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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1898 | 1 |
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| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
57 stories matching messing
- The Water Superintendent’s Public Feud
Seattle’s Water Superintendent fires back at claims of mismanagement, launching a sprawling, finger-pointing defense of his department’s books.
- The Bustle That Ambushed a Gentleman
A chivalrous attempt to help a lady on Main Street goes hilariously and disastrously wrong.
- The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887
Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- The City Council’s High-Stakes Plumbing Fiasco
When Seattle hired a famed Eastern expert to redesign its city sewers, they ended up with a costly mess of mismatched theories and local engineering rebellion.
- The Con Man Who Wore a Partner's Identity
A clever grifter posed as a prominent Seattle businessman to swindle New York merchants, leaving local partners to clean up the mess.
- A Night of Revelry at the Cannery
While anti-Chinese sentiment was rampant in Seattle, workers at the Myers cannery held a joyous, boisterous celebration for their cultural labor holiday.
- The Road to South Tacoma is a Muddy Mess
Business leaders complain that the main thoroughfare connecting Tacoma to its southern prairie is in such disrepair that it is throttling local trade.
- Is the U.S. Weather Bureau a Fraud?
A Tacoma newspaper puts the national weather forecasting service to the test, finding that while local predictions often fail, the bureau struggles most in the capital itself.
- A Whole Ox on a 30-Foot Trench: The Butchers' Free Feed for Ten Thousand
Six beeves, sixteen sheep, one ox and 45 boiled hams — roasted overnight over open coals at Madison Street Park and handed out free on pasteboard plates, with a greased pig, a greased pole and dancing until daybreak.
- The Great Legislative Mess of 1877
A scathing editorial reveals how Washington Territory lawmakers spent their time sight-seeing instead of legislating, resulting in a chaotic pile of 'undigested' laws.
- The Sorehead Movement Meets Its Funeral
Seattle independents gather at the G.A.R. hall to plan a fusion ticket, then quietly prepare to let their revolt die.
- Banking Fallout from School Bond Mess
Local business leaders back away from an informal agreement to cover school district debt as the legal validity of the warrants is questioned.
- A Deadly Dinner of Mussels
Captain McAlpine's near-fatal meal at a local restaurant highlights the hidden dangers of the city's seafood consumption in 1893.
- Olympia Votes Out the Old Council — and Inherits a Financial Mess
A day after the city election, the Tribune calls on the lame-duck mayor and council to resign so the city can untangle a debt larger than the law allows — and demands streetcars, street work and honest handling of the public's money.
- Olympia Puts Its Bond Mess on Ice—and the Mayor Objects
A council committee recommends leaving the 1891 bond tangle to the next administration; the mayor warns the city is “in a mud hole” and wants the courts to force a decision.
- The Struggle to Keep Seattle Clean in 1888
As Seattle prepared for a massive influx of tourists for a summer celebration, one citizen publicly shamed the city's leadership for allowing its streets to remain a cluttered, hazardous mess of construction debris.
- Seattle’s Legal Housekeeping: The City Council Decides to Clean Up Its Own Act
In 1899, Seattle’s leaders admitted their laws were a mess and hired two experts to fix it—proving that bureaucratic confusion is an old problem.
- The Perils of a Modern Diet
A local column warns Tacoma residents that the 'great national vice' of gluttony and poor food combinations is endangering public health.
- The Ghost of the Liverpool Run
A sailor vanishes from his ship during a squall, only to reappear in an English port, leaving his crew convinced they’ve been haunted by a stowaway.
- The Newspaper Feud That Rocked 1880s Seattle
An editorial from the Intelligencer exposes the bitter, vitriolic infighting between two local publishing factions during a pivotal municipal and general election season.
- Seattle's Fire Department Was Being Run Like a Boys' Club
An 1895 editorial blasts the fire commissioners and city council for a chief-appointment mess that left the department leaderless and the public fed up.
- Kennewick's Oiled Road Is Falling Apart—and the New Commissioner Will Inherit the Mess
A local correspondent warns that emergency warrants, neglected road districts, and a rut a foot deep will greet commissioner-elect R. E. Pratt.
- The Dirty Truth Behind Everett’s Kitchens
The Civic League exposes unsanitary conditions in local hotels and cafes, sparking a call for strict health inspections and public accountability.
- The Madison Street Assessment Mix-Up
A clerical error by the city has suddenly shifted the burden of sidewalk taxes, creating a financial mess for homeowners.