News and notes for this week

There are a few items of news and note for this week:

• Fire drill Saturday morning, 10/14 
  The annual fire drill is planned for Saturday, October 14 at 9:00 a.m. There will be alarms and fire personnel in the building. All residents are encouraged to participate in the drill so they know the routine during an actual emergency. Look for more information on the drill forthcoming this week.

• Get your hands dirty and help the neighborhood
  
  Since you will have to be outside Saturday morning for the fire drill, you might as well consider joining the "Friends of the Foss" group at 9:00 a.m. for their regular work party. The group will meet outside The Social, as they do every second Saturday of the month, at 9:00 a.m. The "Friends of the Foss" work on general beautification of the Foss Waterway Esplanade. Click on the image below for more information, or contact group leader Jori Adkins at joriadkins@mac.com.

• HOA board meeting this Thursday, 10/12
  The next Esplanade HOA board meeting will take place this Thursday, October 12 at 6:00 p.m. in the community room. There will be committee reports, budget updates, and time for resident questions. To see an unofficial summary of the September meeting click HERE.

• City of Tacoma continues work on local homelessness
  Esplanade residents may have noticed that the areas under I-705, across the tracks from our building, have been relatively free of homeless encampments for the last few weeks. This is due to the city's recent ban (and enforcement) of camping within city limits; and the establishment of a "stability site" in the Dome District for people experiencing homelessness; as well as other city efforts to help these individuals transition to more stable housing situations. Esplanade residents are strongly encouraged to call 253-591-5000 if any encampments are seen.
  
  For more information on the city's efforts, read THIS ARTICLE from Friday's Tacoma News Tribune. Additionally, Esplanade HOA board member Pete Cribbin recently attended a meeting regarding the city's work on this issue. Pete was able to acquire the informational slide show used at the meeting to explain the city's plan; the slide show can be viewed HERE. Note that there is additional information in the notes below each slide.
  
  Finally, remember that there is a list of contact information regarding homeless encampments, graffiti, esplanade maintenance, etc. on the "Esplanade News" contact page, HERE.

• Join the Esplanade Book Club in reading this great book!
  The Esplanade Book Club met on October 5 and considered three books for their November 2nd meeting: Flight of Dreams, by Ariel Lawhon; Everything We Left Behind, by Kerry Lonsdale; and The Lord God Made Them All, by James Herriot. The club chose The Lord God Made Them All, which is the bestselling sequel to All Things Wise and Wonderful, and the 4th volume in James Herriot's classic collections of animal stories. In this newly repackaged volume, Herriot returns home after serving in the RAF in World War II. In Yorkshire await his "beloved family and multitude of patients, with many more tender, funny, sad and wise stories to share with us and warm our hearts. Animal lovers of all ages, and fans of Herriot's original classics, won't want to miss this beautiful treasure." The club will meet on November 2 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the book; do come whether you've finished the book or not.