps.

None of the pictures have names on them, and Kato and Carbone would like to remedy that. Take a look, and if you're in one of the photos, or know one of the boys, please let us know in the comments, and call Kato at 383-3951.

I'm writing a more complete column for Wednesday's paper, and would be happy to hear from you if you have a good story about the gym.

Before you read further, check the post one item down. It's about the big box of better-than-flamingo-pink teddy bears that arrived by mail from Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

The box was addressed to general assignment reporter Mike Archbold, who was off last week. Aside from the bears, the only thing in it was a card explaining Bears From Behind Bars' mission to comfort traumatized children and lonely seniors. Calling or e-mailing the six men who made the bears wasn't possible.

Mike was puzzled by the fact that the men had sent the bears to him. We all wondered why they all had "Baron" on their right feet.

We thought it best to get those bears out into the field, cuddling and comforting, so we invited Word on the Street readers to apply for them. Happily, no one has yet done so, so we won't be breaking hearts now that we know the full story.

Packed at the back of Mike's mail slot was a letter from Gus Turner, one of the six men who made and sent the bears.

"Your article, "Roy Family Loses Its Heart," touched us deeply. Laura Baron was a fantastic person. The world was a better place because of her being," he wrote.

Laura Baron died last spring after a long fight with cancer. She and her husband had adopted disabled children from all over the world, and created a loving, successful family.

"We've made teddy bears for all 14 children, and two larger bears for papa Chris. The box of bears is on its way to you at the Tribune. Thank you for writing the article. Thank you for sharing Laura's goodness with us. Mucho mahalo. Gus Turner and the BFBB Project."

That explains the "Baron" on each teddy foot. Mike will take care of getting the bears to their intended destination.

We can all thank them for giving us a glimpse of a worthwhile project going on behind Walla Walla's walls.

Sixteen teddy bears, two large koalas and 14 small classic types, have gotten out of prison and come to town, looking to do some good.

They're Bears from Behind Bars, made by six inmates at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, and they arrived by mail at The News Tribune with an explanation and a request.

Their story was typed onto the back of their laminated logo, a happy teddy leaning out of a cell window.

"Washington State Penitentiary's Teddy Bear Project is a diverse gathering of prisoners who've come together to help ease loneliness and inspire love and compassion (The things we need most to learn.) through Teddy Bears. We are associated with www.goodbearsoftheworld.org. Like GBW, it is the goal of BEARS FROM BEHIND BARS to put the comfort of teddy bears in the arms of traumatized children and our lonely elders. We've chosen to make a difference with the two things we have in surplus: time and energy."

Six men signed the card with their name and inmate number: Gus Turner, Dean Roesgen, Kenneth Agtuca, Lars Snow, Bryan Wade, and R. Delgado.

I'd have liked to call them to verify the spellings on their names, and to ask why each bear has "Baron" written on the leather pad of his right foot. The two koalas also have "BFFB" on their left feet. Best Friend Forever Bear?

These are well-made bears, and far too bright to spend much time in a newsroom. So we're sending them out to do the job their makers intended.

If your non-profit or first responder group can get them to children or seniors who can use a hot pink hug, log on with your request. Please say where you operate and what you do. If you're the lucky teddy winner we'll let you know this week.

Several Twitter posts are floating around soliciting participation in a Monday Aug. 17 moveon.org rally at the office of The News Tribune in Tacoma.

The moveon.org post post says "Join us at the office of the Tacoma News Tribune to deliver personal Letters to the Editor about the need for a REAL Public Health Insurance Option."