The Tacoma Police Department established a new unit last week, dedicated to investigating unsolved mysteries, known as cold cases, full-time. Veteran Tacoma Police Detective Gene Miller was assigned to the unit on March 14 to investigate homicides and suspicious missing person cases that were never closed. Miller has begun prioritizing all of the Department’s cold case information and seeking assistance with DNA and other forensic evidence from the Washington State Patrol crime lab. A police investigation is considered “cold” after all possible leads have been exhausted, all evidence has been...

April 1 marked the end of an era on McNeil Island, when it closed the doors for good to the prison that operated there for over 130 years. Located on the South Puget Sound West of Steilacoom, the McNeil Island Corrections Center was known historically as the “prison without walls”—with miles of frigid water preventing inmates from escaping the island. When the facility opened in 1875, it was the first federal prison in the territory that would become Washington state. According to www.doc.wa.gov, McNeil was the last island prison left...

Post-graduation plans are shaping up to be an exceptional adventure for seniors Margaret Shelton and Jacki Ward, who were announced recipients of this year’s Watson Fellowship last week. The fellowship, established in 1968 by IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is a national grant which enables students to further pursue their interests after finishing college. Applications for the fellowship include in-depth project proposals and selected applicants are awarded a $25,000 stipend to travel abroad for one year following graduation. The grant is designed as an investment in individual students who demonstrate...