Word on the street

Our team of reporter/bloggers is always on the lookout for interesting people, places and news. Got a story idea or news tip? Send us an e-mail.

Contributors:

Kathleen Merryman is a local news columnist for The News Tribune, where she's worked for a quarter of a century. Amazing, considering she is only 32. You're likely to find her fighting crime, righting wrongs or judging pies. You're less likely to find her in the newsroom. Call her at 253-597-8677 or e-mail her.

General assignment reporter Mike Archbold is a veteran Puget Sound journalist and a veteran veteran. He's ready to respond to your news tip. Call him at 253-597-8692 or e-mail him.

Brent Champaco is a communities reporter for The News Tribune, where he has worked since 2005. He covers areas west of Interstate 5, including Lakewood, and writes diversity stories. A native of the South Kitsap area, he has worked for newspapers in Eastern Washington, Idaho and the Bay Area. Call him at 253-597-8653 or e-mail him. You can also check out his Twitter page.

Steve Maynard is a communities reporter and religion reporter for The News Tribune. He covers Federal Way, Fife and Milton. He also has been the paper's religion reporter since joining The News Tribune in 1987. Maynard has reported for daily newspapers since 1979, previously in Walla Walla and Houston. Call him at 253-597-8647 or e-mail him.

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Here's what's happening around Tacoma, Pierce County and South Puget Sound today..
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Posted by Scott Fontaine @ 06:04:57 pm

Preston Sheldon wore a gold bar on his beret, a new patch on his chest and a wide smile on his face.

His grandfather, an 87-year-old Army veteran who served in three wars and his personal hero, stood about 15 feet away.

“It’s a little emotional,” said Sheldon, a 35-year-old from Burien. “I’m trying to hold it in right now, to be honest. I’ve been trying to make him proud since I joined the military.”

And nothing, he said, compared to Sheldon’s promotion from staff sergeant to second lieutenant during a modest ceremony at Fort Lewis on Friday.

Sheldon – a Reservist with the 3rd Battalion, 414th Regiment, a unit of the 1st Brigade, 104th Division – became an officer through the direct commission program, which allows experienced enlisted service members a chance to apply for a commission.

He applied during the waning months of his deployment, in which he served from February 2006 to April 2007 on a military interim transition team training Iraqi soldiers on their base at An Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad.

=> Read more!

Categories: Fort Lewis
Posted by Scott Fontaine @ 01:56:55 pm

I found this update on Tribal Journey 2008. Worth reading if you enjoyed our article on it.

Posted by Scott Fontaine @ 01:55:22 pm

No pothole coverage today. Instead, I'm heading to Fort Lewis.

Categories: Morning report
Posted by Scott Fontaine @ 12:24:01 pm

The zoo is on the road this summer.

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium continues its Nature Nights tour next Wednesday at Jefferson Park in Tacoma. Zookeepers will teach kids all about frogs, from the kind you only find in a zoo to the kind that are native to Washington.

The other stops this summer are:

Aug. 6: Tacoma Nature Center
Aug. 13: McKinley Playfield
Aug. 20: Wright Park

Categories: Tacoma
Posted by Scott Fontaine @ 07:15:28 am

I'll be on Tacoma's East Side today to work on an article for next week's Show&Tell page.

Later I'll be on some of the worst streets in Tacoma -- we have a database of the worst potholed roads in the city -- to talk to neighbors about what it's like to need a lunar module to get home.

Categories: Morning report