THIS JUST IN >>>

This just out of the City of Tacoma headquarters:

On March 31 at 9 a.m., the City of Tacoma in partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, will host a ribbon cutting celebration to commemorate the completion of the re-cabling work and the turnback agreement for the Murray Morgan Bridge.

In February, the bridge was closed for the cables to be removed and replaced. The cabling work is now complete and the bridge will re-open to pedestrians by the end of March. The celebration will also acknowledge the turnback agreement between the City and State. In December 2009, the City took over ownership, operation, and maintenance of the Murray Morgan Bridge.

All are welcome to attend the ribbon cutting on the west side of the bridge (near the intersection of A and 11^th streets) where both City and State officials will speak, a ribbon will be cut and the bridge will be raised and lowered. 

For more information, visit the Murray Morgan Bridge project Web site at www.cityoftacoma.org/MMB.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Alex Chilton of '70s rock band Big Star dies. The group was to have played SXSW this weekend.

India loves Facebook! Hey India, join our Facebook!

Walmart PA announcement in New Jersey store orders black people to leave.

Bernie Madoff attacked in prison. Body parts were broken.

Have a St Patrick's Day hangover? Click here.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18: FOUR BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

The field has been set, the competitors narrowed. Sixty-four of the greater Tacoma area's best tacos are set to do battle in the Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Tacos. It's like March Madness, only with more indigestion. Every day through April 1 visit this blog and cast your vote - using this bracket in today's Weekly Volcano print version to guide you through the daily matchups. Then, on April 5, join us at Station 56 for the Official Tournament of Tacos Party - where our winner will be announced during halftime of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game. 

Only one taco can be crowned champ, and it's up to you to decide. The Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Tacos. It's on!

GAME 1: Masa vs. Chevy's Fresh Mex

The Tournament of Tacos leads off with a clash of heavyweights.  Masa from the trendy Sixth Avenue side of town takes on Chevy's Fresh Mex, a 38^th Street mainstay. 

GAME 2: Taqueria el Sabroso (10906 Pacific Hwy. SW) vs. Los Tres Hermanos (2728 S 12th St.)

The East Side's Taqueria el Sabroso, featuring a fine deep-fried pork choice, looks to tame the popular Sixth Avenue area truck and Tournament of Tacos favorite, Los Tres Hermanos.  Good early match-up.

GAME 3: Sam's Taqueria (downtown Puyallup) vs. Josefina's

A hidden jewel tucked away in downtown Puyallup, Sam's Taqueria and its uniquely spiced meats takes on Josefina's - which might be best known for its hard to miss, pink Pacific Avenue location. 

GAME 4: Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe vs. The Harmon Brewery & Restaurant

A great match up to close out day one.  East Side vs. Downtown.  Booze vs. beer.  Happy hour taco (Top of Tacoma) vs. fish delight (Harmon).  

>>> CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Tomorrow's Taco Battles

Game 1: Vuelve A La Vida vs. The Grill at Meadow Park

Game 2: Jack in the Box vs. Taco Bell 

Game 3: Taqueria La Fondita vs. Tiende Y Taqueria Zomora

Game 4: Mazatlan vs. Azteca

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 >>>

1. Calvin Johnson, godfather of Olympia music, will be bringing his Hive Dwellers to the Den at 8 p.m. Joining him at the all-ages show will be local favorites Basemint and Friskey.

2. The Peabody Waldorf Gallery inside Sanford and Son Antiques will house seven piñatas of local interest, depictions of icons sadly missing from the Washington State History Museum's recent Icons exhibit. They will be auctioned off to the highest bidder - then destroyed for charity. The auction runs 5-8 p.m. today; you can view them beginning at noon. The beating will be March 27 at a party benefiting The Empty Bowls program.

3. Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow's documentary Dirt! The Movie, inspired by William Bryant Logan's book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, gives an intimate look at dirt at 6 p.m. inside Ingram Hall at Pacific Lutheran University.

4. Taking off at 6 p.m. from the Speakeasy Arts Cooperative, the Art Bus will take ticket holders to participating Third Thursday ArtWalk venues Mad Hat Tea, Embellish, Fulcrum, 253 Collective, and Tacoma Art Place, ending at the Rialto Theater for a performance by Dream On - the (almost) all-female Aerosmith tribute band. Tickets are $15. Reserve your spot here.

5. Master forager Langdon Cook will talk about his book, Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager, at 7 p.m. inside King's Books.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

First Lady tells food giants to stop making junk and marketing junk to kids.

The United States is not thrilled with the maker of Captain Morgan rum and its plan to relocate the production from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands.

Real Irish shamrocks in short supply this year.

Obama's Final Four picks are in: Kansas State, Kentucky, Kansas, and Villanova.

Are you ready to recycle your sandwich bags?

A 3 DRINK MINIMUM PREVIEW >>>

Missing olives, empty toilet paper rolls, stunned looks - sure signs that Weekly Volcano scribe Steph DeRosa has just left the bar after her 3 Drink Minimum research. In tomorrow's print version of the Weekly Volcano DeRosa will describe her three-drink experience at HG Bistro in Puyallup.

And as always, when a hot guy gets her drunk and then brings her whipped cream aside a flame-producing device, she pulls out the video camera.

Pick up the Volcano tomorrow as read the words that describe the above video.

[HG Bistro, 1618 E. Main, Puyallup, 253.845.5747]

MAKE A DAY OF IT >>>

St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday. First, because green is my favorite color - and incidentally, with my coloring, I look pretty damn good in it. Second, because I fear snakes, and St. Patrick is famous for ridding Ireland of the scaly critters.

You can probably come up with better reasons to celebrate St. Patrick's Day; one of them should be the food and drink that go along with the holiday.

The downtown Tacoma Cutters Point coffee joint have drawn shamrocks on many of their 12-ounce coffee lids. If you order a 12-ounce drink, and you see the green thing on the lid, the drink is free.

Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub in downtown Tacoma will host dancers from the Comeford School of Irish Dance for a little Irish stepdancing, as well as a bunch ol' Irish live music. They'll swing open the doors at 9 a.m.

His name is Charlie McManus. And he knows Irish food. The chef/co-owner of Primo Grill and the Crown Bar has Irish stew with house-made soda bread, colcannon, champ and Guinness-braised lamb shanks on both menus today, among many other tasty items. He also has Red Breast 12 Year whiskey sitting on his bar shelves.

The Old House Café in the Proctor District has lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage on its menu today.

Doyle's Public House will open at 6 a.m. for those who want to get a jump on the day. Live music will start at 3 p.m. and run nonstop until midnight. Ockham's Razor doing most the work, but Pierce County Firefighter's Pipes & Drums will be helping out.

In regards to music, The McKassons are at the Mandolin Café at 7 p.m.; Mooncoyne at The Spar in Old Town at 7 p.m., The Fun Police and Ten Miles of Bad Road will play Irish sets at O'Malley's Irish Pub starting at 8 p.m.; and the rest are listed in our music calendar.

LINK: Or you could just escape it all and go to the movies

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 >>>

1. It's St. Patrick's Day. Time to party.

2. The Pierce County Arts and Cultural Planning Community Forum will gather opinions at 4:30 p.m. inside the Soundview Building. Go help plan the arts.

3. Screw green beer; let's climb a wall at 5:30 p.m. inside the Centre at Norpoint.

4. The Sixth Avenue Progressive Dinner visits 6 Olives, Origin 23 and Studio 6 Ballroom at 5:30, 6:15 and 7 p.m. Dance to jazz and blues by Maia Santell & House Blend from 7:30-10:30 p.m. at Studio 6. Reserve your spot here. 

5. The Fort Steilacoom Choir and Olympic College Chamber Choir joins the Pierce College Concert Band in Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" and Smith's "Don Quixote Symphony #3" at 7:30 p.m. inside the Lagerquist Concert Hall at PLU.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

THEIR INVENTION >>>

GreySlade Music's Chad Hagedorn (The Happy Vanishing) and John Walker (John Walker and the Hitchhikers) wrote and produced the art rock/sci-fi folk album The Measurement Problem as a force known as My Own Invention.

And they want feedback.

Download The Measurement Problem here. Listen to the "musical journey down a rabbit hole which will assuredly entertain and stimulate" as they describe it. Then send them your thoughts on the album.

Some early reviews are in:

"The album is simply wonderful - I haven't heard it yet, but I know it's simply wonderful!" - John's Mom

"They're such nice boys!" - Chad's Mom

ROBBIE JORDAN RIP >>>

This past Saturday sax man Robbie Jordan was found dead in his car.  While the cause is still a mystery, it is still a big blow to blues fans in the Northwest and beyond.

I first met Jordan in the early 1980s. At the time he was blowing sax with the Dick Powell Band alongside the late Rich Dangle of The Fabulous Wailers. It was through my connection to Jordan that piqued the interest of my father, guitarist Little Bill. Only a few weeks after they met, the duo - along with drummer Tommy Morgan, B3 virtuoso Buck England, Dangle and newcomer trombonist Randy Oxford — were in the studio recording a demo. Jordan's arrangements, coupled with my dad's songwriting, helped give the band - the Bluenotes - instant success. It still remains my father's favorite version of the band.

The band took home countless Washington Blues Society BB Awards, and played an average of 150 gigs a year.

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