Lauren Gallup

In the Pacific Northwest, a group of neighbors meets every week to discuss their disagreements. While they often differ on political views, many share a love for their region and close-knit community.

In the northwest corner of the continental U.S., an informal group of neighbors meets every week to come together over their disagreements.

In the northwest corner of the continental U.S., an informal group of neighbors meets every week to come together over their disagreements.

Residents of Port Angeles, Wash., fill a room in the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center on Oct. 10 for a weekly political discussion where they talk about national and local government.

The City of Tacoma has a budget problem; its expenses are higher than its revenue. That means the city has a projected structural deficit of $24 million for the 2025-26 biennial budget. Staff and city council members have been working to balance that, and one thing they’re proposing cutting has a lot of community members upset.

As the city of Tacoma works to manage its $24 million budget deficit, council members have been making decisions on what to cut. At Tuesday’s council meeting, the electeds considered two amendments. The first amendment was brought forward by Council member Jamika Scott, who worked in collaboration with Council member Joe Bushnell to find a way to protect the city’s cash reserve. The initial proposed budget would have used the city’s over $8 million reserve to make up for the shortfall. That’s money the city can use to pay overtime costs for police and fire, fund shelter beds and other emergent costs.

As the city of Tacoma works to manage its $24 million budget deficit, council members have been making decisions on what to cut. At Tuesday's council meeting, the electeds considered two amendments.

The Tacoma City Council adopted its next two-year budget, after months of working with city staff to balance for a predicted $24 million structural deficit.

Nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center could soon have a new collective bargaining agreement with higher wages, improved safety measures in the hospital and some staffing mandates. The bargaining team for the nurses reached a tentative agreement with the hospital after months of bargaining. This week, all employees at the hospital represented by the Washington State Nurses Association have a chance to vote on the contract.

Aerospace company Boeing has announced another round of layoffs, this one impacting 396 workers in Washington state. About half of the Boeing employees in Washington laid off in this round of cuts are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. Bryan Corliss, a spokesperson for SPEEA, said in recent months, his union has seen over 3% of its members across the U.S. laid off from Boeing, as the company faces serious financial trouble in the wake of incidents on its aircraft.