Five opportunities to improve your neighborhood

Residents who are interested in the continued improvement of the Foss Waterway and the quality of the neighborhood around the Esplanade might consider any or all of these resources:

• The Esplanade Social Committee hosts occasional guest speakers in its series of "Esplanade Speaker Forums." These are not decision-making forums, but invited guest speakers. The next speaker, on Wednesday, 1/18 at 7:00 p.m., will be Norm Gollub, director of the Foss Waterway Development Authority, who will talk about development on the Foss.

• Later in January the FWDA will sponsor an open house, to gather input on what kinds of activities and/or attractions residents would like to see along the esplanade, especially during the warmer months. Click HERE for more information. The open house is Tuesday, 1/31, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at the Thea's Landing Community Room.

• Do you see trash and graffiti in the neighborhood that you would like cleaned up? Do you know who to contact about these issues? Contact information to report graffiti / trash / homeless issues in the neighborhood has been added to "The Esplanade News" website. Click HERE and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page.

• Foss Waterway resident Jori Adkins, a retired landscape designer and urban planner, is interested in organizing a "Friends of the Foss" organization to help in beautifying the Foss Waterway. Click HERE for more information.

• Anyone wanting to participate in neighborhood trash pickup can get gloves and trash bags delivered from the city. Once you fill the bags, the city will come and pick them up. Contact Cindy DeGrosse at cindy.degrosse@cityoftacoma.org. To make the job even easier, "trash grabbers" can be purchased from Amazon HERE.