Imagine Tacoma – Olde Gift Shoppe #1

Tacoma Christmas - A Sweet Dec. 4th (Thu Dec 4, 03:47 PM by Whitney) ~ Lick the Frosting

Are those holiday invitations piling up? Between office parties, neighborhood get together and the PTA meetings, sometimes you just don’t have time to make something to contribute to the food table. Or maybe you are still regrowing eyebrows from last years fiasco. Either way, you don’t always have to make it yourself for it to be homemade.

Corina Bakery and Hello Cupcake are great local, fresh made alternates to your home baked goodies. Everyone gets excited when a pink box of cupcakes appears on the table. Have someone with a wheat allergy coming to dinner and no clue what to serve? Corina makes tasty alternatives for many food allergies. And their cakes would give Grandma a run for her money.

So whatever your reason, don’t shy away from contributing to the cooking festivities. Just do it with a little help. Wink

Corina Bakery
510 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 627-5070

Hello Cupcake
1740 Pacific Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 383-7772

Oh, Russell (Thu Dec 4, 01:01 PM by Derek Young) ~ Perfect

Seen on Pacific Ave.

We like it.

A Mango Colored Fill This Space (Thu Dec 4, 11:23 AM by Derek Young) ~ Bike Coop?

Here’s a bit of “Fill This Space” and “On The Market” in one post. The building at 311 South 7th Street, just downhill from Puget Sound Pizza, has been empty and available for a while now. As we look in the windows and at the surrounding neighborhood, we think to ourselves that this should be a great location. City Hall is right around the corner. New condos up the hill. The LID is making improvements all around it. A renovated Elks Building Opera Alley. PSP. The Mix.

So, what do you think could be successful in this space? It’s reasonable big. It’s raw. If you have a great idea, it can be yours for a mere $800k. Interested?

Link to CommercialMLS

Thank you, Jake

Mary Bridge Festival of Trees Starts Today (Thu Dec 4, 10:25 AM by Derek Young) ~ Think of the Kids

The Mary Bridge Festival of Trees is an annual event benefiting Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Health Center.

“Celebrate the Wonder,” this year’s theme at Festival of Trees will transform the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center into a romantic winter wonderland with a forest of nearly 70 elaborately decorated trees worth an average of $4,000 each. Some of the trees include extravagant gifts like a Lexus CS Convertible, two Vespa LX 150 motor scooters and trips to Portugal, Rome and New York City. The black tie gala and auction on Friday night will determine the trees and their accompanying “gifts” new homes. However, before they all disappear to someone’s living room, everyone has the opportunity to enjoy them. Its a great event for the family.

Since its inception in 1987, the Festival has raised more than $14.6 million for Mary Bridge services, helping tens of thousands of children every year. This year’s Festival of Trees proceeds will benefit “Tree House: A Place for Families.” Tree House will be located in a renovated building near the hospital and will provide free apartments for parents and families of hospitalized children at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

This is definitely worth checking out. Will we see you there?

Details

Admission $6
Students (13 – 18 years) $2
Children (12 and under) Free

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008
5 to 9pm

Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008
Kids Day
10am to 3pm

Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008
11am to 4pm

More information at www.multicare.org

Ca$h Flow $how at Mad Hat Tonight (Thu Dec 4, 10:01 AM by Derek Young) ~ Manatee Rides?!?!

Tonight is the first annual ‘Ca$h Flow $how’, a showing of some 35+ artists that have hung on the walls of the Mad Hat Tea Company. The key in this holiday season … All the art has to be under $25.

Motopony is playing. Henna by Jada Moon. Bellydancing by Corinne. Manatee rides. Plus, art. Lots of art by local artists.

Featured artists include:

r.r anderson
gretchen bailey
eric begay
daniel blue
rich bundy
mike capp
elizabeth cardanay
lia craven
lazlo duke
linda desantis lapping
laura lynn eklund
matt eklund
michaela evans
desiree flerchinger
FRED
jeremy gregory
sarah gruebel
paul grover
lindsay hartwell
celia jane henson
randall ireland
adam jackson
mary k johnson
angela jossy
maria jost
zachary marvik
maureen a.e. mchugh
jada moon
deven ropes
emma ropes
andrea roslie
SOTA
chris sharp
rebecca steele
gallynn marie smiley
grace sullivan
katrina toft
andrea lowen trenbeath
ellington tynes
and
houston s. wimberly IIII, esquire, jr.

It should be a great event. The show runs through December 30th.

Details
Thursday, December 4th at 5:00 pm
Mad Hat Tea Company
1130 Commerce Street

County and City Look at Property Swap (Thu Dec 4, 09:41 AM by Whitney) ~ On The One Hand ...

The TNT is reporting that the City of Tacoma and Pierce County are considering a swap of properties. The County-City Building up on Tacoma Ave and Cheney Stadium are both owned by both parties, but the County-City Building is nearly all County and Cheney Stadium is managed by the City. (Following so far?) The proposal is to swap their ownership in the properties to give Tacoma the Stadium and Pierce County the building.

Whew.

Hmmmm … with the pending need to renovate Cheney and the County-City Building needing some updating, I’m not sure who is getting the better deal.

More details at the News Tribune

RECYCLED at the Hub on Thursday (Wed Dec 3, 04:36 PM by Whitney) ~ So Much To Do ...

December is the month for events. Here’s one to check out tomorrow night.

Word Art by Tracy Fisher

I am proud to announce the release of 20 new pieces of artwork on the evening of December 4, 2008. I am introducing a series of paintings titled “WORD ART…RECYCLED”. Canvases that were never intended to sell have been repainted and given new life. They are one of a kind and a limited edition. Among the series you will see “Santa 2008”, “Just Another Day At The Beach”, “House Beer” and many others that will remain a surprise until the party. Please join me as I celebrate an evening of fun and a moment to remember. Thank you for your support. I could not have done it without you.
Cheers! -Tracy

Details

The Hub Restaurant / Event And Gallery Space
203 Tacoma Ave. S Tacoma, WA 98402
Special viewing and sale December 4, 2008 – 6:00pm
Open to public on December 5, 2008

King's Books Holiday Book Party - Tonight (Wed Dec 3, 04:03 PM by Derek Young) ~ Ooohhh ... Kitty.

King’s Books is having a party tonight and, of course, you should show up … and buy books. All books in the store are 20% off. They’ll also be celebrating the recovery of the store cat Miko, who has been ailing from fatty liver disease. If you’ve been to King’s Books, then you know Miko.

Support your local bookstore!

Details
Holiday Book Party + Feline Fundraiser
Wednesday, December 3rd, 5 to 8 pm
218 St. Helens

More information + events at KingsBookstore.com

Late Night Shopping on 6th Ave. Starts Thursday (Wed Dec 3, 02:34 PM by Derek Young) ~ Support Local Business

Do you want to shop local, but your commute keeps you from getting into town until after most shops have closed? Is your day so busy that the evening is your only time to get any gift buying done?

Well, just for you, a few of the Sixth Avenue merchants will be staying open late every Thursday in December until Christmas. Now that’s convenience … Plus, holiday inspired drinks and treats. Complimentary gift wrap. Special savings. A portion of the Thursday night proceeds will go to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

Interested? It starts tomorrow night at:

Far & Wide
Posh Home
Jewell Day Spa
Urban Gourmet & Garden
Red Line
The Shoe Show

6 to 9 pm
Every Thursday in December

Go Local!

Tacoma Christmas - Drink to Dec. 3rd (Wed Dec 3, 01:17 PM by Whitney) ~ I'll Drink to That

Wine. Its the you-can-never-go-wrong gift. But if you are like me and stare blankly at the racks in the grocery store, buying it is always a gamble. Enter the local wine shop.

Tacoma has a number of great locally owned wine shops. Don’t be intimidated. (I was.) They are owned and run by friendly all-knowing wine folks. And their prices aren’t bad either. For example, you are going to a holiday party at the neighbors house and would like to bring a good bottle of wine without spending a fortune. Enter Tacoma Wine Merchant Bill. He picks out a great bottle of red to go with dinner for $9. Everyone remarks on the great wine. You come out a hero.

Whatever your needs, these local wine sellers can help.

Tacoma Wine Merchants
21 N Tacoma Ave
(253) 779-8258

Wild Side Wines
608 S Oxford St
(253) 565-0811

Pour at Four
3814 N 26th St
(253) 761-8015

Tollefest and a Tree Lighting on Saturday (Wed Dec 3, 11:19 AM by Derek Young) ~ Where Is The Middle?

We’ve already had one downtown tree lighting. Now it’s time for the second one …

Tollefson Plaza will be hosting Tollefest on Saturday. This will be the Plaza’s first ever holiday festival. Carolers. Food vendors. Games for kids. The tree lighting will be at 4:15 pm.

People in the plaza?

Details
Saturday, December 6th 2008 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Tollefson Plaza, Downtown Tacoma

Surrender to the Arts - Graffiti Series 1.0 (Wed Dec 3, 10:47 AM by Derek Young) ~ We're There

We first stumbled into the Robert Daniel Gallery last month and were extremely impressed. Situated in the south end of downtown Tacoma in the midst of historic old (sometimes empty) warehouses and workshops, sits a rather refined space. Well, the latest addition to Tacoma’s art gallery scene is already trying to shake things up a bit.

On Saturday, they’ll be hosting Surrender to the Arts – Graffiti Series 1.0.

DJomar. Charms. Pubs. Motem. Joes. Ahoy. Role. Peak. Enuf. Isle. and More.

This should be a great event. Check it out!

Details
The Robert Daniel Gallery
Saturday, December 6th at 9:00 pm
2501 Fawcett Ave.
Tacoma, WA 98402

Link to TheRobertDanielGallery.com

City Council Meeting -Dec 2, 2008 (Wed Dec 3, 10:04 AM by Nick) ~ More Council Than You Require

It seems that epic-length Council Meetings are officially in season. With last night’s nearly five-hour rumble, the reason for these protracted sessions became obvious: the Council has been procrastinating all year and is only now cramming for finals. The only difference is that algebra rarely ignites controversy.

REGULAR AGENDA
Resolution 37665 Authorizes the sale of a surplus switching locomotive to the City of Fife for $18,000. While the action taken here is somewhat mundane, the drama it created was fantastic. The train in question was built in the ’60s, and is only one of four of its kind left. It was damaged by metal thieves and taken out of commission; so Fife wanted to buy it, make it shiny, and put it in a nice park. But during public comment, a railway enthusiast from Portland complicated those plans by offering to buy the train from Tacoma for $25,000 and to bring up one of his own locomotives for Fife. It looked like a ’30s-style Wheel n’ Deal was about to go down, but in the end the council decided to let Fife take the train rather than open it up to a public bidding process. Oh well.

Resolution 37667 Adopts the City’s revised six-year comprehensive transportation program. The plan proposes $61 Million for projects over the next six years, and provides a rough outline for how those funds will be distributed. However, the plan does not necessarily guarantee money for every project it describes, and even last night the Council was pecking away at a $60,000 survey for a trail along Schuster Parkway.

First Reading of Ordinances
Ordinance 27765 Increases rates for the wastewater and surface water utilities by 6.2% for 2009 and 7.8% for 2010. These increases means that, by 2010, the average household will pay about $7 extra per month for these utilities. This may not seem like a lot, but when compounded year after year, these rate hikes add up. The council seemed supportive but several members voiced disapproval, pointing out that no one would tolerate such steep tax increases.

Ordinance 27766 Increases rates for the solid waste utility by 5% for 2009 and 2010. Like the previous ordinance, this represents a pretty sharp rate spike, but the City is trying something different with this one. The rate increases are gradated by the volume a household’s trash can. Those who put out 20 gallons a week will only see a 2% increase, while those who need 90 gallons will pay 15% percent more. These rate hikes will compound annually, so soon households who use the larger-volume trash cans will be paying substantially more. The City hopes this structure will make we citizens throw out less junk, and recycle more. Councilman Lonergan voiced skepticism, saying that eventually everybody will be paying more, since the cost of sending trucks to pick up cans is fixed regardless of whether someone uses 20 or 90 gallons, but landfills charge higher rates when volume goes down. Mayor Baarsma countered by noting that sending excessive trash to Oregon—a real possibility—would be far more expensive than paying more at the dump.

Ordinance 27768 Adopts the 2009-2010 Biennial Budget. Don’t hold your breath on this one; the city got hit by news of$5.1 Million in new expenditures yesterday, so the final reading of the budget is being held until the December 16 meeting. Expect the numbers to change by them.

Ordinance 29969 Adopts several amendments to the comprehensive plan. We covered the public hearing on these amendments last week.

Ordinance 27770 Adopts amendments to the downtown Tacoma element of the comprehensive plan. We covered those amendments several weeks ago.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
Two brief public hearings took place last night on budgetary matters. The first, on the 2009-2010 community service recommendations, outlined the $2.2 million that the Human Services Commission recommends the City award to local non-profits. No controversy on this one, but several representatives from the organizations that will receive these grants did step forward to express their gratitude. If you ever wanted to feel good about this city, you could have done worse than hearing those people talk about their work.

The other hearing concerned the biennial budget which, as mentioned earlier, has been postponed. Two representatives from the Farmer’s Markets still spoke to the Council, requesting funding to bring a new market to South Tacoma. The Market folks acknowledged that these are not great economic times, but, well, who can argue with more Farmer’s Markets in Tacoma? We hope the Council gives this one some serious consideration.

Whew.

County Council Sending Term Limit Extension to the Voters (Tue Dec 2, 09:34 PM by Derek Young) ~ Yawn

I somehow found myself in Sumner tonight for the Pierce County Council meeting. Why? Because I wanted to hear about term limits …

A proposal was on the table to send to the voters in 2009 a charter amendment that would extend term limits from two to three consecutive 4-year terms. The proposal also would move the elections of certain county offices to odd-numbered years.

The conversation was a bit disjointed as each councilmember offered various justifications for each part of the proposal. Term limits. Odd years. Term limits. Odd years. Odd limits. Term years. Wait … Anyway, when it was mentioned that lumping the issues together seemed to be inappropriate for the ballot, it was pointed out that they’re both election related – so it’s fine.

The only public comment was minimal – just one citizen. We were surprised that more folks didn’t have opinions on this issue.

By a 5-2 vote, we’ll be seeing this on the ballot next year. The two NO votes came from Councilmembers Farrell and Goings.

We recorded the meeting. We’ll check it out and see if it’s worth sharing … tomorrow.

Previously on Exit133