Distressed properties blamed as Pierce County home prices drop again

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  Moment of Blessing today for woman killed in East Side violence

  Associated Ministries will conduct a Moment of Blessing ceremony today for a 26-year-old mother killed New Year’s Day while sleeping on the couch of an East Side home.

• Man gets 16 years in 2010 slaying in Tacoma alley

  Man gets 16 years in 2010 slaying in Tacoma alley

  A 34-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison in connection with the fatal shooting of another man in a South Tacoma alley two years ago.

• 2 Mount Vernon men sentenced to prison for murder

  2 Mount Vernon men sentenced to prison for murder

  Two Mount Vernon men have been sentenced to a combined half-century in prison for killing a Bellingham man in a robbery gone awry.

  The Skagit Valley Herald reports that 20-year-old Agustin Alaniz was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 25, to 29 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.

  Authorities say Alaniz fired the gun that killed 36-year-old Jose Villalta of Bellingham during the May 2011 robbery.

• Cardinals ink LS Leach, LB Walker

  Cardinals ink LS Leach, LB Walker

  The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with long snapper Mike Leach and a two-year contract with linebacker Reggie Walker.

• Port of Tacoma container trade up in March, but lagging this year

  Port of Tacoma container trade up in March, but lagging this year

  The Port of Tacoma’s critical container trade increased by 2.1 percent in March compared with March of last year, but the port’s container numbers still are nearly 2 percent behind last year’s through March.