Community

Gig Harbor Now reporters cover community events and efforts that benefit and entertain the community.

Grant helps Rotary continue its Little Food Pantry program

Apr 30, 2024 | By: Jill Dabbs

The Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday’s Little Food Pantry Project embarks on its fourth year providing emergency food, thanks in part to a matching grant from Rotary International District 5020. The grant provided $3,000 to purchase food to supplement donation and fundraising efforts. Beginning early 2021 with just two pantries, the project has grown

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Gig Harbor man dies while hiking in California national park

Apr 30, 2024 | By:

A 66-year-old Gig Harbor man died while hiking with his wife in Death Valley National Park in California on April 5, according to the National Parks Service. The man was about a mile up Mosaic Canyon Trail when he suffered what officials termed an “acute medical event.” The Parks Service did not identify the man.

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PSD stands for Peninsula School District and its Purple Star distinction

Apr 29, 2024 | By:

“I am a military child. That means moving every few years and constantly fighting change,” said Brendan Masini Jr., as he spoke in Olympia in early 2023 to support a bill creating a Purple Star Award for military-friendly school districts. “Whether those changes were new schools, new people, new surroundings, or watching my dad leave

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911 meets 988 at emergency call center serving Gig Harbor area

Apr 29, 2024 | By:

As the largest 911 call center in Washington, a growing number of the nearly 1 million calls South Sound 911 handles annually involve someone experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis.  Aiming to better support these callers, the emergency call center launched a first-of-its-kind model that will bring counselors from the state’s 988 mental health

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Russell Foundation grants go to Harbor WildWatch, Great Peninsula Conservancy, others

Apr 26, 2024 | By:

The Gig Harbor-based Russell Family Foundation this week awarded 27 grants worth $819,000 to several organizations serving youth and young adults in Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, Jefferson, Mason and South King Counties. The grants are part of the foundation’s Environmental Education portfolio and provide focus on organizations that provide outdoor environmental learning experiences. “We recognize the

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Two in Tow & On the Go | Tacoma reaches new heights with tower slide at Foss Waterway

Apr 26, 2024 | By:

I don’t know if it was the magnetic pull of seeing a 36-foot-tall climbing tower or the sure-fire promise of thrills zipping down its double-digit tube slide – but Metro Parks Tacoma’s brand-new playground unveiled earlier this month definitely convinced us to make a trip over the bridge to see what’s up.

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Day Tripper | Beginning a Puget Sound Loop

Apr 25, 2024 | By: Mary Williams

I know. This is Day Tripper. I’ve established limits: No more than 100 miles each way, and an adventure that can be accomplished in just one day. Each of my destinations is just that, a one-day trip that does not exceed 200 miles total, out and back again. I’ve been thinking about places I want

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Sports Beat | Gig Harbor rallies for key league fastpitch win

Apr 25, 2024 | By:

The Gig Harbor (7-6, 6-2 South Sound Conference) girls fastpitch team did it again, as they came up with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over River Ridge on April 22. The 7-6 win keeps Gig Harbor in the hunt for a league championship. The Tides were behind most of the game, but excellent relief pitching from

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Making the case for a new approach to substance-use treatment

Apr 24, 2024 | By:

For decades, research into substance use treatment has found that a rigid focus on abstinence-only models has caused just a small fraction of those in need to seek treatment. But as the opioid epidemic surges in Kitsap and across the country, Wayne Swanson, director of Subacute Recovery Services at Kitsap Mental Health Services, says providers

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Gig Harbor voters overwhelmingly rejecting property tax proposal

Apr 23, 2024 | By:

Gig Harbor voters soundly rejected a proposal to increase property taxes inside city limits. Preliminary vote totals released by the Pierce County Elections Office on Tuesday, April 23, show 69% (2,379 votes) against the proposed increase and 31% (1,069) in favor of it. The elections office will post updated vote totals at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

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