MICHAEL SWAN: JAN. 12-18 >>>
The 105-day legislative session began at noon Monday. … Most of the Tacoma City Council flew to Washington, D.C., looking for stimulus money for Tacoma projects. … Mixed martial arts champion Jeff Monson was charged with first-degree malicious mischief based on photographs published in the December issue of ESPN The Magazine showing him spray-painting an anarchist symbol on the state Capitol. … The Pierce County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit attempt to block the appointment of the next Pierce County auditor, but The Pierce County Council picked Jan Shabro as county auditor anyway. … An initiative was been filed in Olympia that would require state and local government agencies to help enforce federal immigration laws. ... Traffic was tangled on the Tacoma Narrows bridge for six hours Thursday while police captured a man who threatened to jump off. … The uninsured flood damage in Pierce County is around $2 million. … It was announced this week that KeyBank’s nationwide call center â€" located at 2420 S. State St. near Hilltop in Tacoma â€" will close this year, resulting in the loss of 200 jobs in our area. ... A monster truck launched a Frisbee-sized chunk of metal into the Tacoma Dome stands Friday night, killing a 6-year-old boy. The remaining shows were not canceled.