Author: William Tygart

  • Tacoma alerts and which utility desk

    Two common mix-ups: which alert list, and which power company. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Alerts

    Tacoma Alert only covers the City of Tacoma. Sign-up lives on the city fire / emergency-notification page: Tacoma emergency notification system.

    Pierce County Alert (PC Alert) covers most of the county outside Tacoma. It does not replace Tacoma Alert. County page: Alert and warning. Emergency Management office: 2501 S. 35th St., Suite D, (253) 798-6595.

    Work in University Place, Lakewood, or Puyallup? Those cities have their own lists. Sign each one. Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone are separate (FEMA / IPAWS) and do not mean you are on Tacoma Alert.

    Which utility

    Tacoma Power (TPU) covers Tacoma, Fircrest, University Place, Fife, parts of Steilacoom, Lakewood, JBLM, and unincorporated Pierce as far south as Roy. Outage and start-stop: TPU desk.

    Puget Sound Energy is the other large electric utility in the county. Outage / downed line: 1-888-225-5773 · pse.com/outage. Do not call TPU about a PSE pole.

    Look at the bill. If it says Tacoma Public Utilities, use the TPU desk. Fire / 911 still first if a line is down on a person: Fire desk.

  • Tacoma Community College desk

    TCC is the west-end campus at 6501 S. 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466 — 150 acres, not downtown. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Main: (253) 566-5000 · tacomacc.edu
    Gig Harbor: 3993 Hunt Street NW, (253) 460-2424
    Maps: Maps and directions

    Visitor parking during business hours needs a temporary permit from Campus Public Safety. Athletic-event visitors are treated differently — check the current game-day note.

    West End context: Narrows desk. Transfer to UW Tacoma: UW Tacoma desk. Bus: Transit desk. Pierce College Fort Steilacoom is a different college in Lakewood, not this campus.

  • UW Tacoma desk

    UW Tacoma sits in downtown brick, 1900 Commerce Street, Tacoma, WA 98402. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Main: (253) 692-4000 or 800-736-7750 · uwtinfo@uw.edu
    Admissions: (253) 692-4742 · Mattress Factory 251 · hours posted as weekday days, Friday shorter on the directory
    Financial aid: (253) 692-4374 · uwtfa@uw.edu
    Registrar: (253) 692-4913 · reguwt@uw.edu
    Campus safety: (253) 692-4416 · uwtsafe@uw.edu
    Contact UW Tacoma

    Campus emergency is still 911. Neighborhood context: Downtown desk. Parking ticket after class: Parking ticket. Link: Transit desk. Transfer path from TCC: TCC desk.

  • Which Tacoma desk do I open?

    Start here if you only have a problem, not a department name. Every link is on tygartmedia.com. Updated August 29, 2026.

    I need to…

    Neighborhood

    Downtown · North Slope · 6th Ave · Hilltop · Proctor · Stadium · Old Town · Point Ruston / Pearl · Lincoln · South Tacoma Way · Eastside · Dome · McKinley · Fern Hill · Pacific Ave · Narrows · Oakland–Madrona

    Hub: Tacoma, Washington.

  • Tacoma Municipal Court desk

    City ordinance cases: criminal, criminal traffic, traffic and parking infractions. Not small claims. Not protection orders, divorce, or custody — those are county. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Call and walk in

    (253) 591-5357 · MunicipalCourt@tacoma.gov
    930 Tacoma Avenue South, Room 841, Tacoma, WA 98402
    Counter: Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
    Phone: 8:30 a.m.–noon and 1–4 p.m. (closed noon–1)
    Municipal Court

    Pay online (Visa / Mastercard / debit; no Apple Pay as of the city page), by mail to Room 841, or at the 8th-floor counter. Include the ticket number. Court staff will not call you asking for a card number.

    Hearings

    Infraction hearings are not scheduled by phone. Check the back of the ticket and mail it, or go to Room 841. Request window: 30 days from the violation, 33 if it came by mail. Hearing-by-mail exists for infractions, parking, and camera tickets. No appeal on a hearing-by-mail decision.

    Parking and cameras: Parking ticket page. Protection orders: Safety routing. County clerk and Superior Court: Pierce County desk.

  • Port of Tacoma desk: who to call

    Two doors. The Port of Tacoma owns land and runs the public port. The Northwest Seaport Alliance runs marine cargo with Seattle. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Port of Tacoma

    Admin: (253) 383-5841
    One Sitcum Plaza, Tacoma, WA 98421
    Mail: P.O. Box 1837, Tacoma, WA 98401
    Security (24 hours): (253) 383-9472
    Media: (253) 428-8674 · media@portoftacoma.com
    portoftacoma.com/contact

    Northwest Seaport Alliance

    Cargo, ships, terminals: 800-657-9808 · info@nwseaportalliance.com
    Mail: P.O. Box 2985, Tacoma, WA 98401-2985
    nwseaportalliance.com/contact

    Public records and tort claims are on those sites, not 311. Neighborhood next door: Dome desk. Longer piece: Port of Tacoma in 2026.

  • Tacoma fire and animal control desk

    Fire and animals both get called into the wrong number. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Fire

    Emergency: 911
    Tacoma Fire Department admin: (253) 591-5737, Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m., 901 Fawcett Avenue
    Fire Prevention: (253) 591-5740
    Department page: tacoma.gov fire

    Burn rules change. The city posts burn-ban pages when they are on. Do not assume last summer’s rule. Fire-code complaints can go through 311. Incident data lives on TFD’s public dashboard linked from that fire page.

    Animal Control

    (253) 627-PETS (7387) · petinfo@tacoma.gov
    Option 1 license · Option 2 control and complaints
    Page: Animal Control

    On duty Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–8 p.m. After 4 p.m. they take emergencies only. Weekends: no officers on duty — animal emergency is 911. Officers cover Tacoma, Fircrest, and Ruston. Wild animals are WDFW, not this line.

    Impounds go to Humane Society of Tacoma & Pierce County, (253) 383-2733. License how-to: Pet license desk. Barking, leash, scoop: 311 or option 2. Deliberate cruelty in progress: 911.

  • North Slope Historic District desk

    The North Slope Historic District is a residential special-review district, not a business strip. City: more than 950 properties, one of the largest historic districts in the country. Neighborhood site: 1,285 resources. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Boundaries

    North I Street to the north, Division Avenue to the east, North Steele Street to the west, North Grant Avenue on the south. Official: Tacoma historic districts and landmarks. Neighborhood: tacomanorthslope.org.

    Before you change the outside

    If the house is in the district, exterior work that needs a permit can also need Landmarks Preservation Commission review (TMC 13.07.250). Start at the permit counter and the city historic-preservation page. Do not treat a contractor’s “it’s just paint” as clearance.

    Edges: Stadium · Old Town · Hilltop.

  • Downtown and Museum District desk

    Downtown is not one of the 15 neighborhood business districts. It is the Regional Growth Center: city hall, Museum District, UW Tacoma, the brick on Pacific Avenue. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    Museums on this site: Museum District guide. Things to do: Things to Do. Food: Food scene.

    City hall and 311 counter: 747 Market Street. Customer Support Center, 2nd floor, Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Fire HQ is 901 Fawcett. Police HQ is out on Pine — police records desk.

  • Pacific Avenue desk

    Pacific Avenue is both a neighborhood business district and a long south-end corridor. Planning drafts split it into Lower Pacific, Stewart Heights, Upper Pacific, then Fern Hill. Last checked August 29, 2026.

    City listing: Neighborhood Business Districts (Pacific Avenue). South end: Fern Hill desk. Mixed-use center list: Tacoma Mixed-Use Centers.

    City and corridor materials still mention a June Saturday festival on the avenue. Confirm the current year on a district or city calendar before you send anyone.