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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 18 |
| 1904 | 788 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1909 | 716 |
1,529 stories
- The Fire Safety Debate of 1904
Tacoma building owners argue that 'fireproof' construction renders fire escapes redundant, but city officials stand their ground.
- The Courthouse Standoff
A local treasurer defies a court order to pay city school warrants, deepening a long-running legal feud over the Tourist Hotel site.
- The City’s Controversial Watering Hours
New city regulations for lawn sprinkling spark protests from North End residents who claim the schedule ignores the reality of their working hours.
- The City vs. The Monopoly in Indian Addition
Tacoma moves to bring public electricity to the Indian Addition, challenging a private utility's hold on the neighborhood.
- The Mystery of the Creeping Rail
A phantom force is physically shifting the interurban line's tracks toward Tacoma, baffling engineers and causing havoc with the electrical system.
- The Automatic Entertainer's Divorce
A local husband defending a divorce suit reveals his unique business holdings in coin-operated slot machines and automatic banjos.
- Holiday Crime Wave Sweeps Tacoma
While crowds gathered for the Fourth of July celebration, a brazen spree of burglaries and robberies left residents on edge.
- Labor Unions March Through Tacoma
Striking displays of organization and craft pride defined the industrial parade as unions from Tacoma and Seattle joined forces.
- The Neighborhood Fight Over South X Street Saloons
Tacoma residents organize a standoff against local bar owners as the City Council debates liquor license renewals.
- Sidewalks Torn Up and Abandoned
Tacoma residents vent frustration as contractors rip up streets and leave them barricaded for months without completion.
- A Whale Surfaces in Commencement Bay and Soaks a Tacoma Couple's Launch
Mr. and Mrs. M. Sutter were ten feet from a spouting whale while crossing the bay in their launch Comet — and came ashore soaked.
- The Silent Runaway
A young wife vanishes from her home, leaving behind only the question of whether she was fleeing her husband's unreasonable demands or his silent pressure.
- The Teamsters’ Pay Protest
When city laborers weren't paid for grading Eleventh Street, they threatened legal action against Tacoma, revealing a messy clash between public works and local ordinances.
- The Puyallup Kept Its Dead—and an Old Belief Said It Always Would
A boy drowned in the Puyallup River; his father searched the muddy current in vain, while neighbors recalled an old belief that the river never gives up its dead.
- Interurban Sub-Station Workers Strike Over Pay and Rest
After management cut their days off and refused to increase wages, substation workers on the Tacoma-Seattle line walked off the job, citing hazardous working conditions and isolation.
- Tacoma’s Telephone War: A Council Gridlock Over Modernization
A deadlocked city council clashes over an automatic telephone franchise, pitting progress against the fear of a 'double service' nuisance.
- City Council Splits Over Telephone Franchise
A surprise move to indefinitely postpone the new independent telephone franchise failed in a narrow 9-7 vote, signaling a shift in local utility control.
- A Custody Dispute Turns Into a Near-Brawl
When two children disappear during a divorce proceeding, a hired detective and a father find themselves on the edge of violence.
- Gas Company Workers Walk Out Over Wages
Thirty-one men laying mains in Tacoma’s North End strike after being refused a 25-cent daily raise.
- The Price of a Broken Promise
A young woman in Rosedale takes legal action after her suitor repeatedly puts off their wedding.
- The Great Tacoma Mardi Gras Swindle
A traveling carnival collapses in Tacoma, leaving residents out of pocket and a planned wedding abandoned in the ruins.
- The Sunday Closing War
A grocery store proprietor is the first target in a new legal battle to enforce Sunday closing laws in Tacoma.
- Trolley Derailment Injures Three in South Tacoma
A motorman’s failure to brake on a sharp curve throws passengers from a streetcar platform near 38th and M streets.
- The Pepper War at Josselyn’s
A labor dispute turns ugly as a waiter strikes back against a picket line.
- The City Employment Bureau’s Fight Against Job Scalpers
Tacoma’s municipal employment manager implements a new in-person policy to block local rivals from poaching public job leads.