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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 10 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 7 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 10 |
| 1889 | 13 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 14 |
| 1895 | 26 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 11 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1928 | 2 |
189 stories matching wise
- Tacoma's Business Men Draw a Line at Railroad Control
Independent members of the Chamber of Commerce nominate a rival ticket after charging that Northern Pacific and Tacoma Railway & Power proxies packed the nominating committee.
- The Railroad That Wanted Aberdeen's Streets
A homegrown rail company asked for a thirty-foot right of way, the eastern entrance to town, and the whole waterfront. The council had to decide how much public street to give away.
- The Great Fire That Turned Seattle’s Suburb into Ash
A fast-moving blaze in the early morning hours consumed nearly all of South Seattle's business district, leaving dozens of families destitute and causing over $100,000 in damage.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul: Who Owns the City?
As the Northern Pacific Railroad, wealthy speculators, and the City of Seattle clash in Olympia over a massive land claim, the future of Seattle’s streets and growth hangs in the balance.
- The City That Forgot How to Ride: Seattle’s Battle for Short-Term Streetcar Franchises
In May 1899, the Seattle Star warned that granting long-term monopolies to street railway companies would leave the city trapped with obsolete technology and inflated prices. The paper argued fiercely for short-term grants to keep corporations accountable—a debate that echoes in today’s transit infrastructure battles.
- The Great Land Grab: Seattle's Board of Commissioners Condemns Northern Pacific’s 'Gross Swindle'
In a rare show of unified civic resistance, Thurston County officials denounce the railroad's seizure of public lands as an outrage against settlers.
- Eastern Washington Farmers Question Canal Freight Claims
A local farmer challenges the Post-Intelligencer’s claim that a canal will lower freight rates, sparking a heated editorial defense on the economic future of the region.
- City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision
A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.
- The Board of Health Weighed Closing Every School in Seattle
Scarlet fever was moving through the city's classrooms in May 1895, and the men who ran public health argued over whether to send thousands of children home for six weeks — and whether parents could be trusted to report the sickness at all.
- A Cannery, a Reef, and the Indians’ Right to Fish
A federal injunction stops the Point Roberts packing company from taking sockeye while the cannery argues the reef was never reserved to the Lummi—and that 130 jobs hang in the balance.
- The $275,000 Plan to Dredge Olympia Into a Deep-Water Port
In 1892, a federal engineer proposed cutting a 12-foot channel through two miles of tide flats so ocean steamers could reach Fourth Street. The price tag was $275,000—and a bet on Olympia’s future.
- The Senate Chamber Shatters: A Riot of Words and Glass in Washington Territory
As Senators Ingalls and Voorhees traded insults that turned personal, a crowd of thousands pressed against the doors until the glass gave way, turning a legislative debate into a spectacle of democracy's raw edge.
- The Great Political Tickling: How Daniel Bugley Outwitted Seattle’s Beriah Brown
A fiery editorial in the *Snohomish Sun* exposes a political alliance between two rival editors, accusing them of using religious fervor as a cover for partisan maneuvering.
- The 1892 Race for Seattle: A City in Construction
As Seattle geared up for the 1892 mayoral election, local candidates debated debt, expansion, and the 'moral' cleanup of the city while the railroad industry reshaped the landscape.
- A Bloody Dispute Over a Debt in Wenatchee
A local man is fighting for his life after a heated confrontation over unpaid money turned into a violent gunfight.
- The Saloonkeeper’s Open Letter to Walla Walla Voters
An unapologetic endorsement of Mayor Hunt from a local saloon owner who argues that city officials should ignore 'blue laws' in favor of prosperity.
- The Mine That Stood Still: How One Man’s Leave Sparked a Labor War in Newcastle
A dispute over a fired miner named Kenny Ramsay has shut down the Newcastle coal mines, pitting the Knights of Labor against the company and threatening to flood the pits if arbitration fails.
- Coxey's Army on Trial: Seattle Laborers Testify About the Yakima Gunfire
In federal court in Seattle, members of the Commonweal Army described how deputy marshals clubbed and shot at unemployed men trying to ride a train east to present the Coxey bill to Congress.
- The Manufacturer's Trap
A labor paper exposes the duplicitous correspondence of a prominent industrialist plotting to break union agreements.
- An Alarming Rise in Typhoid Cases
Public alarm grows in Tacoma as local health officials downplay a spike in illness, suggesting citizens boil their water while avoiding any official critique of the city's water supply.
- Walla Walla Questions Paying Twice for Water Rights
City officials and the press lock horns over a costly, potentially unnecessary land acquisition for a municipal gravity water system.
- Kennewick Votes for Public Control of the Waterfront
In a bid to safeguard local commerce against monopolization, voters approve the creation of a port district to keep docks and warehouses in public hands.
- The Navy's $600,000 Question: Was the Dry Dock Built on Bad Piles?
A special commission of Army engineers is rushed to Puget Sound to test whether the navy's new dry dock was built on bad piling and inferior concrete.
- The Bank Asks Newport to Keep Its Nerve
Stockholders of the First State Bank of Newport pledged to cover depositors' losses and asked for time to collect loans as the Panic of 1907 tightened its grip on the country.
- The Banker Who Steered Newport Through the Panic of 1907
G. S. Thomas founded Newport's first bank, helped bring the city its water system, and died after guiding the institution through the financial stringency of November 1907.