Tacoma housing prices lit to pop

Ask and you shall receive. I’ve been begging the Gods of Density to shine favorably on our fair city, and they’ve finally responded. The single most important economic indicator to the private sector is on the mend. If you’ve been paying attention you could already sense that perceptions were improving, but this was a very nice surprise. I’m not a link forwarder by trade, but this article on national housing markets is just the best thing to land on Tacoma in a long time.

If you love The City of Density like I do, then you should not be too surprised that experts are predicting Tacoma, Washington to be the top performing housing market in the country over the next 5 years. Median property values are expected to increase 20% or better over that period. Friends, this makes me smile.

Get your house in order to sell or your finances in line to buy, and spread the word to anyone you know with somewhat of an interest or a stake in Tacoma property values.

New Mandolin Cafe kitchen open NOW

Without further ado, you are welcome to stop in for a meal at the Mandolin Cafe. They have done what few others have – the simple, the obvious, the lacking-in-Tacoma – free wi-fi, big tables, good coffee AND GOOD FOOD. Why is it so hard for restaurateurs to figure this one out?

Hopefully, Mandolin Cafe and The Spar will continue to lead the way toward a new kind of restaurant. Classic dining is a dying concept, in my often humble opinion. Who wants to sit idle in a restaurant while you wait to order, wait for your food, wait for your check, wait, wait, wait…  Can’t stand it. Give me laptop or give me death!

Now if we could just get an authentic bagel shop with wi-fi in Tacoma proper..

Wednesday on the Water

It is going to be a great night down on the Ruston Way waterfront. The temperature is perfect, sun is out, sailboats should be everywhere.. Wednesday on the Water is just one of many reasons why summers in Tacoma are as good as anywhere. Kayaks, rafts, paddle boards and power boats are all great fun out on Commencement Bay.

For those of you who may be new to kayaking or looking to learn more about kayaks, please hit up Backpacker’s Supply on July 12th. They are running a free kayak demo (Paddlesports Demo Days at Owen Beach/Point Defiance). Take advantage of this rare opportunity to try several different boats! There is no better way to find the best boat for you than to compare different ones back to back on the same day. Free.

Happy paddling.

Wintergrass leaves Tacoma

The blues festival formerly known as Tacoma’s Wintergrass has left the building.

It gets worse. Wintergrass will now be in Bellevue. Here’s another giant step backward for the City of Density. Gracious me, what is going on in this town? We just lost a cool music festival to BELLEVUE!

That is disgusting.

Bellevue sucks.

They have no business pulling a rainy-season blues event out of the gritty city. It’s getting harder and harder for me to call Tacoma gritty. Who coined that anyway? If it was you, please chime in with justification for said nomenclature. We have an industrial port, our fair share of condemned buildings and a burgeoning meth scene. I guess that’s sorta gritty.

The economy is quietly bouncing back, spurring me to request no further setbacks for Tacoma until after summer. I want positive momentum. I want positive economic development. I want more culture, not less. The Old Town Blues Festival is coming up on July 11th; hopefully people will turn out in droves to show their support.

Volcano Spew temporarily dormant?

Is the Weekly Volcano downsizing? Reorganizing? Shape-shifting? Dieting?

As I regularly browse the Volcano over coffee and breakfast, I hope for an as-close-to-full-strength-as-possible Weekly Volcano to continue entertaining me for the foreseeable future. I would like to start the unofficial “Keep the Volcano Active!” club, as of this writing.

There are other perspectives, however. A long-time contributor to feed>>tacoma, Dave L, has a great idea: “Maybe do the back Volcano-section upside down so either the Volcano or the Ranger is in front, depending on how you hold it.”

Not bad. I can live with this. The concept has conservation at its core. Nothing’s more sustainably hip than that.

Whatever it takes, I will be patient with them as they attempt to adapt to our changing economic environment. If you are a fan of keeping things local, you should be patient with them as well. It worries me to think of our local cultural reporting stream coming from a non-really-local group. Don’t let the Stranger or other outside organizations in on Tacoma’s arts & entertainment scene! I love the Stranger, but it belongs to Seattle. Tacoma needs a homegrown outlet.