Washington High School (Washington)

Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PLU has approximately 2,700 students enrolled. As of 2023, the school employs approximately 238 full-time professors on the 156-acre (63 ha) woodland campus. PLU’s academic programs into four colleges: the College of Health Professions; the College of Humanities, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Social Sciences; the College of Natural Sciences; and the College of Professional Studies.

On November 29, 2009, four police officers of Lakewood, Washington were fatally shot at the Forza (now Blue Steele) Coffee shop, located at 11401 Steele Street #108 South in the Parkland unincorporated area of Pierce County, Washington, near Tacoma. A gunman, later identified as Maurice Clemmons, entered the shop, shot the officers while they worked on laptops, and fled the scene with a single gunshot wound in his torso. After a massive two-day manhunt that spanned several nearby cities, an officer recognized Clemmons near a stalled car in south Seattle. When he refused orders to stop, he was shot and killed by a Seattle Police Department officer. Five people, all friends and family of Clemmons, were convicted of crimes associated with aiding his escape and enabling him to elude capture, but most convictions were reversed on appeal, based on court findings of misconduct by the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office.

Parkland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 35,803 at the time of the 2010 census and had grown to 38,623 as of the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated suburb of the city of Tacoma and is home to Pacific Lutheran University. Parkland borders most of Tacoma's southern cutoff at 96th St, and borders with much of the northern cutoff of Spanaway, Washington, at 152nd St (or Military Rd E). The most influential motorway is State Route 7/Pacific Ave, which travels north and south, and leads from Interstate 5 in Tacoma all the way to Mount Rainier. Pacific Ave is also a main commercial corridor through much of the county, including Parkland. It was given its name by early white settlers for the park-like nature of the vast Garry Oak and blue camas flower prairie, and the many meandering creeks crossing it. In 1890, Norwegian-Americans from the Midwest chose this area as the site of their new college, which is now Pacific Lutheran University, home to 3,500 full-time students and the Lutes varsity sports teams.

Manuel Ellis was a 33-year-old African American man who died on March 3, 2020, during an arrest by police officers in Tacoma, Washington. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department initially claimed that Ellis had attacked a police car and then attacked officers, leading to the arrest. State prosecutors quoted civilian witnesses as saying that Ellis did not attack the police car or officers; they also said it was the officers who initiated the use of physical force on Ellis after a conversation. Video of the incident showed officers repeatedly punching Ellis, choking him, using a Taser, and kneeling on him. State prosecutors stated that "Ellis was not fighting back", citing witness statements and video evidence. A police radio recording showed that Ellis said he "can’t breathe". Ellis told officers "can't breathe, sir" multiple times, according to prosecutors. Ellis was hogtied, face-down, with an officer on him, for at least six minutes, and a spit hood was placed on his head in this position, stated prosecutors. Ellis died at the scene while receiving medical aid from paramedics.In early June 2020, Ellis's death was ruled by county medical examiner Thomas Clark as a homicide due to "hypoxia due to physical restraint", and with "contributing conditions of methamphetamine intoxication and a dilated heart". Prosecutors, in May 2021 documents, quoted Clark as saying that additional evidence that emerged after the autopsy concluded indicated that "Ellis's death was not likely caused by methamphetamine intoxication", and further indicated that restraint caused the death.After Ellis's death, four Tacoma police officers were placed on paid administrative leave; they returned to work two weeks later, with the Tacoma police department stating "there were no known departmental violations". The Pierce County Sheriff's Department conducted a three-month investigation into Ellis's death before disclosing that a Pierce County deputy was present during Ellis's arrest. As a result, in mid-June 2020, Governor of Washington Jay Inslee ordered a new investigation by the Washington State Patrol, while the Washington Attorney General would decide potential criminal charges. In May 2021, Washington prosecutors charged two Tacoma police officers, Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, with second degree murder for the killing of Ellis, and charged another Tacoma police officer, Timothy Rankine, with first degree manslaughter.

The LeMay Family Collection Foundation was born out of Harold LeMay's dream of keeping his massive car collection together and in a place where others could appreciate it. Separate from America's Car Museum in downtown Tacoma, the LeMay Family Collection is still directly owned and controlled by the LeMay family.Today, the museum is open to the public 6 days a week. About 500 cars are on display in the collection at all times, with some being rotated into or out of off-site storage. The collection is located at the historic Marymount Military Academy, which housed a school for boys and a home for nuns before it became a home for Harold and Nancy LeMay's vintage car collection. The LeMay Family Collection Foundation is also the site of the annual LeMay Car Show. The LeMay Family Collection Foundation was nominated for one of King 5's Best Museums in Western Washington in 2013. It placed 14th out of more than 60 nominees. In 2015, the Collection placed in the top 5.

McChord Field Historic District is a historic district located within the McChord Air Force Base in Pierce County, Washington. The base is located at the base of Puget Sound. The 31 contributing buildings and 3 contributing structures included in the district all date to the establishment of McChord Field and its role in World War II. Additionally, the district is significant for its architecture representative of the period from 1938 through 1952. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 2008.It is the 24th property listed as a featured property of the week in a program of the National Park Service that began in July, 2008.

Washington's 29th legislative district is one of forty-nine districts in Washington state for representation in the state legislature. It includes most of Tacoma. The district's legislators are state senator Steve Conway and state representatives Melanie Morgan (position 1) and Sharlett Mena (position 2), all Democrats.

Fern Hill is a neighborhood located in the southern part of Tacoma, Washington. It is generally defined as extending north to S. 72nd St, south to the city boundaries at 96th St, west to S. Sheridan Ave, and east to Pacific Avenue. The neighborhood's main intersection is South 84th St. and S. Park Ave. Fern Hill's central business district contains several small shops including Park Ave. Book Store, Fern Hill Coffee House, A Fine Design, InSpirations Massage, Norma's Barber Shop, Bill's Clock and Watch Repair, Le Le Nails, American Trophy, and Hand Crafted By Design. The neighborhood also includes a postal branch, a public library branch, an elementary school, and a large church as well as several stately historic homes. Fern Hill has one of the highest densities of neighborhood parks in the city, having three parks within four blocks of the neighborhood business district.

Pacific Sports Center is a 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m2) multi-purpose arena, in Tacoma, Washington. It served as the home turf for the Tacoma Stars of the Professional Arena Soccer League prior to 2014.

Lakewood station is a commuter rail station in Lakewood, Washington, United States. It is the terminus of the S Line of the Sounder commuter rail network, operated by Sound Transit in the Seattle metropolitan area. The station, located along Pacific Highway Southwest, includes a 620-stall parking garage and several bus bays served by Intercity Transit and Sound Transit Express. Lakewood station was originally scheduled to open in 2002 as part of a Sounder extension, but plans were delayed due to funding issues and the state government's work on the Point Defiance Bypass project. Construction on the $33 million station and garage began in March 2007 and it opened for use by buses on September 18, 2008. Sounder service to Lakewood began in October 2012 and the pedestrian bridge opened a few months later.

KLAY (1180 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk/sports information format. Located in Lakewood, Washington, United States, the station serves the Tacoma area. The station is owned by Sacred Heart Radio. The station features news, talk, weather, traffic, and sports reporting. KLAY has been on the air for about 53 years. Broadcasting coverage is roughly from Downtown Seattle south through the state capital of Olympia.

The McChord Air Museum is an aviation museum located at McChord Field near Lakewood, Washington. The museum is broken up into three separate areas: the main gallery, located at the south end of McChord Field in Building 517; the Heritage Hill Airpark, which overlooks the McChord Field runway; and the aircraft restoration and maintenance facility in Building 301.