I swung by Neighborhood Coffee House & Espresso this morning. Chris Woods was behind the counter, and there were plenty of customers. Things had been busy all morning, he told me. I didn't grab a drink or anything (so I can't comment on that), but the vibe of the place seemed pretty dang cool.

UPDATE: I can't comment on the quality of the coffee, but someone else did.

McCarver Park's name is going to stick for now.

Here's from an e-mail from project manager Doug Fraser:

At this point we are not looking to rename the park. We certainly will be providing a number of opportunities to celebrate and memorialize Zina including looking at the playground itself within the park. But this is all something the committee needs to work through as we develop the design details over the next couple of months.

Here are some renderings of what a renovated McCarver Park could look like:

=> Read more!

I received an e-mail from Ryan Mello, a member of the board of park commissioners for Metro Parks Tacoma. He believes McCarver Park -- which could be renamed in honor of Zina Linnik, the 12-year-old Hilltop girl who was kidnapped and killed last year -- shouldn't lose its name because it's part of the neighborhood's identity.

Here's his e-mail:

While I have a tremendous amount of sympathy and heartbreak for the family of Zina Linnik and the tragedy they have and continue to experience a family, I am in full support of a memorial of some kind at McCarver Park or anywhere else appropriate. Without hearing a lot of detail from any particular side of the issue (for people advocating to rename the park or constituents advocating for it to remain named McCarver) I would not support renaming McCarver Park to anything else at this time. The tragedy of that happened to this young girl should not forever change the name of a park that brings identity to this neighborhood. We can remember what happened to Zina and work to ensure it never happens ever again to another child without renaming a park that brings identity to a whole neighborhood.

I've sent e-mails to the other four park commissioners and I'll tell you what they say.

I’m off to Orting High School this morning to speak to the kids there on career day.

After that, my whirlwind tour of high schools continues with a stop at Remann Hall to check out a program they’ve got going on there.

And finally, back to the newsroom to talk Tall Ships 2008 with Matt Erlich, who’s PRing for them. Look for something in print next week catching you up with what’s going on with this summer’s festival.