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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 8 |
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89 stories matching conform
- Before the Tide Lands Sold, Seattle Had to Erase Its Own Streets
Property owners rushed the City Council to vacate old street lines across Elliott Bay tide lands before a May 13 purchase deadline—or risk tangled titles and lost waterfront.
- The Great Seattle Grade Grind: How City Hall Raised the Floor (and the Cost) of Living
In February 1889, just months after the Great Fire, Seattle’s City Council and Surveyor Scarry announced a massive infrastructure overhaul. By raising street grades by up to four feet in the commercial district, they forced property owners into a costly conformity that would define the city's vertical landscape for decades.
- The House of Cards Collapses
Washington State’s new felony law drives the gambling halls of Walla Walla into the shadows.
- The Price of Healing: Seattle’s 1899 'Medical Trust' Controversy
When the Seattle Star exposed a secret fee schedule used by local doctors to set prices, the city’s medical establishment pushed back, sparking a fierce debate over whether health care was a public right or a protected monopoly.
- The Great Regrade of Commercial Street
A proposal to drop Commercial Street by ten feet to improve drainage and access.
- The Bust After the Boom in Whatcom County
A local assessor grapples with the fallout of a real-estate bubble, lowering property valuations to match actual economic conditions.
- The Price of a Regrade
A local property owner sues the city for $10,000, claiming a street regrade left their building isolated and inaccessible.
- The Great Dimple Scandal
A jealous husband, a mysterious package, and a 19th-century beauty obsession gone wrong in an upper-crust Seattle home.
- The Struggle for Seattle's Green Future
Citizens and city officials unite to plan a comprehensive park system before the city's growth makes it impossible.
- Walla Walla Commercial Club Protests Fort Abandonment
Military brass eyes closure for the historic post, sparking a civic campaign from the Commercial Club to keep the soldiers in town.
- The Fight for Breathable Air in Seattle's Tenements
City health officials launch an inspection campaign to enforce density limits in overcrowded boarding houses.
- Fourteen Saloons, One Deadline: The Dry Sweep Up the Wenatchee
A Kittitas County deputy shut down unlicensed liquor dealers from the Wenatchee River to Cascade City—then set his sights on eight holdouts in Okanogan.
- New Law Reshapes Local Construction Business
A legislative change forces material men to provide duplicate invoices, altering building financial practices in Tacoma.
- The Pay Cut: Walla Walla Clerks Face Salary Reductions
Postmaster General Payne orders immediate corrections to payroll irregularities; local employees see their wages slashed effective June 1.
- Tacoma’s Theaters Put on Notice
Mayor Campbell issues a firm mandate requiring local theaters to meet new fire safety standards or face closure.
- Coulee City Mandates Electrical Safety Inspections
New municipal code establishes safety standards and inspection fees for residential and commercial wiring.
- A 'Mantraps' Warning: Building Collapses on South Third
A recently renovated shop collapses into kindling just minutes after workers vacate the premises.
- The Race to Build the Cedar River Railroad
Seattle property owners are urged to close a $14,000 funding gap to finish a critical standard-gauge rail line.
- The Price of Disappointment
Retribution against Indigenous medicine men persists in Yakima and Klickitat counties over failed spiritual interventions.
- The Tax Battle Over the Railroad Tracks
Walla Walla County commissioners face a recurring fiscal headache as state regulators override local tax assessments on railway property.
- The Great Table Etiquette Debate
An editorial scrap between the Intelligencer and the Post-Intelligencer over whether eating with a knife is a sign of 'vulgar' breeding.
- The Barber Licensing Wars
A test case in Walla Walla pits state health inspectors against local barbers resisting a price hike.
- The Northwestern Industrial Army Organizes in Seattle
Unemployed men gather at Second and Weller to form a peaceful labor collective as the city braces for economic depression.
- Northern Pacific Accused of Land Extortion by Tacoma-Kalama Residents
Citizens and politicians clash over the Northern Pacific Railroad's monopoly and the holding of immense swaths of land that remain untaxed and undeveloped.
- Cutting the Cost of Keeping Warm
A sweeping new public service commission order promises to slash freight rates for coal from the Roslyn mines, potentially saving state residents $50,000 annually.