Skateboarding death, Uwajimaya update, Tacoma homicide among TNT’s top stories

Pierce County residents are tracking several developing stories Monday, from a charter commission’s decision that could shorten the sheriff’s term to updates on a beloved Asian market’s return. Two fatal incidents also unfolded over the weekend in the region.

• Pierce County voters will decide in the Nov. 3 general election whether Sheriff Keith Swank keeps his job in 2027 after the Charter Review Commission placed the proposal on the November ballot. The 21-member, non-partisan commission reviewed 57 amendment proposals over six months and advanced seven of them to the November ballot, spending more than 90 hours in meetings before disbanding after June 30. Vice chair Martha Lantz emphasized that the commission itself cannot remove Swank — its role is only to place proposals before voters, with the ultimate decision left to a vote of the people.
• Uwajimaya Asian Market is still planning to return to Tacoma with a new store opening in 2027, CEO Denise Moriguchi confirmed in a July 2 email. A commercial alteration application was filed May 29 for the new store at 3130 S. 23rd St., next to Tacoma Central shopping center, though the application’s status is currently “awaiting resubmittal/revisions”.
• A man died after a shooting in the 1000 block of South Tacoma Way at about 12:36 a.m. Monday, and Tacoma police are investigating the incident as a homicide with no suspects in custody.
• Tanner Hart, a 20-year-old former Sumner High School football player who went on to play at Whitworth University, died after falling from his skateboard on an island at Lake Tapps early Saturday.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by senior editor Adam Lynn. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.