The News Tribune
Firefighters confront cancer risks from on-the-job exposures
Matt Frank, a lieutenant at the Tacoma Fire Department, has spent over half of his life in the fire service. It’s because of that work, he says, that he’s contracted cancer twice, a disease that’s becoming all too common for firefighters. That’s why...
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EU tells Trump a deal is a deal as Greenland threats escalate
President Donald Trump’s economic threats on the European Union over acquiring Greenland amount to a “mistake” that violates a trade arrangement forged last year between the transatlantic allies, the bloc’s executive said. “The European Union and the...
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Under Trump, a shift toward ‘absolute immunity’ for ICE
The instructions to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents explain in clear terms how to defuse dangerous encounters: Use “minimal force” when trying to remove people from cars. Issue commands in “professional,” “firm,” “courtevestigate ous”...
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What to know as WA Legislature convenes for 2026 session
Washington state Legislature is back in session. Monday marked the first day of 2026’s 60-day legislative session. The hallways beneath the Capitol dome buzzed with activity as lawmakers returned to Olympia for opening day ceremonies at noon. In the...
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Why Bob’s Java Jive is all white for now: Stay tuned
In the gritty underbelly of crisscrossing highways, Tacoma’s coffee pot-shaped dive bar has lost its color — temporarily — as the owner, just a few years into his stewardship of the century-old icon, completes a much-needed exterior restoration...
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Jury finds former teacher guilty of molesting students
A jury found a former elementary school teacher from the Peninsula School District guilty Monday of molesting four former students. Jordan Roy Henderson faced 13 counts of first-degree child molestation after four of his former students from his...
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Trump delays tariff increases on furniture and cabinets
President Donald Trump has changed his mind on tariffs again by postponing steep increases on imported upholAmerican stered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for one year. Newsweek contacted the White House via email on Thursday for...
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Trump abandons efforts to deploy National Guard to 3 cities
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would abandon, for now, efforts to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. The decision comes after the Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump could not deploy troops in...
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WSP Trooper Guting remembered for her compassion and service
Tara-Marysa Guting was more than just a Washington State Patrol trooper. She was a doting wife and supportive sister, a dedicated best friend who always offered a shoulder to cry on, a proud pet mom and a lover of video games, fishing and...
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That isn’t a Chihuly glass sculpture in a Tacoma McDonald’s
If you’ve driven past the McDonald’s on Tacoma Avenue near the County-City Building, you’ve likely seen a large glass vase of flowers dominating the restaurant’s facade for the last 25 years. Commenters on Reddit have speculated for years that the...
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Bodies of National Guard soldiers killed in Syria return home
remains of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an ambush in Syria arrived at the Iowa National Guard base in Des Moines, with funeral services for both scheduled for this weekend. The bodies of Staff Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Staff Sgt....
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Judge orders release of US Army vet held by ICE in Tacoma
A federal judge in Tacoma on Monday ruled that a U.S. Army veteran’s detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center was unlawful and ordered his release. The judge said there were “serious concerns” about substantive due process in the case. U.S....
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Mayor-elect Anders Ibsen lays out his plans for Tacoma
Anders Ibsen thinks that Tacoma is “enough.” Ibsen, 39, who recently won the election to become Tacoma’s next mayor, is a lifelong city resident. The City Council member turned real estate agent turned mayor said he hears from newcomers that Tacoma...
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Howling winds batter Pierce County, knocking out power
Wind and rain left tens of thousands without power across Pierce County and the Puget Sound region Wednesday morning. Many schools were delayed or closed in Pierce County, especially in the Puyallup area. Tacoma Power reported more than 17,000...
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$48M in upgrades planned for Meadow Park Golf Course
The Park Board of Tacoma approved a three-year design contact for a slew of new upgrades to Meadow Park Golf Course. Improvements will include a new executive ninehole course, a three-hole developmental course, a restaurant, clubhouse and new golf...
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Floods disrupt Pierce County as atmospheric river dumps rain
Heavy rains sent rivers and streams across Pierce County to flood stage and above this week, closing major highways and forcing many people from their homes. People living along the Puyallup and White rivers in some neighborhoods of Sumner, Puyallup...
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National Guard members to help with ‘historic flooding’
Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday in response to this week’s intense flooding in much of Western Washington. The emergency declaration allows the state to ask for federal dollars to help cover the cost of flooding response,...
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Meet Latasha Palmer, Tacoma’s new City Council member
Latasha Palmer describes herself as “homegrown.” Palmer, 39, is Tacoma’s newly elected at-large City Council member. She has lived in Tacoma for 36 of those 39 years, and in 2026 she’ll become the newest member of Tacoma City Council. She’s taking on...
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Pierce County tree-seed bank is crucial as wildfires worsen
It smelled like Christmas inside the Silvaseed extractory Tuesday morning as machines whirred meticulously to remove millions of conifer seeds from cones and sort them into large barrels. Hidden inside an unassuming complex in the small southwestern...
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Gig Harbor dog brings comfort, joy to Sea-Tac Airport
Most airports are hectic by nature, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is no exception. Tuck, the therapy dog, to the rescue. The Dalmatian and his handler, Lynn Gonzalez, drive from Gig Harbor to the airport at least once a week to greet...
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TSA offers $45 option for those without REAL ID or passport
Transportation Security Administration announced Monday that fliers who don’t have an acceptable REAL ID or passport can pay a $45 fee and use Confirm.ID, a modernized identity verification system to confirm their identities at security checkpoints...
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Rural policing struggles as Pierce County grows
Austin Nolan-Copple wasn’t about to go near a stolen vehicle on her own. The vacant property she was driving to on Sept. 11 was supposed to be her mother-in-law’s new home, the 33-year-old Raft Island resident told The News Tribune. They didn’t have a...
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Tacoma Zoolights has more lights than ever, and dogs are allowed for first time
Zoolights, the annual outdoor light display at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, opens Friday. For the first time, the zoo will allow visitors to bring their dogs on five select nights in December and January. Remember that a section of Five...
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Tacoma nonprofit’s CEO on leave amid probe
The Tacoma Urban League, a Black community advocacy organization, has placed its CEO on paid administrative leave and launched a third-party investigation into an internal complaint, apparently related to a firing, officials say. Against the backdrop...
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What happens to personal items in homeless camp raids?
The City of Tacoma has a policy that addresses what to do with personal belongings displaced during the removal of homeless encampments. “We follow a respectful, careful, and clearly defined process to ensure personal property is preserved and easily...
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Will state auditor investigate Pierce County bridge closure?
A 103-year-old bridge in Pierce County permanently closed in April. The state will be investigating how it was handled. The Washington State Department of Transportation permanently closed the Carbon River Fairfax Bridge – which is located near...
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Disruptions light on Day 1 of flight cuts
Major airports appeared to be working largely as normal Friday as airlines canceled hundreds of flights across the United States, but concerns that disruptions could worsen deepened after a warning from the transportation secretary that mandated flight...
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Tacoma’s new mayor ‘beyond grateful’ to be voted in
Anders Ibsen was leading in the race to become Tacoma’s next mayor Tuesday night. Ibsen received 13,773 votes or 53.61% of the vote compared to his opponent John Hines’ 11,763 votes, or 45.78% as of election night, with 19.29% voter turnout so far....
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Former landfill to be part of 1st new state park in 40 years
Crews were hard at work Thursday afternoon clearing contaminated soil from the site of the former Eatonville Landfill, where for 30 years local residents dumped trash and debris without thinking of the consequences down the line. Since the Nisqually...
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Court: Trump admin must pay SNAP benefits during shutdown
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to continue paying for food stamps during the government shutdown, siding with local officials and nonprofits that had sought to spare millions of poor Americans from losing benefits in a...
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Food banks brace for worst if shutdown halts SNAP benefits
Lines to food pantries in Tacoma and Pierce County were snaking around the block Wednesday as food banks brace for a sharp influx of visitors as benefits from the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are expected to expire on Saturday,...
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Mobile-home residents saved 59 sequoias, now aim to buy park
A wall of sequoias over 100 feet fall abuts a 25-unit mobile home park in Eastside Tacoma. Crows perch in their blue-green branches. Resident Viola Stewthe art, who has lived there nine years, enjoys watching the wind rustle the needles. In August,...
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Once ‘quaint’ island needs more ferry service, residents say
It was nearly noon on Friday, and Larry Schueler had been waiting for more than an hour in his truck to board the Anderson Island ferry from the mainland terminal in Steilacoom. He had to get there early. If he missed this ferry, the next one wouldn’t...
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Trump demolishing entirety of White House's East Wing
As roaring machinery tore down one side of the White House, President Donald Trump acknowledged Wednesday that he was having the entire East Wing demolished to make way for his 90,000square-foot ballroom, a striking expansion of a project that is...
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Hundreds show up to No Kings Tacoma protests: Here’s why
Hundreds of Tacomans took to the streets Saturday as part of another national No Kings Protest, a pushback to what many protesters see as an overreach of authority from the Trump administration. Many people wore inflatable costumes and carried homemade...
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Mayoral candidates have much in common. What sets them apart?
The stakes for Tacoma’s mayoral election this year are high, as the winner will lead a council tasked with tackling big issues like the city’s budget, hiring a new city manager and more. Tacoma voters looking to decide between the two candidates who...
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Judge orders ICE director to address use of tear gas
A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday said she is “profoundly concerned” that immigration agents are violating her orders restricting the use of tear gas on media and protesters and ordered the field director for the Immigration and Customs...
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Delayed return of hostages’ remains angers Israel
Israeli officials and hostage families have accused Hamas of violating the new ceasefire deal by failing to immediately return the remains of many of the former captives still in the Gaza Strip. The truce agreement called for the immediate handover of...
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Ceasefire begins, IDF forces pull back and Gazans head home
Thousands of people began the long walk from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip on Friday after the Israeli military announced a ceasefire that mediators hoped would lead to the end of the two-year war. Men carried bags, women carried young...
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Senate fails to pass bills to reopen government
The Senate failed to pass a funding bill again Thursday, continuing the government shutdown. The vote in the Senate for the Republican-backed bill was 54-45. The bill needs 60 votes to move forward. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against his party’s...
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Which historic items were damaged in WA Capitol break-in?
Multiple historical artifacts were damaged in the domed state Capitol building after an intruder broke in and engaged in a spree of destruction on Sunday night. Now the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) has published an initial damage...
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The jobs report that wasn’t leaves economists guessing
Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics produces the most reliable gauge of U.S. employment. But close watchers of the economy were left rudderless when the bureau withheld the data Friday because of the federal government shutdown. The agency’s...
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How a Graham farm helps detect earthquakes at Mount Rainier
Outdoors at a Graham farm and enclosed within a small padlocked gate for protection from meddling cattle, an antenna mast roughly 12 feet tall stands behind a weathered equipment-cabinet and a silver box covered in spider webs. The curious trio of...
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Tacoma, Fife point fingers over restaurant’s grease trap
Yoo had just opened his Philly cheesesteak restaurant in a former Herfy’s Burgers when the same health inspector who had given him the green-light returned three hours later to shut him down. The City of Tacoma, he was told in February, had an issue...
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South End Fred Meyer closes after decades of serving Tacoma
A longtime Fred Meyer in Tacoma’s South End bid its final farewell on Wednesday as the store’s familiar red sign came down from the building and workers ended operations. A store employee told The News Tribune the site was shutting down ahead of its 5...
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Officials lead tour of conditions at Pierce County Jail
About an hour into a Wednesday afternoon media tour of the Pierce County Jail, officials led reporters to a highsecurity cell block that is the subject of a federal lawsuit over jail conditions, particularly sewage backflows that allegedly persisted...
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Charlie Kirk killing suspect in custody after family tipoff
The suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, officials said at a news briefing Friday. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that investigators arrested Robinson after a family member...
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Asia Pacific Cultural Center opens its new Tacoma home
When Faaluaina “Lua” Pritchard first took on the role as executive director of Tacoma’s Asia Pacific Cultural Center in 2010, she had a staff of two people. Her family and the family of her staff members pitched in to run the center back then. Her...
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Reading skills of 12th graders hit a new low
The reading skills of American high school seniors are the worst they have been in three decades, according to new federal testing data, a worrying sign for teenagers as they face an uncertain job market and an information landscape challenged by...
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1,648 missing Indigenous person reports: What’s being done?
When Joyce Robinson wakes up every morning, she thinks about her family. She thinks about her children and her grandchildren, and wonders how they’re doing. When it comes to her 14-yearold granddaughter, Kassidy Buchanan, she doesn’t know. The Pierce...
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Senators unite in criticizing Kennedy for vaccine policy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appearing Thursday before a Senate panel, offered a combative defense of his approach to vaccine policy and his record as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, while blaming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for...
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Judge rules Trump deployment of military to LA illegal
A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday barred soldiers from aiding immigration arrests and other civilian law enforcement in Southern California, warning of a growing “a national police force with the President as its chief” in an impassioned...
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Bridge closure devastates Pierce County businesses
Summer has been hot, and so were the sales. As July rolled into August, Mt. Rainier Creamery in Buckley was feeling optimistic. A year into running this unique dairy drive-thru and local meat market that doubles as a coffee and soft-serve shop, owners...
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Ferguson declares emergency over White River Bridge closure
The closure of the White River Bridge following a crash last week has been declared an emergency, according to a proclamation by Gov. Bob Ferguson. The White River Bridge between Buckley and Enumclaw on state Route 410 was severely damaged after a...
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Lawyer warned over attempts to advise Pierce County sheriff
A King County judge said Thursday he was very troubled by emails that showed a private attorney had tried to give Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank legal advice this week in violation of his orders. Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan opted not to...
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Powell sends strongest signal yet for interest rate cuts
Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, on Friday used a closely watched speech to send his strongest signal yet that the central bank is preparing to soon restart interest rate cuts, highlighting the labor market’s vulnerabilities even as...
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Pierce County wants to replace juvenile justice center
Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello signed a directive Monday establishing a 15-member task force to help guide plans to replace the aging juvenile justice center, Remann Hall, as officials opened up the complex to a media tour. By the end of next...
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Book explores link between Tacoma’s smelter, serial killers
Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy grew up in the toxic plume of Tacoma’s copper smelter, not unlike the polluted air of Jack the Ripper’s coalburning London. “London is Tacoma before Tacoma is even a gleam in a Guggenheim’s eye,” author Caroline...
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Mount Rainier butterfly researchers track climate change
A flash of orange darted between blue broadleaf lupine, magenta paintbrush and pink-white mountain daisies before the small butterfly disappeared into the sky. “That’s another California Tortoiseshell,” called out Regina Rochefort, directing another...
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Troops in Washington remain largely unseen so far
President Donald Trump promised an “overwhelming presence” of federal agents and military troops on the streets of Washington when announcing a crime crackdown earlier this week. Four days in, however, National Guard soldiers have mostly been seen...
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Can Pierce County find the millions to redo Remann Hall?
At the Pierce County-owned juvenile detention center, malfunctioning cameras, intercoms and door locks or sensors often require attention. Those issues prompted dozens of security-related requests for work orders over the past five years in Remann...
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DOJ sought to defend trade war ahead of sweeping tariffs
The Justice Department scrambled Thursday to defend the legality of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, just one day before he is set to expand his highly contested global trade war with new duties on the United States’ closest trading...
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4 dead, including NYPD officer, in Midtown Manhattan shooting
Four people were killed, including an NYPD officer, and another man was critically injured in a shooting Monday evening inside a New York City skyscraper, which houses the corporate offices of the National Football League and Blackwho stone. The...
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60-unit tiny home village opens near South Hosmer Street
A new 60-unit tiny home village has opened near Tacoma’s South Hosmer Street, with the goal of providing transitional housing for those living in encampments. On July 23, local leaders and housing advocates gathered to celebrate the opening of the...
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Maxwell subpoenaed; Trump reportedly in Epstein files
A Republican-led House committee subpoenaed convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday to testify next month while The Wall Street Journal separately published its latest piece drawing a link between President...
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New training center in Eastside Tacoma combats education gap
A new training center in Eastside Tacoma offers classes in trade skills like construction and plumbing, part of Clover Park Technical College’s efforts to eliminate an “education desert” in the area. Clover Park Technical College, which has locations...
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Say farewell to Pumba, South Tacoma’s adored piggy pal
Pumba the potbellied pig likes attention. Especially when it means he gets a treat out of it. Inside his home enclosure a couple blocks from South Tacoma Way on Wednesday, Pumba beat the heat by bobbing for apple slices in his kiddie pool and...
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Senate OKs bid to cancel foreign aid, public broadcast funds
The Senate early Thursday approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, as Republicans bowed to President Donald Trump in an unusual surrender of congressional spending power. The 51-48 vote came over...
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Inflation accelerated in June as tariffs pushed up prices
Inflation accelerated in June as President Donald Trump’s tariffs started to leave a bigger imprint on the economy, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to hold interest rates steady when policymakers next meet this month. The consumer price index...
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‘It’s a shame’: Beloved Tacoma post office to close
Business owners and residents are mourning the impending loss of a beloved post office operating out of Rankos Pharmacy in Tacoma’s Stadium District. The pharmacy has for decades run what’s called a “contract postal unit,” or CPU, which offers a...
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Birthright citizenship order blocked in class-action case
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a contentious executive order ending birthright citizenship, reigniting a legal standoff that has been underway since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second...
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Pauli reflects on 8 years as Tacoma city manager
As Tacoma’s longtime city manager gears up for retirement, Elizabeth Pauli said helping keep city employees safe and productive through the pandemic is among her top accomplishments. Pauli, 65, served as Tacoma’s city manager for eight years, a key...
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Freighthouse Square faces demolition for light rail station
Sound Transit Board unanimously approved a plan that would build a new Tacoma Dome Link light rail station where the historic Freighthouse Square currently sits. The choice to move forward with the “Close to Sounder” option is an important next step in...
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That wicker furniture you’re eyeing is hotter than ever. And yes, you can leave it outside.
You switched to your trench coat a month ago. Your striped T-shirt is back in regular rotation. And yet, spring still refuses to show its sunny face. It’s time to get out the big guns — you’re going to need to jump on this wicker trend. “Wicker is...
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