1) On North 11th and Cedar there is a stop sign in front of a roundabout. A few blocks North on Cedar there is a second roundabout at a similar four-way intersection without a stop sign. This is ridiculous. This is unnecessary. And this is something the city shouldn’t have to trouble itself with. I propose we ask for permission to chop down said stop sign at North 10th and Cedar and recycle the contents.

2) Despite its relative wealth, Tacoma’s North End has long been blighted by slumlords, particularly around the University of Puget Sound. I have rented several apartments with hallways that stank of cat pee, lacked adequate ventilation, featured uncertain staircases and lacked locks on the doors. I have also stayed in mold-infested homes and even had a landlord who allowed a 40 year old roof to go untreated so that a 4 by 1 foot hole developed in the ceiling which allowed rainwater to leak in from October through January.

In my experience, the people who live in these North End homes/apartments are disproportionately single-parent families, immigrants, seniors and the disabled. They often lack the resources to investigate their rights (which, truth be told, are more limited than most people believe anyway) or are too poor to explore better options.

This issue is incredibly complex and requires multiple actions, but one small step the NENC could take is to allocate funds for a targeted informational pamphlet outlining the basic legal rights of tenants and whatever community/nonprofit resources are available to them when those rights are violated.

3) Tacoma needs a Burgerville. It’s a Northwest fast food chain with locations stretching North from Salem, OR to Centralia, WA. Burgerville uses only local organic ingredients to produce quality seasonal dishes and combo meals at prices that are only slightly higher than McDonalds. Burgerville restaurants are powered exclusively via wind power credits; the bulk of the cups, food wrappers and other non-edible products they produce are mostly recycled or used as compost; and all Burgerville employees are provided with healthcare.

Burgerville was exploring opportunities in the Puget Sound region prior to the crash of 2008.  The NENC could draft a formal endorsement of their business and its future intentions to invest in the region. Mark my words, if we don’t do this, Seattle will.

Let’s face it: Russell’s decision to move to Seattle and abandon Tacoma was a punch in the face to our city and city residents alike.  Let’s take a week to mourn their decision and the negative consequences the move will have on our city and then get over it and continue to work to rebuild Tacoma.

It is hard to blame the Russell Company for moving.  Had they stayed in Tacoma, they would have been located across the street from the Luzon Building which is in such a dilapidated and dangerous condition it has forced the City of Tacoma to close the adjacent street.  In contrast, moving to Seattle will allow Russell to move into the shiny Chase Center.  Can Tacoma really be surprised of Russell’s move?

Having Russell move out of downtown Tacoma will certainly have a significant negative impact on restaurants and other businesses in the area where Russell employees frequent.

An even worse blow may have been delivered to the psyche of Tacomans who have been pummeled by Seattle continuously for the last 100 years.  The latest poaching of Russell from Tacoma is just another series of blows Tacoma has endured from Seattle.

The Good News

Although the Russell Company was physically located downtown, the company took great pains in their building design to interact very little with urban life downtown.

Russell employees drove to a private parking garage downtown and then walked over the street via a skybridge adding very little to the vibrancy of the area.

Unlike other businesses downtown such as DaVita, Russell had its own cafeteria within the building isolating many of its employees from the streets of Tacoma.

Hopefully, the new tenants of the Russell building will be more independent and from a variety of companies which will facilitate new businesses and life downtown.  The Russell Building appears to be in good shape and could be relatively easy to lease.

Whatever the future, Tacoma needs to take the initiative and redouble its efforts to reduce the visible blight downtown if it is every going to attract and retain companies downtown and people who would want to work at them.

Erik Bjornson is an attorney in Downtown Tacoma who often writes about urban issues in local papers and blogs.  He is a member of the North End Neighborhood Council and edits the blog the Tacoma Urbanist.