Moshi Ramen Bar, a restaurant that had a reputation as being a home away from home for some of Tacoma’s queer community, has closed. Read More
Outside the Pierce County council building on a sunny early June afternoon, people gathered waving rainbow flags while listening to pop hits like Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”
They were commemorating a moment in the county’s history: the first time the pride flag has flown outside the government building. Read More
Lewelyn Dixon, her family and a growing community of supporters received good news Thursday afternoon — Dixon would be released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. Read More
The doors to the Washington State Library in Tumwater could close to the public later this year. That’s because the Washington Secretary of State’s Office will likely be reducing staff; 47 employees have received notices that they could be laid off due to reductions in state and federal funding. If that happens, the public won’t be able to access rare items stored in Read More
Celina McKenney has bills to pay, and a lot of people rely on her to pay them. As co-executive of Share and Care House, a nonprofit in Pierce County that provides permanent supportive housing to over 140 people, McKenney oversees the money coming in and going out. One of the many things her organization does is pay for clients’ leases. Read More
Washington hospitals must start complying with a new staffing law by July 1, or eventually face financial penalties from the state. Read More
Every year since 2020, the number of collisions on Washington highways in work zones has been rising. Between 2020 and 2024, it rose nearly 40%, from 1,149 to 1,607.
One of the three main contributing factors to these crashes is speed. Speeding through these areas threatens drivers, their passengers and road construction workers trying to do their jobs. Read More
A discussion with host Phineas Pope and NWPB reporter Lauren Gallup about Washington state's budget deficit.Read More
Joining a growing trend, physicians at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma are trying to unionize.
“ We really want to be able to have a voice, have a seat at the table and work with them and be a little bit more collaborative. And we think this unionization effort is the best way to do that,” said Derek Tam, a pediatric emergency physician at the hospital. Read More
On a gray, early spring morning, I drove to Steilacoom, Washington, to catch the ferry to Anderson Island. I boarded alongside the line of other cars and after parking, stepped out onto the deck of the boat. The ferry pushed off from the dock and rocked a little in the Puget Sound before steadying.
I took this journey to the real Anderson Island to see from the water Read More
Tenants and landlords will soon have a chance to voice their opinions on how Tacoma’s new tenant protections have impacted them.
It’s been nearly two years since voters here approved the Landlord Fairness Code. The regulations, ranging from a $10 cap on late fees to a ban on economic evictions during certain times of the year, were an attempt to address increased rents Read More
A state budget deficit is normally nothing to sing about. But, workers with the Washington Federation of State Employees have turned their frustration over potential budget cuts into a song, “Washington For All.”
The refrain, “Washington’s for all, not just for the rich,” evokes the union’s stance that instead of making cuts to state services and workers, lawmakers Read More
Personas de diferentes lugares del estado de Washington viajó a Tacoma para manifestarse en apoyo a los trabajadores agrícolas frente a una tienda Safeway el lunes por la tarde. Read More
People traveled from across Washington state to rally outside of a Tacoma Safeway store in support of farm workers Monday afternoon.
The United Farm Workers and their supporters are calling on Windmill Farms in Sunnyside to recognize the unionization efforts and give workers a contract. The union said workers have been trying to get recognition for two years.Read More
A proposed bill that would give striking workers some access to the state’s unemployment benefits is getting closer to becoming law in Washington.
Majority lawmakers in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards moved the bill out of committee on Friday, with a recommendation to pass it. This, after the bill narrowly passed the senate with 28 yeas and 21 nays Read More
Ever since he started working at Rainier School in Buckley, Washington, Willis McNabb has been hearing that the state was going to close it. This time, he said it feels more real.
“I've never been so worried as I am today,” McNabb said.
Since 1991, McNabb has worked at Rainier, which gives people with intellectual and developmental disabilities a place to find Read More
Washington lawmakers are considering passing bills that would allow public sector employees to bargain on how artificial intelligence is used in the workplace. (Credit: AP) Listen (Runtime 5:43) Read By […]Read More
The Pierce County Central Labor Council is taking on an ambitious task — figuring out the problem of child care for working families.
It’s a problem that Nathe Lawver, secretary-treasurer for the council, knows well.
“Any conversation on workforce, within twenty minutes you're talking about child care,” Lawver said. Read More
Washington state lawmakers still can’t pass bills to allow for some legal access to psychedelics.
With Feb. 21 as the cutoff for bills to move out of policy committees, two pieces of legislation that would have allowed regulated and supervised access to psilocybin for adults won't be moving forward — Senate Bill 5201 and House Bill 1433. The bills faced opposition from Read More
Inside the storefront of Johnson Candy Company, there are hundreds of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates.
Gift-wrapped boxes are stacked up on a table behind display cases. Open boxes show off sweet concoctions, propped up on shelves or set out below hanging red and pink decorations. Cellophane-wrapped goodies sit on top of glass windows displaying squares of chocolate Read More
There are only so many things employees get to have a say over in their jobs. Which laptops or messaging app your office uses might not be your call.
For a while, decisions on the use of technology in the workplace have been up to management for public workers in Washington state, thanks to a law passed in 2002. But now, some lawmakers want to pass an exemption that Read More
A union that represents Boeing employees is taking issue with how the company handled the layoff of 660 of its members last year.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) believes contract violations occurred during last year’s layoffs. The union said they have notified Boeing and are investigating further. Read More
Tacoma has joined a number of Washington cities and at least one county in a growing movement to make enforcing activities related to the use of psychoactive substances, such as psilocybin mushrooms, a lower priority for law enforcement.
On Tuesday, the Tacoma City Council unanimously passed a resolution to lower enforcement priorities for entheogen-related activities. Read More
Starbucks workers picket outside of a closed Starbucks on Dec. 20, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. Workers have yet to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the company. (Credit: Damian Dovarganes […]Read More
When employees at PeaceHealth hospitals around the state need a prescription filled for themselves or a family member, they can get them filled at PeaceHealth pharmacies for lower costs. It’s one of the benefits of the health care organization's insurance plan for its employees.
But in Bellingham, Washington, PeaceHealth workers can’t use that benefit. There isn’t a Read More
Striking teachers march around the Tacoma School District Central Administration Building, Sept. 10, 2018, in Tacoma, Wash. (Credit: Ted S. Warren / AP) Listen (Runtime 4:28) Read By Phineas Pope […]Read More
For workers in Washington state, there are a number of bills being brought forward this legislative session that labor leaders hope will make working life better in the state.
The Washington State Labor Council has introduced its legislative agenda for 2025, which focuses on improving child labor laws, bargaining over artificial intelligence in public sector jobs and Read More
When workers go on strike in Washington state, they don’t earn a dime. A new piece of legislation could change that.
This bill would allow workers to eventually access unemployment benefits, starting the second Sunday after they began withholding their labor. Workers could claim up to four weeks of benefits through the state’s unemployment insurance, according to Read More
Aerospace company Boeing has announced another round of layoffs, this one impacting 396 workers in Washington state.
About half of the Boeing employees in Washington laid off in this round of cuts are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. Bryan Corliss, a spokesperson for SPEEA, said in recent months, his union has seen over 3% of Read More
Nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center could soon have a new collective bargaining agreement with higher wages, improved safety measures in the hospital and some staffing mandates.
The bargaining team for the nurses reached a tentative agreement with the hospital after months of bargaining. This week, all employees at the hospital represented by the Washington Read More
The Tacoma City Council adopted its next two-year budget, after months of working with city staff to balance for a predicted $24 million structural deficit. Read More
As the city of Tacoma works to manage its $24 million budget deficit, council members have been making decisions on what to cut. At Tuesday’s council meeting, the electeds considered two amendments.
The first amendment was brought forward by Council member Jamika Scott, who worked in collaboration with Council member Joe Bushnell to find a way to protect the city’s cash Read More
The City of Tacoma has a budget problem; its expenses are higher than its revenue. That means the city has a projected structural deficit of $24 million for the 2025-26 biennial budget.
Staff and city council members have been working to balance that, and one thing they’re proposing cutting has a lot of community members upset. Read More
The next phase of Tacoma’s attempts to address housing shortages will soon be implemented, as the Tacoma City Council has voted unanimously to adopt the second phase of the Home in Tacoma zoning package.
The package of changes to city zoning standards aims to create more opportunities for different types of housing across the city, including by allowing more units to be Read More
In Western Washington, Clallam County has likely lost its 40 year streak as a bellwether for the presidential election. While more votes are still being counted, the majority of Clallam votes tallied so far are for Vice President Kamala Harris.
That is not the story nationwide. The election has been called for former president Donald Trump. Read More
After their contract ended on Halloween, nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center spent a rainy Friday morning picketing outside the hospital.
The nurses’ union, Washington State Nurses Association or WSNA, has been negotiating with hospital management since August. But Pamela Chandran, director of legal affairs for the union, said there are sticking points. Read More
In high school classrooms and on college campuses, students learn about the U.S. system of governance and the country’s political history. This November, some get to make their voice heard in those systems for the first time as voters.
In the Northwest, the issues driving some of these voters vary; from social issues to economics to housing. Still, others are choosing Read More
A staffer for the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System has alleged retaliation after he spoke out about the deteriorating conditions of a building on the south Seattle campus that housed specialty clinics and office space.
Douglas Galuszka, chief of logistics, was issued two suspensions totaling three weeks of unpaid leave this year. He said VA administrators Read More
Every October in the backyard of a Bothell home, a team of workers swarm around millions of blue orchard mason bees, to harvest the hibernating bees.
The company, Rent Mason Bees, quickly takes apart and cleans the wooden nesting blocks that gardeners and farmers across the state use in the spring to house these tiny pollinators. The company offers this service as part Read More
Twenty-five years ago, the Olympic Pipeline ruptured in Bellingham, Washington, killing three people. In the aftermath, Washington state created its Citizens' Committee on Pipeline Safety, meant to advise on regulation to keep communities around pipelines safer.
The committee still functions today, but Amanda McKay, who serves on it, said that increased interest and Read More
In the past, if a local fire department needed to use air support from the state, crews had to go through multiple agencies before resources would be deployed. But with legislation that passed unanimously last session, they can now call the resources directly.
The legislation — House Bill 1498 — was called a success by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Read More
After a week of administrative leave, Tacoma’s police chief is back on duty.
Tacoma City Manager Elizabeth Pauli placed Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore on leave last week. In a statement released on Wednesday, Pauli wrote that she conducted a fact-finding investigation into personal use of a city asset. The statement did not specific what the city asset, or costs Read More
The city of Tacoma is considering proposals to allow for more housing development, and different kinds of housing, in all residential areas. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB) Listen (Runtime 3:47) […]Read More
In season four, episode 19 of the sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” actor Bradley Whitford plays a city council member in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Whitford tells Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, “City council isn't about making everyone happy. In fact, every decision you make is going to make a lot of people very unhappy.”
Right now, the Tacoma City Read More
This wildfire season for the first time, local firefighting agencies across Washington were able to call in aerial resources from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources without having to wait crucial minutes to begin full suppression. Read More
At food establishments across Redmond, diners this month will find a unique accompaniment to their orders; poems.
Penned by local writers as well as poets from international Cities of Literature, the poems expound on community, harvest and lineage. Redmond’s poet laureate, Ching-In Chen, is leading the project, called Read Local Eat Local, It kicks off on Thursday Sept. Read More
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
In Portland, Oregon, a federal judge is set to hear arguments this week in a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission against the proposed merger between the two grocery store chains, Kroger and Albertsons.
Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, joined other members of Congress in filing an amicus brief opposing the merger. Read More
A portion of the Electron Dam on the Puyallup River has to be removed, according to a decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal appeals court upheld the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that a vertical metal wall portion of the dam, a temporary spillway, makes the dam a complete barrier to fish passage and Read More
In a big, open room in the basement of Bellingham’s old city hall, little cupboards line the walls holding spray paint, different kinds of tape, cans of WD-40, and at least four different handheld drills.
Wearing round-framed glasses and an explorer’s hat, museum preparator David Miller stands over the work table, messy with progress. He is sculpting fake dinosaur bones. Read More
