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WEEKLY VOLCANO COVER STORY PREVIEW >>> Whitney Rhodes is the woman. And no, I don't mean THE WOMAN - that would be disparaging. I mean she rules. She's awesome. And she will be writing a weekly Great Outdoors column for the Weekly Volcano, kicking off this week. On the cover. After this week's
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Today, citizens of Tacoma and Puyallup will vote on $500 and $279.6 million school bonds, respectively, which seeks to renovate crumbling schools. Taxpayers would pay for the improvements with property taxes - about $58 a year for the 31-year payback in Tacoma and roughly $14.42 a month for every $200,000
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FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>> As far as Sundays go, the next big one drops Feb. 24. Oscar day. The day all those little-golden-statue-grubbers have been losing sleep over. You want to watch, you know you do. But. You are cool. You are hip. You are in. And, in your crowd,
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LIVING LIKE A KING >>> This weekend was the weekend of excellent breakfast. Since our floors were being ripped out due to water damage, we're living out of a suitcase at my mother-in-law's house on Sixth Avenue (thanks Chi Chi!). Saturday, taking advantage of my temporary locale, I walked to Dirty Oscar's
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TACOMA READS TOGETHER 2013 >>> Tacomans looking to join a book club but can't find others who are interested need look no further than their own Tacoma Public Library. I was reminded of this fact searching for the Super Bowl with the remote. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland's face popped up on
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HERE COMES AN OWNER CHANGE >>>Fans of the quiet coffeehouse will appreciate the offbeat serenity of Cavanaugh's Coffee House - provided, of course, that they manage to find the joint. Set back off the low-traffic end of North Stevens, the cafe sits behind Sherman Elementary on the corner of North
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CAN I GET A HUG? >>> The words I feel best describe last night's Go Local Tacoma Shift Happens 2013 event can best be summed up by Charles Dickens from his book A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." This is
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AROUND AND AROUND >>> The Weekly Volcano fired up its Electric Salchow Stage Saturday night for the last time this season, hosting local rock band SweetKiss Momma for a night of Southern rock and couples skates. That's right. Besides rocking the Franciscan Polar Plaza louder than the previous five bands, SweetKiss
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TASTING NEW MENU ITEMS >>> Let it be known The Social Bar & Grill's new cold smoked-pan roasted coho with roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts, wild mushroom cream sauce and sundried tomato-olive pesto ($23) is outstanding. The salmon is seasoned with brown sugar, kosher salt, smoked sweet paprika, allspice and black
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FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>> These are the eight best jazz shows in the South Sound this month. Vitamin J Jazz Jam Session Avid jazz fan and performer Ron Smith continues his Vitamin J Jazz Jam into the New Year. During the Seahawks game today at Traditions Café in downtown Olympia, pianist Brian
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NOW WITH MORE MAI TAIS >>> A big change is afoot in Geeks Who Drink land. As you have noticed, the Geeks Who Drink trivia game has disappeared from Paddy Coyne's. The downtown Tacoma Irish bar told Quizmaster Holland Hume, or as the teams at Paddy Coyne's called him - Holland the
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AROUND AND AROUND >>> There is a moment each year that marks the true arrival of winter - and it's not the ugly sweater parties and debauchery of Santarchy. Nor is it fighting traffic on South 38th Street by the Tacoma Mall. For the Weekly Volcano, it's making our way to downtown
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"Oh Happy Day." This was the song pianist Steve Smith performed to begin the wedding of John McCluskey and Rudy Henry the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 15 at First United Methodist Church in Tacoma. And Oh what a happy day it was. Complete with family, friends, dignitaries and the press. After being a
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Last night a friend and I were discussing how depressing it is to read The Trib's Lights and Sirens blog. The flood of South Sound idiot criminals carrying out idiot acts, including what seems to be a rise in gun violence, can lead one to believe maybe the End of
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GO BIG, OR GO BIGGER >>> Ed. note: The venue for the Big Beer festival has been changed to the Foss Waterway Seaport. Beer brewers are constantly pushing the boundaries of their craft, often times brewing beers that defy mainstream beer styles and/or looking at other alcoholic beverages for inspiration. Strong, or
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SPIRIT OF THE SEASON >>> The Weekly Volcano has said it many times. The Joshua Cain Band delivers swampy, gospel-inspired roots rock at its best. The band also delivers toys. It's true, but not in a delivery truck or Santa situation. They deliver the goods in a more rock star fashion. "We have released
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ASKING QUESTIONS >>> There are many unanswered questions in this world. For example, why don't heavier things fall faster? How did Dale Washam stay in office so long? How do I stop the kid from reaching puberty? Why have they not given the guy (duh, you know it was a guy)
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AROUND AND AROUND >>> The Weekly Volcano fired up its Electric Salchow Stage Saturday night, hosting Kim Archer for a night of soul, R&B, funk and ice skating. The temperature was signficantly cooler than last Saturday's show featuring Igenous Rocks. However, the crowd was larger. In fact, this week people dropped
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WOW >>> New and improved. I can't imagine those two words ever applied to Taqueria El Antojo off Orchard Street. The all ready lively restaurant serves a delicious breakfast. Its plump chicken burrito it the Lucky Charms of Mexican food - magically delicious with tons of tiny chicken nuggets, reminding me
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253HEART MUSIC FEST KICKOFF >>> "House music is not a business; it's a community of people who like to dance. In order for the community to maintain and grow, the people that make up this community have to continually contribute," explains local DJ and promoter Chris Savenetti. "And that contribution can
