Tom McCarthy, a member of United for Peace of Pierce County, has been named Human Rights Champion by the City of Tacoma's Human Rights Commission.[1]  --  COMMENT:  It's hard to think of someone more deserving of this award.  --  At considerable personal risk and with grace and courage, Tom McCarthy has consistently defended human rights, human dignity, and humane values in and around Tacoma for many years.  --  All are invited to attend the presentation of the award at the Tacoma City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, at 5:00 p.m., 747 Market St., 1st Floor....

Thanks to Todd Boyle for recording the town hall meeting on Syria held Sunday evening by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA 7th).[1]  --  McDermott spoke for about twelve minutes, and then answered questions for fifty minutes more....

Around noon on July 3, 2013, the 5th stage of the 100th Tour de France, the world's most famous bicycle race, passed through Biot, France, Tacoma's new sister city.  --  When Biot's mayor, Jean-Pierre Dermit, happened to discover on the Internet that one of the Tour's leading riders, 24-year-old Tejay van Garderen, was born in Tacoma, he decided to organize a special welcome for Tacoma's native son.  --  (Van Garderen now lives in Lucca, in Tuscany, Italy.)  --  Nice-Matin published an unsigned article on the event, translated below[1].