City of Tacoma Washington sent this bulletin at 08/01/2023 09:50 AM PDT
Dear District 2 Residents,
It has been a beautiful summer. Stan’s dahlias are in full bloom! It has been a time to connect with family and friends, and I am glad to be here to share some of things that I have been working on.
Sincerely,
Sarah Rumbaugh District 2 Council Member City of Tacoma
The UW Tacoma campus extends over 46 acres, stretching up the hill from Pacific Ave. to Tacoma Ave. UW owns 70% of the land within the campus footprint, but key parcels are still within private hands. New state funding through the state capital budget is enabling UW to begin negotiations with the owners to purchase these parcels. With the footprint firmed up, UW Tacoma will update its campus master plan (a process that is already underway), charting its growth to serve 10,000 students.
New state funding is also helping UW Tacoma expand enrollments in high-demand fields like computer science, information technology, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. Expanded student support funding.
After an extensive reflection process internally and externally, UW Tacoma published a new strategic plan in 2022. We are excited to have UW Tacoma in District 2 and appreciate the work they have done to provide a community voice in their updated strategic plan.
Here I am with UW-T Chancellor Shelia Edwards Lange, Ph.D. It was wonderful to meet with her and learn about UW-T’s future plans here in Tacoma!
As a member of the Zoo Trek Board, I was excited to be invited as a special guest at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium to meet Astra & Laerke, two sister polar bears who came to the zoo this spring. Unfortunately, Laerke was ill for a while, but she is now better. I learned that polar bears often have two or three polar bear pups at the same time. Gestation time is 195 to 265 days. Things are changing in our environment and polar bears are one of the many species being impacted. For instance, with the melting of the glaciers from climate change, there are less habitat areas for the polar bears. This means they can’t find the food they need to survive. This in turn leads to less baby pups. Having the polar bears at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium allows an opportunity to teach our young people about the plight of these animals and many others. While our area seems to have so far dodged the extremely hot temperatures and smoke from wildfires, creating unbearable living conditions for many in North America, this is something that we recognize is an issue.
Speaking of climate change, I participated as a member of the Tacoma City Council in the Pierce County Climate Conversation. Held in Puyallup, there were representatives from many of the surrounding cities in Pierce County as well as other stakeholders in the conversation on climate. Government leaders from 11 Pierce County jurisdictions discussed local climate action milestones, challenges, and opportunities to work together to address the impacts of climate change. At the meeting, we learned that Pierce County falls in the 2029 group for implementing the new Growth Management Act (GMA) requirements regarding climate measures in Comprehensive Plan updates. Tacoma is already very engaged in this important work, but we still have a long way to go. We need to make the climate a priority. The 2030 Climate Action Plan takes action for healthy, affordable housing; clean, reliable transportation; protections for health; and green, good-paying jobs. It is designed to direct City funding, investments, and work over the next nine years to improve our communities and environment. I recently attended the Tacoma Sustainable Commission meeting and learned about box fan/filter workshops that are happening at the Tacoma Public Library with Puget Sound Asthma Coalition, one way to help with climate resilience. I appreciate that other organizations in our city are doing work in partnership to make our community ready for heat and smoke events.
As chair of the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, I feel strongly that domestic violence is an issue that we need to continue to keep at the front of our conversations. In May, I attended Mi Centro’s first Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault conference in Tacoma, titled Breaking Barriers: Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Conference. The Tacoma City Council approved my request to sponsor this event. This event was for first responders, law enforcement, and domestic violence advocates. The Tacoma Police Department also partnered with Mi Centro to host this event. According to DomesticViolence.org, every year around 10 million people become victims of domestic violence, almost 20 every minute. It is vital that barriers preventing people from reporting are broken down and the needs of domestic violence victims are met, emphasizing prevention and culturally sensitive trauma-informed advocacy. With this goal in mind, the Tacoma Police Department partnered with Mi Centro to host the 3-day conference for law enforcement, first responders and domestic violence advocates. The mission was to educate and provide up-to-date research and resources in order to strengthen our collective responsibility to meet the needs of domestic violence victims. The event proved to be full of great information and fabulous presentations. At the same time, you felt the compassion those working in this field have for those experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault.
Here I am at the Mi Centro Breaking Barriers event, with Adan Espino, Mi Centro’s Director of Education & External Relations.
Dr. Carolyn West, Ph.D., Mi Centro’s first Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault conference’s keynote speaker.
The City of Tacoma held Home in Tacoma Outreach events in every council district in Tacoma. These meetings were an opportunity to hear about where we are with our work on Home in Tacoma, the City’s multi-year effort to update Tacoma’s residential zoning to increase housing supply, choice and affordability. The community was invited to these open houses to discuss how to get housing growth right for Tacoma, learn about the actions being considered, and hear how Home in Tacoma relates to housing bills recently adopted by the Washington State Legislature. I was delighted to attend the North Tacoma event with Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker. I spoke with residents about affordability of housing, the lack of rental units that continue to be affordable, and other types of housing such as co-housing. Thank you so much for all of you who have stayed engaged in this process. More engagement opportunities and information on the project is available at cityoftacoma.org/homeintacoma.
I was proud to support a Council Contingency Request to support the 23rd annual Art on the Ave event. The funding supported providing a stage and other things to support music at the event.
The 6th Avenue Business District’s Art on Ave event provides opportunities for artists to pay for booths and directly sell their art to the community. Additionally, the event directly hires entertainers, musicians, and performers of all types and kinds. We have several business districts in our community, and I am happy to be the representative to the Cross District Business District from the Tacoma City Council.
I joined Sharon Gordon-Chambers, Executive Director of Raising Girls, for the Raising Girls hygiene bag packing event with community volunteers and Tacoma City Council women.
At the City of Destiny Awards 2023, with Lauren Scheidt-Padron, Environmental Sustainability award recipient.
I attended the Puyallup Tribe’s Pride Flag Raising! Here I am with Tacoma City Council Member Olgy Diaz, Puyallup Tribal Council Member Annette Bryan, and Myle Tang.
The sign is a poem written by a Puyallup Tribal member.
With Metro Parks Commissioner Michael Liang at a Metro Parks Commission meeting hosted at The Center at Norpoint.
Newly installed poop stations at Browns Point Elementary. I worked with the Tacoma School District on this.
At the filming of Inside Tacoma with Sonja Hallum. I was excited to be her first guest. Check out the video here!
I joined a community litter pick up in Northeast Tacoma.
With Council Member John Hines and Assistant Director of FJC Nadia Van Atter at the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center BBQ fundraiser.
Attending the Tacoma Pride Festival with Council Member Olgy Diaz.
