Matt Driscoll
@mattsdriscoll
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TNT Columnist/Opinion Editor. Sometimes known as “the Johnny Appleseed of White Guilt” and/or “the Perez Hilton of Pierce County.”
Tacoma, WA
Joined November 2008
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There’s an official landing page now for my series on vehicle residency.
Should make navigating all five sections a little easier.
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The boy was a champ today. So was his mom - who bore the brunt of a day that started at 4am.
Spinal fusion surgery at Mary Bridge was a success. Now he’s resting in the pediatric ICU (mainly as a precaution). All the docs, nurses and staff have been great.
Hug your kids.
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I started at
@thenewstribune
nearly six years ago. During that time I’ve seen the paper decimated by cuts and buyouts. I’ve also watched too many journalists leave, because they didn’t see a future at the TNT.
Today we unionize.
Today, we fight for a seat at the table.
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The boy is awake and watching Bluey, even managing a few small giggles here and there. Earlier today the Mary Bridge nurses and PT staff got him into his wheelchair, which was a mildly terrifying prospect, but it went off without a hitch. He looks at least six inches taller.
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Why was I inspired to write about the growing number of people living in cars and RVs?
In part, because of emails like this.
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Shocked and saddened to wake up to news of
@sonicsguy
’s passing. Just a true original. Tacoma is going to miss him.
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It's time for Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer to resign.
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The late Sonics Guy - aka Tacoma’s Kris Brannon - is being memorialized along 6th Avenue.
It’s a perfect location, and a much deserved remembrance.
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Ed Troyer is not a victim.
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We did not go to the grocery store today. Our provisions are average, at best.
Please remember us fondly. It was a good run.
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Nate Bowling, a former state Teacher of the Year, and his wife, Hope Teague-Bowling, chair of Lincoln High School's Language Arts Department, are both leaving Tacoma - and the country.
The reasons why should serve as a warning.
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Just watched a squirrel carry the dead body of a fellow squirrel across our fence and into the neighbor’s yard, presumably looking for a place to mourn.
Might be the saddest goddamn thing I’ve seen this week.
Unless the squirrel’s a cannibal, in which case I take it all back
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Try to cut people some slack right now.
That's it. That's the tweet.
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Or - and hear me out here, Jon - we could stop acting oppressed by something as simple as wearing a mask, knowing that it helps to protect the vulnerable, those who haven’t been vaxxed and the healthcare workers dealing with our collective nonsense.
No rush, folks. Maybe once we get our fifth booster shot we can drop the mask mandate
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UW researchers have found more than 4,000 old, racist housing covenants in Pierce County — many more, according to Prof. James Gregory, than some local officials expected.
They’ve mapped all of them.
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Old guy, who looked a little like R. Lee Ermey, just drove by my house and stopped when he saw me.
“Hey, are you Driscoll?” he rolled down his window and asked.
Yep.
“Boy, that crap you put in the paper is nothing but straight communism!”
Forgot to thank him for reading.
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Klara Bowman became infamous for being Tacoma's drunken teacher. Three months later she was dead.
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Want to send a quick note of gratitude to everyone who has reached out privately or publicly with support. It means a lot.
Just arrived at the office. Some of my
@thenewstribune
colleagues are already here. Some will soon arrive. We’re going to work today.
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We’re on vacation. Left this morning. Currently at a rest stop.
One thing, real quick:
That editorial The News Tribune published about protesting Nazis is wack. There’s no other way to say it. People are right to be pissed.
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Another succesful Porchfest in the books.
Hashtag Tacoma.
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It’s Friday night, so what better time for a quick (or not so quick) appreciation thread in honor of local journalism - and most importantly my friends.
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Please consider subscribing to The News Tribune. It's not just a subscription, it's a statement that you value the importance of local journalism in Tacoma and Pierce County.
If you need some prodding, I explained the situation on FB yesterday.
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I’ve lost 2.7 million followers since the Elon Musk news broke. Crazy.
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One of these people has a PhD now.
I’m incredibly proud of her.
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Our son just spent a week in the hospital. I have no idea how many iPhones that is.
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I don’t know how it’s playing in the rest of the state, but I do know that “Julie Anderson is a secret MAGA Trumper” sounds silly, preposterous and desperate to just about everyone in Pierce County.
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Just seeing this now.
I’m sorry. What on earth are you doing here,
@komonews
?
Actually, I know what you’re doing. Stop it.
Tacoma's notorious Hilltop neighborhood set for a major upgrade with the expected arrival of new residential housing units and a light rail transit stop set to come online soon.
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Stadium High took on Les Miserables for its spring production, an ambitious choice full of singing and death.
The oldest was in the booth running sound - a role she’s really taken to. We’re incredibly proud of her.
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Column: Pissed at teachers for striking? Instead of focusing on why they don’t deserve more, try asking why everyone doesn’t deserve the same things?
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My kids are never going back to school, are they? Let’s just cut to the chase. It’s over.
Tacoma Schools closed Wednesday, district offices open
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The neighbors are getting married in their backyard. They’ve reached the keg stand portion of the ceremony. Really beautiful.
#Tacoma
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This is f***ing devastating, and Sue would appreciate the expletive.
I don't have words. I'm so grateful for Sue's friendship. She made the world better. My heart - and everything else I have - goes out to her family.
Hug the people you love. Tell them you love them.
Kidd’s food writing career spanned nearly three decades.
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The day after Trump was elected my wife and I saw
@NekoCase
in Tacoma. The tickets were a birthday present for her. It was a concert and a wake.
Tonight we watched Joe Biden and Kamala Harris turn the page, at long last.
It’s been a long four years. Happy birthday, my dear.
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I've seen a lot of heartless stuff writing for newspapers. Rarely have I seen something as cold as what's currently happening at the Tiki Apartments in Tacoma.
So I tracked down the new owner ...
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What's the damage of dehumanizing homelessness?
We're already seeing it, every day.
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Rhubarb stopped by the boy’s school today. He’ll be talking about this for weeks.
Hashtag Tacoma.
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The kids suggested donuts from Pao���s for Father’s Day. “Great idea!” I said.
Now I’m driving to get them while they watch cartoons.
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I expected to drink on election night.
I did not expect election night to last a week.
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Covering the final run of the presses
@thenewstribune
tonight. It's a nostalgic, somber event so far. Talked to Duke Roorda not long ago. He's retired, but put in 40 years in the trade. "That ink stays in your blood forever," he told me. Said being here tonight was important.
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I’m irrationally excited about this gift. Full dad status: achieved.
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“How am I ever going to walk around downtown Tacoma now that Lime bikes and scooters are strewn everywhere!?” - person who doesn’t walk around downtown Tacoma anyway
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I wasn't intending to write a column about our son's
@MakeAWishAKWA
trip to Disneyland. That changed.
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Not to be a total bummer, but the demolition of the old News Tribune building has officially begun.
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Come for the part where I compare American society to a Hot Pocket.
Stay for the genuine exploration of whether we’re living through the stupidest time ever.
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Never a dull moment in Pierce County.
*Tears up column*
UPDATE: four hours of public comment flips Roach's vote, ultimately nixing the bill. "Public input is a higher order than one-man one-vote. It was the right thing to do.”
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Just restore the mountain’s rightful name.
It’s time. It’s been time.
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I thought Jankanish's op-ed was scared white nonsense, and the nostalgia for a so-called "common American culture" was revealing. It was 600 words of white supremacy masquerading as thoughtful dissent and Lincoln quotes.
I thought the response was warranted and well-said.
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The rhododendron is the quintessential PNW flower.
Three weeks every year it’s magical. The rest of the time, it’s total shit.
I respect that.
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At
@thenewstribune
100% of union eligible staff are supporting this effort.
They’re doing so to ensure we can continue to provide Tacoma and Pierce County with the journalism it deserves.
This is about our working conditions. But, more importantly, it’s about our community.
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Column: There’s more to race protests at Evergreen than biology professor and viral videos
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Julie Anderson got a raw deal.
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Our buddy doesn’t eat much by mouth, but when he does it’s queso.
Happy birthday dinner.
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Our daughter has started treating family Uno night like it’s the World Series of Poker on ESPN 3.
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The system failed Breonna Taylor. She deserved better.
Tacoma's Manny Ellis also deserves better.
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With snow starting to fall ever so lightly in Tacoma, some perspective:
Two years ago, to the day, I wrote this column. At the time I had been stuck at home with my children for - wait for it - FOUR days. I was at wit's end.
That was dumb.
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Matt Fleming lost his job because of the coronavirus.
Now, he rides around Tacoma yelling messages at people stuck inside their homes - for $1.
"I wanted to scream," he says.
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Let’s call the Pierce County Council’s latest self-induced crisis for what it is:
An attempted public health coup.
In the middle of a pandemic.
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Waiting to enter the
@metparkstacoma
NW Trek “Wild Drive.”
The animals better be out, or we’ll sue.
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This is hard, and each week has felt harder than the last. My sleep sucks. I often feel hopeless. It's a battle not to drink too much.
The impact on our mental health will be one of the COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting ripples.
Let's acknowledge that now.
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It’s always a gut punch when I write about an affordable housing project and then I start getting emails and calls from people desperate to find housing. I try to steer them in the right direction, but it just sucks. Really drives home the need.
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Just got called “the Johnny Appleseed of white guilt” via email. Thinking about adding that to my Twitter bio.
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Update: I legally sold a 20-year-old minivan for less than $1k to a guy open carrying this afternoon. Pierce County.
It doesn’t get much more Friday night in Pierce County than dudes in job-site neon buying cases of Busch and packs of Marb Reds at the corner store.
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Just got my first email about how I need to find joy in the snow and my children. Surprised it took so long.
Either way, get bent.
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Importantly, this isn’t just about
@thenewstribune
. The union represents journalists and newsroom staff at all four McClatchy papers in WA.
All of us want the same thing for our communities: a better future, that values the importance of local journalism.
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How dancing on Cheney Stadium’s roof could cost the Rainiers nearly $60,000 - a crazy, but true, column
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She’s 15 as of today. Hard to believe. Celebrated with a new violin bow (trade out on a rental, but still), Elliott Bay Book Co., slices at Pagliacci, thrift store shopping and a trip to Sonic Boom Records.
The kid’s alright.
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A big victory. And a first step.
🚨
@WaNewsGuild
has been voluntarily recognized by
@mcclatchy
🚨
This means journalists
@thenewstribune
in Tacoma,
@theolympian
,
@BhamHerald
, and the
@TriCityHerald
are officially a union.
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Honest to god: I had no idea who Marianne Williamson was before tonight.
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All the two youngest talked about at dinner was Lady Gaga and “the cowboy who sang Amazing Grace.”
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Column: Attention Tacoma Public Schools: When a teacher like Anne Hawkins quits, you’re doing something wrong
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So Porchfest is officially the coolest thing that’s ever happened in our neighborhood.
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Life has been so hectic lately that I almost forgot today is the 16th anniversary of the taco bar -slash- wedding that united us in holy matrimony.
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Continued my annual tradition this morning of blasting Alice Cooper's "School's Out" for the kids on the last day of school. The oldest continued her annual tradition of looking at me like I'm old and dumb.
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For the dudes still up in my mentions on this one - it’s not hard.
No one is denying Hilltop’s history. But it’s bullshit to continue to brand a proud, historically Black neighborhood as “notorious” 30 years after the fact - particularly when it’s a shameless ploy for clicks.
Just seeing this now.
I’m sorry. What on earth are you doing here,
@komonews
?
Actually, I know what you’re doing. Stop it.
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Don't have the heart to break the bad news to my 9-year-old yet, so I'm going to let her hang onto this idea as long as possible.
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I’ve avoided the mask wars, mainly because the fact we’re arguing about this is so stupid it makes my head hurt.
Still: We made our weekly trip for groceries, etc today, and maybe 50% of customers at Target were wearing one.
What the f*** are we doing? What is wrong with us?
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The oldest’s x-mas present is coming to pass. Dinosaur Jr. On a school night. Under her own voliton. I love her so much.
Also, every dude here looks (and creeks) like me. It’s very welcoming. A true safe space for dads of a certain vintage.
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Crafting a note to my children, from Santa, informing them that Elf on the Shelf was tragically killed in a deadly workplace accident back in July. Referencing an ongoing L&I investigation, to make it believable. Wish me luck.
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I’ve never seen Game of Thrones and I don’t care if Russell Wilson gets a new contract.
Don’t @ me.
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File under: Columns that shouldn’t need to be written.
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The 13-year-old greatly dislikes forced vacation photos.
As a dad, I consider it my duty to press on.
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New: If you had "climate change permanently closes Five Mile Drive to vehicle traffic" on your 2022 bingo card, claim your prize.
Here's what it means for Tacoma's Point Defiance Park.
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The woman also called KOMO’s proposed solution - which, spoiler, involves sending people experiencing homelessness to a damn island - “spot on.”
This is despicable in every sense of the word. What it’s not is journalism.
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I’m not answering your email if you call me Mark. Just a rule I have.
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