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23 stories matching bicker
- The Chaos of Washington's Pre-Civil War Legislature
As the nation teetered on the brink of war, Olympia's Eighth Legislative Session descended into partisan bickering, salary disputes, and frantic attempts to define Washington Territory's loyalty to the Union.
- The Baker Who Ran for Mayor
Seattle's Populist Party convention devolves into 12 hours of bickering before selecting a German baker to lead their ticket.
- Narrow Escape from Fire for Two Girls
Prompt action by neighbors saved two young children after their clothing caught fire near a stove on the same afternoon.
- The Great Land Grab of 1878: A Territorial Tug-of-War
While D.C. legislators bickered over the Northern Pacific Railroad's land grants and portage routes, Washington Territory settlers fought to secure their homestead rights against corporate expansion.
- The Cheadle Point Shootings
A domestic dispute on a remote homestead near Tacoma turns into a violent, chaotic bloodbath involving a revolver and a desperate act of intervention.
- The Decades-Long Struggle for the Ship Canal
While Washington’s politicians bickered over river improvements and silver coinage in 1892, Seattle’s leaders were quietly lobbying Congress to fund the monumental task of connecting Puget Sound to Lake Union and Lake Washington.
- The 'Pepper Box' Mill in the Wilderness
While critics claimed opportunity for the working man was dead, four shingle weavers built a successful, portable mill in the Everett outskirts.
- City Hall's Battle Over the Sewers
Seattle's new city engineer clashes with the Board of Public Works over questionable construction projects and a lack of 'practical common sense.'
- The Battle for the Territory: Judson vs. Jacobs in the 1876 Election
As the nation grapples with the disputed presidential election of 1876, Washington Territory voters head to the polls to decide their own future, pitting Republican J.P. Judson against Democrat Judge Jacobs in a fierce contest for territorial supremacy.
- The Price of a City's Ambition
A Seattle City Council report warns that aggressive infrastructure grading, fueled by debt-financed city scrip, is pushing property owners to the brink during an economic downturn.
- Democratic Party Caucus Descends into Backroom Chaos
While Washington legislators bicker behind locked doors in Olympia, party infighting stalls the state’s business.
- The Chicken Yard Brawl
A trespassing dispute in the Walla Walla addition escalates from fence-line bickering to a public wrestling match.
- Three Bickering Land Departments, Millions in Tide Lands, and a Demand for Answers
A state land commissioner admits the tide-land situation is 'chaotic in the extreme' and calls for a no-whitewash legislative probe — warning that divided authority is an open door to corruption.
- The Great Sewerage Snafu
As Seattle rapidly expanded, the city council struggled to build a modern waste system, hampered by exorbitant royalty demands from engineers and local political bickering.
- Police Politics in Whatcom
A City Council meeting devolves into bickering as members attempt to oust a police captain through manufactured charges.
- Four Years, Four Factions, and Still No Pavement on Pacific Avenue
Tacoma's property owners have bickered for four years over how to pave the street running through their town — bituminous rock, plank, wood, or plank-on-gravel — so the council has finally given them until June 1 to agree, or it will choose for them.
- A City Fed Up: Seattle Demands an End to the Fire Department Follies
Six years after the Great Fire, an exasperated editor says the wrangling over the fire department has become a farce — and warns the mayor, council and commission to settle it or step aside.
- The Highway That Keeps Moving
For years, the state has been stuck in an endless legal fight with the Pacific Ocean over the ownership of beaches used as public roads.
- The Porpoise and the Cow: A Nautical Disaster in Tacoma
A schooner, a one-eyed cow, and a cargo-hoisting gone horribly wrong—a day on the Tacoma waterfront that ended in broken bunks and a damp bovine.
- The City vs. County Quarantine Standoff
A sick couple was left suffering in quarantine while city and county officials bickered over who was responsible for their medical bills.
- Aberdeen Council Bickers Over Bridge Purchase
A procedural stalemate arises as council members argue over the best way to secure bonds for the city’s acquisition of the Heron Street bridge.
- The Great Bed-Sheet Debate
Legislators in Olympia waste the public's time by bickering over the legal length of hotel linens.
- Fisticuffs in the Courtroom
A trial in Walla Walla turns into a brawl as attorneys abandon legal arguments for physical confrontation.
Also about this, in other words
- The Self-Appointed Governor of the Nooksack
A rancher barricades himself on an island in the Nooksack River, claiming authority and defying intruders until captured by the sheriff.
- The Bifurcated Pioneer
A celebrated mining expert sets out into the rugged Yakima wilderness, challenging gender norms by wearing pants and preparing to brave the elements on horseback.
- The Local Rebel Taking On the Political Machine
Frank W. Bixby, a Lynden attorney, is making waves by refusing to bow to Whatcom County’s political establishment.
- Public Feud at the Bijou Theater
The proprietor of the Bijou Theater hits back after a constable allegedly threatened him and attempted to enter the venue without paying.
- The Politics of Exclusion: A Night at the Bijou
In 1886, a raucous meeting at Seattle’s Bijou theater formalized the 'Committee of Fifteen,' marking a volatile era of organized expulsion and nativist labor politics.
- The Great Nooksack Potlatch
Hundreds gather near Lynden for a traditional gift-giving feast and solemn reburial of ancestors.