[Jack Black]

Yakima AVENUE. Which borders and defines hilltop, where the gangs are notorious.

Have you ever heard the term Tacoma-Yakima used this way? I have not. In googling it I find no use of it to describe a neighborhood.

Let's go back to the authors words: Mexican gangs are causing havoc in the Tacoma-Yakima area of Washington with methamphetamine being the drug of choice for the gang. They are moving into Native American territories where a police presence is scant.

If the author were describing a neighborhood the phrase "section of the city" "neigborhood" would have been used, not "area of Washington." I think she's seriously confused.

I'm going to write her and seek clarification.

[NavyCanDo]

That could go either way. . Tacoma does have a Yakima Ave which is in the center of East Tacoma's troubled gang area. Then you have the City of Yakima which has the largest per capita Hispanic population in the State of Wa, including the gangs that come with it. But that is on the other side of the Cascades.