Area News Archive

State to release final 2008 Gas Price Study 04/15/2008

Don’t throw away that Puget Sound Energy bill notice - 03/31/2008

Artifex Business Identity Threatens Competitor - October 16, 2007

Tacoma Web Design Firm Gives Back to Community

Tacoma Web Designer Richard Anderson: Tacoma's Notorious Online Thief?

Beware of asphalt paving scams

Puyallup Police Department Launches Info-Net; Citizens and police team up via the Internet

The Chamber of Eastern Pierce County and the Washington State Small Business Development Center jointly announce a new free benefit to Chamber members: weekly small business counseling offered by SBDC.  The Chamber Office will schedule appointments Wednesdays from 9 am to 12 noon on an hourly basis at 417 E Pioneer in Puyallup.  Read more...

Offensive focus could enhance Seattle defense
Two quarterbacks and three running backs could find their way into the top 15 picks of the NFL draft. -News Tribune

Mount Tahoma girl wins crown
Jessica DeWitt, who gave her presentation in sign language and has a 4.0 grade point average, is picked as this year’s Daffodil Festival Queen.
Jessica DeWitt, a senior at Mount Tahoma High School, is the 2005 Daffodil Festival Queen. -News Tribune

More area gardeners are choosing native plants for their yards
With hundreds of native plants to choose from, gardeners might need help identifying some of the outstanding ones available. Anna Thurston, chairwoman of the South Sound chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society, lists these native plants among her favorites. -News Tribune

Tacoma’s treasure
It’s rated second only to Mount Rainier as a local icon. Over the years, Point Defiance Park has been home to a waterfront resort, an amusement park and roaming buffalo. -News Tribune

Gregoire to trim 1,000 jobs
During last fall’s campaign, Gov. Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi agreed that the culture of state government was broken, but they bickered over who was better equipped to fix it. -News Tribune

Orting seeks commission, clarity
Orting leaders will meet tonight to replace all three members of the city’s civil service commission, who resigned last month after the mayor went around them in hiring a law enforcement officer and a firefighter. -News Tribune

Schools must teach fitness and nutrition, experts say
Renee Snyder, a second-grader at Olympia’s Lincoln Elementary School, knows the nutrition mantra by heart. -News Tribune

Face-lift on the Foss
The seagulls Thursday looked so scared, they were ready to take out insurance before landing on the rickety dock. The barnacles on the swaying pilings looked so frightened they had “for sale” signs on their shells. -News Tribune

Been cut off on the road? Hop online
Road rage and aggressive drivers have been around since the first clattering Tin Lizzies roared up behind unsuspecting horses and spooked them out from under their riders. -News Tribune

County business club forms 2005 HONOREES
A new service club is celebrating its charter meeting tonight with a tribute to 43 blacks who have made outstanding contributions in Tacoma and Pierce County. -News Tribune

Pantages has fabulous plans – now all it needs is $6 million
With a new fire curtain in place and inspectors sleuthing monthly for safety problems at the Pantages Theater, supporters of the 87-year-old facility are looking forward to completion of a $5.2 million remodeling project in the fall of 2006. -News Tribune

‘Rude, impatient’ judge ordered to pay for sensitivity training
A longtime South King County judge was reprimanded Friday by a state commission for a pattern of “rude, impatient and undignified treatment” of self-represented litigants. -News Tribune

Puyallup Begins Update of City Shoreline Master Program
The Puyallup Planning Commission is beginning a community-wide effort to update the City's 17-year-old shoreline master program. A community open house will be held Wednesday, January 26, 2005, at the Puyallup City Library (324 South Meridian). More info...

Pima Medical Institute Hires New Campus Director
Renton, WA – Bob Panerio has been named as the Campus Director of Pima Medical Institute’s newest campus at 555 South Renton Village Place.

He helped Tacoma make music
If you play in the local school band or orchestra, there’s a good chance you have T. Warren Brown to thank for your instrument. -News Tribune

‘Return to being Dawgs’
Tyrone Willingham wants to put the snarl back in the Dawgs. -News Tribune

Parents want fourth ‘R’: Recess
The Tacoma Council PTA will ask Tacoma school officials to require daily recess in addition to the current lunch play break for elementary school students. -News Tribune

Schools, police learn to act fast against violence
It was a typical Monday morning at Spanaway Lake High School in the Bethel School District last week when, at about 10 a.m., Principal Greg Eisnaugle received a call from a parent. Students might be planning to attack the school, the father of one told Eisnaugle. -News Tribune

Hard times in view for parks
Tacoma parks officials, working to narrow a $4 million budget gap, are on the verge of closing the popular Manitou Community Center, the Titlow Pool and 10 wading pools. -News Tribune

Home-schooled
Before the Seattle SuperSonics played their home opener against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, coach Nate McMillan issued a stern rebuke to his players. -News Tribune

Herb Weisbaum: Privacy Concerns With Google Search Software
Google's desktop search program can allow someone to see what web pages you've visited or read e-mail that has already been deleted. -Komo4

How is Mt. St. Helens doing today?
See live images on our Web Cam.

Dirty politics hit Dorsett, Kastama
Football has referees and baseball has umpires, but there's usually no one to call the fouls and penalize the players in politics. That's no excuse to dispense with honesty and common decency in election season. -News Tribune

Judging the judges
Pierce County attorneys know what they like in a judge: Someone who knows the law and how to apply it. -News Tribune

10 years of poor planning give sprawl a home in Pierce County
Commute times are increasing, and will likely get even worse. Trees and farmland are being paved over. Houses are sprouting up in rural areas that are supposed to be protected from sprawl by state law. Traffic from those developments spills onto two-lane roads. -News Tribune

Two stars face off in race for Congress
Some analysts predicted Washington's new partisan primary might squelch the power of name recognition in one of the hottest congressional races in the country. -News Tribune

From talk to action in Puyallup
Puyallup will go ahead with the final installment of its three-building civic center project at Pioneer Park, and take a big step toward a new City Hall complex nearby. -News Tribune

Girl Scouts celebrate new regional offices
A sense of accomplishment and pride filled the voices of speakers at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new regional Girl Scout headquarters in DuPont on Saturday. -News Tribune

Popularity of 3D/4D ultrasound soars despite FDA's disapproval
Tauna Mattern, 27 years old and 25 weeks pregnant, lies flat while Sally Anderson slides a device called a transducer across her stomach. -News Tribune

Sumner cheers interchange
Three heavy trucks plowed through a strip of yellow construction tape on a new section of highway in Sumner on Thursday, drawing applause and perhaps sighs of relief from a crowd of residents and state and city officials. -News Tribune

Driver's ed gets serious
Driver Kiersten Stone, 18, slams on the brakes as passenger Adrian Boscolo Hightower braces himself during a highway survival driving course in the Tacoma Dome parking lot Tuesday. -News Tribune

Leader of the pack
Cruising north on Interstate 5 in a rented RV covered with signs touting her campaign for governor, Christine Gregoire reflects on a 1994 article in which she said she didn't consider herself a politician. -News Tribune

Groups set out to paint the town 'Beautiful'
Jack DeLeon and his crew from Gray Lumber showed up at Kevin and Amy Slack's home in Tacoma at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and within four hours had just about finished painting the whole house. -News Tribune

Puyallup council and planning commission discuss land use
In a joint meeting between the Puyallup City Council and the Planning Commission, the majority of the talk focused around the city’s urban growth area (UGA) and specific land within the area. -Puyallup Herald

Taking back their neighborhoods
Seventeen months ago, Tacoma Avenue South was plagued by open drug-dealing and prostitutes looking for their next customer. -News Tribune

Americans overcome Brazil
THESSALONIKI, Greece - Abby Wambach should have been beaming Saturday night as she walked from Kaftanzoglio Stadium, her ripped jersey tucked away in an equipment bag. -News Tribune

Crystal Mountain expansion gets go-ahead
Crystal Mountain ski area has won U.S. Forest Service approval for a multimillion-dollar expansion that would add a high-speed chairlift and an aerial tramway to a summit restaurant. -News Tribune

Edgewood to offer home-based businesses a boost
The City of Edgewood has announced its first-ever forum Aug. 12 designed specifically for home-based businesses. -Puyallup Herald

Hanford Nuclear Power Plant Shuts Down
An alert issued for a nuclear power plant on the Hanford nuclear reservation was canceled about 2 hours after it underwent an emergency shutdown. -Komo4

Building a community with pony rides, races
Nine-year-old Jessica Bastrom led her three-legged dog in the pet parade at Saturday's Spanaway Street Fair. -News Tribune

Traffic slowdown sought
As Karen Rich stood outside her business on South Tacoma Way on a steamy summer afternoon, she noted the speed of the passing cars. -News Tribune

Communities work to build skate parks
The construction rush of skate parks in Pierce County in recent years hasn't shown a sign of letting up. And it's creating partnerships and grass-roots efforts in communities. -News Tribune

Fleeting history
The block of 11th Street from Commerce to Broadway has a memory as dramatic as its slope. -Newe Tribune

Peaceful Protests Mark Start Of Governors Conference
The 22 Republican lawmakers wanted to be a party to the lawsuit challenging state law over the definition of marriage. -Komo4

County revamps habitat rules
Pierce County is launching an overhaul of certain land-use and environmental policies, mainly to protect fish and wildlife in unincorporated areas ranging from the remote - Fox Island - to the rapidly growing - South Hill. -News Tribune

A zoo reborn
Jaya settled her 204-pound frame into a thicket of grass and gazed across the pond in the temple ruin at her human visitors. Soon, like a huge version of a house cat, she rose to stretch and resettle, her burnt-orange and black-striped fur rippling as she languidly moved in the verdant foliage. Never before has a Sumatran tiger stalked the landscape at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. -News Tribune

Dump I.E., Some Web Security Experts Say
A pair of virus attacks exploiting Internet Explorer's vulnerabilities had led security experts to recommend that Web surfers consider such alternatives as (Netscape) Mozilla and Opera. -Komo4

Economy Growing, But Slowly
The economy added more new jobs in June, although at a slower pace than economists had expected. -Komo4

I895
It seems there is some controversy over this Initiative. One reader had this to say:
"A lot of people are misinformed about this initiative which will take away many of their rights to have things like mammograms, etc. covered by their insurance. They are promoting it as something that will make health insurance more affordable for small business (which it should be), but not by allowing insurances to stop covering essential services such as mammograms, mastectomies, diabetes treatment, etc. which have been very difficult to get covered anyway."
Find out more about this viewpoint

Puyallup junks planned fee for emergency services
The Puyallup City Council has decided to drop for now a controversial fee that would have created a new way to collect revenue for the city's money-draining ambulance service. -News Tribune

Eyman to start delivering signatures today
Anti-tax activist Tim Eyman will head to the Secretary of State's Office in Olympia triumphantly today with about 235,000 signatures for his Initiative 892. -News Tribune

Garcia goes to Chicago
First-year Seattle Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi knows he won't be the most popular man around Puget Sound today after trading away starting pitcher Freddy Garcia. -News Tribune

Paid To Stay At Home
Nineteen DSHS workers are being paid their full salary while they are told to stay at home and do nothing. -Komo 4

Playwrights Festival plans one year off to regroup
Thirteen could be a lucky or unlucky age for the South Sound Playwrights Festival, whose usual three weekends of performances of new one-act plays by local writers are canceled for this summer. -News Tribune

Ken Schram Commentary: We've Got One Screwed Up Legal System
The ruling that a killing assault without intent to kill can't be charged as murder is a crock. -Komo 4

Boeing bets health on frozen fiber
Tractor-trailers laden with frozen cargo sidle up to the southern end of The Boeing Co.'s mammoth Pierce County plant in Frederickson and disgorge their burden into a freezer as big as a bungalow. -News Tribune

A Heroic Story You Probably Didn't Read About In Your History Books
It's the story about the Tuskegee Airmen and how they made history during World War ll. -Komo 4

Seven new/old steps to successful fund investing
Lillian of Metairie, La., sent me a 10-year-old clipping last week, a copy of a column I wrote on how I pick mutual funds. -News Tribune

First-Class SOTA
Tuesday, the first class of the Tacoma School of the Arts will graduate. -News Tribune

Teeing off for medal
If the Class 4A state golf championships come down to a chipping contest, the smart money should be on Puyallup High's Dane Bagnell. -News Tribune

Why gasoline is like a bottle of vodka
A picture of Tim Hamilton's face with cross hairs stenciled over it likely resides in some oil executive's office. -News Tribune

Parks bond issue almost a lock
Tacoma's aging parks are in need of so much safety and renovation work that officials of Metro Parks Tacoma almost certainly will ask voters to approve a $60 million bond issue this fall. -News Tribune

Remember Mother Earth, grads told
Over the last three decades, the United States has made great progress in addressing environmental degradation within its borders, a founder of the Earth Day movement told University of Puget Sound graduates Sunday. -News Tribune

Mudflow sirens will wail today
Pierce County today will test warning sirens that have been installed in the Puyallup River valley to prepare for potential volcanic mudflows from Mount Rainier. -News Tribune

Tough luck, tough year
NEW YORK - There are games the Seattle Mariners have lost that broke their hearts, and now they can point to one marvelous game in which they were beaten. -News Tribune

Kids can tell what works in school
Education for children should be a messy, active, joyful thing, says Sumner author and former high school teacher Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. -News Tribune

Three museums offer triple-play ticket bargain
Beginning June 2, the Washington State History Museum, Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art and Tacoma Art Museum will have joint ticketing on Wednesdays through 2004. -News Tribune

Vocation Vacations let you take a new career for a test-drive
AMITY, Ore. - At a case or so a minute, the bottles come rattling off the filling and corking machine at Amity Vineyards. -News Tribune

From death's door to diamond
Of course Nolan Soete smiled. First home run of the season? You would smile, too. Forget wearing a cool look of indifference. Soete was beaming. -News Tribune

New ramps worsen Highway 16 headaches
How do Gig Harbor commuters like their new ramps to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? -News Tribune

Expanding DuPont gets own library
Librarians were busy this week shelving more than 19,000 new books, DVDs and reference materials at DuPont's first library. -News Tribune

Ladenburg's links takes step forward
Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg's proposal to build a professional-level golf course in University Place took a step forward Monday - but with numerous conditions attached. -News Tribune

Free agents eager to sign on dotted line
Washington and Washington State players unclaimed in the NFL draft over the weekend were gobbled up Monday in a rash of free-agent signings and near-signings. -News Tribune

Wal-Mart concerns shared
About 100 residents packed a meeting room Wednesday to sound off on a Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for South Hill. -News Tribune

Orting farms fast disappearing
Sporting a Mariners hat with "22" and his name on it, Pete Sasaki maneuvered a lawn mower around his Japanese rock garden in Orting on a recent sunny Tuesday. -News Tribune

Groups prove Hilltop home ownership is key to renewal
The former headquarters of the 23rd Street Crips was nothing but a muddy hole surrounded by caution tape when Ora Grady Allen made up her mind to live there. -News Tribune

Summer camp choice could be overnight decision
Preparation is the key to a successful overnight summer camp experience for both parents and campers, according to the American Camping Association. -News Tribune

UPlace tries to confront aggressive beggars
A panhandler recently approached University Place Police Chief Rob Masko, who was out of uniform, in the Albertsons parking lot on Bridgeport Way West. -News Tribune

Beware of Web sites that look legitimate but might be shams
Mark Nichols runs an online gift shop and considers himself Internet savvy. Yet like so many other Web surfers, he got duped by an e-mail scam anyway. -News Tribune

Puyallup might shift its ambulance tax
Puyallup might begin charging for ambulance services through sewer bills beginning next year, rather than through property tax bills the way it does now. -News Tribune

Princess Diana exhibit headed to U.S.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A collection of Princess Diana's evening gowns, family photographs and childhood treasures will be featured in an exhibit that will make its United States debut here in October. -News Tribune

UW's new leader inherits a school that's lost its way
They were celebrating up at the University of Washington last Friday, and it had nothing to do with making the NCAA basketball tournament. -News Tribune

March sadness
COLUMBUS, Ohio - In a season filled with improbability, the Washington Huskies finally ran out of miracles Friday night with a 102-100 loss to Alabama-Birmingham in the first round of the NCAA tournament. -News Tribune

Tacoma stays 'gateway to Alaska'
Tacoma will remain at the center of the $3 billion-plus-a-year Alaska trade as Horizon Lines and Danish container terminal operator Maersk have extended their operating agreement for at least three years, through 2007. -News Tribune

Lakes senior wins Daffodil crown
Romelynn Eleno, an 18-year-old senior from Lakes High School, is the queen of the 2004 Daffodil Festival. -News Tribune

Smoking battle might go to voters
During the legislative session that ended last week, a pitched battle over enacting a statewide smoking ban ended in a stalemate. -News Tribune

Charter schools are on the way
The state House and Senate on Wednesday handed Gov. Gary Locke and supporters of charter schools a victory by passing a bill to allow the creation of 45 such schools in Washington over the next six years. -News Tribune

Intel's DuPont facility on the leading edge
Intel Corp.'s DuPont campus is a quiet powerhouse in the semiconductor company's portfolio. -News Tribune

District weighs concept school
Clover Park school officials will consider today how to proceed with controversial plans for a new school that would serve fifth- through 12th-graders. -News Tribune

Work remains downtown
Tacoma's downtown retail scene has grown up a lot in the past decade. -News Tribune

Temporary Bates head eager to lay woes to rest
The interim president at Bates Technical College wants to move the college beyond the grievances that consumed it amid a scandal that cost the last president his job. -News Tribune

Beware The Tax Scams
There are plenty out there that promise shady advice but a big return -- they're all scams. -Komo4

City Council tweaks priorities
Tacoma City Council members are divided over the role the environment should play in their long-range decision-making and they might be prepared to make a subtle shift in the city's emphasis on public safety. -News Tribune

Beware Rapid Tax Refunds
They're essentially loans with hefty interest rates tacked on. -Komo4

Jittery tech market could mean correction's looming
NEW YORK - The economy and corporate earnings have shown consistent signs of improvement, but the stock market's tendency to falter easily has some wondering if Wall Street - or at least the technology sector - might be in the early stages of a correction. -News Tribune

The battle of the doublewides
The property and aesthetic values of working-class neighborhoods in Tacoma and other cities could plummet if legislation sailing through the Legislature becomes law, critics say. -News Tribune

NW Trek's macho moose dies suddenly
Northwest Trek's bad boy moose, who startled a group of senior citizens four years ago when he performed a centuries-old mating ritual by ramming their tour tram, died earlier this month, Trek officials said Friday. -News Tribune

Council OKs police headquarters
Tacoma City Council members approved a $12.7 million contract Tuesday night for the construction of the city's new police headquarters. -News Tribune

Boy repays zoo for the peace it gives him
To Anthony Newlander, sharks are strong medicine. -News Tribune

Sumner might block multifamily housing
Sumner might slap a temporary ban on new multifamily housing construction and then try to restrict it permanently. -News Tribune

Bigger tax bite for ed funding?
Gov. Gary Locke and a citizens group will ask voters to boost education spending by $1 billion a year to reduce class sizes, increase college enrollment and support other education initiatives. -News Tribune

Four hurt in lab explosion
A beaker exploded Friday after a chemistry experiment went awry at Federal Way High School, sending out a fireball that burned three students and a teacher. A fourth student was treated for an anxiety attack, a school official said. -News Tribune

Multicare against hospital plan
Plans to build a hospital in Gig Harbor are being vigorously opposed by MultiCare Health System of Tacoma and Harrison Hospital of Bremerton. -News Tribune

Marine study center foreseen
Abundant salmon might swim again. Seafood might provide pharmaceuticals. Edible Dungeness crabs might crawl once more in Commencement Bay. -News Tribune

TACOMA: UW Tacoma business school names new director
Shahrokh Saudagaran, head of the School of Accounting at Oklahoma State University, will be the new leader of the Milgard School of Business at the University of Washington Tacoma. -News Tribune

Residents say bridge won't solve problems
For years, the State Department of Transportation has been emphasizing how much the new $849 million Tacoma Narrows bridge will ease the daily traffic crunch on Highway 16. -News Tribune

Celebrating all that's Auburn
Auburn showed off its diversity Sunday at its annual celebration of itself, Uniquely Auburn. -News Tribune

City preserves historic tribal observatory
A large, flat-topped stone that ancestors of the Puyallup Indians probably used as an observatory once sat in a hilly meadow fringed by forest, just south of Bonney Lake. -News Tribune

Judge overturns smoking ban: Senate committee hears arguments on statewide ban
Opponents of a proposed statewide smoking ban - like those who successfully challenged the one in Pierce County - told lawmakers Thursday that such a prohibition would give tribal casinos an unfair advantage. -News Tribune

Tacoma pet fees might climb
It's about to get more expensive to license Fido and Fluffy if you live in Tacoma. -News Tribune

Big dedication at UWT Buildings mark end of era
Thursday's dedication of two new academic buildings at the University of Washington Tacoma marked the end of an era for a campus that has played a pivotal role in revitalizing downtown. -News Tribune

Smoking ban still the law
A Pierce County Superior Court commissioner on Thursday refused to suspend the countywide smoking ban, saying there wasn't enough proof that bars, restaurants, minicasinos and other businesses were losing money because of the week-old prohibition. -News Tribune

Which schools are closing?
The weather has caused many local schools to either open late or not open at all Monday. Find out which schools by going to: www.schoolreport.org or www.pugetinfo.net

Salmon grant might be lost
A nearly $50,000 grant to create new winter habitat for juvenile salmon along the Puyallup River south of Sumner is in jeopardy. -News Tribune

Designer brings his New York state of mind to Narrows
NEW YORK - Engineer Joe Viola grew up around New York City and spent most of his career rehabilitating its famous bridges. Yet, for the past few years, Viola's working mind has focused on the Tacoma Narrows.

Phoenix college to set up campus
The University of Phoenix will open a new campus in downtown Tacoma early next month. -News Tribune

BRIEFS - PUYALLUP: Biology teachers win grant for African elephant study
Biology teachers from the Puyallup School District have won a $4,000 grant from the National Geographic Society Education Foundation. A project proposal by teachers Rocquel Stanley and Leslie Miller was selected from a nationwide pool of applicants. It's called The Elephant Project, a science education partnership with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that will allow Puyallup High School students to analyze the DNA from a confiscated piece of ivory tusk and match it to a family of African elephants. Students also will study conservation of African elephants and legal issues of ivory trade. -News Tribune

Mad cow disease found in state
WASHINGTON - A Holstein cow slaughtered in south-central Washington state earlier this month was infected with mad cow disease, marking the first time that the dreaded illness that devastated the beef industry in Britain has been detected in America, officials said Tuesday. -News Tribune

GIG HARBOR: Hospital plan to be discussed at Jan. 29 public hearing
A state public hearing on a proposed 112-bed hospital for north Gig Harbor is set for Jan. 29. -News Tribune

BRIEFS - PUYALLUP: 700 children receive gifts from school district effort
About 700 children received holiday gifts early this month, courtesy of students, staff and community members associated with the Puyallup School District during the 17th annual Puyallup Giftmakers program. Giftmakers helps needy school district families each December. Students contributed new and handmade toys, stocking suffers, books and stuffed animals. Local businesses such as McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Target, Mervyns, Grannies Attic and area service clubs also contributed. -News Tribune

Road plans face tax or ax
The Legislature, which raised the state gas tax by a nickel earlier this year, might be asked to boost it by another penny a gallon to make up for money lost in the tax rollbacks of Initiative 776. -News Tribune

Taking flight not so easy
KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. - After all that, Orville and Wilbur had better luck a hundred years ago. -News Tribune

Puyallup students' spirits soar at event
A Puyallup high school teacher and 13 students traveled across country to Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, N.C. to celebrate Wednesday's 100th anniversary of their passion - human flight. -News Tribune

Investigation by State Patrol could be costly
The Tacoma City Council reluctantly agreed Tuesday to pay the Washington State Patrol up to $200,000 in overtime, travel and other costs to conduct an internal investigation of 32 city employees. -News Tribune

Faith center continues bid to build in FWay
Building a 4,500-seat mega-church and Christian school in Federal Way would significantly increase traffic, adding more than 2,000 vehicles when people leave Sunday services. -News Tribune

Parks and recreation pioneer built lasting community programs
Tom Cross, a pioneer of recreational athletics in Tacoma and Pierce County, died Tuesday at age 83. -News Tribune

Impromptu sock drive for homeless shows Tacoma at its best
On Wednesday, Rod and Judy Wilson read that Tacoma's homeless men and women need socks. -News Tribune

County boosts, adds fees
Get ready to pay higher fees if you tee up at Lake Spanaway Golf Course, go ice skating at Sprinker Recreation Center, travel abroad or plan to launch your own business next year. -News Tribune

Flu bug biting early and often in South Sound, across nation
It's probably not on your Christmas list, but there's a good chance you might get it anyway. -News Tribune

Business growth keeps Bonney Lake finances sound
Bonney Lake, once a small town that struggled to make ends meet, now boasts a growing commercial area and a $49 million budget. -News Tribune

Washington wilderness bill passes U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate passed a bill Monday night to protect 106,000 acres northeast of Seattle as wilderness. -News Tribune

Cold snap brings heavy snow, rain
A sneaky cold front surged into the region before dawn Wednesday, dumping snow in some areas and heavy rain in others. -News Tribune

Fight over sewers in Puyallup
The developer of a 101-unit housing subdivision on South Hill is suing Puyallup over its power to impose development requirements on projects outside the city limits. -News Tribune

Hurry up and wait on I-776 refunds
Some car and truck owners will get refunds on the vehicle taxes they paid over the past year, but exactly when and how much have yet to be decided. -News Tribune

Bonney Lake plan pits greenery against growth
Pierce County might face a legal battle over issues of suburban sprawl and protection of farmland as it tries to wrap up a review of its comprehensive growth plan. -News Tribune

A simple game of SIMON propels Puyallup teenager to national event
One day last month, Mitchell Myler of South Hill was killing time at a toy store in the Auburn SuperMall, waiting for his father's girlfriend and her children to get done with shopping. -News Tribune

Tacoma's new Bronze Age
Steve Kanick, an artist at the fine arts foundry the Bronze Works at South 25th and South Fawcett streets in Tacoma, works on 1 of a series of 86 reproductions of the sculpture 'Go'n Golf'n' the foundry is producing for artist Walt Horton of Eagle, Colo. The Bronze Works and artist Jeff Oens' studio, located above it, are on a tour of 16 artists' studios and workplaces called 'Art at Work.' The event is free and open to the public today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For information go to www.cityoftacoma.org/arts. -News Tribune

Seattle at forefront of brain-driven cities luring talented young people
In a Darwinian fight for survival, American cities are scheming to steal each other's young. They want ambitious young people with graduate degrees in such fields as genome science, bio-informatics and entrepreneurial management. -News Tribune

Lakewood eases dog fines
Lakewood has eased up on penalties for off-leash scofflaws and eventually might provide a fenced area where owners can run their dogs free of leashes - as well as fines. -News Tribune

PIERCE COUNTY: Fee on auto license tabs no longer being collected
Pierce County has stopped collecting a $15 auto license tab fee in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision. -News Tribune

Big plans for higher ed
A proposed blueprint for the future of higher education in Washington would increase the number of graduates by 20 percent and allow two-year branch campuses such as the University of Washington Tacoma to evolve into four-year schools. -News Tribune

Watchdog calls mailer a mistake
The state's campaign watchdog says Pierce County erred when it targeted voters with a mailer that addresses a proposed sales-tax increase on next Tuesday's ballot. -News Tribune
Unfair targeting of certain individuals by a Public Agency should be against the law. The $20,000 spent on the mailer could have been used to help fix whatever deficit they think they may have.

The wind in the billows
While other people took refuge inside during Tuesday's storm, Bob Paradise of Gig Harbor heard the report over his $10 weather radio and decided wind surfing conditions on Henderson Bay near the Purdy spit were perfect. -News Tribune

Northwest's fire season wasn't as bad as expected
EUGENE, Ore. - The Northwest is ending the year with fewer and smaller wildfires than usual. -News Tribune

Bonney Lake mayor on ballot
While commuters began to clog Interstate 5 with their headlights still on, Bonney Lake Mayor Bob Young arrived at a Fife restaurant Friday morning for a meeting with Pierce County's executive and other mayors. -News Tribune

'Fix Your Commute' lets readers solve transportation puzzle
In July, the Washington Legislature boosted the state gas tax by 5 cents a gallon to help pay for a $4.2 billion plan to reduce traffic congestion around the state. -News Tribune

Ready to learn: Smart tips for parents and students
There is a consensus among educators that parents should limit how much television young people watch. -News Tribune

City backs off pay parking
The Tacoma City Council bowed to public pressure Tuesday and agreed to postpone a vote on a resolution that would have set the stage for the return of parking meters downtown. -News Tribune

EDGEWOOD: Expert to present ideas for planning streets, town
The City of Edgewood will hold a public meeting Wednesday night to explore how to plan and design better streets, neighborhoods and a town center. -News Tribune

Audit finds holes in students' cash count
Tacoma schools will conduct more staff training and tighten up cash collection procedures after a state audit found the district could not account for thousands of dollars from student body activities. -News Tribune

TACOMA: Fire stations to host open houses Saturday
The Tacoma Fire Department will open eight fire stations on Saturday to residents who want to tour a station or talk with firefighters about safety issues. -News Tribune

Appreciate Tacoma for jewel it is, say mayors
Tacoma is a wonderful city that ought to celebrate its diversity, embrace its role as a regional economic power and get over its "Rodney Dangerfield complex," four of the city's mayors agreed Sunday. -News Tribune

Walking the talk on hunger
Nearly 1,200 runners, walkers and volunteers gathered Sunday in Tacoma's Jefferson Park for the 23rd annual Pierce County Hunger Walk. -News Tribune

Sewer project faces overruns
What started as a $10.3 million sewer project in rapidly growing Fife now faces a 50 to 65 percent overrun. And all city ratepayers may pick up much of the extra cost. -News Tribune

Puyallup squeezes budget
Next year, Puyallup residents will have more online access to city records, will need fewer office visits to obtain permits and will see more police officers on the street, if the City Council adopts the 2004 budget as proposed. -News Tribune

Concert at the Castle a start - more to come
Stadium High School Concert Band members might not have gotten the best turnout for Saturday's Concert at the Castle fund-raiser, but at least the stage is set for future events. -News Tribune

255 students find new schools
A total of 255 Tacoma students have transferred out of struggling elementary and middle schools and into other Tacoma schools with higher test scores under a new federal law. -News Tribune

Council joins quest to preserve old bridge
Tacoma's nine City Council members and a group of determined residents embarked this week on a sort of bureaucratic treasure hunt in quest of money to save the Murray Morgan bridge. -News Tribune

Contractor chosen for next Zoo construction project
Neeser Construction Inc. of Des Moines, Wash., has been chosen for the next building phase of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Fall's off to a flying start
Tuesday was the first day of fall, but the South Sound ignored that and went ahead with summer. -News Tribune

Roller coaster 'fender bender' puts 5 in hospitals
Five people were taken to local hospitals for evaluation Sunday after a roller coaster accident at the Puyallup Fair, officials said. -News Tribune

It's strong-mayor vs. manager at TCC debate
Supporters of Tacoma's council-manager form of government squared off Saturday to debate proponents of a strong-mayor form of government at a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. -News Tribune

Fair unveils major expansion
As this year's Puyallup Fair draws to a close, officials already are gearing up for a major fairgrounds upgrade to open in two years. -News Tribune

Project Vote Smart
Election time is coming near again. You didn't monitor how your reps voted on key issues? Not to worry. Project Vote Smart keeps tabs on every voting record -- plus biographical data, campaign finances, issue positions and contact info. Click for more.

Hang on to husbands, keep an eye on employees - THE SALMON ARE RUNNING
Fishermen line up elbow to elbow Monday along a favorite area of the Puyallup River just downstream from Melroy Bridge to attempt to catch the late summer run of pink, silver and king salmon. -News Tribune

South Hill's 1st public park opens
It's about time. -News Tribune

Bridge builder gives up on barges off Fox Island
The Washington State Department of Transportation and the company building the new Tacoma Narrows bridge have given up on a plan to park construction barges in Hale Passage, off the north shore of Fox Island. -News Tribune

This stunt has its ups and downs
These days, it seems there's a world record for everything. -News Tribune

Keeping fear carefree at the Fair
Dale Hubachek's day starts at 8 a.m., four hours before the roller coaster opens at the Puyallup Fair. -News Tribue

Going for broke for a good cause
You don't have to be Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam to win a trophy at the Puyallup Fair's Putting Challenge. -News Tribune

Development plans on hold
Plans to build up to 575 apartments and condominiums near Tacoma's Snake Lake are being reconsidered after a divided Tacoma Planning Commission voted not to hold hearings on land-use changes sought by the developer. -News Tribune

Puyallup might pass tax break on utilities
Most residents in Puyallup will see smaller gas and electricity bills next year if the City Council adopts proposed changes in utility tax rates. But it would mean an increase for the largest consumers, who now pay a smaller share. -News Tribune

Local events commemorate 9/11
The second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be observed with reflection, meditation and performances at three downtown Tacoma museums. -News Tribune

Sales tax raise goes to council -News Tribune
Have you been keeping up on this? Here are the important parts:
A hundred new police and sheriff's deputies might patrol Pierce County if voters approve a 0.2 percentage point sales tax increase recommended by a County Council committee... ...highest sales tax rate in the state... Why can't Pierce County even budget their money as well as King County? There is NO way our sales tax should be higher than King County.
some are saying... "NO MORE TAXES! NO MORE BONDS! Accountability is the answer!"

Bigger tax increase may get on ballot
Two weeks ago, the Pierce County Council was headed toward asking voters for a 0.2 percentage point sales tax increase to pay for more cops, prosecutors and judges.
-News Tribune

Rodeo captivates young and old
It wasn't the dirt, the bulls or the cowboys that made George Underwood fall in love with rodeos. -News Tribune

Candidates want to bring back good ol' days
Restoration is the theme among candidates running for Tacoma City Council in District 3. -News Tribune

Commuter buses, trains gain ridership, routes
More commuters are hopping on buses and trains to make the trek from Tacoma to Seattle as Sound Transit continues to add more routes, according to the agency's latest ridership figures. -News tribune

Milton mayor fires city's police chief
Milton Mayor Katrina Asay fired Police Chief Steve McKeen on Thursday. -News Tribune

Long day riles Asarco neighbors
Construction workers at the site of Asarco's former Ruston smelter plan to work as late as 11 p.m. - even on weekends - to complete more than $5 million in Superfund cleanup work this year. -News Tribune

Council takes a beating from candidates
There is a lot of fixing to be done in Tacoma, according to a crowded field of City Council hopefuls - everything from street lights and libraries to a police department rocked by the David Brame scandal.
-News Tribune

A mechanical feast; Classic cars, planes an enticing mix
Jan and Ron LaVergne of Roy hopped on their Harley-Davidson Sunday afternoon without a destination.
-News Tribune

Burn ban extended to beaches, campfires
Pierce County upgraded its burn ban Friday to outlaw all open fires.
-News Tribune

OLYMPIA: State holds session Monday on competitive contracting
Washington state's Department of General Administration will hold an initial rule-making session on competitive contracting reform on Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the General Administration Auditorium on the Capitol Campus.
-News Tribune

Stores hurt as rail goes in; tunnel helps some
Sound Transit is spending an extra $851,066 to build a small tunnel between Bay Street and Portland Avenue in an attempt to aid Tacoma businesses hurt by construction.
-News Tribune

Bethel pins hopes for pool on donors
Bethel school officials are looking for money to build an enclosed Olympic-sized pool and recreation center - but hope to make it happen without hitting up taxpayers.
-News Tribune

Neighbors promote safety while enjoying festivities
One of the most effective ways to protect your neighborhood is to know your neighbors. This is the strategy that National Night Out has tried to promote for the past 20 years. South Sound neighborhoods will be joining others in all 50 states to celebrate the day Tuesday.
-News Tribune

Airport plan seen as win-win
Pierce County leaders would receive advice on how to run Pierce County Airport under a plan to create an oversight commission with an equal number of South Hill residents and airport business representatives.
-News Tribune

Another push for council-manager
Tacoma residents won't be alone if they vote on a proposal to change their form of government this fall. So will Bonney Lake residents, although they would be voting to move in the opposite direction.
-News Tribune

A hot time in July We're havin' a heat wave
Children sweltering in the 90-degree heat Monday afternoon clustered around the Arctic Outpost, an ice cream and soda hut at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
-News Tribune

Property valuations can be challenged until Aug. 18
Pierce County property owners have until Aug. 18 to challenge changes in residential property valuation made by the county Assessor-Treasurer's Office.
-News Tribune

$3 million grant for rail a 'big score'
Tacoma's efforts to operate a tourist train to Mount Rainier are picking up steam with the help of a $3 million state grant.
-News Tribune

Newest chapter in words on wheels
Gertie and Bluebell have a new partner. -News Tribune
Look for Bookmobile starting July 25 in our Event Calendar for when and where the new Bookmobile will be!

TACOMA: Summer Sounds series includes free concerts, films
Metro Parks Tacoma invites neighbors to enjoy its Summer Sounds series of concerts and movies in the parks. -News Tribune
See our Events Calendar for dates, times, and lineup!

Free CPR classes will be offered by Fire Department
Tacoma, Fife and Fircrest residents can take advantage of free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes offered by the Tacoma Fire Department.
Look for "Free CPR" in our Events Calendar starting July 24 for dates and times.

Parks survey seeks feedback by pencil, online, in-person
A take-home survey from Metro Parks Tacoma designed to gather opinion from people who would rather play in a park than testify at a public meeting is available now in city libraries and on the Internet.
-News Tribune
For More information, go to Metro Parks (www.metroparkstacoma.org) and click on 'Park It'.

Lake's fortunes have kept on rising
Every Friday morning during the summer, Paul Boyle and four of his brothers would get into a boat and row out on a nearly deserted lake in Spanaway, each holding a fishing pole.
-News Tribune

Tacoma School Board to vote on budget
Tacoma School Board members are expected to adopt a budget for next school year that will fill a revenue shortfall of $7.67 million.
-News Tribune

Tacoma libraries may close on Mondays
Tacoma library trustees are considering a plan to close the downtown flagship facility and six branch libraries on Mondays beginning this fall to save about $800,000.
-News Tribune

Gig Harbor weighs Costco plans
Gig Harbor is getting closer to deciding whether it will become a regional shopping mecca, complete with a Costco store.
-News Tribune

Unlike Galloping Gertie, new bridge will fend off wind
Rapid currents are the big challenge for engineers designing the foundations of the new Tacoma Narrows bridge.
-News Tribune

Sumner takes year off from curfew law
The Sumner City Council decided to temporarily shelve its juvenile curfew law June 23 after the state Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in January.
-News Tribune

Farmer's Markets Going Strong
The Farmer's Markets around Pierce County are going strong this year. Go to the Event Calendar for dates and location of the one nearest you.

Sign up now to hang up less as do-not-call list begins
Promising the gift of silence for people bedeviled by telemarketers, the government will launch a national do-not-call list today intended to block phone sales pitches from nearly all sources.
-News Tribune
The Do Not Call list is located at: www.donotcall.gov. You can also call 888-382-1222 to be added to the list.

Only the cat is happy in Roy's interim City Hall
Nearly a year after a blaze gutted Roy City Hall, the historic building still looks the way it did the day after the fire.
-News Tribune

Strong-mayor group turns in more signatures
Members of the Time for Change petition drive delivered an additional 4,500 signatures to the city clerk's office Monday, in an effort to change Tacoma's council-manager government to the strong-mayor form.
-News Tribune

ATTENTION COMMUTERS
Tired of waiting in traffic and frustrated about not being able to do anything about it? Here's your chance. "Fix Your Commute" is a project that features an interactive online tool that's designed to give commuters a better understanding of the region's traffic problems.
-News tribune

Lakewood pursues community center idea
A proposal to convert an empty grocery store into a community center could soon create a place for Lakewood residents to gather, celebrate and learn.
-News Tribune

'Safeway won the battle'
It's all over for Orting grocery. Waves of growth will wash out a community fixture in Orting.
-News Tribune

County offer may save Spanaway skateboard park
An effort by a residents' group to build a skateboard park at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway may yet come true, even though the group hasn't raised enough money and time is running out.
-News Tribune

A doggone good day
It's still spring, so it's not the dog days of summer. But don't tell that to Charles Collins' dogs, who were angling for another romp around Pioneer Park in Steilacoom on Tuesday.
-News Tribune

Nonprofit band strikes members as fun
By their own admission they aren't widely known, although they have been around for five years.
-News Tribune

Highway 162 high on list for improvements
An East Pierce County highway may be the next project to join a tax plan aimed at relieving traffic congestion in Central Puget Sound.
-News Tribune

Crowds arrive early Saturday for annual race
Drivers who want to avoid snarled traffic and crowds of joggers during Saturday's annual Sound to Narrows race should steer clear of Point Defiance and approach roads such as Pearl and Vassault streets.
-News tribune

Parks advocates give White House D-minus
Advocates for Mount Rainier and other national parks gave the Bush administration a D-minus overall midterm grade Wednesday, claiming the president's policies have sapped employee morale while failing to clear a maintenance backlog and preserve the environment.
-News Tribune

Tax fighter threatens to roll back property tax
Tax rebel Tim Eyman, furious with the Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke for passing a $4 billion transportation tax package, said Sunday he will strike back with an initiative to roll back property taxes.
-News Tribune

New exhibition honors 5 black judges serving in Pierce County
Tacoma's African American History Museum honored five Washington judges Saturday afternoon.
-News Tribune

Tribe lifts Mary Bridge to goal
A $500,000 donation from Puyallup Tribe of Indians members surprised those present Tuesday at the groundbreaking for an expansion at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center.
-News Tribune

High court takes fluoride suit
The Washington State Supreme Court will decide whether the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health can force local water purveyors to put fluoride in their drinking water.
-News Tribune

weekend winners: Special Olympics at Fort Lewis
More than 2,300 athletes from across the state participated in the 31st annual Special Olympics Summer Games at Fort Lewis this weekend. About 500 soldiers were among the 2,500 people who volunteered their time to help produce the event for the developmentally disabled.
-News Tribune

Deadline looms for Lake Tapps
A group trying to save Lake Tapps will ask the federal government to grant it an additional six months to come up with a solution to prevent the reservoir from drying up.
-News Tribune

Earthquake gives area a start, but no damage
A minor earthquake centered about seven miles southwest of Bremerton briefly shook homes throughout much of Western Washington Thursday evening.
-News Tribune

Steilacoom district wants Clover Park parcel
A citizens advisory committee recommends the Steilacoom Historical School District build a high school in DuPont to alleviate crowding.
-News Tribune

City officials lose yet another chance to repair damaged image
Opportunities keep presenting themselves to the City of Tacoma, opportunities that if taken might begin to rebuild confidence among residents and taxpayers.
-News Tribune

TACOMA: Chihuly Bridge of Glass wins Best Special Project award
The Federal Highway Administration and the Washington State Department of Transportation have named Tacoma's Chihuly Bridge of Glass the Best Special Project of 2003 as part of their joint awards of excellence.
-News Tribune

PUYALLUP: Public library design lauded for historic ties, public access
Puyallup Public Library has received a design award from the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.
-News Tribune

Should Lottery run new slots?
The Washington Lottery - not the state Gambling Commission - would run 18,000 electronic slot machines in bars, bowling alleys and bingo halls across the state through a central computer system under a plan unveiled Tuesday in Olympia.
-News Tribune

High court takes appeal on bridge bidding process
The Washington State Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on a lawsuit filed by a group that objects to the state charging tolls to pay for a second Tacoma Narrows bridge.
-News Tribune

Orting seeks new home for police, fire
The Orting City Council will ask its voters in November to approve a $3.25 million bond issue to pay for a new public safety building.
-News Tribune

House passes new-taxes budget
Speeders, smokers, drinkers and gum chewers would help the state out of its fiscal mess under a budget proposal passed Saturday night by the state House of Representatives.
-News Tribune
Has the state stooped so low that they will now take candy money from children?
-Daffodil Valley Times Staff

South Hill antisprawl plan still will evolve
It may seem odd that after nearly three years, $300,000 and seven "yes" votes, the antisprawl land-use plan for South Hill still isn't done.
-News Tribune

Volunteers show their park appreciation
Leave it to volunteers to turn tiresome tasks into a once-a-year treat.
-News Tribune

Police chief dies after shooting wife, himself
With his young children nearby, Tacoma Police Chief David Brame shot his wife on Saturday, and then shot himself.
-News Tribune

A museum's metamorphosis
Tacoma Art Museum's tale of breathtaking growth and charismatic grass-roots leadership begins a new chapter this week.

South Hill tries to find itself
South Hill was Pierce County's fastest-growing unincorporated area in the 1990s, and it shows.
-News Tribune

State plans to upgrade Highway 161
The state has begun a study of road improvements over the next 20 years on state Highway 161 between Graham and the Eatonville area.
-News Tribune

Guards, county trade fire over new jail
Pierce County opened its new $54 million jail last weekend after a nine-month delay, but a dispute is growing over safety issues at the 1,008-bed facility.
-News Tribune

Lawyer must serve suspension
A Tacoma lawyer who publicly discussed a client's secret information to expose a corrupt judge will serve a six-month suspension, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
-News Tribune

BONNEY LAKE: Policeman who shot dog won't be prosecuted
Prosecutors have decided not to file charges against a Tacoma police officer who shot a neighbor's dog in Bonney Lake last year.

At 74, Jim Whittaker to return to Everest
Four decades after becoming the first American to stand on top of the world, Jim Whittaker is heading back to Mount Everest.
-News Tribune

Fair seeks more space to do the Puyallup
Washington's biggest fair may get bigger.
-News Tribune

Slots winner told it was just practice
MARYSVILLE - A Marysville woman was euphoric after winning a $12,000 prize at a Tulalip Casino slot machine - then angry when she was told it was a mistake.
-News Tribune

Chris Lewis shows his heart is as big as his father's
If you're the type to turn up at a parade without doing your homework, the dad and three kids waving cheerily from the classic car at the head of the Daffodil Parade on Saturday might have puzzled you.
-News Tribune

A day of fun, far from war
It's probably possible to get farther from the war in Iraq than the Puyallup Spring Fair, but not by much.
-News Tribune

A colorful, comforting ritual
Tradition marched through Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting Saturday in a kaleidoscope of color, sound, blooming flowers and smiles.
-News Tribune

Student smokers get a choice
A year ago, Melissa Taylor was spending more than half of her monthly waitress's income on cigarettes.
-News Tribune

Tacoma's West End
South Sound icons and sense of community
Ask any South Sound resident to name the jewels of the region, and they'll likely list its signature landmark and its largest playground - the 52-year-old Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the 700-acre Point Defiance Park - among them.
-News Tribune

Historic site restored with rosy local stone
All over Washington, there are eagle chimeras and Gothic window frames and a mighty dome carved of Wilkeson sandstone.
-News Tribune

IN AND AROUND: EAST SIDE - Downtown not only area experiencing reawakening
Despite all the attention to the new face of downtown Tacoma, the city's East Side neighborhood may be making an even more significant turnaround.
-News Tribune

New zoo exhibits will rotate animals
Construction of a $6.2 million zoo project that will let keepers rotate animals amid different exhibits - giving predators the scent of their prey - will begin later this month at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.
-News Tribune

County considers 410 alternative
Pierce County has begun studying where it should build a new highway to connect traffic from the growing areas south of Bonney Lake to Highway 162 between Orting and Sumner.
-News Tribune

Cross-base highway wins in House, maybe not in Senate
Pierce County legislators scored a victory Wednesday when the state House voted unanimously to give the planned highway between Fredrickson and Lakewood a higher priority for state funding.
-News Tribune

It's About Time: Mountains To Get Clobbered With Snow
Strong winds off the ocean combined with low snow levels mean the Olympics and Cascades could get over 2 feet of snow by Thursday.
-Komo 4

More houses in Parkland, Spanaway?
More houses would be packed into parts of the Parkland, Spanaway and Midland areas under an order issued Tuesday by the Pierce County Council.
-News Tribune

Judge rejects teacher's guilty plea
A Spanaway Junior High School teacher accused of molesting a student tried to plead guilty to three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor Tuesday, but a judge wouldn't let him because he wasn't taking responsibility for the crimes.
-News Tribune

IN AND AROUND: CENTRAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Diverse area keeps focus on revitalization
Tacoma's roots trace to the settlement of the diverse Central neighborhood.
-News Tribune

Taking It Off For Peace
Naked artists form peace sign in anti-war protest.
-KOMO 4

Zoo to rededicate elephant house to famous resident
A Point Defiance elephant barn that helped usher in a new era of animal management when it opened 11 years ago will be rededicated Sunday in memory of Cindy, Tacoma's ornery but beloved pachyderm.
-News Tribune

We're No. 1: State's broken tax system exposed
Up here in the Great Northwest, we like to think of ourselves as special. That's what we tell ourselves, anyway.
-News Tribune

Puyallup may hold bond election for new schools
Two years after voters turned them down, Puyallup school officials are considering whether to again ask taxpayers to approve building new schools.
-News Tribune

IN AND AROUND: WILKESON
Former mining center reflects on colorful past
Older houses in Wilkeson don't have basements.
-News Tribune

IN AND AROUND: WILKESON
Former mining center reflects on colorful past
Older houses in Wilkeson don't have basements.
-News Tribune

IN AND AROUND: RUSTON - To its residents, 1 square mile of Americana
Pete Tallman jokes that his father, born and raised in Ruston, "never left except maybe to go to Gig Harbor."
-News Tribune

Coalition pushes for electronic slots
More than a thousand people representing minicasinos and other entertainment venues rallied in Olympia on Tuesday in hopes of persuading the Legislature to expand the use of electronic slot machines beyond tribal casinos.
-News Tribune

IN AND AROUND: SOUTH PRAIRIE - Tiny South Prairie struggles with changes in population
South Prairie became South Sound's smallest community after the City of Roy annexed two large housing developments last year.
-News Tribune</