"There's no place like home."

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented editorials.

The best I can write within the confines of our local Key Peninsula News tradition comes in the form of an untraditional request: 

From your comfortable seated position, please sit up as straight as your body allows and roll your shoulders a few times to relax. Enjoy several deep healing breaths and full exhales. Take your time — observing your chest expand and shoulders rise with each inhale, noticing how your body begins to relax and your shoulders fall with every exhale. Repeat this a few times. In the tradition of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, close your eyes and repeat the phrase, “There’s no place like home.” Feel perfectly free to tap the heels of your ruby slippers (or muddy boots)three times if you like.

During this brief intermission, we invite you once again to take a break from the busy present and discover the past, present and future of your community. 

February 4, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of a devastating fire featured on the front page of this KP News in “The Night Key Center Burned.” It destroyed several businesses at the center of daily life on the Key Peninsula, yet failed to dampen the tenacity of the people and community that rallied to forge ahead. Staff writer Joseph Pentheroudakis takes us back in time, with dogged determination and sleuthing to rediscover and further document the fire, adding details that preserve the treasure of local KP history like never before. 

The 2020 Washington State Legislative session began at noon Jan. 13 with an opening ceremony where Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, was sworn in as Speaker of the House Jinkins is the first woman, as well as the first openly lesbian person, to be selected House speaker in Washington state history. 

Shortly before the opening of the Legislature, KP News invited our elected officials representing the 26th Legislative District to write op-eds sharing their thoughts and priorities for this 60-day regular session which is scheduled to end March 12. We will report on the legislative outcomes in our April edition. 

KP News also invited Pierce County Councilmember Derek Young, D-Gig Harbor, District 7, to provide his take on our council’s activity. 

If you’ve ever wondered who makes the newspaper you hold in your hands appear in your mailbox month after month or free for pick-up at select locations throughout the community, please check out page five of this edition to discover all of our generous donors and advertisers. And when you see them in the community or in their business, be sure to thank them. 

We could not exist without their loyal support. If you can spare a few bucks, you’re welcome to join this fine group in supporting the only local newspaper dedicated to keeping everyone informed on the KP, regardless of their ability to pay. 

This month we also bid a fond farewell to Lulu’s Homeport. The restaurant served its final meal and poured the last round on Sunday, Jan. 26, closing its doors after 30 years in business. The restaurant, sold to new owners Richard Sahagun and Edgar Anaya, will undergo remodeling to open as their fourth Mexican restaurant by mid-spring. (See “KP Icon Lulu’s to Close,” KP News, January 2020).

Key Peninsula Community Council President Don Swensen announced the appointment of four new directors to the council: Joan Cyr of Vaughn; Emme McAbee of Lakebay; Mark Cockerill of Lakebay; and following a coin toss in a tied vote, Joseph Crain of Lakebay. 

KP News will never tell you how to vote, but we encourage everyone to cast a ballot in the upcoming Peninsula School District special election — Proposition No. 1, Educational Programs and Operations Replacement Levy. (See “Replacement School Levy on February Ballot,” KP News, January 2020.)

Casting your vote in Pierce County could not be easier. No postage is required to mail it but ballots must be postmarked no later than Feb. 11, or dropped at a Pierce County elections drop box location by 8 p.m. election day.

If you haven’t received your ballot yet, contact piercecountyelections.org or call 253-798-VOTE (8683) to request a replacement. 

Thank goodness for the sight of blossoming hellebores and swelling crocus buds. These hardy winter bloomers survive blankets of snow, persevere and rise above torrential rains, taking their cue from the sunlight growing longer day by day. It can be hard to remember that spring will come and the sucking sounds of squishy mud underfoot will give way to lush grass-covered fields and the refreshing smells of a more hopeful season.