Latest The News Tribune Stories

By The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 7--WHAT: Anderson Lake State Park, a remote day-use park, opened for the season in late April. The lake is surrounded by 410 acres of woods and wetlands. WHEN: The park is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. from April 20 to Oct. 1. WHERE: Olympic Peninsula, south of Port Townsend. GETTING THERE: From U.S. 101 at Discovery Bay, turn right on Highway 20 and go 3.7 miles to Anderson Lake Road. Turn right and continue for 1.1 miles. The park...

By Soren Andersen, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 6--I see a room. It's full of smoke and the sounds of maniacal giggling. I had a mental image of this room as I watched "Pineapple Express." I imagined it was the place where the picture was hatched. The smoke would be from high-octane locoweed. The laughter would be from people who most definitely did inhale. A lot. Pure conjecture here, to be sure. But "Pineapple" sure gives you the impression that it was made by stoners for...

By Debby Abe, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 5--Their friends call it "stupid school." They say Challenger Secondary Schools, the alternative program in Spanaway, is a dumping ground for the rejects and dumb kids. But the teens who go to Challenger know better. --RELATED STORY: Study looks at what works best for alternative schools "The reality is it's a very good school," says Challenger senior Natalie Cross. The Bethel School District secondary school's small classes give teachers...

By Debby Abe, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 5--Their friends call it "stupid school." They say Challenger Secondary Schools, the alternative program in Spanaway, is a dumping ground for the rejects and dumb kids. But the teens who go to Challenger know better. "The reality is it's a very good school," says Challenger senior Natalie Cross. The Bethel School District secondary school's small classes give teachers enough time to make sure every student understands, she says. "They...

By Debby Abe, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 5--Flexible school hours, self-paced lessons, student internships and high expectations are hallmarks of the state's best alternative schools. So are staff training, time for teachers to collaborate, and strong leadership, according to a soon-to-be-released report on alternative schools. The state Superintendent of Public Instruction commissioned The BERC (Baker-Evaluation-Research Consulting) Group to conduct the study. "We think...

By David Zeeck, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 3--This past week I was promoted to publisher of The News Tribune. And the next day I promoted Karen Peterson, the managing editor, into my old spot as executive editor. Here are some of the reactions I got: --My younger son, Michael, said he was going to buy me a present, in honor of the new job. "I'm going to buy you a book," he said. "'Publishing for Dummies.'" --The chief finance guy here at the newspaper, Kenny Hubach, noted...

By Ernest A. Jasmin, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 3--Gone are the days when music consumers are content to listen to the radio on -- well -- radios. Increasingly, they're going online to discover new bands through a mix of online radio broadcasts, cyber jukeboxes and other music sites. "With radio, when you hear a song and you're driving in your car or whatever, it's hard to find out the title of that song," said Dru Miller, 17, of Lynnwood, a fan of Pure Volume...

By Ernest A. Jasmin, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 3--Gone are the days when music consumers are content to listen to the radio on -- well -- radios. Increasingly, they're going online to discover new bands through a mix of online radio broadcasts, cyber jukeboxes and other music sites. "With radio, when you hear a song and you're driving in your car or whatever, it's hard to find out the title of that song," said Dru Miller, 17, of Lynnwood, a fan of Pure Volume...

By Soren Andersen, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 1--He's a beauty. She, not so much. With his flawless skin, slender build and plump pouty lips, Ryno de Marigny (Fu-ad Ait Aattou) looks like a very young Mick Jagger, an androgynous lady-killer who makes conquests effortlessly. With a nose a little too prominent and a forehead a little too large, the woman known as La Vellini (Asia Argento) is far from the most glamorous woman in Paris in 1838. (The screenplay is based on a...

By Soren Andersen, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Aug. 1--In a movie about ancient mysteries, about mystic spells that can reanimate the dead, about mythic creatures conjured to roaring, snarling life, the greatest mystery of "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is this: How does a picture so obviously expensive wind up looking so cheesy and cheap? You can bet the people who made the movie spent a ton of dough on technical experts and all the other accouterments of modern-day...