For the last four months, the Weekly Volcano staff has fought, argued, cajoled one another and basically worked themselves into a frenzy on their way to choosing â€" and then writing about â€" the most interesting, useful, quirky, and unique things that make the city of Tacoma the ideal place to live.

That's right friends, the Best of Tacoma issue has hit the streets, stuffed inside the Weekly Volcano and Ranger newspaper, as well as thrown about smartly on its own.

We concentrated solely on Tacoma city limits.  We apologize to Olympia, Lacey, Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, and other South Sound cities.  We didn’t have enough space to do them justice.

Although we had to moan and complain and struggle and fight and pull our hair out to make this issue happen, secretly we all know that the Best of Tacoma issue is the most fun we can legally have while still getting paid. â€" Ron Swarner