Keep Picnic Point beach pristine

Visit Picnic Point Park in Edmonds on Saturday to work or just look around.

Washington State University Beach Watcher and Snohomish County Surface Water Management folks, plus other environmental groups, will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 12001 Picnic Point Road.

Help your community by doing beach cleanups

Explore the low tide with WSU Beach Watchers.

Learn about water quality and habitat restoration.

Protect Puget Sound by removing English ivy from the park.

State fire marshal offers safety tips

Two separate deadly home fires recently claimed the lives of two people in Washington. State Fire Marshal Michael Matlick encourages every household to take action to reduce the risk of fire:

Install smoke alarms.

Have an exit plan.

Check smoke alarms monthly.

Replace smoke alarm batteries annually.

Consider installing residential fire sprinklers.

For more information, go to www.wsp.wa.gov.

Learn how to get government work

The city of Everett is planning a workshop for small-business owners interested in learning how to compete for city government contracts.

The event is 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Everett Station, 3201 Smith St., in the fourth-floor Weyerhaeuser Room.

The Economic Development Council of Snohomish County plans several workshops throughout the county this month.

For more information, visit www.washingtonptac.org/SBDP Snohomish.shtml.

County helps Brier build skate park

A $450,000 skate park proposed to be built in Brier will get up to $250,000 from Snohomish County.

The improvements are planned at Brier Park, 2903 228th St. SW.

The city proposes designing and building the park within 18 months. The skate park portion measures 120 feet by 140 feet, according to the master plan drawn up in 2007.

Once built, the park will be available to all county residents and a sign will show that Snohomish County helped pay for the park, according to the proposed funding agreement.

Contact us

If you have an item for FYI, a news tip or a local story idea, call 425-339-3451 or e-mail newstips@heraldnet.com.