Latest news with #TheNewsTribune
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
These invasive, wasp-like insects are eating Pierce County pine trees
You may notice a pine sawfly on your pine trees this spring or summer. The pesky creatures are more disturbance than damage, but The News Tribune has gathered advice on what to do about them. A common type of pine sawfly people are likely dealing with in Pierce County is the European sawfly, said entomologist and director of Washington State University's Puyallup Research and Extension Center Todd Murray. He said he's seen pine hedges in the area being fed on by sawflies, which are a wasp-like insect. They are an invasive species from Europe, and were first documented in Washington state around 2008, Murray said. The sawflies feed on pine needles, sometimes causing bare spots on trees that can be striking, but do not cause critical tree damage, Murray added. 'They aren't really tree killers, they're not a species that's a major concern,' he said. 'They just take the needles away.' He said pine sawflies also lay their eggs in pine needles, and these egg-positing wounds can be spotted on the foliage. As they get bigger, larvae begin to feed on the needles, making their presence more obvious. Since larvae typically live in big groups, the best way to rid a plant of them is to remove them physically, Murray said. 'They're aggregate feeders, they like to hang out together and eat,' he said. 'If you can reach into bushes within arm's length, you can knock the larvae right off the tree physically, into a bucket of soapy water.' He said some people may also use insecticide to keep the insects away from their plants, but the bugs aren't deadly to pine trees. Birds are the main predator for pine sawflies, so people can also allow nature to take its course, he added. For those who feel they have an annual issue with the insects, Murray suggested scouting recent pine needle growth for egg-positing wounds and using that information to see when larvae will eventually develop, to be prepared to remove them.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rare 20-year-old plant is blooming for the first and last time at Point Defiance
For a short window of time, visitors to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium will be in the presence of an unusual sight. The zoo's botanical garden has been the home and caretaker to an Agave parryi var. truncata, also referred to as an artichoke agave, for more than 17 years. Now, the plant is blooming for the first and only time over the next few weeks, a rare sight in Washington state, far from its natural habitat, Point Defiance Zoo lead horticulturist Bryon Jones told The News Tribune on Thursday. 'This plant is definitely an uncommon sight in the Northwest, and super uncommon to see one actually blooming that you can actually see in a public setting,' Jones said. According to the University of Arizona Campus Arboretum, the artichoke agave is an evergreen, perennial succulent part of the asparagus family — or asparagaceae — that presents with a blue-gray hue and pointy, toothed leaves growing in rosettes. Agave parryi var. truncata is native to central Mexico, but can also be found in the mountainous areas of the desert southwest, including in Arizona and New Mexico, he said. Artichoke agave plants typically take 15-20 years to reach maturity, at which point they bloom for one time only before dying, Jones said. During a bloom, the agave will grow a single stalk from its center — Jones said he had first noticed the beginning of the stalk around May 6 and estimated that this agave has reached about nine feet in height, meaning it could still grow taller in the coming weeks. The plant is just inside the zoo's main entrance. The zoo acquired the plant from a local nursery in Tacoma about 17 years ago, when the plant was the size of a softball — it is likely around 20 years old now, Jones said, adding that he has been working at the zoo's botanical garden for about 20 years and anticipating its bloom. 'All I saw was the middle of it started looking like some crazy alien was starting to come out of the middle of it, and then it came up so fast ... for the last few weeks, it would be two to three feet a week,' he said. He added that yellow flowers will blossom at the tip of the stalk likely in the next two to three weeks and will probably attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. The flowers should be visible on the plant for another two to three weeks; after that, if pollinated, they will start producing seeds, he said. The stalk, however, will remain in place throughout the summer and likely into fall, he said, adding that the zoo may take it down before winter once it begins to decompose and fall. Jones said the zoo also has a few other artichoke agave plants growing nearby that may bloom in the coming years; some appear to be a similar size and age, meaning it is possible that two or three blooms may eventually occur at the same time, he added. 'This is the first Agave parryi. Now, there's little agaves, and we've had a couple of those ... their stem is like the size of your finger,' Jones said. 'So, this is the first time we've had one this giant blooming.' Despite being out of its native habitat, the plant requires little upkeep other than the need to keep it raised to improve drainage and making sure it doesn't get too cold, Jones added, noting that the agave's native habitat often gets colder than the weather in Western Washington, which makes it relatively easy to grow in Tacoma. Krystle Robbins, a zoo visitor who was admiring the agave on Thursday, told The News Tribune she was impressed by the height of the stalk and enjoyed Jones' longtime investment in the plant and passion for nature. She said she'd be interested in returning to the zoo to see the agave once its flowers bloomed. 'I've never seen one in such a scale in person, it's really beautiful,' Robbins said. 'It's pretty amazing up here in the Pacific Northwest to see something like this.'
Yahoo
2 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
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Back-to-back: Federal Way's White clears 6-11, repeats as state high jump champion
It was only a matter of time before Friday's 3A Boys Triple Jump at Mount Tahoma Stadium turned into The Geron White Show. Federal Way's defending state champion makes skyscraping jumps look easy. When officials set the opening height to clear at 5-6, White sat patiently for his turn. By six feet, he was hurdling the bar feet-first — a confident, effortless warm-up for what was to come. White cleared 6-8 on his third and final attempt, a clutch leap that etched repeat titles into stone, but the senior star was far from finished, and the spectacle was only beginning. A personal-record 6-11 came next. With family, coaches, and friends glued to the surrounding fenceline, White flashed a thumbs up for a personal fan club, his trademark tradition. He shouted, 'Let's Go!' for the hundreds of onlookers and began a slow clap that built in tempo; even White's competitors joined in. 'They know that I put on a show,' White said. 'If I can do it for them, that's just great.' Then came the unforgettable leap that sent both sides of Mount Tahoma Stadium into celebration. White cleared the bar at 6-11, notching an official mark of 6-11.25. Three more attempts at 7-2 fell just short, but the Eagles star settled for a new personal record and back-to-back gold medals. 'This is a surreal feeling,' White told The News Tribune. 'Coming out here and doing this not once, but twice? It's something that not a lot of people can say they did. Me being able to do that is just a blessing, and I love that I could do it for my coaches and teammates.' White claimed last year's 4A Boys High Jump title (6-6) before Federal Way reclassified to 3A last fall. Unrelenting rain and high winds ravaged the 2024 contest, but Friday featured picture-perfect weather conditions: clear, sunny skies with minimal wind. 'I'm stronger,' White said. 'Much stronger. That comes with maturing and really getting your work ethic to be there with you. You get that up, and the sky is the limit.' Ingraham's KingDavid Jackson (6-6) and Liberty of Issaquah's Oden Hatcher tied for runner-up honors. Mount Tahoma's Zane Cordero (6-2) finished T5 on his home track. White already took home hardware at this year's meet with a third-place finish in Thursday's 3A Boys Long Jump (22-1.5) and enters Saturday's 3A Boys Triple Jump (47-7.5) as the top seed. Nine of the 20 contestants failed to clear six feet in the high jump — the bar that White hurdled. 'That's what I usually do,' he smiled. 'It could scare some people… but I'm such a high-class jumper that popping over those heights is really nothing to me.' Callie Wilson couldn't believe it. When Bonney Lake's senior hurdler was first to cross the finish line in Friday's 4A Girls 100-meter hurdles, the emotions poured out — a mixture of shock and jubilation with a hint of relief. Fueled by adrenaline, Wilson bolted off of her starting block and instantly knew she was in position. She clipped a pair of hurdles along the way but finished strong, outlasting top-seed Leilani Mays (Union) for the gold medal (14.22) at Mount Tahoma Stadium. 'It feels absolutely insane,' Wilson said. 'I knew I was (in) a pretty good spot, but to actually do it? Crazy.' Even crazier? Wilson began hurdling in February, just three short months ago. Panthers coaches believed in her potential before she believed in herself, encouraging her to try something new. 'It made track more fun,' Wilson said. 'I have so much room to grow… but it's just absolutely insane.' Curtis duo Shelby Duah (14.58) and Jazzlyn-Rei Smith (14.73) finished third and fourth in a race filled with South Sound track talent. Kentridge's Ayla Johnson (14.93) grabbed a fifth-place finish and Tahoma's Riley Dickson (15.11) took sixth. In Friday's 3A Girls 100-meter hurdles moments prior, Gig Harbor's Eisley Hering (14.89) and Karin Heikkila (15.09) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, bookending White River's Trista Turgeon in fifth (15.05). 'I was thinking… I didn't put in all of this effort in such a little amount of time to not show up and show out,' Wilson said. 'It was going to be my last race ever. I might as well go all-out.' The packed crowds at Mount Tahoma Stadium just witnessed the fastest 4x100 relay the state has ever seen. Curtis sprinters Jayden Rice-Claiborne, Isaac Brooks, Kamil Ross, and Nicholas 'Nico' Altheimer smoked their competition in Friday's 4A Boys 100M preliminaries (40.84), tearing down a Garfield state meet record (41.34) that stood for 39 years. 'They're really good friends with each other, and they just know each other really well,' Curtis head coach Ben Mangrum said. 'The handoffs have been getting better all season long because (we've) been consistent with that group. 'And if something does happen, we have more guys that can step in, and they know that. That frees them up to just be their best.' Curtis captured the West Central District III title with a state-record run (40.97) nine days ago. Now, they've one-upped themselves. Kentridge's 4x100 relay isn't far behind: Jacob Satchell, Berry Crosby, Josiah Brown, and Jordan Miller ran a personal-best 41.11 from Friday's third preliminary heat, another race that brought down Garfield's state meet record from 1986. We'll see the Vikings and Chargers battle head-to-head for gold in Saturday's final alongside the likes of Glacier Peak (41.85), Kamiak (42.18), and Lake Washington (42.36).
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Woman doused in gasoline by boyfriend armed with gun, Pierce County deputies say
A 53-year-old man is suspected of dousing his girlfriend with gasoline and pointing a gun at her near Spanaway. Deputies were dispatched at around 6:30 p.m. Monday to the 19600 block of Canyon Road East where the woman was living at a camp in the woods, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office wrote in a news release. Deputies found the woman in a tent and said she told them she had been covered with the gasoline, according to body camera footage. Two dogs appeared to be with her that also had gasoline on them. The gasoline burned the woman's skin and left her in discomfort, Sheriff's Office spokesperson deputy Carly Cappetto told The News Tribune. She was offered medical attention, water to get the gasoline off her body and a change of clothes. 'Once deputies found the victim, they knew they had to locate the boyfriend since he was armed and dangerous. K9 Clark and his handler were called to the scene to begin the search for the suspect,' the release said. 'You need to come out now, before my dog finds you and when he does he will bite you,' the handler was heard saying in the body-camera footage. The K-9 spent over 30 minutes combing through the thick woods and rough terrain to find the man, the release said. He found the sawed-off shotgun that the man allegedly pointed at the woman. The dog also found the man near a small body of water. The man was booked into the Pierce County Jail. Before he was booked, fire personnel treated him for a K-9 bite. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree animal cruelty, felony harassment, two counts of second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun, court documents show. A plea of not guilty was entered on the man's behalf during his arraignment Wednesday, documents show. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set the man's bail at $125,000. The release said a large portion of calls that deputies are dispatched to regard domestic violence. 'For domestic violence resources and help, contact the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center to speak with an Advocate (253) 798-4166, or visit their website at Pierce County Family Justice Center, WA | Official Website,' the release said.
