Each week on The Newsfeed, host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists dive deep into one topic and provide impactful reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.
Residents in Pierce County considering carving out a new county
Story published 8/7/2026
Gig Harbor resident Damon Townsend started a committee to determine whether they could create a new county called Peninsula County. The new county would include Gig Harbor and other nearby communities, including Fox Island and the Key Peninsula.
“It'd be great if we can keep our local dollars local, because we feel a lot of times those dollar bills go across the bridge and pennies come back," Townsend said.
He pointed out that the region is already geographically distinct from the rest of the county. He also said he started the committee because of limited resources from Pierce County.
“What really set it off is we had three brutal murders over on the Key Peninsula, and we had very slow response times from the Pierce County sheriff,” he said. “When we found out that the Pierce County rural, Pierce County unincorporated, has the lowest per capita sheriff's deputies of any jurisdiction in America -- not just in Washington, but in America -- we realized that, you know, over there in the Peninsula area, we provide a lot of tax benefits to the county, and we don't get the same level of services in return.”
"The Fox Island Bridge is one of the longest county-owned bridges in the state,” Townsend said. “It’s failing, and the county doesn’t have a big plan to fix it.”
He also says folks in what would be Peninsula County are underrepresented in the county council.
“One thing I could point out is, just representative-wise, we have seven county council districts in Pierce County,” Townsend said. “The Peninsula County area is represented by 100,000 registered voters, which is county council seven. County council six only has 60,000 registered voters, so we don't even get equal representation in the county government.”
The Pierce County Executive’s office declined an interview, saying, “This exploratory effort involves an extensive public process that does not include any input or decision-making authority by the Pierce County Executive.”
Other residents who would be part of the new county have also expressed concerns about separating from Pierce County, especially Anderson Island residents. That includes Jeremy Kamel, chair of the Anderson Island Citizens’ Advisory Board.
"The biggest point of concern for people is the ferry,” Kamel said. “That’s for islanders who only have access to our homes via the county-owned ferry. That’s obviously going to be the biggest point of concern... because we don’t really have any services on our island.”
Other Anderson Island residents echoed those concerns and added others, including that the new county may not have protections for groups like LGBTQ+ folks that Pierce County currently provides. Another concern residents vocalized is access to food, considering the island doesn’t have a grocery store.
“We have a vulnerable population of people who need access to nutrition,” said Anderson Island resident and food bank volunteer Mandrake Holmquist in an emailed statement. “I am a volunteer driver for the Emergency Food Network on Anderson Island, which serves people in Pierce County. EFN serves about 16 families on the island... If Anderson Island is removed from Pierce County, we would likely lose access to that service."
Only 5 new counties have been created since Washington’s founding. The last one was Pend Oreille county in 1911.
Part of the process is outlined in the state constitution, which says it must have a petition from more than half of the voters. Case law from a failed attempt to create a new county called Cedar County in 1998 further defined the process. The state Supreme Court clarified that the voter base should be determined on registered voters – not just the number who voted in the last election as Cedar County used. And even once the signatures are gathered, the final decision is up to the legislature.
For Townsend, he says this isn’t the only option, but it's one he wants to explore.
“This isn’t the only solution,” he said. “The county could take care of us more. But, you know, there's always an opportunity to look for other ways out."
Why some WA homeowners hire goats instead of landscapers
Story published 8/6/2026
In late July, much of the yard behind Kristie Marbut's suburban Sumner house was impassable. Invasive weeds and thorny blackberry bushes had grown so dense that she could not reach her own back stairs.
On a recent afternoon, she stood in the same spot, looking at her backyard slope, which was nearly bare.
“I’m still amazed,” she said. “I’m impressed with how thorough they were.”
The crew responsible was not made up of traditional landscapers. It was five goats, brought in for a week to eat their way through hard-to-reach vegetation that had made much of Marbut’s property unusable.
“I’ve hired humans to get rid of that overgrowth…and I’m never satisfied with how they take care of it,” she said. “I kept looking for…a more organic way to clear the land and make it usable again.”
Marbut is one of a number of Western Washington homeowners turning to “goatscaping” — the practice of using rented goats, rather than mowers or machinery, to clear overgrown land.
Proponents describe it as a more affordable, chemical-free and low-impact option than hiring a traditional landscape crew.
She hired Tacoma-based Goats Plus, one of several companies across the state that rents out goats for landscaping. Their goats have cleared out hundreds of residential yards across Pierce, King, Snohomish and Thurston counties, according to its owner.
“It’s getting popular,” said Dean North, who started Goats Plus with his wife as a side gig three years ago. “People are very into the green movement here in this state, and if I can help them provide a way of clearing their land the way they want, I’m all about it.”
North, whose company also offers gas-powered services, said the goats are especially skilled at clearing out hard-to-reach places, like slopes and hillsides.
For Marbut, who dreams of soon owning a dog, avoiding the toxic pesticides common in traditional yard care was critical. In peak wildfire season, she was also focused on finding a safe way to clear out unwanted brush.
“I won't even let my lawn guy mow the lawn because of the risk of spark and lighting the dry grass on fire,” she said.
Milt Schullian, who owns property in Federal Way, recently rented goats to clear his land. He said traditional landscapers quoted him thousands of dollars to clear the 300-foot-deep space. Ten goats did it for $450, chewing through weeds, blackberry bushes, ivy and maple trees that had made the property unmanageable.
“They came out and just went nuts on everything immediately,” Schullian said. “It was crazy.”
For Marbut, who paid $250 for her week with the goats, the experience turned out to be rewarding for more than just the landscaping. The goats, she said, were good company.
“I got up the same time every day. I'd go out, make sure they had water… I liked that they had personality,” she said. “It was nice to be needed, and to see them being so productive. I just felt like there was a good cycle of life between me and the goats.”
While the goats are gone now, the space they left behind is what excites Marbut most.
“I just feel better when I go in the backyard,” she said. “Now I have to start brainstorming on what I’m going to replace it all with.”
Tacoma voters to decide whether to strengthen renter protections enforcement
Story published 8/5/2026
In Tacoma, voters will decide in November if they want to strengthen tenant protections and formally enshrine the right for renters to form unions.
Tacoma voters passed a slate of tenant protections in 2023. But housing activists say enforcement of those protections has been lacking. If a renter feels their landlord hasn’t complied, their only current option is to take them to court, said Tyron Moore, the director of Tacoma For All, the community group behind the new “Safe Homes for All” initiative.
“A story we hear again and again, especially in some of these out-of-town corporate complexes, is that tenants are routinely faced with illegal rent hikes, illegal fees, lack of proper notice for rent increases and unsafe conditions,” Moore said.
The new initiative would make the city responsible for going after non-compliant landlords. Enforcement would be funded with a new rental registry fee.
The initiative would also create new protections for people who want to form tenant unions. Eight apartment complexes in Tacoma have voted to form tenant unions over the past year, but landlords for those buildings have refused to meet with the unions. The ballot initiative would force them to come to the table.
“What this initiative will do is say, ‘Hey, if you’re a majority tenant union, then you have a right to negotiate with your landlord. Your landlord has to sit down and negotiate in good faith,’” Moore said.
The initiative has been met with opposition from some landlord groups. They argue that the added fees and regulations will drive small landlords out of business and ultimately make housing less affordable.
Art on the Ave returns for 26th year in Tacoma
Story published 8/4/2026
This weekend, Art on the Ave 2026, one of the largest running street fairs, kicks off along 6th Avenue in Tacoma. Art on the Ave organizers say they expect 20,000 people or more to attend the Sunday, August 9 event.
“We're super excited for Art on the Ave 2026. It's a huge undertaking. It's Tacoma's biggest street fair, and we're really looking forward to present something with art and community for everybody in Tacoma,” said SOT Stein Hansen, Art on the Ave Event Producer.
It began 26 years ago and continues to expand. This year, there will be five performance stages, four with live music and one for dance, a kids zone, and more than 200 vendors.
Organizers urge folks to plan ahead as 10 blocks of 6th Avenue will be shut down between State and Alder Streets.
“There's going to be limited parking at the event. If you live nearby, I would suggest walking. If you are going to drive, you can park on the side streets and you're going to have a little bit of a walk. If you want to take public transit, Sound Transit, the number 1 comes to both sides of the festival,” Hansen said.
This year’s sponsor is TAPCO Credit Union in partnership with the 6th Avenue Business District.
“If people have never come to Art on the Ave, I really suggest coming and checking it out. It's a little bit of something for everyone. Live art, music, people selling art, and it really represents who Tacoma is, as a whole, and specifically the 6th Avenue Business District,” he said.
Before the bus comes the sidewalk: Pierce's access gap
Story published 8/3/2026
On the November ballot, Pierce County voters will be given a chance to decide whether to raise their sales tax by point 3% to expand bus options in the city.
A bus is only useful if you can actually reach it, note disability advocates. Across the region, gaps in sidewalks — or sidewalks that aren't accessible — mean some riders, especially those with disabilities, can't safely get to a stop at all.
Speed bumps, cracks, loose gravel, missing sidewalks all pose an obstacle to Krystal Monteros as she makes her way to the bus stop closest to her apartment in South Tacoma.
“I don't look straight up. I usually stay looking down at the ground,” said Monteros. “And then I always have to concentrate on the speed bumps and stuff too.”
“There's a bunch of cracks down there on the sidewalk. I’ve actually have fallen over on the sidewalk over there too.”
One of the biggest obstructions on the path is the last 10 feet before her bus stop when the concrete ends and is replaced with loose gravel.
“When it's wet, it takes a lot more effort to go through there,” said Monteros.
Monteros has advocated for efforts to get city council to make sidewalk improvements. And also supports the proposed Pierce Transit Measure, saying she would benefit from buses running later in the night.
“There's so many times I've had to leave events early,” said Monteros. “There's there hasn't been a package this big in like over ten years”
Pierce Transit says the measure would add four new bus routes, increase the frequency on 21 other routes, expand paratransit services and give seniors a ride free. The measure will be on the November ballot.
