Tacoma

A mini forest has been planted at the University of Washington's Tacoma campus. Participants are hoping this will help to improve the city's tree canopy — and provide green space on campus.

Parks Tacoma, the parks and recreation district in the city, is dealing with less money coming in than they expected and more costs to pay for.

Parks Tacoma, the city’s parks and recreation district, is dealing with a combination of less revenue than expected and more expenses, making for a shortfall of $8 million dollars. In response, the district cut some jobs last week.The district laid off 14 staff members, and another 10 employees opted to take voluntary separation packages. The district also paused filling 25 vacant positions.

The battle over letting voters decide on a higher minimum wage and new workplace protections in Tacoma continues.Now, the city is challenging a Sept. 9 order from a Pierce County superior court judge to put the initiative on the February special election ballot. The city filed a notice to appeal the court’s decision on Friday.

Cooper’s Food & Drink, located in Tacoma, was among 18 restaurants where kids in Tacoma, Seattle and even Denver, Colorado, could come and get a free meal.

Behind wooden and chain-linked fencing in South Tacoma, 60 brightly painted tiny homes stand in neat rows on a gravel lot. This is the home of Kingfisher Village, which opened at the end of July, is the newest tiny home community that the nonprofit, Low Income Housing Institute, has established in the city.

The number of students enrolled in Bates Technical College’s carpentry program has just about doubled over the past year. Bates has had to hire more faculty and begin offering an evening course to meet the demand. Dr. Brett McCarthy, the associate dean of instruction for Bates, said with that growth, the college needed more resources.

There are six people running to be the next mayor of Tacoma. On Aug. 5, voters will decide which candidates will advance to the general election. Ahead of the August primary election, Tacomans had a chance to hear from five of those mayoral candidates. Community groups including Tacoma For All, Common Good Tacoma, the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 held a forum for candidates running to be the city’s next mayor. All candidates except Tom Ginn participated in the forum.

A well-known farm labor organizer in Washington’s Skagit Valley has decided to give up his deportation fight for now and return to Mexico.

On any given summer night in Tacoma, you can find a community of like-minded people. That is, if you like baseball. Everytime I go to a baseball game, I get caught up in all the sounds.From the announcers calling plays, to the crack of the ball against a wooden bat, to fans cheering and screaming after a home run. For me, the sounds of baseball are the sounds of summer.