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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.
C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.
John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.
Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.
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For a while it looked as if Tacoma's J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. and the Washington State Ferry System had put aside old differences.
But recent events have once again put the two organizations at odds over ferry contracts and who's to blame for delays in getting new ferries built.
David Moseley, Federal Way's former city administrator, had been in his new job as ferry system director only 39 days last week when he publicly blamed Martinac for delays that have crippled the ferry system.
Speaking in an interview on public radio's KUOW, Moseley said a lawsuit filed by Martinac had postponed construction of three new 144-car ferries.
"Absent the Martinac lawsuit, we would have delivery of the 144-car ferries by now," Moseley said.
But Martinac President Joe Martinac Jr. in a letter to the ferry system director, called Moseley's statement "a lie."
"This is a lie that has been perpetuated for years by WSF, and continues now through your media interviews," Martinac wrote. "I demand you stop perpetuating this disparaging information."
Jed Powell, Martinac's attorney, said the suit, filed in federal district court in Seattle has had no effect on the ferry system's progress in getting the ferries built. The suit concerns contractual matters that occurred several years ago.
The ferry system now is in hot water because deteriorating and cracking hulls on 80-year-old ferries have forced it to sideline those boats and cancel some ferry runs because it doesn't have enough vessels.
Martinac contends that had the state acted more swiftly in building four 130-car ferries the Legislature authorized seven years ago, the system wouldn't be in a crisis now.
The state disqualified the Tacoma shipyard from bidding on that contract three years ago contending it lacked the financial strength to carry through with the contract.
Martinac appealed that decision to a state hearings examiner and won.
The ferry system now is negotiating with Seattle's Todd Shipyards to build three, 144-car ferries. Martinac will be a major subcontractor on that job.
In the meantime, the state has leased a backup Pierce County ferry to provide service between Keystone and Port Townsend. That ferry, however, wasn't built for the open water on that passage and must cancel its runs when wind and waves are too high.
The state had sought to build a modified version of that ferry but rejected the only bid from Todd as being too expensive.
Now the ferry system hopes to build two somewhat larger and sturdier ferries for that run. Those ferries will follow a design used for the ferry Island Home that carries cars and passengers in Massachusetts.
Martinac said he just wants to talk with the new ferry system director to set him straight on what occurred before he took over.
"In the spirit of doing the right thing for taxpayers and ferry riders, let me be the first to invite you to a meeting to discuss matters with me," wrote Martinac.
So far, Martinac is still awaiting a call.
The ferry system did not respond to calls seeking comment on Martinac's letter.
