Blue Byline » Tacoma city budget

Lack of big police stories not a real problem

Brian O'Neill — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:24:44 +0000

Most days I slug my coffee and sift through the paper. Most days said paper is chock full of stories that roll right into my wheelhouse. Not so much lately.

On any given day, the Trib’s A section is filled with articles that have at least a tangential connection to the police profession: national crime news, public safety budgets, local police stories, or controversial drug arrests. The shortage may not bode well for a column that feeds off such events, but it may say good things about our community’s overall health. Or not.

A perusal of today’s stories include the …

Councilwoman provides legitimate reason for gang study – federal money

Brian O'Neill — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:29:57 +0000

When Tacoma City Councilwoman Victoria Woodards penned her recent letter to The Trib, it was probably with a release of some pent-up frustration. The letter was a response to the multitude, myself included, who criticized the council’s decision to spend $50,000 studying the city’s gang problem.

Since the city released the results of their consultant’s research in early March, the City Council has been roasted for its alleged waste of scarce funds on such an obvious issue, none as much as Woodards. There was, I believe, good reason for

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Interim City Manager playing poker with city budget

Brian O'Neill — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:04:40 +0000

If Tacoma’s Interim City Manager Rey Arellano thinks his latest budget proposal is a joke, I have news for him. It ain’t funny.

With $23 million in expected cuts coming in 2012, potential job losses come as no surprise. The number of jobs–165 jobs according to the latest Trib report–does put a hefty human toll, especially given the nation’s unemployment woes.

But those figures blur when the two job classifications taking the majority of the cuts come into focus: Police officers and firefighters.

In all fairness I know people in both agencies, and will indirectly …