Community

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

Business spotlight: Yellow Belly creating a buzz at farmer’s market

Aug 08, 2022 | By:

When he was a kid growing up in Lebanon, Wally Mseitif devoured American cowboy movies. It seemed natural that when he grew up, he’d fly off to America and become a rough-and-ready cowboy himself. Mseitif didn’t ride the range when he came to America, but he’s had other adventures here. Notably, he had a long

Read More

Gig Harbor chef’s Apollo pizza goes national

Aug 04, 2022 | By:

A Gig Harbor pizza chef cooked up something so tasty, it’s now being served all over the country.  Bryan Liupakka, general manager of the Round Table Pizza, won a companywide contest to create a new pizza recipe. His creation is the Apollo pizza, inspired by a Greek flatbread that many believe was the forerunner to

Read More

Drone pilot training on the horizon for Peninsula and Gig Harbor high school students

Aug 04, 2022 | By:

Peninsula and Gig Harbor high school students will have the chance to train for drone pilot certification starting this spring, the Peninsula School District announced Wednesday. Students in the district’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) will also be eligible for the classes, which will teach students how to fly drones and earn a

Read More

Mike Benoit named new principal at Peninsula High School

Aug 04, 2022 | By:

Peninsula School District announced Wednesday that Mike Benoit will be the new principal at Peninsula High School starting in the 2022-23 school year. Benoit, the current principal at Harbor Ridge Middle School, replaces Joe Potts, who is leaving PHS for a position with Bellevue School District as of Aug. 1. Benoit has been in education

Read More

With bond approved, work on new training facility could start next year

Aug 03, 2022 | By:

Construction on the first project to be funded by the $80 million bond approved Tuesday by Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One voters could start next spring, Fire Chief Dennis Doan said. Local firefighters could be using the new training facility as soon as 14 months after construction begins. The training facility, which will allow

Read More

Gig Harbor Fire bond passing with over 66 percent of vote

Aug 02, 2022 | By:

Voters approved Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One’s $80 million bond request in Tuesday’s primary election, according to preliminary results posted by the Pierce County Auditor’s Office. In other local races: Paula Lonergan is leading among four Republicans hoping to square off against Democrat Robyn Denson for the Pierce County Council District 7 seat. Emily

Read More

Local grads benefit from bevy of local scholarships

Jul 28, 2022 | By:

It’s hard to say for sure how many scholarships are awarded to Peninsula School District seniors every year. The total number is certainly in the hundreds, maybe thousands. Peninsula High School alone awarded $350,000 in scholarships this year, according to PHS teacher Jonathan Bill, who emcees an awards ceremony for the school. Awards went to

Read More

Business Spotlight: Farmer’s Market vendor evokes a Simpler Past

Jul 28, 2022 | By:

It’s easy to find A Simpler Past’s booth at the Waterfront Farmers Market on Thursday afternoons in the summertime. It’s the one with the long line of customers avidly eying the artfully jumbled displays of fresh produce and home-baked breads and cakes at the end of a long row of vendors’ booths. Like many vendors

Read More

Gig Harbor Police Blotter: Shoplifting suspect ‘looked a bit puffy’

Jul 28, 2022 | By:

Editor’s note: The Police Blotter is written based on information in Gig Harbor Police reports. Employees at a Point Fosdick Drive department store called police on the evening of July 22 when they saw several “known shoplifters” inside the store. An officer stationed himself near the front door to see if the suspects left the store without paying. When

Read More

New athletic director named at Gig Harbor High School

Jul 28, 2022 | By:

Blair Suek has been named the new athletic director at Gig Harbor High School, the Peninsula School District announced July 28. Suek replaces Bob Werner, who retired at the end of the 2021-22 school year after 11 years leading the Tides’ athletics programs. Suek joins Gig Harbor from Steilacoom High, where she was the volleyball

Read More