Tacoma Daily Headlines: Shooting Probe, City Hall Health Funds, Utility Charges
Tacoma, WA – February 25, 2026 – A late-night shooting, City Council health funding, and new utility charges top today’s Tacoma local headlines.
Tacoma’s midweek news mix leans heavily on public safety, with investigators working an early-morning shooting in the South End. City Hall also moved on health access and long-term utility capacity as growth continues.
Top story: South Tacoma shooting investigation
Police say a woman was seriously injured after gunfire hit an occupied home around 4:10 a.m. Tuesday near the 8800 block of South D Street, close to Fern Hill Park. Investigators reported dozens of shell casings at the scene, and the circumstances leading up to the shooting were still unclear as of the latest update.
City Hall: Health funding and growth-related utility fees
HIV and STI self-testing for LGBTQ+ youth
The City Council unanimously approved $30,000 to support on-demand, staff-guided HIV and STI self-testing for LGBTQ+ youth ages 14 and older in Pierce County, partnering with Oasis Youth Center. The program is intended to make testing easier to access in a setting designed to feel safe and affirming.
New system development charges for wastewater and stormwater
Council members also approved new system development charges aimed at having new development cover more of the cost of added wastewater and stormwater capacity. The city says existing customers who are not expanding service won’t see new fees tied to this change. The charges are set to take effect July 1, 2026, with examples including a $3,339 wastewater charge for a typical single-family residential meter and a stormwater charge calculated at $0.53 per square foot of net new impervious surface.
Leadership and staffing notes
A swearing-in and badge-pinning ceremony for Police Chief Patti Jackson is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26 at Tacoma Police headquarters on South Pine Street. Separately, the City Council confirmed Toni Esparza as Neighborhood & Community Services Director; she is set to start March 23 after serving in a leadership role with the City of Bellevue.
Workplace: Tacoma General per diem nurses vote to unionize
More than 100 per diem nurses at Tacoma General Hospital voted to join a nurses union, with organizers reporting a 97% ‘yes’ vote in a Feb. 23 election. Next up: negotiating an agreement to bring per diem nurses under contract protections and pay scales.
Briefly
A 14-year-old boy killed in a Tacoma road-rage case was publicly identified this week by the medical examiner. Court records and investigators have linked the shooting to a Dec. 5, 2025 collision on McKinley Avenue, and the criminal case is continuing in Pierce County.
Sources
- https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/woman-injured-shell-casings-tacoma-shooting
- https://tacoma.gov/news/city-council-unanimously-approves-funding-for-hiv-and-sti-self-testing-for-lgbtq-youth/
- https://tacoma.gov/news/city-council-approves-system-development-charges-for-wastewater-and-stormwater-utilities/
- https://tacoma.gov/news/swearing-in-ceremony-for-chief-patti-jackson/
- https://tacoma.gov/news/city-council-confirms-appointment-of-toni-esparza-as-neighborhood-community-services-director/
- https://www.wsna.org/union/update/9d30285c-2bff-403b-a7a2-1a31e6ad75dc/tacoma-general-per-diems-overwhelmingly-win-union-election
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tacoma-boy-14-identified-victim-195840172.html
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