Inside Opinion » Federal Way

In FWay, four more victims of American gun violence

TNT Editorial Board — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:38:42 +0000

This editorial will appear in Tuesday’s print edition.

Sunday’s slaughter in Federal Way is not only closer to home than the shooting of Newtown, it’s closer to what gun violence in the United States typically looks like.

Five wound up dead, including the perpetrator of the four other fatal shootings.

He had no grandiose political or religious agenda. There was no blather about avenging drone attacks, federal tyranny or mistreatment of Palestinians. The Federal Way homicides appear to have started with a simple, fatal act of domestic violence: The killer shot his girlfriend. He then may have shot the three …

Naming rights could alleviate, not solve funding shortages

TNT Editorial Board — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:41:02 +0000

This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

Would you support renaming the Tacoma Narrows Bridge if it kept tolls from rising higher than they otherwise would?

What if it were renamed the Taco Bell Narrows Bridge and only kept the toll from increasing, say, by 25 cents?

It’s that kind of question that lawmakers must consider with House Bill 1050 and 1051, which would allow naming rights for public facilities and transportation infrastructure, respectively. Both are prime-sponsored by state Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard; HB 1051 is co-sponsored by freshman Rep. Linda Kochmar, R-Federal Way.

Angel’s main motivation …

School, fire district measures deserve voter support

TNT Editorial Board — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:45:06 +0000

This editorial will appear in Tuesday’s print edition.

When it comes to ballot measures to be decided Nov. 6, most of the attention has swirled around the controversial referendum on same-sex marriage and initiatives backing charter schools and marijuana legalization.

School and fire district measures might not grab headlines, but they’re vital to a community’s quality of life. Voters from Federal Way and Auburn to the Key Peninsula and the slopes of Mount Rainier have important issues close to home to decide. The News Tribune editorial board recommends that they approve the following measures:

Federal Way …

Our endorsements in 30th and 31st district House races

TNT Editorial Board — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:44:32 +0000

This editorial will appear in Tuesday’s print edition.

Four state House seats are up for grabs Nov. 6 in the 30th and 31st legislative districts.

The districts have geography and politics in common. Both include parts of King and Pierce counties, and both are swing districts that send Democrats and Republicans to the Legislature.

The 30th District’s population center is Federal Way in South King County and includes a small chunk of northern Pierce County. The 31st includes Auburn, Enumclaw, Edgewood, Bonney Lake, Buckley and Sumner.

Here are our endorsements:

• The two 30th District House seats to be decided …

Letter writer was accident victim

Cheryl Tucker — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:34:45 +0000

I just read on our website that the motorist killed in Wednesday’s awful accident on Interstate 705 was identified as attorney Scott Jablon, 58, of Federal Way.

The name sounded familiar, so I checked our letters to the editor database. Jablon was a fairly regular writer, and he last had a letter in the paper July 19, supporting 30th Legislative District candidate Linda Kochmar.

Our condolences to Jablon’s family.

Our endorsements in 30th Legislative District races

TNT Editorial Board — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:50:48 +0000

This editorial will appear in Thursday’s print edition.

The 30th Legislative District – which includes Federal Way in King County and a small piece of Pierce County – is a true swing district, with its two state House seats held by a Democrat and a Republican.

Voters there tend to favor centrists, rarely electing ultra-liberal Democrats or hard-right Republicans. The Aug. 7 primary gives them the opportunity to select finalists for the open Position 1 seat (Democratic incumbent Mark Miloscia is running for state auditor) and a challenger for Position 2 Republican incumbent Katrina Asay. The top two vote-getters in …

Many courts need a refresher on open records rights

TNT Editorial Board — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:45:10 +0000

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.
Location seems to be a key factor in determining whether citizens can successfully obtain public records they’re entitled to by state law.

At least that what News Tribune reporter Sean Robinson discovered when he requested public documents regarding cases adjudicated in 22 district and municipal courts in the South Sound.
The cases were routine ones that Robinson knew should be made available under state open records law – for free. He asked for the documents as a private citizen to see how the courts’ staffs would respond.

Those responses were …

Vote yes on 3 out of 4 measures on the April 17 ballot

TNT Editorial Board — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:31:39 +0000

This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

Voters in Eatonville, Auburn, Gig Harbor and Federal Way should have received their ballots by now for the April 17 special election. They’re being asked to fund school operations, roads, and fire and emergency service.

The News Tribune supports all of the ballot measures except the one for Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One. That one would increase the current levy payment by 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation – and make the increase permanent.

Like most local service providers, the Gig Harbor department has felt the pain of reduced property …

South Sounders share Federal Way’s transit frustration

TNT Editorial Board — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:52:57 +0000

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

Some Federal Way-area officials are so unhappy with Sound Transit that they’re contemplating secession from the tri-county transportation agency. There’s no mechanism for such a move, but that’s not stopping them from talking about it.

Their pain is our pain – to a point.

Sound Transit has determined that sales tax revenues from the South King County sub-area have fallen so steeply that the agency must delay extension of light rail to Federal Way from 2023 to 2034 or later. That delay means that the next light rail leg – to Tacoma …

Support FPierce, Auburn and FWay school measures

TNT Editorial Board — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:15:24 +0000

This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

It doesn’t take a financial genius to understand that there’s no better time than the present to get moving on construction projects: Interest rates are low, and contractors are eager for the work.

That might not be the case for long if the economy keeps improving and costs start rising. So it makes sense for three South Sound school districts to ask voters now to pay for major facility upgrades that can’t be put off any longer.

They make a good case for passing measures appearing on the Feb. 14 ballot, and …