Military Life
Before leaving on her first deployment to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, Ryaja Johnson Rhone was flooded with requests from friends, family and coworkers to stay in touch and send pictures throughout the five months. She knew there was no way she'd be able to keep in contact with each person individually. So
Cup Check
STRIKE ONE Usually here at Cup Check the recipe is fairly straightforward; you know what to expect. I spend about 45 minutes wading through sports stories (usually) written by real journalists, about dumb and/or funny things that have recently happened in the world of athletics. Then I highlight the dumbest and/or
Kids
Eighteen-month-old Kelson Walker just couldn't keep his excitement to himself upon seeing his father, Staff Sgt. Kenny Walker, standing at attention in the front of the room with his fellow Airmen of the Washington Air National Guard's 116th Air Support Operations Squadron. The toddler shrieked and pointed proudly several times toward
Guides
After three weeks of voting, and a field of 64 pizza joints, the Weekly Volcano readers picked the most popular pizza in the South Sound. The April 4 Tournament of Pizza Championship match pitted longtime Tacoma favorite Katie Downs Waterfront Restaurant against the Westside Olympia powerhouse Apollo's Pizza &
Music
What's not to love about Olympia? Great house parties, cutesy shops, home brews and home grown, progressive people. A thriving music and arts scene. Plus, it's a place of connections. Seems like everybody's got a friend who's got a brother who dated the girl who's in the band. Because of this
Ragnet
In every issue of this fine rag my hack team of wannabe journalists and I tackle some of the most laughable criminal acts that have recently happened in our area. Then - if we're doing our job - we write about those crimes in a way that makes you chuckle,
Archives
Here's a brilliant idea: Schedule an interview with a longtime newspaper guy, then have no idea what you plan to talk about. Have no plan at all, in fact. It's not like he'll call you on it! Oops ... I'd never heard of Ken Balsley when I was assigned this interview, but
Health
Joint Base Lewis McChord spouse Autumn Moses knows all too well what it is like to have a child suffering from Type One Diabetes. Three months after arriving at JBLM she noticed that her son, Parker, was showing symptoms of the disease. "Since it runs on my husband's side of the family
Arts
In a town full of coffee shops, rainy days and open minds, it's fair to say everyone in Olympia has an "inner artist" - each person has a story to tell through a stroke of a brush, a curve of a line or the ramblings of a doodle. This town full
Military Life
Family Readiness Groups, known to many military families simply as the "FRG" is what holds the families together during times of deployment and trainings. FRGs are equipped sometimes with staff, but mostly with volunteers to provide family events, seminars and more to keep the morale of families up. Active branches are
News Front
When I think about public transportation (or even taking the airport shuttle), I think about smelly drunk guys. I think about being squeezed in next to people I don't want to be that close to. I think about taking the bus in Chicago one time and going really far before
News Front
Summer is winding down, but for some students, their big summer adventure is only about to begin. Twenty-four Japanese students from various schools in Okinawa will arrive in the Puget Sound area this week as guests of Cultural Homestay International, a nonprofit organization, and organized by a spouse from Joint
Features
Place: Pick-Quick Drive In Located: Fife Open since: 1949 Building: 450 square feet Average employees inside: Six Most ever: Eight Picnic tables: 22 Top seller: Double cheeseburger with bacon Top milkshake: Wild mountain blueberry Goddammit: Now I'm hungry. Simply from habit, most Tacomans will testify Frisko Freeze has top billing in the world of drive-ins. But I will declare that
Music
I know this is hard to believe, but I have another solid mixtape to report on this week. The crazy thing is: the next two weeks will be just as heavy. So, without further delay I present to ya'll Gazmo the Great's iBeast. This is a pretty high-caliber mixtape. Notable guest
Health
Four years ago, Pfc. George Barnes came home from Iraq. He had all 10 fingers, 10 toes, both arms and both legs. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was the nature of his injury. It cannot be held together with a stitch or managed with a wheelchair. They classified him as
Features
For those wondering how a wine bar, a deli and a restaurant will fit in the one space Kris Blondin and partner Jack Noble secured in downtown Tacoma, it's simple ... it won't. "STINK is not a bar, it's an elevated deli. Not a restaurant, not even your typical deli, we're
Arts
Darby's Cafe in Olympia has always been a spot filled with quirky things to look at - sarcastically funny posters and signs, Wizard of Oz memorabilia and a huge mural on the back wall of the dining room.If you're picturing an African drum circle and a tree frog, then you
Stage
Regular readers of this column know I do my best to avoid Arts Walk. I can't stand the crowds, and you're subjected to a dozen bad works of art for every good work of art. Still, for those who are willing to put up with that, there is some great
Arts
Do you know, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, there have been more than 35 earthquakes in Washington state just in the last two weeks? Do you know we live near one of the most hazardous faults in the world? Do you know this particular fault line - the Cascadia Subduction
