News briefs

Gateway news services

Gig Harbor Civic Center closed through weekend

The Gig Harbor Civic Center will be closed for the next three days as part of furloughs and the Thanksgiving holiday.

Sworn police officers and wastewater treatment plant employees will not be impacted by Wednesday’s furloughs.

The civic center will be closed the other two days due to Thanksgiving.

State Route 16 off-ramp closed overnight next week

The state Route 16 westbound off-ramp to Burnham Drive will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4. Detour routes will be clearly posted and emergency vehicles will have access as needed at all times.

Greenhouse gas emissions on Pierce County’s radar

Pierce County will reduce greenhouse gas emissions that pollute the air and save taxpayers money under a new sustainability initiative funded by federal stimulus legislation.

On Nov. 18, the U.S. Department of Energy approved Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy’s $4.37 million grant application for a package of projects that promote energy efficiency and conservation. The funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

An element of the executive’s plan involves hiring a sustainability manager for two years to kick off the county’s emphasis on “going green.” Ryan Dicks, who has done extensive work on environmental sustainability in Washington State, started that role this week.

Other elements of the plan include spearheading an effort to reduce the county government’s carbon footprint, conducting home weatherization projects and upgrading traffic signals and other inefficient equipment with modern, energy-saving resources.

“This federal grant provides an excellent opportunity to find efficiencies, reduce energy costs and improve air quality,” McCarthy said. “It is fundamentally important to me that we leave a legacy of clean air and clean water for our children.”

The funded projects will:

Replace the county’s 25-year-old HVAC system that serves two floors of the main jail.

Partner with other agencies to convert older homes from wood stoves, oil or baseboard heat to high-efficiency gas furnaces, natural gas inserts or electric heat pumps.

Convert 78 traffic signals in Pierce County to LED indicators, which use 90 percent less energy than incandescent signals. That would result in savings of $72,000 a year, based on today’s energy rates.

Convert the electronic message display board at Sprinker Recreation Center to LEDs, cutting the wattage use from 26,880 to 4,200.

Replace the county’s 10-year-old computer disk storage system. The current unit consumes 13,710 watts per hour, while the new unit would consume 550 watts per hour.

Hire a full-time sustainability manager for two years to implement these projects and other cost-saving practices, as well as identify additional environmental grant opportunities.

Pierce County Library System to go paperless on Jan. 1

Beginning Jan. 1, the Pierce County Library System will go paperless when it comes to notifying customers about books and materials they’ve requested or reminders about overdue items.

The library will still notify customers of items they’ve placed on hold. Only 17,000 of the library’s 240,000 customers get notices via postal mail. In 2008, the library sent 85,400 postcard notices for a cost of $28,000. The library hopes the move to phone and e-mail notices will eliminate that cost.

Customers who wish to change their notifications to telephone or e-mail may call 253-536-6500, ext. 121, or e-mail helpdesk@piercecountylibrary.org.

Cantwell votes to begin health care reform debate

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, voted with the majority in a 60-39 Senate roll call vote to begin a historic floor debate on health care reform legislation.

During a speech on the Senate floor, Cantwell discussed the need to transform the Medicare reimbursement system so it rewards quality rather than quantity in the health care system.

She also described her Basic Health Plan, modeled after Washington state’s Basic Health, which gives states the power to negotiate with private insurance for lower premiums to cover the uninsured.

Nature Conservancy offers natural holiday gift site

The Nature Conservancy’s holiday gift site offers interactive maps, photos and stories that will introduce gift-givers and recipients to the regions they’re invited to protect.

Visit www.nature.org/giftguide for more information on the conservancy and its gift-giving options.