Latest news with #ParksTacoma
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Local beach is popular with seals. Parks Tacoma starts program to protect them
Parks Tacoma this summer is bringing in volunteers to help protect seals and seal pups on a local beach. The program will train and facilitate volunteers to keep an eye out for wildlife that hauls out on Owen Beach at Point Defiance Park to protect it from predators and well-meaning members of the public who might be curious about the animals, program coordinator Desiree Kennedy told The News Tribune. The Marine Mammal Health Watch is part of Parks Tacoma's Point Defiance Park Watch program, in which volunteers patrol the area to serve as an extra set of eyes on park rule violations. 'These people really will be the eyes and ears out in the park to let us know what they're seeing so that we can record it appropriately,' Kennedy said of the program at Owen Beach. Kennedy said a team of volunteers will be dispatched along Owen Beach in two-hour shifts to ensure that a volunteer will be on site in the event of reports of seal appearances. Volunteers will help educate people about the animals and ensure that passersby keep a safe distance so the animals remain unharmed. The program will focus on Owen Beach since it's a known hot spot for seal activity, Kennedy said. 'They also use that space at Owen beach naturally to mate, to give birth to their babies, to molt and to warm up or potentially cool off,' Kennedy told The News Tribune. 'So it's just really part of their natural behavior to come onto shore.' Parks Tacoma decided to create the program after noticing the need for such volunteers over the years. 'Just the amount of questions that come from the public, we knew that we needed to be able to help answer those,' Kennedy said. The program kicked off on May 21 when Parks Tacoma hosted its first orientation for interested volunteers. Kennedy said about 40 volunteers attended the event, and Parks Tacoma hopes to assign all of them two-hour shifts at Owen Beach to keep a volunteer presence on site at least during peak hours on weekends. Volunteers will likely be stationed at Owen Beach starting around mid-June, Kennedy said. Interested volunteers can contact Desiree Kennedy at to learn more or get involved.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Section of Five Mile Drive closing for construction at Point Defiance Park
Construction is about to begin on a paved trail at Point Defiance Park that will separate pedestrians and cyclists from cars. Parks Tacoma says the second phase of the Loop Trail project will begin in May. As a result, the entry to Five Mile Drive from the turn at Waterfront Drive up to Animal Loop Road will be closed to vehicles for one year. A non-paved detour will be provided for pedestrians and bicyclists. The project will create 1.6 miles of trail apart from the roadway to connect visitors to Wilson Way Bridge, the Pagoda, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Environmental Learning Center and Owen Beach. All park destinations will remain open. Parks Tacoma says drivers wanting to access the Lodge, Pagoda, gardens, and marina will use the Pearl Street entrance. Those wanting to visit Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Owen Beach, Fort Nisqually, and the Outer Loop of Five Mile Drive will need to use the Mildred Street entrance. 'We know the road detour is an inconvenience, but we're committed to providing multi-modal links to improve connectivity, safety, and accessibility between major destinations within Point Defiance Park,' said Park Board President Andrea Smith. 'The community has been wanting this for years, and we're excited to deliver on a long-held goal.' Point Defiance Park draws more than 3 million visitors every year. In 2016, the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office awarded Parks Tacoma a $3.25 million grant to move forward with the Loop Trail. The first phase was completed in 2023 and included a new sidewalk and improvements to Park Avenue west of the Mildred Street entrance roundabout. It also paved the top of Trolley Lane trail leading north from the roundabout to the Japanese Garden, featuring a small plaza at the entry of Wilson Way Bridge and a safer pedestrian road crossing near the garden. There is no exact date in May for when this second phase will begin.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
That funny shack on Ruston Way is open again. Here's what you'll find at Wide Awake Cafe
The food hut near Les Davis Pier on Tacoma's waterfront has been freshly painted and spruced up with a moody slate hue, compliments of its new tenant after a bumpy few years of limited hours and vacancy. Wide Awake Cafe, a locally owned and operated coffee shop that also serves an array of pastries, sandwiches and breakfast burritos, opened Feb. 11 at 3427 Ruston Way. For the first week, hours run 7 a.m.-3 p.m. but will adjust to anticipated standard service of 6 a.m.-5 p.m. daily starting Feb. 17. Victoria Lockett, who also goes by Missy, has become a fixture of Tacoma's coffee-shop culture since opening her first, primarily drive-thru cafe at 1011 Center St. in 2020. She added a second outpost at 4002 Center St., near the Tacoma Refuse Center, two years ago. The Ruston Way cafe serves the same menu, anchored by espresso drinks — hot and iced — with beans from Dillano Coffee Roasters in Sumner. In addition to the usual Americanos and lattes, Wide Awake makes an array of specialty drinks, like the Hot Brown Butter Snickerdoodle with brown-butter toffee and cinnamon and the Hot Caramel Brûlée Crunch with house whipped cream. Look for monthly and seasonal specials, too. Non-coffee options include matcha, chai, hot chocolate, various teas, fruit smoothies and the requisite energy drinks spiked with Redbull or the popular plant-based Lotus. Lockett has worked in the coffee industry for more than a decade, and Wide Awake is 'kind of a collage' of some of her favorite things discovered along the way. To eat, the shop offers pastries from the likes of Art of Crunch, breakfast and more lunch-y sandwiches from Memoranda Kitchen and Blazing Bagels with split and spread with various cream cheeses or in sandwich form. The concession stand was previously occupied by Kama'aina Grill. That Hawaiian restaurant, which also has a food truck and has cooked at the Washington State Fair, appears to have shut the doors at the end of 2023. Google reviews often reported the business as closed when it was listed as open, leading to confusion even during peak season. Parks Tacoma owns the property, so the to find a new tenant required a formal request-for-proposal process that started in March 2024 but was renewed in August. The agency sought an established foodservice business with a bent toward quick offerings like coffee, ice cream or shaved ice, according to the RFP. Lockett wasn't necessarily on the prowl for a third location but had always admired the Ruston Way hut. 'I've always thought, 'Gosh, that would be such a great spot,' she said in a phone call this week. She couldn't sleep one night and randomly did some research. There was a walk-through scheduled for the next day. 'It just kinda felt like a fate thing!' she recalled. The selection process took more time than expected, and she ultimately received the notification that Wide Awake had been approved in November. Parks Tacoma did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the opening. 'It's been fun to see regular walkers and regulars come down to enjoy the waterfront,' she said. 'We're happy to be here.' ▪ 3427 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253-414-5016, ▪ Daily 6 a.m.-5 p.m., starting Feb. 17 ▪ Details: coffee shop with grab-and-go food now open near Les Davis Pier; most drinks $4-$7, snacks and sandwiches $2.25-$9.25 ▪ Other Locations: 1011 Center St., 4002 Center St.
