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

Greening Up A Formerly Redlined Neighborhood

By Lauren Gallup
Ailene Ettinger with the Nature Conservancy installs a device to track air temperature on a utility pole in South Tacoma this January. Photo by Courtney Baxter.
On an early and rainy June day, Ailene Ettinger is using a power drill to install a small, metal device on a utility pole. The device is a temperature logger, housed under a white rectangular UV radiation shield. Once installed, it constantly measures air temperature in this South Tacoma neighborhood, sending the data via Bluetooth to an app that Ettinger checks on her phone.Read More

From Seattle To Eugene To Tri-Cities To North Idaho, The Same Story: It’s Hot And Getting Hotter

By NWPB News
People jump from a pedestrian bridge at Lake Union Park in Seattle on Sunday as a record-setting heat wave blasts the Pacific Northwest. CREDIT: John Froschauer/AP
Cities were reminding residents where pools, splash pads and cooling centers were available and urging people to stay hydrated, check on their neighbors and avoid strenuous activities. The National Weather Service in Coeur d’Alene said this week's weather “will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest.”Read More
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