Tacomans struggle with high temperatures, heat and access to cooling varies across the city

By Lauren Gallup
Tree canopy over a paved pathway through Tacoma's South Park on the afternoon of Friday, July 12. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)
Four days a week, Kevin Ruby’s team is responding to calls and, often complaints, about people experiencing homelessness in Tacoma. “We always are trying to put people in touch with resources,” Ruby said. “It's just the resources right now, this week, last week, this time of year in general, include a lot more often water, cooling shelters, transportation to cooling Read More

Medication first, and then a whole-health approach

By Lauren Gallup
The outside of the nonprofit Blue Mountain Heart to Heart in Walla Walla. The organization serves people with chronic illnesses, including substance use disorder. (Credit: Blue Mountain Heart to Heart)
A couple of blocks off U.S. Route 12 in Walla Walla, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart has been treating people with substance use disorder for over a decade. But, for years, the nonprofit was unable to quickly offer a proven treatment for opioid use disorder: medication-assisted treatment. Staffers would have to arrange for patients to get an assessment with a trained Read More

The last bellwether standing: Clallam County

By Lauren Gallup
At the Port Angeles Senior and Community Center, a group of community members meets up every Thursday morning to talk politics. On March 14, the Thursday following Washington state's presidential primary elections, the place was filled with voices eager to discuss presidential politics. (Credit: Tela Moss / NWPB)
If you were to drive the farthest west you can in Washington, you’d reach Clallam County. That’s on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula, nestled between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean. It’s a remote, wide county, where you can visit Olympic National Park and drive from sunny Sequim to rainy Forks. It’s a place known for its beauty and for its Read More

Young, educated and (trying not to be) broke — how some younger borrowers see Biden’s SAVE plan

By Lauren Gallup
College — it's expensive. Recent graduates are navigating repayment, and figuring out if the new SAVE plan works for them. (Courtesy: u_fctgpchzau / Pixabay)
While it's not instant forgiveness, the Saving on a Valuable Education plan does forgive debt, eventually. This month, the rules on the new program changed to make that forgiveness come a bit sooner, for some. Now, student loan borrowers on the plan who borrowed less could see loan forgiveness in as little as 10 years, with no undergraduate borrowers waiting more than 20 Read More

Mr. WSDOT — the man who’s helped make road alerts interesting and ‘artistic’ — is heading to a new job

By Lauren Gallup
Mr. WSDOT's goodbye cartoon. (Credit: WSDOT on Facebook)
When Mike Allende started managing social media for the Washington State Department of Transportation, he was told “don’t be boring.” “Boring” is probably the last word any one would use to describe Allende’s approach to the job, which massively grew engagement while he worked there. Known by some fans as Mr. WSDOT, he’s the man behind the most followed state department Read More

A Journey Delayed — Sea-Tac airport flights delayed, canceled after 737 MAX 9 grounding

By Lauren Gallup
Passengers move through lines to check baggage for upcoming Alaska Airlines' flights, while others wait, some for flights delayed, on Tuesday, Jan. 9. (CREDIT: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)
The ticketing counter, bag drop, and agent stations for Alaska Airlines at Sea-Tac International Airport were busy but not crowded late Tuesday morning. Some passengers moved through the lines and onto security, others stood against the wall opposite Alaska's blue and green signs, with their bags sitting closely next to them, scrolling through phones, waiting for a Read More

Predators of the Heart once again denied a special use permit to continue operations

By Lauren Gallup
A canid or wolf-dog at the Predators of the Heart Facility in Anacortes. The organization now goes by Because We Matter Exotic Animal Rescue. (Courtesy: Debbie Sodl / Because We Matter Exotic Animal Rescue)
The Skagit County Board of County Commissioners denied an appeal and affirmed the county hearing examiner’s October decision, denying a special use permit for Predators of the Heart (POTH) in Anacortes. The decision on Dec. 12 came as no surprise to the organization’s executive director, Ashley Carr, who said the organization will appeal this latest decision in superior court. Read More

Tacoma’s new tenant protections now in effect

By Lauren Gallup
Tacoma labor leaders celebrate the passage of Citizens’ Initiative Measure No. 1 at a press conference on Friday, Dec. 8. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)
Since Tacoma voters approved a ballot initiative that introduces new regulations called the Landlord Fairness Code to the Tacoma Municipal Code, there’s been a lot of questions about the initiative. The City of Tacoma has answered some about the process and what happens next. The Landlord Fairness Code was adopted into the Tacoma Municipal Code and is a city law as of Read More

Tacoma tenant protections measure passes — now what?

By Lauren Gallup
On May 25, a number of supporters of the Tacoma For All initiative for tenant protections, rallied in front of the City Hall building. Photo by Lauren Gallup.
The final release of election results for Pierce County showed a victory for those who have been pushing for a set of progressive tenant protections in Tacoma. “We feel really proud of what we've achieved. It was a real David versus Goliath kind of fight,” said Ty Moore, campaign manager for Tacoma For All, the group behind the initiative. Citizens’ Initiative Measure Read More

The immediate impact of levee setbacks in Pierce County

By Lauren Gallup
The Orville Road Setback Revetment was completed in 2022, to set a levee back from the Puyallup River in Pierce County. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)
In the foothills of Mt. Rainier runs the Carbon, the Puyallup and the White Rivers, meandering through towns and cities, along roadways and near homes, the paint strokes of the natural environment now surrounded by a human-built ecosystem. Once tightly restricted by levees, these rivers are beginning to again flow closer to how they would have, not adhering to the confines Read More

Controversial Tacoma warehouse proposal moves forward

By Lauren Gallup
The currently vacant site that developer Bridge Industrial is seeking to use for an industrial warehouse in South Tacoma. / Courtesy of Michelle Mood.
The City of Tacoma hearing examiner has upheld the city’s decision to issue a development permit for a mega-warehouse in South Tacoma. The permit decision was appealed by Seattle nonprofit EarthJustice, on behalf of the South Tacoma Neighborhood Council and 350 Tacoma, which argued that the city and developer hadn’t adequately analyzed the environmental impacts of the Read More

Paddle to Muckleshoot: An epic canoe journey returns

By Lauren Gallup
A canoe family paddles onto shore at Alki Beach Sunday, July 30. // CREDIT: Tracci Dial, NWPB
There was a breeze, clouds and humidity in the air in West Seattle that hadn’t been there for days on the morning of July 30, as visitors to Alki Beach found seats or meandered down to the shore, waiting. A little after 11 a.m., as the sun began to break through the gray, the tip of a canoe and its passengers’ paddles could just be seen cutting across the water, the Read More
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