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.
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.
Source: Seattle – rss.app → manual entry
