Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET LIZ SPARKS >>> Liz Sparks is a woman of class and pedigree. She moved to downtown Tacoma in 2003 and fell in love with the people. Currently she works at Veritas Mortgage, and lives in Sky Terrace. Her father owned a flower shop in Auburn as she was
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET KATE MONTHY >>> Kate Monthy is a dancer. She looks like a dancer. She walks like a dancer. She speaks as if conversation were a carefully choreographed partnership in articulation. "MLKBallet is an organization that produces and teaches dance," she says curtly, and then with a little
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JUST JOHNNY, JUST MARRIED >>> Johnny wants to be known as "Just Johnny, Just Married." OK, so you shall be known. I run into my fellow scientist every now and again, our symbol of love for each other has become the turning of invisible knobs and dials.
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JULIE BENNETT >>> Julie Bennett is the owner of urbanXchange and a major force behind much of the mercantile activity that happens in her corner of Pacific Avenue. When I met Julie downtown four years ago, she was working as the attendance lady at the Life Christian Center
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET DREW SAPIRO >>> Drew Sapiro moved to downtown Tacoma in July of 2007. He is currently a staff sergeant in the Air Force stationed at McChord Air Force Base right here on the outskirts of our lovely city. He parks his silver sporty Volvo in the
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET SHANNON EAKINS >>> Shannon Eakins is an artist of many forms. Pictured here at Fulcrum Gallery on Martin Luther King Jr. Way on Hilltop, Shannon's work is vast and often vaguely satirical. From glass to embroidery, her work is often animal themed and most often extremely approachable.
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET MATT EKLUND >>> Matt Eklund should have his own brand of sandals. There has never been a more chill person born on this earth, everything about this man is as laid back as a futon. Even with the stress of being the only masculine presence in the
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET CODY JONES >>> Cody Jones is a master of textersation. I have no idea how old he is or how long he has lived in this town, but legend has it that he started the whole "artist loft" movement back in the '40s when Tacoma was
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET NICK BUTLER >>> This striking young gentleman is Nick Butler. Since he moved to Parkland two years ago he has been coming downtown to explore the offerings of a larger social community. "I have dogs," he says in response to unaired inquiries about the choice to live
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET DOUG KNUDSON >>> Doug Knudson is a man of warm presence and friendly poise. His dog Charlie the poodle is the most personable animal I have encountered, I pretty much regard him as one of us people. You can tell a lot about a man from
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET AMY >>> Amy never told me her last name, but I met her while tooling around the Lincoln District when I stumbled in to Asia Gift and Aquarium, a hybrid store with more Feng Shui coursing through the fabric of my energy field than the time I
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET BRIDGETTE QUAIFE >>> Bridgette Quaife has only been in Tacoma for one month, but somehow she belongs here, knows this, and can be found highly involved downtown on a regular basis. Working for a short time at the new Maxwell's, she is now reverse commuting to Seattle
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET OLIVER DORISS >>> The Artist formerly known as the glassblower Oliver Doriss is currently known as the Viceroy of Hilltop for a reason (somewhere in the background several voices are whispering the word "timeless"). "I was born in Davenport, Iowa, but I'm from Massachusetts," says the local
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET BYRON T. BETTS >>> Byron T. Betts and I met several years ago in Crack Alley. He dated a friend that had just ended her marriage with another friend of mine. I kind of thought Byron was a bag of poop for a while, but he
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET MAUREEN MCHUGH >>> Maureen McHugh is a Goddess of Tea and Natural Herbs. She lives in Tacoma half of the week and lives across the bridge and deep in the forest of Gig Harbor the rest of the week. She is the nicest and kindest herb
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET JOSEPH MONTES >>> Joseph Montez Montes was born in Michigan in 1983 and moved to Tacoma two years ago. He took a job as a reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune but has since ended his working relationship with the corporation for reasons he did not
Walkie Talkie Blog
DANIEL BLUE: MEET KRIS JENSON >>> Kris Jenson was born in Sarasota, Fla. in nineteen and eighty-two. His family moved to the city when he was, "this many (holds up four fingers)." He went to Rodgers Elementary, split junior high between Stewart and Curtis and found himself at Lincoln
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DANIEL BLUE: MEET RYAN WHINERY >>> Ryan Whinery was born in George Orwell's favorite year (1984) and raised right here in vapid Tacoma. Partly home schooled through elementary and then shoved into the hands of the public school system at Fawcett Elementary, he then attended Stewart Middle School and
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DANIEL BLUE: MEET JASON GANWICH >>> Jason Ganwich has lived in beautiful Tacoma for the entirety of his life. Born and raised on the seedy soil and tepid tap of this glorious gridded peninsula, Ganwich knows most everyone you know and has the stories that you want to hear
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DANIEL BLUE: MEET AINSLEE K. MARSHAL >>> Ainslee K. Marshal is a pocket rocket. A third generation Tacoma girl, she attended Lowell Elementary, Mason Middle School and Stadium High School. She is currently a student at Tacoma Community College. She has lived in every district our fine city has to