Happy Friday Newsletter 7.24.26

Posted on by Ande Dunn

Neighborhood News

  • Coop Culture Night @ Seattle Credit Union Hilltop Branch | Monday (7/27), 5 to 7 p.m.
    • Northwest Cooperative Development Center brings its monthly Coop Culture Night to Tacoma, this round zeroing in on home care worker co-ops and the public development authorities that help build them. Nora Edge of Capital Homecare Co-op of Olympia and NWCDC developer Joseph Sweitzer lead the conversation on growing Pierce County’s cooperative economy. Free and open to anyone curious about co-ops or looking to network. Seattle Credit Union Hilltop Branch, 824 M.L.K. Jr. Way, Suite A. nwcdc.coop
  • McKinley Hill Neighborhood in Focus Walk @ McKinley Park | Wednesday (8/12), 6 to 7:30 p.m.
    • Tacoma On the Go’s Walk Tacoma series turns its attention to McKinley Hill, tracing the neighborhood’s history through the people who live and work there. The roughly one-mile route passes McKinley Park and the Pipeline Trail before wrapping up with refreshments at VFW Post 969, 3510 McKinley Ave. Sponsored by MultiCare.
  • Tacoma Sharing Community Free Stuff Swap @ Tacoma Main Library | Saturday (7/25), 4 to 7 p.m.
    • Bring what you don’t need, take what you do. Tacoma Sharing Community sets up its free stuff swap at the Main Library, with no cash and no questions asked. It’s a low-key way to declutter and outfit your place at the same time. Show up with clean, usable items and see what other Tacomans are giving away.
  • Bone Dry Shoe Building Gets a New Nonprofit Landlord
    • Centerforce closed on the historic Bone Dry Shoe Building at 2111 Pacific Ave. for $2.49 million on July 13, and the nonprofit is moving its corporate headquarters there from Lakewood. Centerforce provides employment and community-inclusion services for adults with developmental disabilities across Pierce, King, and Thurston counties, and its 35-person team has outgrown its current space. The 1917 building spent 25 years as McGranahan Architects’ headquarters (the firm behind the Tacoma Dome) before the architects relocated to Tacoma Centre after merging with Houston-based PBK last year. Centerforce will occupy part of the building and lease out the rest, keeping the landmark, added to Tacoma’s Register of Historic Places in 2000, active in downtown Tacoma. Move-in is expected in late fall 2026.
  • Puyallup Teen Making the Most of a Golf Scholarship Named for a Tacoma Pro
    • Emerald Ridge High School sophomore Reese Isings is one of two inaugural recipients of the Andrew Putnam Scholarship, named for the Tacoma native and PGA Tour pro and awarded through the Washington Golf Foundation to standout junior golfers with financial need. She’s used it to buy a new driver, enter more tournaments, and train at Golfletica inside Evergreen Golf Club’s Tacoma facility. Her Emerald Ridge girls’ golf team places eighth at the 2026 state championship, and this August she heads to Moscow, Idaho, to compete in the PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur, a trip that doubles as a visit to her grandmother. The Washington Golf Foundation’s Youth on Course program, which Reese also also uses, lets golfers ages 5 to 18 play for $5 a round at more than 95 courses statewide.
  • Participatory Budgeting Idea Collection Kickoff @ Wapato Park Main Picnic Shelter | Wednesday 7/29 6 to 7 p.m.
    • Tacoma’s District 5 kicks off its participatory budgeting process at Wapato Park’s Main Picnic Shelter, where residents can pitch ideas for a $1.6 million capital project aimed at decarbonization or climate resiliency. The state Department of Commerce is covering $650,000 of it through the Climate Commitment Act, since the district qualifies as environmentally “overburdened” under state code. Mayor Anders Ibsen, Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell, and staff from the city, Parks Tacoma, and Commerce will field questions and send folks home with idea-collection materials. Anyone who lives, works, learns or plays in District 5 can submit a proposal through Engage Pierce County before the September 30 deadline, with community voting running January 1 through March 17, 2027. Wapato Park Main Picnic Shelter, 6500 S. Sheridan Ave. Questions to Liesl Santkuyl at lsantkuyl@tacoma.gov.
  • Tacoma’s Mecca Amen Talks Married at First Sight @ Simply Soulful | Sunday (7/26). 3 p.m.
    • Tacoma’s Mecca Amen appears in the season premiere of Married at First Sight, matched with Belle in a wedding his family says came together far more warmly that the show’s brief airtime could capture. Mecca joins the community’s Sun Session at Simply Soulful to share behind-the-scenes stories from the experience, with reaction videos to the episodes planned as the season airs. Free to attend and a good excuse to bring your questions for the newlywed.
  • Stadium Community Yard Sale @ First Presbyterian Church | Saturday (8/15), 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
    • Sellers pack their trunks and set up shop in First Presbyterian Church’s parking lot for the Stadium Community Yard Sale, a British-style “car boot sale” where dozens of small sellers cluster in one spot instead of scattering across the city. Each seller gets two parking spaces, one to use the trunk as a table and one to spread out, and keeps their own profits, but registering requires a minimum $10 to Coffee Oasis, which runs Tacoma’s only youth shelter and drop-in center on Tacoma Avenue South. The sale has raised $4,000 for Coffee Oasis in each of the past two years, up from an original $500 goal that turned into $2,000 in year one, and this year’s vendor spots already sold out more than a month before the event. It grew out of a First Presbyterian Church push to fight neighborhood loneliness, and longtime volunteer Sue Saunders now runs it after founder Rebecca Chapman stepped back. No table needed to shop; church-donated household items go toward Coffee Oasis too. stadiumcommunityyardsale.wordpress.com

Local Governance

  • Deputy Mayor Pushes $20 Minimum Wage, Wants Your Input
    • Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell is floating a plan to raise Tacoma’s minimum wage to $20 an hour, backed by a new Tacoma Minimum Wage Community and Stakeholder Engagement Report presented to the Council’s Economic Development Committee. An ordinance is in the works for Council consideration this fall, but the city wants resident and business input before it firms up. Weigh in through the online survey: survey123.arcgis.com/share/d11d771828ea4846b01b70911dd8900e
  • Connect Tacoma, Proposition 1, Heads to an August 4 Vote
    • Tacoma voters decide the fate of Connect Tacoma, Proposition 1, on August 4, a ballot measure meant to fund street repairs and safer sidewalks after the city’s old Streets Initiative expired. Local groups including Tacoma On the Go have lined up in support, calling it the funding mechanism the city needs for basic transportation infrastructure. Ballots are already in mailboxes; check your registration and get your in before Election Day.
  • Lakewood Weighs Zoning Change to Allow Cannabis Businesses
    • Lakewood’s Planning Commission wants public input on zoning amendments that would open the door to cannabis retailers, producers, processors, and testing labs within city limits, which are currently off-limits to the industry. The proposal covers both land-use rules and the specialty business licenses that would come with them. A public hearing lands Wednesday August 5, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers (6000 Main St. S.W.), with testimony accepted in person, via Zoom, or by mail/email to Planning Commission Clerk Karen Devereaux at kdevereaux@cityoflakewood.us; written comments submitted before noon that dat reach commissioners electronically. Draft amendments post under “Meetings” at cityoflakewood.us/planning-commission once the packet drops. Questions go to Assistant PPW Director Angie Silva at asilva@cityoflakewood.us.
  • Thun Field Runway Closes for Reconstruction Starting July 27
    • Pierce County Airport-Thun Field’s runway shuts down for reconstruction starting July 27, with a tentative reopening in early November, the first full rebuild since 1988. Crews will widen the runway from 60 to 75 feet (length stays at 3,650 feet), improve drainage, swap in new LED and PAPI lighting, realign two taxiway connectors, and upgrade electrical systems in four county-owned hangars. Work runs 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, so expect construction noise nearby; airport grounds, hangars, and businesses stay open throughout. The $7.56 million project is funded through FAA and WSDOT grants plus county REET funds, with Northwest Construction, Inc. building and DOWL handling design. Details at PierceCountyWA.gov/PLURunway.
  • Washington Net $547,000 in 23andMe Data Breach Settlement
    • Washington will collect $547,000 as part of an $18 million multistate settlement with 23andMe’s bankruptcy trustee, resolving claims over a 2023 data breach that exposed the genetic data of more than 221,000 Washington customers. Attorney General Nick Brown joined 41 other states in the action, which found 23andMe skipped basic safeguards: no multifactor authentication, no blocklist known for breached passwords, and no monitoring to catch a massive spike in login attempts. A separate $46.8 million class-action settlement for affected consumers has already closed its claims window. 23andMe’s assets, including its genetic data, were sold in bankruptcy to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit founded by former CEO Anne Wojcicki, under terms requiring stronger security going forward.
  • Tacoma’s Safe Homes for All Tenant Protection Measure Heading to November Ballot
    • Tacoma has sent Safe Homes for All, Initiative Measure No. 1, to the November 3 special election ballot, asking voters to strengthen tenant safety and protection law. The measure would require landlord education and rental licensing, recognize tenants’ right to organize and bargain with landlords, set up a public landlord information database, and allow both city and private enforcement with penalties for violators. Official “for” and “against” statements for the Voters’ Pamphlet are due to the Pierce County Auditor by August 6, with rebuttals due August 10. Full resolution and details at tacoma.gov/notices.
  • Port of Tacoma Approves $250 million Cold Storage Deal with Saxum
    • The Port of Tacoma Commission approved a 50year ground lease with Saxum Investment Company for a cold storage and food-processing facility on 30 acres between Taylor Way and Alexander Avenue on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula. Saxum expects to invest up to $250 million, creating as many as 400 jobs and $43 million in annual wages once built, with construction running about 24 months. The lease kicks in once the port finishes remediating legacy contamination on the site, expected by year’s end, part of the more than 1,100 acres the Port has cleaned up across the Tideflats to date. The facility will connect directly to port terminals, rail, and major road corridors, an edge over other food-grade industrial space in the region.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Nisqually Live @ Fort Nisqually Living History Museum | Friday (8/7) 6 to 9 p.m.
    • Fort Nisqually throws open its gates after hours for its first-ever Nisqually Live, a summer music night built around Pacific Northwest bluegrass and folk. Guests wander the fur-trade-era grounds, grab a bite, and catch live sets while beer and wine sales benefit the Fort Nisqually Foundation’s restoration work. Parking at the museum is limited, but a complimentary shuttle runs every 15 minutes from the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium lot. Ages 21 and older. Bring ID. Tickets $30 online, $35 at the door.
  • Glass Fest Northwest @ Museum of Glass | Saturday (8/8), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • The Museum of Glass throws its plaza open for Glass Fest Northwest, a full day of live glassmaking demonstrations, local artist booths, food, drinks, and music. Watch molten glass take shape, then browse work straight from the makers who blew it. Free admission all day. museumofglass.org
  • Pour in the Park @ Lakewold Gardens | Sunday (8/23) 2 to 5 p.m.
    • Lakewold Gardens turns its second annual Pour in the Park into a proper Pierce County tasting crawl, with local wineries, breweries, and cideries pouring alongside food trucks and a DJ. Ages 21 and older. General admission runs $40, VIP $60, and a complimentary shuttle runs from Clover Park High School Stadium if you’d rather skip the on-site parking. lakewoldgardens.org
  • I Respect Black Festival @ Wright Park | (7/25 – 7/26), 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
    • Wright Park hosts the two-day I Respect Black Festival, a community celebration centering Black culture, businesses, and families while welcoming anyone who shows up in the spirit of respect and unity. Expect live music, Black-owned vendors and food trucks, youth activities, faith and healing spaces, and public safety engagement booths across both days. Sponsors, vendors, performers, and volunteers can sign up ahead of time. Free and family-friendly, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. irespectblack.com
  • Northwest Poke Fest @ Marketplace Square & Homestead Park | Saturday (8/8) 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    • University Place hosts the first Northwest Poke Fest, a free, family-friendly gathering for Pokemon collectors, TCG players, Pokemon GO trainers, and anime fans from across the PNW. A sensory-friendly hours runs 10 to 11 a.m. before the main event opens to everyone from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with vendors, artists, a Poke Walk, and community activities spread across Market Place Square and Homestead Park. MultiCare and Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation reps will be on-site collecting donations for the event’s Collect for a Cause fundraiser. Free admission, and vendor and volunteer spots are still open. linktr.ee/nwpokefest
  • Stankoma Aroma Benefit Festival @ New Frontier, The Valley & Slice of Life | Thursday – Saturday (8/20 – 8/22)
    • Stankoma Aroma spreads its three-night benefit festival across three Tacoma venues, spotlighting the city’s underground music scene, with PNW cousins from Seattle, Olympia and Portland along for the ride, while raising money for Advocates for Immigrants in Cetention NW and the RISE Center of Hilltop. Thursday’s lineup at New Frintier brings Holy Death Temple, Horsebad, Profit Prison, Novamotor, and Strange Chords; Friday moves to the Valley for two staggered stages with Dust Moth, Heiress, Nudity, Hutchie, Red Helens, No Floor, Goldwing, and Bee Creeping; Sunday wraps at Slice of Life with Old Iron, Odachi, Truancy, Lil Lebowsxi, Law Boss, and Schmutzhund. Proceeds split between AIDNW’s work assisting detained and recently released immigrants and RISE Center’s push to move Hilltop’s homeless neighbors into stable housing. aidnw.org, risecenterofhilltop.org

Opportunities

  • ArtsFund Opens $10 million Community Accelerator Grant Round
    • ArtsFund and the Washington State Arts Commission, backed by Allen Family Philanthropies, have opened the fourth round of the Community Accelerator Grant, a $10 million investment aimed at strengthening Washington’s arts and culture sector. Applications close at 5 p.m. Friday August 21. artsfund.org/accelerator
  • Tacoma Light Trail Calls for 2027 Artists and Venues
    • Tacoma Light Trail is casting its net for the 2027 edition, running December 31 through January 17, and wants local light artists and venues on board. Apply as an artists, register a venue building its own loght art; applications and registration close August 31. Funded by Tacoma Creates. Artist application at form.jotform.com/261835840793164, venue registration at form.jotform.com/261886264551162
  • Chamber’s Business Leadership Academy Wants Its Next Class
    • The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is recruiting for its Business Leadership Academy, a hands-on program mixing interactive sessions, site visits, and a community project for emerging leaders. Applications are due August 14, with the program kicking off September 10. Contact program coordinator Anna Terrano at annat@tacomachamber.org or 253-627-2175.
  • Stuff the Bus Wants Backpacks and Volunteers before August 25
    • Communities in Schools of Tacoma runs its annual Stuff the Bus campaign July 27 through August 17, collecting new backpacks and school supplies for local students who need them. Donate at a collection site, host one yourself, sponsor the drive or sign up to help sort and pack. It all comes together at the Stuff the Bus Block Party on Tuesday, August 25, at Blix Elementary School, with a resource fair, free haircuts food, and activities alongside backpack pickup.
  • Turn Your Clutter into Someone Else’s Find at Beyond the Bin
    • Every week, the Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center runs Beyond the Bin, a free reuse event where usable stuff (furniture, housewares, whatever’s cluttering your garage) gets diverted from the landfill and handed to local non-profits who repurpose it back into the community. Items go first-come, first-served until the collection trucks fill, and organizers can turn away anything oversized, damaged, hazardous, or just not in demand that day. The fourth Friday of each month, April through September, Northwest Furniture Bank joins specifically for furniture donations; next up is Friday July 24, then August 28. Accepted items change depending on the partner organization, so check the list before you load up the truck: nwfurniturebank.org/items-we-accept
  • Lakewood Opens 2027-2028 Human Services Grant Applications
    • Lakewood is accepting grant applications for 2027-2028 Human Services funding, open to non-profits and public entities serving Lakewood residents in one of five focus areas: youth programming, food access, health and behavioral health care, housing and homelessness prevention, or crisis stabilization and advocacy. Applications are due August 14, with an applicant’s workshop July 21 and a Q&A deadline July 27 for anyone who wants clarity before submitting. Interviews run September 8 – 10; City Council votes on recommendations October 19, and funded programs start January 1, 2027. Submit completed applications to Shannon Bennett at sbennett@cityoflakewood.us, or call 253-983-7774 with questions.

Recreation

  • Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad Brunch Train @ Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad | Saturday (7/25) 11 a.m.
    • The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad relaunches its Saturday Brunch Train aboard a newly restored Parlor Car, all swivel club chairs and Art Deco styling, riding the 11 a.m. steam excursion through the forest. Brunch comes picnic-style in a basket from Main Avenue Coffeehouse and Bakery, with gluten-free and vegan options available if you give advance notice. Parlor Car seating is limited, so reserve ahead. mtrainierrailroad.com/brunch-train-excursions
  • Sheridan Avenue Family Bike Ride @ Fern Hill Elementary | Saturday (8/22), noon
    • Council Member Kristina Walker leads a family-friendly bike ride to celebrate Sheridan Avenue’s makeover: safer crossings, wider sidewalks, and upgraded bus stops connecting families to Wapato Park. Meet at Fern Hill Elementary at noon and roll out together. All ages welcome; just bring a bike and a helmet.
  • Point Defiance Loop Trail Opening Celebration @ Point Defiance Park | Friday (7/31), 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
    • Parks Tacoma cuts the ribbon on the new Point Defiance Loop Trail with a celebration and guided walk, starting outside the Pagoda in the Japanese Garden and finishing at Owen Beach. Come see the finished trail before you make it part of your regular walking or running rotation.
  • Owl Together Now @ Point Defiance Park | Saturday (7/25), Evening
    • Lace up for Owl Together Now, an evening 1-mile or 3-mile run/walk looping through Five Mile Drive and finishing inside the Point Defiance Zoo. Presented by Proliance Puget Sound Orthopaedics, it’s a low-key way to get moving somewhere prettier than your usual route. Sign up for the distance that suits you at parkstacoma.gov
  • Dog Nights of Summer @ Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium | Friday (7/31) 5:30 to 8 p.m.
    • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium opens its gates after hours for grown-ups only, with access to habitats and aquariums, summer treats, and carousel rides minus the daytime crowds. Leashed dogs are welcome to join. Ages 18 and older. Details at pdza.org
  • Norpoint Knockout Pickleball Tournament @ Center at Norpoint | Saturday (8/8), 9:30 a.m.
    • Grab a partner for the Norpoint Knockout, an all-gender mixed-doubles pickleball tournament running round-robin pool play into a single-elimination bracket. Two divisions split the field: 3.4-and-under are 3.5-and-above, so sandbaggers beware. No solo entries; you need a teammate to register at parkstacoma.gov.
  • Point Defiance Zoo Lets You Swim with the Sharks
    • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s Eye-to-Eye Shark Dive puts you in the water with its shark population for a guided, roughly hour-long experience, about 20 minutes of it actually submerged. Open to ages 8 and up; no scuba certification is required. Runs $115 to $130 depending on the date you book, and it’s available year-round; pick a day and dive in.
  • Washington Ranks No. 7 Nationally for Hiking, New Report Finds
    • A new ranking from KURU Footwear puts Washington at No. 7 among the best hiking states in the country, citing 5,613 trails, 142 state parks, and three national parks. The state also logs the highest annual precipitation of any state in the tip 10, the tradeoff for the misty forests, waterfalls, and mountain views that got it on the list in the first place. No breakdown of how many of those trails are within the reach of Tacoma specifically, but it’s a decent excuse to get outside this summer.

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