News

Gig Harbor Now reporters chase down news that affects community residents, providing facts with context and perspective.

Le Mans sailboat race a well-loved and wacky local tradition

Nov 13, 2023 | By: Chapin Day

“All hands below deck!” Weather permitting, that strange command should echo around Gig Harbor next Saturday morning, Nov. 18, just five minutes before one of the world’s wackiest sailboat racing starts. Even the most committed landlubber ashore, ignorant of sail racing’s rules or which side is port and which side is starboard, can enjoy the

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Vietnam veterans honored at Gig Harbor ceremony

Nov 13, 2023 | By:

This year’s Veterans Day ceremony marked 50 years since the United States pulled out of the Vietnam war and showed appreciation for those who fought there.

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Sports Beat: Flu-ravaged Tides fall in football playoffs

Nov 10, 2023 | By:

The Gig Harbor (7-3, 6-1) football season abruptly ended with a 28-7 playoff loss to Marysville-Pilchuck on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Roy Anderson Field. The Tides faced a formidable offensive and defensive line and gave away almost 25 pounds per position in the trenches. That proved to be the difference in the game as the

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Gig Harbor Police Blotter: State Patrol seeks info on hit-and-run in Wauna

Nov 10, 2023 | By:

Editor’s note: The Blotter is written based on information provided by Gig Harbor Police , Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One  and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. The Washington State Patrol is looking for people who witnessed a hit-and-run collision in which a pedestrian was injured last month. The collision occurred around 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, on Highway 302 near

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Derek Kilmer announces he won’t run for re-election in 2024

Nov 09, 2023 | By:

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, announced Thursday that he won’t run for re-election in 2024. Kilmer, 49, is in the middle of his sixth two-year term representing Washington’s Sixth Congressional District, which encompasses the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas and most of the city of Tacoma. When not in Washington, D.C., the Port Angeles native

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School district, community groups ponder fate of KGHP radio station

Nov 09, 2023 | By:

More than 30 people with an interest in the fate of KGHP-FM radio showed up Tuesday to a meeting hosted by Peninsula School District, which owns the station. Some were faithful listeners of KGHP, which has operated since 1988. Some were volunteer program hosts who have kept the station on air since its manager was

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Gig Harbor Real Estate: Despite high mortgage rates, home prices tick up in October

Nov 09, 2023 | By: Alison Paoli

It was a scary sight in October when mortgage rates spiked to a 23-year year high, causing the housing market to slow to a December-like crawl a few months ahead of schedule. But, while the historically high mortgage rates are keeping buyers and sellers at bay and impacting the volume of sales, they are not

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Jennifer Preston: All mushrooms are magic

Nov 08, 2023 | By:

They help turn wheat into bread and fruit into wine. They ferment cacao beans, making it possible for us to enjoy one of the world’s favorite treats — chocolate. They give us penicillin, forever altering the way we fight infection. These mostly invisible, seemingly magical organisms quietly go about their work sustaining forests and enriching

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Elementary students get ready to rhumba with ballroom dance lessons

Nov 08, 2023 | By:

Sultry tango music plays in a half-empty portable classroom at Voyager Elementary School. Chairs and tables have been pushed aside to create a small dance floor, where students in pairs mark the beat with their feet. Step, step, step, to-the-side and close. “T-A-N-G-O,” calls out instructor Roxanne Nielsen, helping count the rhythm. It may not

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Nearly 59 percent of voters rejecting PenMet levy proposal

Nov 07, 2023 | By:

Voters in the PenMet Parks district rejected a six-year levy lid lift request in preliminary ballot returns posted Tuesday, Nov. 7. Nearly 59 percent of 8,733 ballots counted as of Tuesday opposed the request, which would allow the district to collect property taxes of up to 6% more than the previous year instead of the state

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