Editorials

Guest editorial: Midday Rotary delivers $4,000 worth of goods to Food Backpacks 4 Kids

May 01, 2023 | By: Jill Dabbs

Gig Harbor Midday Rotary initiated a project to provide extra food for Food Backpacks 4 Kids, a local food bank that provides essential food items for families with food insecurity on the Key Peninsula. The project’s objective was to mitigate food insecurity in the region, particularly during the months of March and April, which are

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Guest column: Can you be your own general contractor?

Apr 26, 2023 | By: Marlene Druker

Recently, when discussing budgeting for a residential addition and renovation project, I casually mentioned that general contractor profit and overhead is around 20 percent. My client asked the obvious follow-up: “If we are the general contractors, and do some of the work ourselves, can we save 20 percent?” Unfortunately, the math is not that simple.

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Guest editorial: Adding context about Arts Commission deliberations

Apr 03, 2023 | By: Lynn Stevenson

Submit guest editorials or emails to Gig Harbor Now by emailing to [email protected]. In response to “Spring Market planned for mid-May near Civic Center” (March 28, 2023): Your article proclaimed that the Gig Harbor Arts Commission “granted nothing” to the Local Makers Festival and I’d like to help explain why that was the case. I

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Guest editorial: Bridge of Hope offers honest, respectful dialogue

Mar 30, 2023 | By: Lew Napolitano

Editor’s Note: Lew Napolitano of Tacoma is involved in the YMCA’s Bridge of Hope initiative. He provided this report on the initiative’s progress and plans. Click here for our earlier story about Bridge of Hope. The YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, in response to the community wide disruption of effective and respectful dialogue over

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Guest editorial: Artificial intelligence and the end of freedom of thought

Mar 23, 2023 | By: Justin Teerlinck

I am writing regarding the March 16, 2023 article, “Peninsula School District embracing potential of ChatGPT.” Artificial intelligence is deadly poison, not a shiny new toy for kids to play with. Freedom of thought is the birthright of all human beings. Furthermore, it is a requirement for all human endeavors that demand creativity, innovation, and

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Guest editorial: What happens globally affects families locally

Mar 22, 2023 | By: Heather Maher

Heather Maher is a local Gig Harbor mom and resident for the past 14 years. She is also a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s NextGen class of 2023.     I’ll never forget March 2020. As our kids were sent home from school, I watched as teachers wiped away tears, waving goodbye to

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Guest Column: How zoning could limit our Incredible Expanding and Shrinking House

Mar 13, 2023 | By: Marlene Druker

Marlene Druker, AIA is a registered architect based in Gig Harbor. As part of her work, she has read the definitions in, and “kicked the tires” of many (maybe too many) zoning codes. Read Part 1 of her two-part column here.     In part one, I sold you on The Incredible Expanding and Shrinking

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Guest column: The Incredible Expanding and Shrinking House

Mar 06, 2023 | By: Marlene Druker

Editor’s note: This piece was submitted by Marlene Druker, a self-employed architect based in Gig Harbor. Her home office is expansive enough to house an expensive electronic drafting board and cheap trace paper, both of which were used in imagining The Incredible Expanding and Shrinking House. This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Look

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Guest column: City council member wants input on short-term rentals

Jan 10, 2023 | By: Jeni Woock

Dear Gig Harbor Citizens, I would like your input on important legislation that will impact the future of your neighborhood, every block on every street. On Thursday, January 19, at 3 p.m. the Gig Harbor City Council will have a study session to discuss whether to allow short-term rentals in our residentially zoned neighborhoods 365 days a year. Public comment is

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Guest column: Start the New Year with a good walk

Dec 28, 2022 | By: Kurt Grimmer

So you joined the “Y” or signed up for Zumba or Pilates.  Have you tried hot yoga?  I fainted my first time.  Maybe you started running.  And what about that diet?  Man, I’m so hungry for a good burger and fries! Most of us have been in this situation and often revisit this scenario. Here

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