Happy Friday Newsletter – March 7th, 2025

Arts & Entertainment

• Classical Music from French Baroque Trio Coming to Mason United Methodist Church March 10th
  • March 10th, 7pm at Mason United Methodist Church – French Baroque Trio Sonatas features harpsichordist Bernward Lohr and baroque violinist Anne Röhrig, the leaders of the German baroque orchestra Musica Alta Ripa, along with Susie Napper, viola da gambist from Montreal, and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan in a program of French trio sonatas from the time of Louis XIV and Louis XV, in the third 2025 Salish Sea Early Music Festival performance in Bellingham of early chamber music on period instruments. The program offers trio sonatas and quartets in France spanning more than 60 years, through the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis V, by Marin Marais, Jean-Baptiste Quentin the young, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, Jean-Marie Leclair l’aîné and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

• Last Chance to See Artist Emily Jounghee Won at Artco Framing and Gallery
  • Join Artco Framing and Gallery for the closing reception of, “Oops, I’m in Your World!” – Humor and Humanity in the Ordinary By Emily Jounghee Won. Photography has the power to transcend the ordinary, revealing humor, warmth, and depth in the everyday. Her work is a fusion of sculpture and photography, creating an intriguing visual language where wire drawings interact with real-world settings. These figures exist in a space between reality and imagination—playful yet thought-provoking, tangible yet ephemeral. Through this combination, I aim to bring a sense of surrealism and curiosity to contemporary photography. The reception is on Friday March 28th 4-6pm at Artco Framing and Gallery.

Neighborhood News

• REAL ID Deadline Approaches Amid Concerns Over Immigration Enforcement in Pierce County
  • As the May 7, 2025, deadline for REAL ID compliance approaches, Washington residents are reminded to ensure their IDs meet federal standards for domestic flights and access to federal facilities. The REAL ID Act, established in 2005, sets security requirements for state-issued IDs to improve national security. In Washington State, which has sanctuary policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities, there are concerns that the REAL ID requirements could be used to target undocumented immigrants. Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank, who took office in 2025, has expressed his intention to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, despite sanctuary policies. This cooperation, which could involve working with ICE, may bring federal funding to local law enforcement agencies. Immigrant advocacy groups are worried that this collaboration could lead to profiling and unfair targeting of individuals without REAL ID-compliant IDs. However, it’s important to note that during routine traffic stops, a valid driver’s license is sufficient; a REAL ID is not required. Undocumented immigrants in Washington can still obtain standard driver’s licenses without proving legal immigration status. The ongoing discussion between state and local authorities will determine the level of cooperation with federal immigration enforcement in Pierce County.

• Committee for Preserving Tacoma Landmarks is Holding a Hybrid Meeting 3/12 to discuss Stadium High School
  • The agenda materials for the Landmarks Preservation Commission hybrid meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., are now available at www.cityoftacoma.org/LPC-agenda. The Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting can be attended in person at 747 Market Street, Room 243; virtually at https://www.zoom.us/j/89120046605; or by dialing 253-215-8782 and entering the meeting ID 891 2004 6605 when prompted.
  • The Agenda is as follows:
    • Acknowledgement of Indigenous Lands
    • Roll Call
    • Public Comment – Written comments are accepted on agenda items via e-mail and must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. on the meeting day. Please e-mail your comments to [email protected], put in the subject line “LPC Meeting 03/12/25”, and clearly indicate which agenda item(s) you are addressing.
    • Consent Agenda – Excusal of Absences, Approval of Minutes, Administrative Review
    • Board Briefings – Stadium High School: Exterior masonry repairs
    • Board Business/Communication Items: Equity committee updates, events and activities
    • Chair Comments

Local Governance

• Meet with Your Congresswoman Emily Randall March 7th in Tacoma to Have Your Voice Heard
  • Emily Randall will be hosting two in person town halls on Friday and Saturday. March 7th in Tacoma and March 8th in Bremerton. You can click here to RSVP and learn the event locations and details. In a recent email sent to her subscribers, Emily states that ‘it’s her duty to bring your voices to Washington, DC, to speak out against abuses of power, to fight for her neighbors and do what she can with her colleagues to hold the current administration accountable. It is also her duty to find areas to build bridges to deliver results. Randall also provides some resources for Federal Workers, Immigrant Families and for Veterans and Service Member Families.

• Pierce County Human Services Awarding $17 million to Affordable Housing Initiatives
  • Pierce County Human Services has awarded over $17 million to support affordable housing initiatives across the county, aiming to create, preserve, or maintain more than 330 affordable housing units. The funding has been allocated to the following key projects:
  • For First-Time Homeowners: Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity: Rehabilitation of 20 homes near Parkland/Spanaway, Homeownership Center of Tacoma: Construction of two new homes in Lakewood.
  • For Renters: Mercy Housing Northwest: Development of 80 new units for low-income residents, with 20% set aside for households with a disability, Pierce County Housing Authority: Acquisition of a 56-unit building in Parkland to prevent displacement, Urban Black Community Development: Acquisition and rehabilitation to preserve 78 units in three historic buildings, Bridge Meadows: Development of 60 new units serving low-income residents aged 55+ or families with lived experience in the foster care system, Beacon Development Group and Greater Christ Temple Church: Development of 65 new units for low-income seniors in Tacoma, with 13 units set aside for permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare: Operating and maintenance support for 15 units serving low-income adults with mental illness, AHAT Homecare: Operating and maintenance support for two adult family homes for low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
  • These awards were determined through a competitive application process. Pierce County Human Services, in partnership with the Pierce County Community Development Corporation, provides financing for the development and preservation of affordable housing through a competitive Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), typically issued at least once per year. Eligible organizations, including non-profits, for-profit developers, partnerships, cooperatives, and individuals, can apply during these periods.
  • To stay informed about future funding opportunities, interested parties are encouraged to sign up for Pierce County’s Affordable Housing Developer Mailing List and the Human Services Solicitations and Competitive Bids List.

• Current Map of Policing Sectors and Contact Information You Should Know

Business & Opportunities

• UrbanWork Co-Working Space is Expanding Downtown Tacoma
  • UrbanWork, a coworking business that launched in Tacoma last year, is expanding by adding a 23,000-square-foot space at the Tacoma Centre, located at 1135 Broadway. The new space, set to open in May, includes 11,000 square feet on the second floor for coworking and 12,127 square feet on the sixth floor for office suites aimed at larger teams. This expansion, developed in partnership with MJR Development and managed by Kidder Matthews-Frame Team, highlights UrbanWork’s mission to support entrepreneurs and businesses in the Pacific Northwest. The company is focused on providing flexible workspaces with resources for success, reinforcing its commitment to the downtown Tacoma business community.

• Tacoma Community College Accepting 2025 Juried Art Exhibition Entries
  • The Gallery at TCC invites western Washington artists to submit entries for a juried art exhibition. Artists who wish to have their work considered should email three images of available work and a checklist, a resumé, an artist’s statement, exhibition history and a $25 application fee ($5 for students). Entries will be judged by local artists and TCC art faculty based on quality and creativity. The resumé, exhibition history and artist statement will be used to produce didactic panels and are not a factor in jury selection. Works need to be delivered by June 3, 2025 between noon-5pm. Delivery and pick-up of application materials and works selected for the show are the responsibility of the artist. We look forward to seeing your work! Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are core values of our institution. We recognize historic inequities and empower our community to challenge and overcome systemic barriers to create a campus and society where all people can be their authentic selves and are welcomed, heard, known, represented, and successful. As such, we actively seek to celebrate and highlight artists who are representative of the community we serve and who reflect and honor the diverse community in which we live. Application Deadline April 1st, 2025.

• Call to Artists: Ebb Tide Co-op Gallery Gig Harbor Looking for New Members
  • Artists, consider joining this vibrant art gallery community! Ebb Tide Gallery, in the heart of Gig Harbor’s historic waterfront, is seeking talented 2D and 3D artists to join their cooperative art gallery. For over 40 years, they have been known for our friendly local artists, one-of-a-kind artwork, and unique gifts. Now, they are inviting you to become part of our creative family!
  • Why Join Ebb Tide Gallery? Prime Location: Display your work in a popular artist owned gallery situated in the picturesque Gig Harbor downtown. Artist Support: Benefit from a supportive network of fellow artists and gain exposure through gallery advertising. Community Involvement: Be an integral part of Gig Harbor’s vibrant art scene, where your work will reach locals and visitors alike. Membership Requirements: Monthly Rent: $135 (first and last month’s rent required upon joining). Commitment: 5-6 working shifts per month (4-hour shifts, flexible scheduling). Contribution: Participate in a committee and/or assist with special events. Commission: The gallery has a 15% pre-tax commission on all sold art. Washington State Business License (UBI) required. Artist Screening dates are always the last Thursday of the month: March 27th, April 24th, May 29th. To Apply:  submit a completed application along with at least four gallery-ready pieces for screening.  Application materials are available online or at the gallery, open daily from 11 am to 5 pm. If your artwork is accepted, you will be scheduled for an interview.

• Call to Artists: Create Public Art for Foss Waterway Seaport, a $5,000 Opportunity
  • The City of Tacoma’s Environmental Services Department (ES) and Arts and Cultural Vitality Division (ACVD) are seeking an artist to create seventeen digital vector graphics for a public art installation at the Foss Waterway Seaport Esplanade. This work-for-hire project will visually illustrate the salmon life cycle while educating the community about urban runoff and its impact on Tacoma’s waterways. This project is inspired by the Foss Waterway Seaport’s educational program, where students raise salmon from egg to fry before releasing them into local waterways. The final artwork will celebrate this journey while reinforcing the importance of protecting aquatic ecosystems through the “If It Hits the Ground, It Hits the Sound” campaign. Project Details: Budget: $5,000, Deadline: March 24, 2025 (5 PM PST), Installation Location: Foss Waterway Seaport Esplanade, Work-for-hire project, Apply Now.

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Recreation & Wellness

• WIAA 3A & 4A Basketball State Championship at the Tacoma Dome this Weekend
  • The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s (WIAA) 3A and 4A Basketball State Championship comes to the Tacoma Dome on March 5-8, 2025. The return of state basketball to the Tacoma Dome is part of a new four-year agreement ensuring Washington’s high school wrestling, basketball, soccer, and track and field championships will remain in Pierce County through 2028. Tacoma Venues & Events, in partnership with Visit Tacoma-Pierce County, Tacoma Public Schools, and the Puyallup School District, played a key role in securing the successful bid. The Tacoma Dome’s long-standing tradition of hosting premier high school sporting events, serving as destination for state championship competition, contributed to its selection. Attracting tens of thousands of diverse athletes and spectators from around the state, the championships collectively bring an estimated $10.3 million in annual economic impact to the region, reinforcing Tacoma’s reputation as a premier destination for major athletic competitions. The WIAA/Gesa Credit Union Basketball State Championship at the Tacoma Dome brings the top 3A and 4A teams from across Washington, leading up to the semi-finals on March 7 and championship games on March 8. Drawing thousands of athletes, coaches, band members, cheerleaders, families, and fans, state basketball continues to be a highlight of the high school sports season. Throughout the tournament, local hotels, restaurants, and businesses in the Dome District and downtown Tacoma can expect an increase in visitors as attendees gather to support their teams. Tickets: Tickets are on sale now at the Heritage Bank Box Office at the Tacoma Dome or online at ticketmaster.com. Single day and multi-day passes are available. Discount tickets for seniors, military, and students are available at the Box Office. Children under the age of five are admitted free.

Film & TV Reviews

• Series Review: Apple Cider Vinegar – By Elizabeth Mulloy
  • In an era of rigid morning routines, juice cleanses, and unpasteurized milk trends, Apple Cider Vinegar delivers a sharp, satirical takedown of wellness influencers at just the right moment. Despite repeated debunkings by actual medical professionals, these so-called wellness “experts” continue to attract devoted followers—a phenomenon as old as time and unlikely to disappear. The best we can do is expose them, and Netflix has set its sights on one of the most infamous: Belle Gibson.
  • Belle Gibson grew in prominence in the early 2010s as one of the first social media wellness influencers. Through her innovative mobile app, The Whole Pantry, she claims that if you eat a well-balanced diet and focus on your body, you can beat any disease, like how she claimed she defeated Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that gives most patients less than two years to live. However, there is one big problem, Belle doesn’t have cancer and she never had cancer. Apple Cider Vinegar is “A true-ish story based on a lie” provides an angry, satirical take-down of Gibson that is both as fascinating and it is frustrating.
  • We first meet Belle (a brilliant Kaitlyn Dever) in the midst of an HR crisis meeting, where the truth about her lies—not just about having cancer but also her charity fraud—has finally come to light. It doesn’t take long for the audience to witness her manipulative tactics in full force. She swings between dramatic, tearful breakdowns—collapsing to the floor in hysterics—and calculated gaslighting, cornering her new manager with fabricated claims about her health. From here, the series flashes back to Belle’s teenage years, tracing her journey from a pregnant teen to a rising wellness influencer. Alongside her is her rival, Milla Blake (Alicia Debnam-Carey), a character inspired by the late Jessica Ainscough. As the story unfolds, Apple Cider Vinegar meticulously charts Belle’s meteoric rise—and inevitable fall—from influencer stardom. Belle’s early life is marked by isolation and hardship. Her boyfriend offers no support, her mother is an abusive narcissist, and there are unsettling hints that she was groomed by an older man as a young teenager. It’s clear she didn’t have a happy childhood—one that shaped her into the needy, attention-seeking person she would become. The series doesn’t ask the audience to sympathize with her, but rather to understand how someone like Belle is created.
  • Determined to escape poverty, Belle stumbles upon Milla Blake’s website, The Wellness Warrior. Milla, recently diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma—a rare skin cancer that would have required amputation and chemotherapy—opted for experimental treatments to save her arm. Convinced she was cured through alternative therapies like coffee enemas and juice cleanses, her blog quickly gained traction. Inspired by Milla’s viral success, Belle sees an opportunity. And after a humiliating baby shower, she sets the lie in motion—the lie that will ultimately lead to her downfall. With this context in mind, it’s impossible to watch Apple Cider Vinegar without feeling a deep, simmering frustration. But make no mistake—the series is just as furious as its audience, channeling its outrage into a sharp, unrelenting satire. From the very first episode, you can feel the show’s palpable resentment toward its subject matter, refusing to let Belle Gibson or the wellness industry off the hook for even a second.The anger isn’t just implied—it’s woven into the very fabric of the series. Through pointed fourth-wall breaks, biting narration, and a relentless dissection of the grift at play, Apple Cider Vinegar ensures that viewers never forget exactly who Belle Gibson is and what she represents. The show goes out of its way to emphasize that Gibson receives no benefit from this exposure, repeatedly reminding us that her deception is not only unforgivable but emblematic of a much larger problem within influencer culture.
  • Yet, this fury is what makes the series so compelling. It doesn’t simply critique wellness fraud; it eviscerates it with wit and precision, offering a cathartic, rage-fueled takedown of an industry that continues to thrive despite endless debunking. This is righteous anger at its most effective—scathing, unapologetic, and absolutely necessary.However, the series’ fury is frustratingly one-sided, targeting Belle Gibson with laser-focused precision while largely absolving her enablers—and, more perplexingly, Milla Blake and those who supported her.
  • This selective outrage weakens Apple Cider Vinegar otherwise sharp critique, exposing a glaring hypocrisy in its storytelling. Milla, like Belle, was a master manipulator, using emotional coercion to push her alternative health beliefs. Yet, because she genuinely had cancer, the series treats her with an inexplicable level of sympathy. It glosses over the devastating consequences of her actions—how she convinced her mother to forgo conventional treatment, leading not only to her mother’s death but, ultimately, her own, both of which might have been preventable.
  • Even more frustrating is the show’s failure to scrutinize the broader ecosystem that enabled both Belle and Milla. The enablers—whether well-meaning supporters or profit-driven opportunists—played a crucial role in amplifying and legitimizing their misinformation, yet Apple Cider Vinegar largely lets them off the hook. In refusing to take a more holistic approach to accountability, the series undermines its own argument, reducing what could have been a searing industry-wide indictment into a more limited, albeit still effective, character study.
  • Overall, Apple Cider Vinegar is a ferocious and unflinching takedown of wellness culture’s most notorious grifter, delivering a scathing critique with biting satire and well-earned fury. Kaitlyn Dever’s performance is nothing short of mesmerizing, capturing Belle Gibson’s shameless manipulations with unsettling precision. However, for all its sharp wit and justified outrage, the series falters by limiting its condemnation to a single figure rather than the entire system that enabled her. By failing to hold wellness influencers, enablers, and the broader industry accountable, Apple Cider Vinegar misses an opportunity to deliver a truly definitive critique of the dangers of misinformation. Still, its anger is infectious, its storytelling compelling, and its message—though incomplete—remains an essential warning about the seductive power of deception in the age of social media.
  • My Rating: B

Screenshots – We Scrolled So You Don’t Have To…