After a hiatus to clear our heads and figure out what we want to still talk about, Evelyn and Joe Lopez are back in the studio to talk about local developments in Tacoma with the…
Well, there are still some ballots left to count, but most races have been called. Tacoma City Council Position 7 will remain with incumbent Councilmember Olgy Diaz, and Tacoma will welcome new District 3 Councilmember…
Last week, hosts Evelyn and Joe Lopez talked about local Tacoma elections, and noted that the “No on Tacoma Measure 1” PAC (political action committee) may not have been timely or adequately reporting campaign contributions….
Local elections are never overlooked at Crossing Division. And this year we have several critical races for Tacoma. What direction will our City take? You have a chance to decide just that. Hosts Evelyn and…
After Carol Mitchell was dismissed from her key executive position with the Pierce County Executive, and while suing the County for wrongful discharge, Carol put her heart and soul into a new endeavor–the Institute for…
Next week, the Tacoma City Council will take up the issue of whether to make living on the streets illegal around temporary shelters and waterways. We’ve talked about bans before, and making it a crime…
Currently, there are at least 3,300 of our neighbors living unhoused in Pierce County — realistically, that number is much higher. The situation involves a complicated set of problems: high housing prices, lack of affordable…
Sharlett Mena is running for State Representative for the 29th Legislative District. She sat down with host Evelyn Lopez to talk about running for office, what she’s been working on since 2020, and her vision…
This is such an interesting conversation! Aaron Sherman joins host Evelyn Lopez to explore how candidates can use social media to engage with voters, elected leaders can connect with constituents, and public agencies can share…
Host Evelyn Lopez talks with Peter Drury and Marquay Seamster about Wellspring Family Services and the organization’s partnership with Tacoma Housing Authority, Tacoma Public Schools, and Pierce County to identify and assist families and students…
King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay wants to demystify running for political office. He is bringing his Build the Bench program to Tacoma on November 20, 2021 (link below). The Tacoma program will feature 28th LD…
GET YOUR COMMENTS TO THE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION BY OCT 4: https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/ Redistricting Part 2: Evelyn Lopez returns to the studio with Phil Gardner and Marty Campbell to discuss Washington’s redistricting process. The maps are out!…
What do you know about redistricting? It happens every ten years, and it’s based on the population data developed through the census, and it’s the building block of our democracy. Redistricting is the process for…
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It’s Pride Month in Tacoma! And now also in Pierce County! Did you know that Pierce County had not previously recognized local Pride celebrations? Well, that just changed with the County Council’s proclamation! https://online.co.pierce.wa.us/cfapps/council/iview/proposal.cfm?proposal_num=R2021-110 County…
Content Warning: violence This Crossing Division episode is simply a reading of the probable cause declaration and criminal charges against three Tacoma Police Department officers for the death in custody of Manuel (Manny) Ellis on…
According to The Urbanist: Tacoma has embarked on a sweeping plan to reform residential zoning in the city. The Home in Tacoma project could transform single-family and multifamily zones by allowing more Missing Middle Housing….
In 2015, in response to police killings and protests around the country, Mayor Victoria Woodards (at the time a Tacoma City Councilmember) and Police Chief Ramsdell developed Project Peace as a program to promote trust,…
Channel 253 continues its partnership with Tacoma’s Downtown on the Go Friday Forums in 2021. This year the forums focus on racism, urban design and transportation. After each forum, we will have a Crossing Division…
In the final Friday Forum of 2021, the discussion focuses on project and government decision making. How do infrastructure ideas become reality? How do problems like faulty sidewalks and inadequate bus stops get fixed? Policy…
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has been working on health equity issues for several years. In 2015, TPCHD published a comprehensive health equity report, focusing on increasing the quality of health and life for Pierce…
Part 2 of our discussion about Harm Reduction – Decisions and Consequences, our tie in to the February 26 DOTG Friday Forum: Can Street Safety Be Anti-Racist, and How? Once again, Shannon McMinimee, partner at…
Channel 253 continues its partnership with Tacoma’s Downtown on the Go Friday Forums in 2021. This year the forums focus on racism, urban design and transportation. After each forum, we will have a Crossing Division…
Channel 253 continues its partnership with Tacoma’s Downtown on the Go! In this second DOTG Friday Forum of 2021, the Panel discusses street safety and how safety rules and laws can set up negative interactions…
Ryan Mello has loads of experience with politics and governance in the City of Tacoma, but now he’s moved to a bigger, more partisan, arena in the County. Ryan was sworn in as a Pierce…
Tacoma Public Schools plans to return all grades to some in-person classroom teaching next month. Frankly, the “plans” sound more like “wishes,” “hopes,” “fingers crossed,” “it sure would be nice…” So, what do teachers think…
You’re going to enjoy this conversation! Jani Hitchens was a teacher for a long time before she decided to run for Pierce County Council, and that background in collaborative problem solving comes through loud and…
Tacoma City Councilmember John Hines and Erica Azcueta, Homelessness and Household Stability Manager for the City of Tacoma, join host Evelyn Lopez for a discussion about Tacoma’s housing and homelessness challenges. This is an excellent…
Channel 253 is partnering with Tacoma’s Downtown on the Go Friday Forums in 2021. This year the forums focus on racism and urban design and transportation. After each forum, we will have a Crossing Division…
We have a housing crisis in Tacoma. While there are government programs to help our neighbors, and some terrific non-profits too, who is checking on the tents and cars today and providing clean blankets for…
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What a week it has been!!! An exciting and historic election on Tuesday, an insurrection and attempt to take over the US Capitol on Wednesday, followed by obsessive twitter and news watching for the rest…
News Tribune reporters Josephine Peterson and Chase Hutchinson, and columnist Matt Driscoll, join host Evelyn Lopez to discuss the actions taken this week to launch a union for the staff of McClatchy newspapers in Washington…
Well, no chance for a quiet, reflective end of year in Pierce County! This is 2020 after all, and this week the County Council was presented with a surprise proposal to pull Pierce County out…
Whew, well we are all waiting to see, aren’t we? If you woke up this morning feeling grim, this discussion might help. Evelyn Lopez is joined by campaign consultant extraordinaire, Crystal Fincher of Fincher Consulting,…
Restaurant Rally: November 8-19, 2020. Info here: https://www.co.pierce.wa.us/7032/Restaurant-Rally Pierce County received hella money from the Federal Government to help offset costs and losses from COVID 19. Now, how to spend it all before December 31?…
Election Day 2020 is quickly approaching, and opinions abound! Evelyn Lopez asked Republican campaign consultant Alex B. Hays and Chair of the 27th LD Democrats Justin Camarata to talk about state and local campaigns. Let’s…
Crystal Fincher, political consultant and principal at Fincher Consulting, and Erik Hanberg, Metro Parks Board Commissioner and Channel 253 Publisher, join host Evelyn Lopez to break down the primary results from the August 4 election,…
This year we elect a new Sheriff in Pierce County, and it’s turning out to be a difficult position to assess. There are four candidates under consideration in the August 4 primary, and while each…
Those of you who are regular listeners may notice that we’re changing from our Coronavirus & Tacoma focus back to our Tacoma’s Talk Show. Why? Well, when we went into lockdown for the COVID-19 virus,…
We have questions about local law enforcement agencies given investigations into Tacoma Police Department conduct and Black Lives Matter protests. We asked Tacoma criminal defense attorney Chris Van Vechten to talk with us about what…
On June 12, 2020 Crosscut published a story about the barriers that Black political consultants were experiencing moving their work into higher profile legislative campaigns. The consultants were urged to “get on the list!” Significant…
YWCA Executive Director Miriam Barnett joins host Evelyn Lopez to talk about the upswing in domestic violence during the COVID 19 pandemic, and the particular challenges of helping victims who may be isolated at home…
Evelyn Lopez talks with Rachel Graves, lawyer and former news journalist, about how the Coronavirus creates an even more complicated environment for people with disabilities. Also, viruses are often the trigger for the development of…
We are at week 10 of staying home, and it’s been difficult. So, when you come across a ray of sunshine and a spark of joy, you have to grab it. When we saw a…
We delayed our weekly podcast to make sure we had the latest, up to the final deadline filings for all campaigns. And there were some last minute surprises! The election season is on us, and…
Pierce County Councilmember Derek Young joins Evelyn Lopez to talk about the County’s $158 million plan to fight COVID 19, stabilize the economy, and support our community. It’s a lot of money, and it won’t…
This year, Downtown on the Go partnered with Channel 253 to coordinate podcasts of the Friday Forums, and follow-up Crossing Division episodes to further explore the issues raised in the Forums. Go back to check…
Have you been thinking about starting or expanding your garden? Would you like to grow food for yourself and for the community? Whatever the plant questions you have, local plant guru and weed expert Dana…
What campaigns are heating up for the 2020 elections? How do candidates raise money in a “no gatherings” environment? And what do we expect for the summer? 2020 will have some very interesting political races!…
Evelyn and Joe Lopez discuss the Governor’s extended eviction moratorium and what it means for renters and landlords: No evictions or threats of eviction, no late fees or threats to terminate tenancy, no rent increases,…
Host Evelyn Lopez talks with Sarah Low, Executive Director of the Tacoma Tree Foundation about trees, appreciating the benefits of trees, and contemplating the beauty of the trees around us. On April 22 the world…
This week, Evelyn Lopez talks with Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and Pierce Conservation District Water Quality Coordinator Belinda Paterno. Find out about local programs to help small businesses and renters, and how the City of…
This week Evelyn Lopez and Joe Lopez talk with Pierce County Councilmember Marty Campbell about Pierce County’s actions on the COVID 19/Coronavirus front. Pierce County has small business loans to help businesses impacted right now,…
Evelyn Lopez and Joe Lopez talk about the latest information about COVID 19/Coronavirus in Tacoma. Things will certainly change, but we will try to give you accurate information as of the podcast date, plus share…
Locality, responsibility, and maybe, maybe, opportunity. Those are the themes that run through our discussion of current mental health issues in our community. Pierce County Councilmember Derek Young, and local attorney Joe Lopez join host…
Following the February 21, 2020 Downtown on the Go Friday Forum on Moving Into the Future, we are talking about the transit options available in Tacoma right now—for everyone, but especially for individuals with mobility…
Channel 253 is partnering with Downtown on the Go as a media sponsor of DOTG’s Friday Forums. We think that the topic is a good fit with our Crossing Division podcasts, so we will record…
‘Virtually sold out.’ Homes priced under $500K in Pierce County hard to find This February 7 News Tribune article caught our eye, and we thought can it possibly be true? Are there no homes priced…
Following the Jan. 24, 2020 Downtown on the Go Friday Forum on Aging in Place, we are talking about innovative, uncommon housing options. One of the challenges when talking about affordable housing is that most…
This year Channel 253 is partnering with Downtown on the Go as a media sponsor of DOTG’s Friday Forums. We think that the topic is a good fit with our Crossing Division podcasts, so we…
It’s 2020 and another big, eventful year for Tacoma! Host Evelyn Lopez is joined by Tacoma lawyer and civic observer Joe Lopez to talk through and analyze some of the biggest local issues for this…
It’s the day after the election, so time for Hulk-Smash 2019, this year without any electric boogaloo. As we anxiously await the second ballot drop later today, Erik Hanberg and Justin Camarata sit down with…
Campaigns are required to file weekly reports of the contributions received, and monthly reports of their expenditures. You can find the reports and overview data at our state’s Public Disclosure Commission website, www.pdc.wa.gov. But you…
Welcome to Tacoma’s Talk Show! In our second housing related discussion, we talk about backyard cottages (ADUs or accessory dwelling units), real estate financing, how to get more housing available quickly, and how one might…
You’ve certainly noticed that we have housing issues in Tacoma – issues that we simply didn’t have ten or twenty years ago. Housing prices are going up, but our housing is still a bargain compared…
The votes are in for our 2019 Primary Election! How did your favorite Tacoma candidates do? Should strategies change as the campaigns move toward the November General Election? What were the take-aways? And most of…
On this second and very special joint episode of Citizen Tacoma and Crossing Division, we were thrilled to sit down with Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman David Bean and Councilmember Anna Bean (yep, they’re cousins). We…