Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• Tacoma business and government leaders made their case to Russell Investments Monday, offering millions in government funding and other incentives to keep the finance company downtown, where it’s done business for more than 20 years.

• Washington’s Rocky Reach Dam has been quietly producing enough low-cost electricity for years. Now the hyrdro project is becoming a major player in the nation’s effort to control greenhouse-gas emissions and curb global warming.

• New pitcher Erik Bedard kept his team close, then the Seattle Mariners broke lose in the later innings to defeat the Texas Rangers 5-2 in the season opener for both teams Monday.

A few readers have complained about the Tacoma pet license database we posted this morning on our Web site.

One reader raised the issue of whether by allowing people to look up the information, including name and street of owner and name and breed of animal, was going too far. Here's what the reader said in an email.

I cannot believe this kind of personal information is made public! How nice of you to list the location even if it is only street name, the owners name so the rest of the address can be looked up in the phone book, and the pet's names so strangers or potential thieves can call our furry children by name when luring them out of our yards.

Another reader, commenting on our Web site, pointed out how prevalent all kinds of information already are. Midland activist Stacey Emerson used her posting to take people on a virtual tour of public records from court, property and voter databases already accessible to the public.

"The benefits of access to such information may outweigh the downfalls," Emerson concludes.

As the editor who approved the story, I can say it wasn't our intention to aid pet thieves. We do feel there are compelling journalistic reasons to post the information.

The database is a public record - anyone can get a copy from the city. We requested the information from the city to help report our story on how the city was doing in its efforts to license pets. We also analyzed it for a sidebar story on the most popular pet names and breeds in the city.

We thought readers would be interested in using the database itself in a couple of ways: To determine if neighbors have their pets licensed and to satisfy their curiosity about what other people are naming their animals.

We left some of the information out for privacy reasons - including exact addresses and phone numbers. We felt we needed to keep the street name in if people wanted to look up a neighbor's pet for enforcement reasons.

So far, the database has been a hit - it's got more traffic than any story on our Web site today.

Some big hits from the Sunday for editors - and, we hope, with readers.

• C.R. Robert's Sunday package updating the LeMay car museum. It was a good update on a high-profile community project.

• Debby Abe's look at racial incidents at Bethel High School, also on Sunday's front page. Debby was able to write authoritatively about what was happening at the school after talking to community members, parents, district officials and - especially - kids.

• The awesome special section tied to the Mariner's opening. Good work by columnist John McGrath, beat writer Ryan Divish and artist Fred Matamoros in dissecting the curve ball and other pitches.

Here are the top local stories in Friday's News Tribune:
• The man who police believe stole more than 200 gallons of gasoline from a Gig Harbor service station may have stolen 100 times that much gas in a series of thefts.
• Gov. Chris Gregoire took her bill-signing pen along to Tacoma Thursday. Her signature made law several measures that are near and dear to law officers.
• Sgt. Phillip Anderson was on his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed March 10 along with two other soldiers. Anderson is the latest to give his life of at least 263 servicemen or women who called Washington home or who served at military installations in the state.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• Barring a successful appeal, Anthony Casper Dias is likely to die in prison after a Pierce County jury convicted him of 20 felony counts stemming from a series of home-invasion attacks in 2005. The jury agreed that Dias was guilty of multiple counts of first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, kidnapping and first-degree burglary.

• Five years of war in Iraq have left their mark on the South Sound and the state. More than 250 people who call Washington home have been killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003.

• Washington's open primary system is back. The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that the state may use its "top two" system that allows the two top vote-getters to advance to the general election, even if they are from the same party.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:
• When Canterwood became the first master-planned community in Pierce County, its original residents put a premium on privacy. But growth is reaching out and touching Canterwood, whether its homeowners like it or not.
• University Place hasn't had much luck with the single-developer approach to its Town Center development. So by summer, the City Council may decide there's strength in numbers.
• A bill recently passed by the Legislature could greatly expand the power of tribal police. If the bill becomes law, tribal police officers could arrest non-Indians on reservations and, in certain circumstances, off of them.

Reader Jim writes:

Dear Mr. Zeeck,

I must have missed something. I don't recall even seeing the name Jeremiah Wright in your newspaper. If your paper chose to ignore the relationship between the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama could you please explain why? If Obama was running as a Republican would you consider it news?

Respectfully yours,

We ran the original Obama fires Wright story here. And had another more general story that mentioned him today. That one is here.

We've also run additional stories about Wright before the most recent controversy. And there have been others on the Web site that haven't appeared in the paper.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:
• The Goldfish Tavern, second home to working-class beer drinkers for decades, may be closing soon. The bar near the entrance to Point Defiance Park is feeling the pressure of the development that has been changing the neighborhood near the park.
• Western State Hospital laid off 34 temporary workers in February after a budget squeeze blamed on a number of factors.
• A Stryker brigade soldier from Fort Lewis died Friday last week after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Samarra, the Department of Defense said.

Here are the top local stories in Wednesday's News Tribune:

• Chinese authorities, fearing protests during the runup to the Summer Olympics, have closed access to the northern face of Mount Everest. That's bad news for guide companies in our area who regularly take expeditions up the world's tallest mountain.

• Those of you who are eagerly awaiting the rebirth of downtown Tacoma’s historic former Elks Temple will have to remain eager a while longer. The Portland developer that bought the historic building last year is putting it up for sale.

• State lawmakers agree on a transportation budget that includes $40 million for Tacoma’s Murray Morgan Bridge. The question remains: Will that be enough?

From Parade magazine (for Sunday, March 16th):

The Complicated Life of Jodie Foster
By Dotson Rader
Actress Jodie Foster talks about her childhood, reveals how her two boys are the center of her world and admits she’s still not sure where she’s headed in life.

Save Money On Taxes
By Lynn Brenner
The deadline for completing your tax return is right around the corner. We’ll explain how to avoid scams and know the rules to help you save money.

Save Great Things To Do
In Great American Cities
By Lynn Schnurnberger
If you’re taking time off with your family, make vacation time count. Check out the U.S. cities that offer everything from museums to music to maritime adventures. Best of all, they’re full of kid-friendly activities that keep parents entertained too!

In Step With: Laura Linney
By James Brady
Actress Laura Linney, who has been nominated for three Academy Awards, will star as Abigail in HBO’s new miniseries, John Adams. Linney explains how she’ll find time for her wedding during her busy filming schedule.

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• A group of private investors headed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says its offer to pay $150 million of a $300 million proposal to refurbish KeyArena says its proposal has a shelf life. The group wrote Gov. Chris Gregoire and other top state lawmakers Sunday that if it does not receive a $75 commitment from the state well before an April 10 deadline, "our offer will expire.”

• Local towing companies want to keep a piece of the business provided by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department rather than see a single company contracted to do all county business.

• The Boeing Co. plans a formal protest of an Air Force decision to award a contract for new aerial tanker planes to the company's rival.

Friday, March 7, 2008

A1:
Readable lede story on the Sonics. Nice job of writing and providing context for the story. Thanks to Scott Fontaine for helping out.

The bell story is a good yarn, following a story many of us remember. Interesting details.

Nice design on the teasers at the top of the page. Comics, basketball and movies with beer. Must be the weekend.

Nowthwest-y story about smelt dipping and the disappearing culture of that annual event.

B1:
The centerpiece is designed according to our prescribed style, but it didn't work because the copy block was too big. At the size it is, regular body copy and a headline would have probably looked a lot better.

We wished we had a mug shot of the ELF defendant.

Sports:
Great high school basketball coverage. Strong effort by all involved. We liked that there was a photo referring readers to A1 for the Sonics story.

Business:
The Pizza and Pipes story brought back memories for many of us. We probably could/should have made a centerpiece out of it.

Here are the top local stories in Wednesday's News Tribune:

• Plans for this year’s Tacoma Tall Ships festival are beginning to firm up. The festival, which runs July 3-7, hundreds of thousands of people three years ago, despite the ad hoc nature of much of the organizing.

This time, a nonprofit organization with a paid staff has been hard at work for months on the event. The Tacoma Tall Ships Organization has a 14-member volunteer board and 15 employees.

• Puyallup's elected leaders must live in the city, but the new city manager has been exempted from a similar obligation by the City Council.


• Crossing the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge could be getting more expensive. The cash toll for driving across the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge would rise to $4 this summer, while the fee for vehicles with transponders could rise to $2.75 if the Washington Transportation Commission follows the recommendation of a citizen advisory committee.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

A1:
Photo editor (me) argued that we could/should have used one photo as a dominant photo. There were two bigger stories that we could have focused on with a dominant photo (McCain or Clinton) to give the page more impact. We use smaller photos of every candidate every time. Others felt that the overall display is good, especially using the numbers. Texas results could have used an asterisk, since the Texas caucasus will change the news of that's state's results.

Delegate count is more important than percentages at this stage of the game. Maybe next time we focus on delegates for our breakout numbers.

The kidney transplant story is interesting. Glad we had it. What's the wait for an anonymous donor in Washington?

B1:
Kilroy reference is funny, throwback. Not all our readers will understand that one.

Merryman confirmed that all the students quoted in the Emerald Ridge paper story about oral sex are 18. Nice follow from our columnist. Would readers be interested in an online chat?

Glad we had the clothing bank story. Something good in the paper that readers should know about.

Russ Carmack's photos from the voter's guide art were fun on the Show & Tell page.

Sports:
We liked the centerpiece treatment, using photo corners to make them look like scrapbook photos.

Business:
Interesting centerpiece treatment on the price of coffee beans. Making something out of not much.

Soundlife:
Ed's Diner blog post printed in the paper is a great addition to the food page. We're going to try to do it more often.

Here are the top local stories in Wednesday's News Tribune:

• Timothy and Randi Miller both survived tours of duty in Iraq, only to die violently in their own Parkland home, with their baby nearby.

• The Pierce County Council has adopted a new ethics policy.


• Children’s Museum leaders, having tirerd of the arguments over the location of its possible new home, say they no longer will seek to build on a waterfront property set aside for open space.

A1:
Good lede on the centerpiece story about the double-murder. The first couple of paragraphs really drew us in. We decided to name the victims before the medical examiner released the names because the hometown papers for both victims had already released their identities.

Jason Hagey's story on the Gateways for Youth and Families follows up on a larger story published last year. We should have pointed readers to the website to read previous stories.

B1:

Cure feature photo.
Sports:

Nice treatment of the all-area basketball teams centerpiece. Sometimes, we have a graphic that helps ID the players. that would have been nice to have had.

Business:

Gas price stories seem like a broken record, but readers continue to be interested.

Soundlife:
There's an opera based on the Bugs Bunny cartoon? Well-written story that left us all singing "Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!"

Here are the top local stories in Tuesday's News Tribune:

• Investigators say a romantic rivalry may have been behind the slaying of the Parkland couple over the weekend.


• U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks doesn't like the Air Force's plan to eliminate hundreds of military housing units at McChord Air Base.


• A board member of Gateways for Youth and Families cries foul after a business associate of one of its leaders comes on board.

Monday, March 3, 2008

A1
AP package was interesting. The roundup was helpful for readers to be able to look up their districts.

B1
Nice to have a local angle on the stair climb story.

Sports
No comment

Business:
There was management advice and some interesting facts about the company

Soundlife:
Are our readers really going to a museum in Poland? It would have been nice to have had a local story there.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

A1
Great centerpiece on jail crowing and early release. The photo treatment was a great way to show early release, especially since there were no voices from people processed this way in the story.

The WASL story was great reporting and a scoop.

Muskrat above the fold? How about the election story.

B1
Story about student paper reporting on oral sex in the school was well done. Great sourcing for a Saturday.

Sports
Great high school basketball coverage. Incredible depth and visuals all week. More online coverage than ever before.

Business
Newsy page. Good local stories.

Soundlife
Great look at the art glass installed at the Murano downtown Tacoma. We were wishing there was more color inside for the photos on the jump.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

A1
Final story on the cost of housing the dogs was well done. We wanted the cost - $127,000 - in the headline. It's still a shocking amount.

B1
Cool photo.

Soundlife
Not a seasonal story. It would have been better in November. One also mentioned that it was hard to follow the jump. Not obvious that the package continued.