Word on the Street » Tacoma

Turn on the water: Metro Parks Tacoma to open spraygrounds at nine parks on Saturday

Lewis Kamb — Sat, 04 May 2013 00:45:18 +0000

Turn on the water!

Just in time for what promises to be a hot, sunny weekend, Metro Parks Tacoma is set to open its spraygrounds Saturday at nine different parks across Tacoma.

The park district’s spraygrounds — aquatic playgrounds that offer park patrons a fun respite from the heat — will open at 10 a.m. Saturday at Jefferson Park, Kandle Park, McKinley Playfield, Norpoint Park, South Park, Wapato Hills Park, Wright Park and two new park locations this year — Franklin and Titlow Parks.

Metro Parks’ spraygrounds will be open from 10 a.m. to …

Fleet Feet Sports owner just ‘escaped all the mayhem’ at Boston Marathon

Kari Plog — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:59:17 +0000

Paul Morrison, owner of Fleet Feet Sports in Bonney Lake and Tacoma, said he knows little about what’s going on near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, where two bombs killed three and injured more than 140 people.

“We just walked out of there before anything happened,” he said. “We escaped all the mayhem.”

Morrison left the finish line about 10 minutes prior to the explosions. He said he didn’t hear or see anything, and all of his close friends are accounted for and staying in their hotel for the night.

Morrison is with a group of 12 …

NE Tacoma community night

Debbie Cafazzo — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:00:46 +0000

Northeast Tacoma Elementary School hosts “Together We Learn,” a night to support and celebrate the community, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Families can learn about services for the community, as well as experience performances by community members to celebrate their unique talents.

Dog that gained fame after CPR video has died

Sara Schilling — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:15:37 +0000

The 4-year-old boxer named Sugar who gained Internet fame after he was revived by a Tacoma-area dog trainer — and the whole thing was caught on video — has died.

Sugar had a heart problem and apparently collapsed again Monday.

“CPR didn’t work this time,” said his owner, Tiffany Kauth of Bremerton, in a message confirming his death.

She said she was too upset to talk further.

Sugar first collapsed during an obedience class March 5 at Canyon Crest K9 Training Center in the Summit/Waller Road area. The center’s owner, Ron Pace, a well-known dog trainer, used CPR to …

Tacoma school property hearing canceled

Debbie Cafazzo — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:35:21 +0000

A public hearing to consider whether property owned by Tacoma Public Schools should be declared surplus has been canceled.
The hearing, originally announced for Thursday, will be rescheduled. A new date has not yet been announced.
The hearing will concern three properties:
• The Willard site, 1.9 acres at 3201 S. D St., Tacoma.
• Cirque and Alameda site, 15 acres at the southeast corner of Cirque Drive and Alameda Avenue.
• Camp Joshua Taylor, 20 acres at 19607 Bay Road, Longbranch.

Tacoma kids drawn to state-sponsored scholarships

Debbie Cafazzo — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:05:23 +0000

Ninety percent of Tacoma’s low-income eighth graders have signed up for Washington state’s College Bound Scholarship program, according to Tacoma Public Schools. The program, created by the Washington State Legislature, promises college scholarships for eligible low-income students.
To qualify for the College Bound Scholarship, students must graduate from high school with at least a 2.0 GPA, demonstrate good citizenship and stay crime-free. Each year, seventh and eighth graders can sign up, but they must enroll before the end of eighth grade.
The school district says Tacoma’s success in signing up kids for the program is a result of …

Junior Daffodil Parade to take over Proctor Saturday

John Henrikson — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:10:13 +0000

Rain or shine, the 49th annual Junior Daffodil Parade will invade Tacoma’s Proctor Business District Saturday.

Thousands of kids representing their schools, churches and youth groups are expected to participate in what’s become an annual tradition for many families. This year’s theme is “Carousel Of Spring.”

The event begins at 10 a.m. at Mason Middle School, 28th and Proctor streets, heads south on Proctor, then heads east along 26th Street through the business district. Streets in immediate vicinity will be closed to traffic for the morning.

The parade will be replayed several times on TV Tacoma (channel …

South End neighbors to rededicate Alling Park playground

John Henrikson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:16:45 +0000

Neighbors and park district officials will dedicate rebuilt playground equipment on Saturday at Alling Park. This is literally a “rise again from the ashes” story out of Tacoma’s South End.

The play structure replaces one that was damaged in an arson fire over the summer. South End neighbors had spent five years raising money toward that play area as part of the larger renovation of the park. The new equipment was up and running only 12 weeks before an arsonist torched it on July 24.

But neighbors and Tacoma Metro Parks officials rallied and vowed to immediately rebuild. …