The News Tribune
What’s it like to be a lighthouse keeper in Tacoma in 2026? Not like it was
A 38-foot-tall white tower stands at the end of Browns Point, surveying the blue ocean and panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains. For more than 75 years men tended to the only lighthouse in Pierce County, sounding a horn in dense fog and ensuring a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A day on duty at Tacoma’s Hylebos, Murray Morgan bridges
The tide was low and green Tuesday near the Port of Tacoma as Charlie Rodriguez surveyed a blinking board of red, orange and green buttons. With the turn of a couple switches he lowered the gates, blocking traffic, and pressed a thick green button in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma’s new maritime skills center is ready for business
Inside a classroom at 1225 Maritime Center Drive is an array of boxes filled with dogs. Not real dogs, of course. Robot dogs. They have names like Captain, Pilot and Blaze. They’re joined by dozens of other drones in storage, all to be used by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Spanaway Lake leads Pierce County in drownings
Under a clear mid-afternoon sky, Tanya Ricca lay on a towel and soaked up the warmth at Spanaway Park’s south beach. Not too far off the grassy shore, her three children swam in the lake. The kids were aged 5 to 14 and the youngest wore a life jacket....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Canoe journey focuses on culture, tradition, respect
One of the Puget Sound’s oldest traditions, traveling by water, is shared by nearly every resident of the Pacific Northwest, from fishermen to commuters, and is undoubtedly one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the watery ways of the Evergreen...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Port of Tacoma gets $135 million terminal expansion
A $135 million investment will double Washington United Terminals’ capacity in Tacoma, adding new cargo-handling equipment and port renovations. Located at 1815 Port of Tacoma Road on the Blair Waterway, WUT will expand its cargo carrying volume from...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Five major highway projects in Pierce County in summer 2026
Summer is road work season, and various highway construction and replacements are happening around Pierce County. Here are five multi-milliondollar projects underway and their expected timeframes. SR-167 EXTENSION MEGAPROJECT Estimated completion:...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma’s Blueberry Park offers free berry picking
Children frolicked between tall blueberry bushes Tuesday afternoon in Tacoma, marking the start of peak blueberry season. As previously reported by The News Tribune, Charlotte’s Blueberry Park in the South End is the only free food forest in Tacoma,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pierce County district approves $21M deal to end sex-abuse claims
University Place School District has agreed to pay $21 million to settle allegations that it failed to protect six former students from sexual abuse by a one-time district employee, according to a court filing Monbune day and an attorney representing...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Voter registration error in NJ leads states to audit systems
states told USA TODAY they are examining whether a software program that allowed 6,600 noncitizens to register to vote in New Jersey could have done the same thing in their state. More than half of U.S. states and territories use the same vendor tied...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Scenic train near Mount Rainier to expand its line north
whistle rang loud and low through the forests near Elbe on Thursday afternoon as the train chugged along the Nisqually River, belching clouds of white steam along the tracks. Although the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has run along a historic track near...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Rainier Beer ads boost its iconic status in Tacoma
twin bar owners of 1111 in Hilltop love Rainier Beer. In the back of the bar the walls are adorned with beer cans and bottle caps decorated with the iconic red “R.” Beer bottles with legs peer out behind framed photographs, and detailed posters...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Historic building in downtown Tacoma sold to nonprofit
A building on Tacoma’s Register of Historic Places will become the new headquarters of an area nonprofit. In a transaction recorded July 13, Centerforce purchased the historic Bone Dry Shoe Building, 2111 Pacific Ave., for $2.49 million from The 21...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Prestressed concrete pioneers: Tacoma’s 75-year story
Nestled between the Port of Tacoma’s waterways is a concrete company responsible for much of the city’s infrastructure, from the buildings people work in to the bridges they cross. This year, the company is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Enrollment shifts strain Pierce County school budgets
Editor’s note: This story is the third in a series about how funding for Pierce County school districts has changed over the last decade and what’s not working in Washington’s funding model for public education. Read previous stories about state...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Local guide summits Mount Rainier for the 100th time
At 10,188 feet up on Mount Rainier, just under the Cowlitz Glacier, sits Camp Muir, a ranger station and climber refuge constructed out of nearby stone in 1916 and later expanded in 1936, complete with bunks and toilets and staffed by climbing rangers...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Bridge that connects Tacoma and Fife to remain closed until 2033
The city of Tacoma now estimates that the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge will reopen around 2033, a decade after it closed. The Federal Highway Administration in 2023 shut down the bridge, which links Tacoma to the city of Fife, after it found too much...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Neighbors clash over eagle concerns at The Preserve Tacoma
a housing site known as “The Preserve” in Tacoma’s South End has furthered acrimony among some of its neighbors who believe the work isn’t living up to the site’s name. Things hit a flashpoint in May during tree clearing at the site, after neighbors...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Residents fear environmental woes if gravel mine expands
A controversial sand-andgravel mine in DuPont might be allowed to expand if it meets certain environmental standards, according to a hearing examiner decision published earlier this month. As previously reported by The News Tribune, Glacier Northwest...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Long-awaited, $20M childcare facility opens in Tacoma
After years of fundraising, planning and construction, the wait is finally over. The Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center’s new $20.9 million, 32,000-squarefoot childcare center at 2102 S. 23rd St. in Tacoma is ready to open. Soon after the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump said pool would cost $2M; estimate was much higher
When President Donald Trump first announced the project to transform the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on April 23 during an event at the Oval Office, he described the pool as a “filthy, dirty” place and that it was “leaking like a sieve.” Trump...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Watch: Largest tree in Lakewood comes down one branch at a time
roaring sound of a chainsaw cut through a Lakewood neighborhood Tuesday as a 500-year-old, 160-foot-tall tree, the largest in the city, was disassembled, branch by branch. As previously reported by The News Tribune, the large Douglas fir on Lake...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lakewood fir to be cut down due to decay risk
Hidden in a Lakewood neighborhood, a tall Douglas fir stands resolute by the road, towering about 150 feet tall and 80 inches wide. Its bark is riddled with holes, and it’s between 400 and 600 years old, likely one of the oldest of its kind in the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran delays nuclear talks as clashes worsen in Lebanon
Iran delayed the start of negotiations over a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after fighting intensified in southern Lebanon, a potential setback to President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war and curb Tehran's nuclear program. The talks, which...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Life on Salmon Beach: Tacoma’s hidden waterfront community
Hidden behind an unassuming locked gate by Point Defiance Park is a community of people who like their privacy. Through a thicket of forest and down a steep flight of nearly 300 stairs rest 104 homes, held up by stilts over a narrow stretch of beach....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Could Tacoma be the new Hollywood? Some people think so
To support the independent film scene in Tacoma is to love Tacoma. It’s to know that the city has so much to offer, to dedicate time to helping others see it and to not expect much in return. Nowhere is that more embodied than at The Grand Cinema....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Takeaways from Tuesday’s primary election results
Graham Platner, a military veteran and first-time candidate whose populist message resonated with voters in Maine, prevailed over the state’s governor to win the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday. Now, he will face Sen. Susan Collins, a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Seattle to Texas Express’: Why some residents are leaving
Some Republicans say it’s the new normal: that Washington state residents and businesses are leaving because the cost of living is too high and the political ideology has shifted too far to the left. Former talk show host Kirby Wilbur, who spent about...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Diaz was shot ‘without provocation.’ 2 charged in teen’s death
Two people have been charged with murder in the shooting death last month of Parkland teenager Braylon Diaz. According to charging documents, the suspects are 26year-old Alyssa Marie VaughtBarr and 21-year-old Brandon Torres-Mesa, who is at...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Man sentenced for stabbing at Point Defiance Park
The man convicted of trying to murder a woman walking alone on a trail at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park in a stabbing attack foiled by other park goers was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison. A jury found Nicholas Fitzgerald Matthew guilty of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Construction firm faces $1.1M claims in unfinished projects
Every time Brittany Gunderson goes out to her yard, she’s reminded of a promise poured in concrete and left unfinished. Gunderson, who lives in Bonney Lake with her husband, Todd, hired a local construction firm to build a ramp for her brother-in-law,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Report says Iran, US reach outline ceasefire deal
The United States and Iran have reached an outline agreement to extend their ceasefire pending the approval of President Donald Trump, Axios reported Thursday, after Iran targeted a U.S. air base in Kuwait in the wake of U.S. strikes on what Washington...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Residents favor quiet over business growth in Northeast Tacoma
Northeast Tacoma can feel like its own small town. It’s separated from the rest of the city by Commencement Bay, and it can be a bit of a hike to get there. Plus, there are only a few businesses that dot the roads and intersections, compared to dense...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
111-year-old landmark demolished after permit ‘issued in error’
Crews starting tearing down a 111-year-old school house this week after Pierce County staff mistakenly issued a demolition permit for the historic building, a county spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Pierce County’s Planning & Public Works department...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Mushroom guy’ DeLeo provides fresh fungi to Tacoma chefs
was a cold, misty, midspring morning — as Pacific Northwest as it gets — when I officially met “the mushroom guy” in his habitat. If you live in or near Tacoma, and you like good food, you probably know him, too. For nearly 15 years, Adam DeLeo...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Ashford guide shatters Mount Rainier speed record
On May 9, Rainier Mountaineering Incorporated (RMI) guide Simon Kearns woke up in company housing in Ashford well before dawn. For breakfast, he had a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee. He’d slept a total of 30 minutes, but that was normal for him...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Police honor Foss employees who intervened in knife attack
The Tacoma Police Department honored five Foss High School staff members during a press conference Thursday for their roles intervening in a knife attack that left six injured last month. On the afternoon of April 30, four male students confronted...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fire on Tacoma’s Temple Theatre roof likely electrical
A fire on the roof of Tacoma’s historic Temple Theatre on Tuesday likely was caused by an electrical failure. Chelsea Shepherd, spokesperson for Tacoma Fire, told The News Tribune that the department is finalizing its report for the building at 47 St....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Ex-Pierce County teacher who molested students sentenced to prison
The former Pierce County elementary school teacher convicted of inappropriately touching four students was sentenced Friday to 66 years to life in prison. Jordan Roy Henderson, 36, was found guilty by a jury of 12 counts of first-degree child...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Guarded by JBLM and Chief Leschi’s spirit, prairies endure
Fifteen thousand years ago, the Vashon Glacier, which helped carve Puget Sound, retreated and left behind hundreds of thousands of acres of grassland prairies, which were peppered with Garry oak trees, wildflowers, birds and butterflies. The prairies...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lakewood’s J’Nai Bridges to star in Seattle Opera’s ‘Carmen’
After over 100 performances in more than a dozen different productions playing the eponymous character, opera singer J’Nai Bridges has made it indisputably clear: Carmen is her calling. The Lakewood native has played the iconic temptress across the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
State moves to force health inspections at Tacoma ICE lockup
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown announced Tuesday that the state is seeking a federal court order to stop the contractor that runs the immigrationdetention center in Tacoma from blocking state health inspections at the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran offers plan to focus on Strait, delay nuclear talks
Iran has offered the United States a new proposal for negotiations that focuses on opening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the U.S. sea blockade on Iran as a way of ending the war and then tackling nuclear negotiaasked tions later, according to three...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
18 Washington sheriffs face certification complaints
Nearly half of the elected sheriffs in Washington state face allegations of misconduct lodged by the public with the state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission, which has the authority to suspend or revoke a cop’s certification as a law enforcement...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Loud train horns disrupt sleep in Old Town Tacoma
Residents in Old Town Tacoma say they have been kept up at night lately by the blaring horns of trains passing through the area. The trouble is centered at the railroad crossing near the inKurtis tersection of McCarver Street and Ruston Way. City...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pierce County Juvenile Court sees sudden leadership change
The man who has overseen Pierce County Juvenile Court as its administrator for more than a decade, TJ Bohl, and the court’s longtime probation manager, Kevin Williams, were separated from their positions last week. The reasons for their sudden...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Why Tacoma holds so many special elections each year
With Tacoma Public Schools’ recently-approved property tax measures in the rearview mirror and Parks Tacoma’s bond measure looming, Tacoma residents might feel that they are constantly voting in special elections. Washington state law allows for up to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Ex-sheriff's leader sentenced for DUI crash injuries
The man who was leading the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division when he drank, got behind the wheel of his pickup while off duty and caused a rollover collishe sion, pleaded guilty Tuesday to vehicular assault DUI and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Discover Longmire and the National Park Inn at Rainier
Not far inside the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park is the Longmire Historic District, which once housed the park headquarters. Nestled inside Longmire is a mountain lodge called the National Park Inn, Mount Rainier’s only year-round...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Why Pierce County teacher pay has surged amid budget strains
Teachers in the Evergreen State are among the best paid in the country. Washington’s teacher salaries are the fourth-highest in the United States, according to the National Education Association. A News Tribune analysis also found that teacher...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma city manager Kim aims for long-term impact
When Hyun Kim first moved to Tacoma, he spent months living in nearly each of the city’s neighborhoods. As he was waiting to sell his house in Wyoming – his home prior to moving to Tacoma – he stayed at hotels and Airbnbs in areas ranging from Hosmer...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Whole civilization will die tonight,’ Trump threatens Iran
President Donald Trump reiterated his ultimatum for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal or face a major military escalapost tion, as both sides kept up attacks in the sixth week of the war. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma pushes to protect light-rail extension amid shortfall
Tacoma Council member Kristina Walker vowed this week to “push pretty hard” with other Pierce County delegates on the Sound Transit Board to ensure the long-promised lightrail extension to Tacoma isn’t set back. Walker’s public reinforcement of her...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma’s popular poster makers release latest creation
Deep in a North Tacoma basement, the smell of paint is heavy. The walls are adorned with colorful posters, and a large 1952 printing press makes a mechanical swish and clicking sound as paper is run through and inked with poetry and yelguerilla low...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Horticulturist retires after 38 years at Point Defiance Park
Steve Herbig was hard at work on a sunny morning in the Point Defiance Park rose garden. Joggers sped past, a family took graduation photos and people walked their dogs as Herbig pruned roses nearby. One passerby, spotting 62year-old Herbig dressed...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Climber with prosthetic ice axe scales frozen waterfall
The act of climbing up something is deeply rooted in the human DNA; the joy and utility of it is inside us all. Evolution tells us this. Millions of years ago, we swung from the trees. Of course, with the advent of bipedalism and Bluetooth, it’s easy...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israel kills Iranian naval commander; Trump raises pressure
An Israeli airstrike killed an Iranian naval commander who played a pivotal role in shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, Israel said Thursday, as President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on Iran to accept his proposal to end the war. Trump, in a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Nisqually wildlife refuge hires pro to take out bullfrogs
On a gray and rainy Thursday morning, I traveled south to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. On a typical soggy March day in the Northwest, it seemed I wanted to find Washington’s soggiest place. The kind of place a bullfrog would...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma man living in car found solace cleaning headstones
William Douglas Fleet’s version of paying rent three years ago was picking up garbage in the area where he parked his car for the night. It was Fleet’s way of saying “thank you for getting me through the night” when he lived in his car. One of the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Puyallup school cuts trade pool closure for more layoffs
A pool, three gymnastics teams and librarian-led instructional time for most elementary school students have been spared from the Puyallup School District’s $15 million budget cuts. But there is a trade-off: more positions on the chopping...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Residents, pizza restaurant clash over rowdy karaoke nights
Tensions are running high between the North End’s Bigfoot Pizza and Bar and neighbors in the area after the two clashed over noise complaints and late-night activity outside the business. Bigfoot Pizza and Bar, previously known as Sammy’s Pizza, has...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
No more timed entry at Mount Rainier
The News Tribune headed to Mount Rainier National Park on the park’s 127th birthday to talk to locals about the official cancellation of the timed-entry reservation system for 2026. The decision to drop timedentry reservations officially ends months...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
War expands as US, Israel, Iran ramp up regional strikes
U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reverberated across the region for a fourth day, with oil and gas prices surging and the world adjusting to a conflict that President Donald Trump says has no fixed timeline. Iran sent a fresh wave of missiles at countries...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Response time questioned for Key Peninsula stabbings
How long did it take deputies to arrive after a 911 caller reported a man stabbing people outside homes on the Key Peninsula? In the days following the tragic incident in the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court Northwest, which left five dead, Key...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Neighbors recall stabbings in Key Peninsula
Neighbors remained in shock Wednesday after witnessing the tragic stabbings and shooting Tuesday near the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court Northwest on the Key Peninsula. The neighborhood of duplexes is tucked away from the main highway that runs...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump says Iran strike would be ‘easily won’ but wants deal
President Donald Trump pushed back on reports that the Pentagon was concerned that an extended military campaign against Iran could prove difficult, even as he insisted Monday his preference was still to strike a diplomatic deal. “Everything that has...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tacoma TikToker’s jingle ends up on national television
On a particularly hot day last year, Tacoma native Romeo Bingham was sipping on a Dr Pepper when an idea for a jingle popped in their head. “I swear it just, like, came out of me,” Bingham, 26, said. Bingham, who uses they/ them pronouns, decided to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
County attorney: Minn. could consider charges for fed agents
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Wednesday that with or without federal cooperation, state prosecutors are in “good shape” to make charging decisions against the federal agents who shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. While noting...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Washington’s winter weather raises red flags for experts
If you’re thinking the extra sun Tacoma’s soaked in this winter is out of the ordinary, you aren’t wrong. The SeaTac weather station recorded a 14-day-long streak of no precipitation in January 2026, just one day below the longest January dry streak...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Horticulturist provides glimpse inside the jewel of Wright Park
Thousands of species of plants stretch for sunlight inside an elaborate glass Victorian conservatory in Tacoma’s Wright Park. For nearly 120 years the W. W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory has offered Pierce County residents a special place to look at...
Read Full Story (Page 1)