There was a time when the Weekly Volcano covered local policy and politics, writing about issues ranging from transit cuts, to marriage equality to education. Our weekly coverage of politics and civic issues came to a halt in 2009 when the economy tanked and ad dollars shrank, gutting our newsroom. We threw all our focus toward a hip take on culture, food and music flavored by a lifelong love of the South Sound.

Today, the Weekly Volcano ventures back into the newsroom with the launch of our new blog, Town Hall Tourist. Why venture into politics and policy now? The short answer is because we believe that there is a lot to share about the who/why/what/where/how of local civics that isn't being shared or adequately explained by our our local partners in print.

That isn't meant as a barb or a diss, quite on the contrary actually. We've always been, and will continue to be, fans the other media outlets in Tacoma. We believe with so many crucial policy debates continuously ongoing in our community our eyes, ears and voice can help keep you that much more hip to what's going on at City Hall and elsewhere.

So what can you expect from Town Hall Tourist? Our goal is simply to help explain public policy debates by analyzing and critiquing them through a smart, critical and urban-centric lens. 

Spend a few minutes analyzing how Tacomans voted on recent issues like the TPS school bond, marriage equality or the proposed transit tax increase. It doesn't take assistance from James Carville to identify what our community values are and what we expect from our public policies and politicians.

With that in mind we won't hesitate to approach policy - and elections - from the standpoint of community members who value public K-12 and higher education, transit, density, inclusiveness and social justice.

Our goal is to help you cut through the bullshit and keep track of what the folks we elected are up to. We'll go into the weeds of local debates like link expansion, education reform and MLK restoration and, using research and reason, we'll call 'em how see 'em. 

We'll be a new voice in some debates that already have many, but hopefully just as often we'll help kick-start new ones. We're convinced that in our little polis opinions should be welcome and the citizenry informed. And we think we can help.

Join us. Please visit often, and follow us at twitter.com/TownHallTourist.