Tacoma News Tribune • 30 June 2026

Drivers constantly hit this infamous guardrail in Pierce Co. Locals are obsessed

You’d be hard-pressed to find another guardrail as popular — or perhaps unpopular — as the crumpled piece of metal between mileposts 13.9 and 14 on state Route 302.

It’s a frequent topic of discussion in Key Peninsula Facebook groups, where folks have named it, argued over it, joked about it and composed songs about it.

“The guardrail is not only feared, she’s beloved,” said Key Peninsula resident Jeff Fraley, in an interview June 15.

Located on a winding section of the highway known locally...

Tacoma News Tribune • 21 June 2026

Meet the curly redheaded 'pirate’ who became a beloved Gig Harbor influencer

Who is that curly redheaded dude dunking himself into the frigid waters of the Puget Sound on your TikTok feed?

Meet Scott Goerig, owner of Deadmans Island Kayak & Standup Paddleboard (SUP) Rental & Tours and one of Gig Harbor’s most beloved influencers.

For the last three years, Goerig’s laugh-out-loud, sun-drenched videos often narrated with his raspy pirate persona have spotlighted what makes the Gig Harbor area special, from breathtaking sunsets over Carr Inlet to beloved restaurants and s...

Tacoma News Tribune • 11 May 2026

Over 23K cross this Pierce County bridge daily. ‘It needs to be replaced.’

Andy O’Brien, 37, lives just off the Purdy Bridge in a home that’s been in his family for four generations. He remembers visiting the house as a kid, when it belonged to his grandparents, and has seen the number of cars on the road swell since then.

“When I was a little kid, going from my house out to ... like, Key Peninsula Middle School, maybe 10 cars,” he said.

Today, the nearly 90-year-old bridge that serves as the main entryway to the Key Peninsula sees over 23,000 daily crossings, accord...

Tacoma News Tribune • 8 April 2026

WA’s teachers are some of the best-paid in the nation. Where is the money going?

Teachers in the Evergreen State are among the best paid in the country.

Washington’s teacher salaries are the fourth-highest in the United States, according to the National Education Association. A News Tribune analysis also found that teacher salaries in Pierce County have increased by an average of about 82% over the last 10 years. The average salary for a teacher in Pierce County in the 2024-2025 school year is about $97,000.

Some Pierce County districts that have seen the biggest increases...

Tacoma News Tribune • 5 February 2026

State funding for Pierce Co. schools has soared. Why are some still struggling?

Pierce County school districts are getting a lot more money than they used to.

According to data The News Tribune collected from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, all 15 school districts in Pierce County saw the amount of money they received from the state increase on average by about 107% between the 2014-2015 school year and the 2024-2025 school year.

The Franklin Pierce School District saw the lowest percent change with an increase of about 71%. The Orting Schoo...

Tacoma News Tribune • 13 January 2026

Supporters loaned millions to failed Tacoma private school. Were they repaid?

Recent court filings provide more details about how attempts to save Sound Christian Academy from financial ruin fell apart and created a dispute among school board members and supporters.

The school board chair, another former board member and an outside financial expert filed declarations in Pierce County Superior Court Dec. 29, containing the school’s first major response to allegations that it failed to reimburse a former finance manager after he personally paid the school’s tax bill to the...

Tacoma News Tribune • 13 January 2026

Iconic waterfront restaurant in Pierce County is being sold, owners confirm

The owner of the Tides Tavern will soon hand over the reins to Anthony’s Restaurants, marking a new era for the iconic Gig Harbor restaurant while retaining its name, chef and management staff.

“This was not an easy decision,” Tides Tavern owner Dylan Stanley said in a press release Jan. 13. “The Tides has been part of our family for 53 years. My dad and I are incredibly grateful to our loyal customers, employees, and the community for their support over the years, and we are grateful that Anth...

Tacoma News Tribune • 20 October 2025

Are new homes coming to Gig Harbor North? Here’s what we know

Are high-density homes and apartments in Gig Harbor’s future?

The city, which has nearly quadrupled in population from 1991 to 2022, has slowed its growth in recent years but continues to face the issue of needing more housing for its growing community.

Recent posts on Gig Harbor community Facebook pages expressing concern about rumored developments have collectively garnered hundreds of comments, questioning how projects have been allowed and whether infrastructure is in place to support them...

Tacoma News Tribune • 20 April 2026

Where is traffic worst in the Gig Harbor area? Here's what locals, officials say

Steven Gaube doesn’t like to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic much. It was a hard time, the 42-year-old supervisor of Domino’s Pizza locations in the Gig Harbor area said — but it was a “beautiful” time for pizza deliveries.

With so few people on the road, a pizza could get to your house in 15 minutes flat, he estimates. Now, drivers are still getting pizzas to north Gig Harbor in under 30 minutes, but the uptick in traffic has taken a toll.

“I would say, there’s bad days where it was adding 1...

Tacoma News Tribune • 18 November 2025

Pierce County has grown rapidly. How has that changed rural policing?

Austin Nolan-Copple wasn’t about to go near a stolen vehicle on her own.

The vacant property she was driving to on Sept. 11 was supposed to be her mother-in-law’s new home, the 33-year-old Raft Island resident told The News Tribune. They didn’t have a house built yet, but they did have a shipping container on the property full of building materials. It was where her mother-in-law planned to retire, close to family on the Key Peninsula.

A few weeks prior, her mother-in-law called her with alarm...

Tacoma News Tribune • 6 January 2025

Driving to this Pierce County cemetery, some fear they’ll have their own brush with death

Grief doesn’t wait for the right time. For some residents in the Gig Harbor area, sometimes it has to.

Barbara Rogers, age 80, believes the best time to visit Haven of Rest, a funeral home, crematory and cemetery along state Route 16, is very early on Sunday morning, when she feels highway traffic is lightest.

Without an on-ramp from the cemetery to westbound state Route 16, drivers only have seconds to hit the gas and get up to speed as they merge off of the cemetery’s short access road.

Rog...

Tacoma News Tribune • 5 April 2025

‘I’ve been smiling all morning’: Sun shines down on Daffodil Parade kickoff in Tacoma

Crowds lined the street on a sunny morning in downtown Tacoma to see decorated floats, trucks and bands start their promenade through Pierce County for the 92nd Daffodil Festival Parade.

After last year’s overcast, rainy parade day, forcing the Daffodil Royal Court to don umbrellas and jackets over their spring gowns, Saturday dawned warm and bright.

“This is the first year in a while we’ve had good weather,” festival Communications Director Katelyn Gulley told The News Tribune. “We’re really...