Tales of the forests through which we tromp

By Lauren Gallup
Olympic National Park, summertime, sun cascading through trees. // CREDIT: Lauren Gallup NWPB
Moss drapes over trees in Olympic National Park like the table dressings of fairies and the blankets of sprites. This place inspires writers — from amateurs to poets to public radio reporters — and welcomes visitors each year into its majesty. Our national parks tend to do that; be places of awe-inspiring beauty, great adventures through bushwhacking and overnights Read More

Funding for some Tacoma homeless shelters reduced

By Lauren Gallup
The downtown campus of the Tacoma Rescue Mission, who's men's and women's shelters are set to be at capacity July 1 due to budget cuts. // Lauren Gallup NWPB
This year’s funding for Tacoma Rescue Mission homeless shelters has decreased. That means next month, the mission will have to decrease the number of shelter spaces available. As of June 23, the mission had 24 spaces available in their women’s shelter and 39 in their men’s shelter. But by July 1, those will go away, according to the mission. Read More

Pride in Sports: Dockyard Roller Derby

By Lauren Gallup
Skaters on the Dockyard Roller Derby league in Tacoma practice on Monday, June 12. // Lauren Gallup NWPB
Sense of community. Belonging. Teamwork. Identity. These feelings can come from playing a team sport. However, sports often are gendered spaces that follow traditional societal expectations. Then, there’s roller derby, which has a history of defying traditional female roles and giving a space for women to compete. One derby league, Dockyard Roller Derby in Tacoma, is Read More

How Washington, Idaho are attempting to reduce increased opioid overdose deaths

By Lauren Gallup
Rachel Ahrens and Nora Hacker of First United Methodist Church in downtown Tacoma, show off the building's new Narcan vending machine. The medicine inside is free to all and has already saved one person's life, that they know of. Photo by Lauren Gallup.
In downtown Tacoma, Rachel Ahrens said she sees drug use and abuse frequently. “I've personally seen somebody that was just slumped up against the door and looked to be like an overdose,” said Ahrens, who is the building administrator for First United Methodist Church. “I didn't have Narcan at that time, so I wasn't able to administer that. So I had to call 911, for them Read More

Honoring women’s history through poetry

By Lauren Gallup
The newspaper clipping that mentions Rachel Page. Photo courtesy of Cory Eberhart.
A group of poets in Kittitas County will honor eight important Washington women in verse. March is Women’s History Month, and this Friday at Gallery One in Ellensburg, the poets will perform their crown of sonnets, a succession of seven, separate sonnets, at the Women’s History Month Poetry Extravaganza. Read More

Process to tackle Washington’s future aviation needs faces skepticism from inside and out

By Lauren Gallup
Lawmakers are considering restarting the process to find a location to build a new airport after months of community backlash to current recommendations. One member of the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission, which was formed in 2019 to address aviation capacity shortages, agrees more review is needed. Bryce Yadon represents Futurewise, an environmental land use Read More

Federal government allocates over $6 billion to wildfire technology and management

By Lauren Gallup
Firefighters stand in the distance with drip torches along a road surrounded by trees. A fire burns in the foreground of the picture. It's climbing up some smaller trees.
Lawmakers are allocating over $6 billion this fiscal year to support the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service in wildfire response. It’s an increase of 14% from the last year’s funding, and will support wildfire suppression, operations and a new research hub to aid fire management. This fiscal year, the forest service will see an increase of Read More

A park from pollution: 30 years after the ASARCO smokestack demolition, Tacoma’s waterfront transforms

By Lauren Gallup
An image of the ASARCO smelter in Tacoma, showing the smokestack rising above the waterfront. Photo credit Tacoma Public Library.
It was a clear day in Tacoma on January 17, 1993. Commencement Bay was crowded with boats. Families gathered on boat decks and across North Tacoma sidewalks to watch the demolition of what was once the tallest smokestack in the world, the ASARCO smokestack that loomed over Tacoma’s waterfront for nearly 100 years. With the press of a button, a child, supervised by Read More

Whatcom County makes no forest conservation recommendation, seeks clarity from DNR

By Lauren Gallup
The Whatcom County council approved 5-2 to send a letter to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, saying that are not ready to issue specific recommendations on Phase II of the department's carbon project. Image captured by Lauren Gallup.
The Whatcom County Council made no specific recommendations on which county timberlands to conserve for the next phase of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ carbon offset project. In the letter, the council affirmed its commitment to work with the department, and instead of offering recommendations, asked the DNR to provide more information about the Read More

Washington bill seeks to regulate solitary confinement

By Lauren Gallup
Inside the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, also known as the Northwest Detention Center. Photo courtesy of La Resistencia, May 2022.
Maria Leónides Pérez’s son, Santiago Ortuno Pérez, has been detained in the Northwest ICE Processing Center, also known as the Northwest Detention Center, in Tacoma for a little more than three years. During his time in detention, Ortuno Pérez has spent at least 10 months in segregation from the general population. He said he’s there now, and has been for 51 days, Read More

New report finds data sharing with federal immigration agencies might violate Washington law

By Lauren Gallup
Varying security cameras lined up. A growing number of privacy concerns are being raised about automated tracking and data sharing and storing, locally and nationwide. Photo by Lianhao Qu via Unsplash.
Immigrant-rights advocates are pointing to new findings by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, raising concerns of how surveillance technology is used in Washington state. The report argues that sharing of license plate data violates the state’s Keep Washington Working Act. The University of Washington Center for Human Rights analyzed data on the use Read More
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