MATT DRISCOLL: HERE'S HOW IT WENT DOWN >>>

As is a quarterly custom, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber City Center Luncheon went down this afternoon â€" in new digs. The Pacific Grill’s Event Center played host â€" and while I never had a problem swanking up to the Tacoma Club in the Wells Fargo Plaza for this white collar lunch in the past â€" there’s was definitely something exciting and new about seeing all those business folks in a different seating arrangement, for this â€" the first City Center Luncheon of ‘09. I heard it may have also been the first event held at the Pacific Grill’s new Event Center â€" but don’t quote me on that. I don’t exactly run in the right circle to know if that’s a fact.

While there were a few unexpected and tasty dollars and cents related tidbits divulged during the nearly two hour ordeal â€" including the fact that the Pacific Avenue Camera Shop is being renovated to become … wait … wait … hold your excitement … drum roll please … keep waiting for effect … almost there … don’t you feel the suspense? … wait … wait … an insurance office! â€" the bulk of the time spent by those in attendance not chewing the supped-up, coleslaw with chicken concoction (which DeRosa says was probably actually an “Asian chicken salad”) was spent listening to news about the three things: University of Washington â€" Tacoma’s Phase 3 construction, the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program that cops and the city are using to make it more difficult for criminals to do criminal things, and the expansion of Sound Transit’s Sounder train to Lakewood.

Kind of makes you wish you went, doesn’t it? Well, never fear. I did. Here are the cliff notes:

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

As it turns out, criminals, the homeless and drug addicts like to kick in spots where they can’t be seen. Who would have guessed?

Well, the Tacoma Police Department is hip to this fact, and it’s one of the reasons they’ve been trying hard to implement the CPTED. In short, and taken directly form a helpful brochure distributed at today’s luncheon that looks as though you might find it in a Holiday Inn lobby:

CPTED, (pronounced sep-ted) is an initiative that helps us create healthy, safe communities through well-planned design.

How does it do this, one might ask?

According to Greg Hopkins and Mike Tesky of the Tacoma Police Department (picture Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous) â€" who both spoke at the luncheon â€" our environment directly affects our behavior. CPTED works to promote “design strategies” that reduce the probability of criminal activity â€" basically, making sure areas are lit, visible and have controlled access.

The example the two coppers used was Fireman’s Park, which as most people from Tacoma know sits close to the Frank Russell building, and has long been a hangout for ne’er do wells of all kind â€" thanks to the fact the design of the park makes it almost impossible for passersby to see what’s going on within the park. Tesky said that plenty of “needles and other unmentionables” have routinely been found at the park â€" and though things have improved since Tacoma started implementing CPTED techniques â€" there’s still quite a way to go. Money is the main obstacle between the Fireman’s Park of today and the Fireman’s Park of CPTED dreams. In 2006 it was estimated that it would take half a million dollars to redesign Fireman’s Park using CPTED techniques.

According to Tesky, the City “found” $10,000 to spend on the project. The next phase will likely run more like $30,000 to 40,000. That said, there has still been plenty of progress at Fireman’s Park â€" progress that’s directly a result of CPTED techniques â€" according to Tesky and Hopkins.

And they had a slide show to prove it. Unfortunately, a slide show cannot be captured with words.

UWT Phase 3 Construction

Despite the fact we’re in the midst of what UWT Chancellor Dr. Patricia Spakes calls a “very challenging time” â€" speaking, of course, of the state’s budget concerns and impact that being broke as shit is sure to have on higher education â€" the outlook for UWT, and specifically Phase 3 Construction â€" seems to be fairly positive.

As has been reported, Gov. Gregoire’s state economic stimulus plan includes $34 million for Phase 3, and at this afternoon’s luncheon Spakes said she expects to move ahead with “at least part, if not all” of the development.

She also called the Joy Building, which will be renovated as part of Phase 3, the last derelict building on Pacific Avenue. She expects to displace many pigeons during the building’s revamping.

Also of interest but not directly related to Phase 3, the UWT currently has 2,414 full-time employees, and a student head count exceeding 3,000 according to Spakes. However, thanks to the state’s budget woes, we can expect those numbers to “level off for the next couple years.”

Sound Transit’s Tacoma to Lakewood Sounder Extension

Mark Johnson of Sound Transit is a pretty funny guy. He made the fact that Sound Transit is years behind schedule getting to Lakewood and the project will cost millions and millions of dollars more than expected seem pretty amusing, at least in the confines of the City Center Luncheon.

He certainly deserves credit for that.

He also deserves credit for showing some pretty kick ass computer generated images of the Sounder bridge that will someday cross Pacific Avenue near downtown’s Pink Elephant Car Wash. In truth, the bridge doesn’t look like anything special, but the new, sunken, 15-foot lower Pacific Avenue leaves room for the imagination to run rampant. What, oh what can we develop in the newfound cityscape? Something tells me there were plenty of people at the City Center Luncheon who feel they have the answer.

Johnson also says he expects to see a Federal Way to Tacoma Link extension “within our lifetime.”

No word on whose lifetime he was referencing. Dude’s probably twice my age.

That’s all for now. Check back next quarter for more hilarious and zany antics from the next City Center Luncheon â€" scheduled to be held April 17.

CHUCK DULA: HAS A MAN CRUSH ON UMBER SLEEPING >>>

You may have seen Umber Sleeping perform last month at Hell’s Kitchen. Good. Great. Go see them again tonight at the New Frontier! Umber Sleeping has a great psychedelic groove thing going on and they will be playing with two other interesting bands. Bandolier is a Seattle group that sounds like they should have written the score for Pulp Fiction. Their old reverberated guitars and dynamic chord progressions help back the sexiest sounding girl singer in the Seattle area. You should honestly get online, check out their MySpace page, and try your hardest not to ask the lead singer out for coffee. I dare you. The other band performing will be Canon Canyon who plays what seems to be really sad cowboy music complete with steel guitars and lyrics almost exclusively made of sorrow. Word of advice: don’t sit at the bar by yourself while this band is playing. You will slit your wrists.

[The New Frontier, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

MATT DRISCOLL: THE POWER OF TWO >>>

Tonight Portland’s Wishyunu will be bringing their minimalist, atmospheric, two piece pop to the cozy confines of Le Voyeur in Olympia, playing a show with the Soft Hills and Thought Bandit. Following the release of Wishyunu’s third full length, Age of Revealing, the band seems in the mood for, well, revealing their artistic amazingness â€" despite the fact amazingness is not even close to a word.

Anyway, the band was smart enough to send me Age of Revealing through the magic of standard ground mail â€" and the light and eerie disc was enough to tickle my interest in their show coming up at Le Voyeur. So much so, in fact, that I got in touch with the band’s drummer and guitarist, Tony Bertaccini, to see what was up.

To check out the full article I wrote on the subject, click here.

TONY ENGELHART: THE BEN UNION BAND PLAYS JAZZBONES TONIGHT >>>

The Ben Union Band takes elements from indie, funk and rock and mashes them together for a beautiful noise. The Tacoma-based trio of Union (on everything), Jared Mira (drums) and the singularly named "Doat" (bass) are possibly the most eclectic group of musicians I've heard in a long time- with influences ranging from the Police to Riverdance. Union, himself, is a multi-talented musician who has played with the likes of Scott Faircloff- writer for Lifehouse- and legendary local blues guitar wizard Steve Stefanowicz (who is on this bill at Jazzbones tonight as well). Paired with a smokin' rhythm section, Union shines, and I don't mean shoes. You can check the Ben Union Band out via MySpace. In his words: His music will melt your face and your heart and can make your nose bleed- and he ain't shitting.

[Jazzbones, with Steve Stefanowicz, 9 p.m., $7, 2803 Sixth Ave, Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

OWEN TAYLOR: ONE HELL OF AN ALL AGES SHOW IN OLY >>>

“The gods be damned!” grumbled the Wizard. “What foul mage of black sorcery has befallen the Olympia of legend? So long has this humble port been the banner of artisans of roustabouts beset upon creating a world apart from the doldrums of its motherland. Once a haven for the young and old to come together in the ancient tradition of song and dance, the populace used to travel far and wide to celebrate in youthful jubilations their ability to surmount obstacles to conscious elevation and equality imbibed with the positive vibrations of collective energy; they returned to their homesteads rife with possibility ...”

The Wizard rose from his wooden desk and paced about muttering, lost in thought, smoking his pipe filled with the fruits of nature’s bounty.

“I agree,” I replied, knowing full well that something strange was happening in the Olympia all-age scene and that neither of us liked it. “I wish we had a way to get some of the really rad people that used to play here to come back and rock a show downtown that could recharge the scene from these last few weeks of bizarre weather and political madness. Ya know, something like trippy and beautiful yet with the ability to dissolve the isolation and fury that we all feel sometimes by engorging us in it briefly so we can understand its side of the story, ya know, so we can like make peace with the fury and move forward into the awesomeness of life.”

“It’d be one hell of a way to start the new year.” said the Wizard.

Lo and behold, beautiful denizens of Olympia. This will be your year. Tonight it begins. After many furious incantations our friend The Wizard was able to conjure up just the right circumstances to provide you with all the inspirato our lovely little city needs to get 2009 cracking in proper fashion. Starting with a pinch of thrash-masters Sonskull, the spell begins in earnest. Phil Elverum and Co. will then grace us from the north with his signature brand of delicately woven rhythms and spooky yet beautiful lyricism. Finishing the night will be lords of chaos and eco-friendliness Wolves In The Throne Room, who come to provide the gods with one last feast before they embark on a Nordic tour. All of this magic will cost you only eight bucks, and the loot goes to the Olympia All Ages Project.

Egads!

[The Big Room, Mount Eerie, Wolves in the Throne Room, Sonskull, Saturday, Jan. 17, 8 p.m., $8, 508 Legion Way, Olympia, www.olympiaallages.org]

MICHAEL SWAN: JAN. 12-18 >>>

The 105-day legislative session began at noon Monday. … Most of the Tacoma City Council flew to Washington, D.C., looking for stimulus money for Tacoma projects. … Mixed martial arts champion Jeff Monson was charged with first-degree malicious mischief based on photographs published in the December issue of ESPN The Magazine showing him spray-painting an anarchist symbol on the state Capitol. … The Pierce County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit attempt to block the appointment of the next Pierce County auditor, but The Pierce County Council picked Jan Shabro as county auditor anyway. … An initiative was been filed in Olympia that would require state and local government agencies to help enforce federal immigration laws. ... Traffic was tangled on the Tacoma Narrows bridge for six hours Thursday while police captured a man who threatened to jump off. … The uninsured flood damage in Pierce County is around $2 million. … It was announced this week that KeyBank’s nationwide call center â€" located at 2420 S. State St. near Hilltop in Tacoma â€" will close this year, resulting in the loss of 200 jobs in our area. ... A monster truck launched a Frisbee-sized chunk of metal into the Tacoma Dome stands Friday night, killing a 6-year-old boy. The remaining shows were not canceled.

LINK: Weekly Volcano Mudroom section

PAUL SCHRAG: SOUTHERN KITCHEN IS A DINER >>>

As reported first on Spew, Southern Kitchen Restaurant will be invaded next week by Food Network’s Guy Fieri, who will be shooting a take for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives as part of a tour through our little corner of the world.

Southern Kitchen owner Gloria Martin says she’s been haggling since October with Minnesota-based Page Productions, which produces the show. Crews were originally slated to visit Tacoma, then just Seattle, and then, about a week ago, Tacoma was back on Fieri’s itinerary.

Cable television pseudo-celeb Fieri and crew will be here for two days, Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, taping the soul-food shenanigans. Note: Southern Kitchen will be closed for taping, and Fieri groupies shouldn’t expect to have much of a chance at getting autographs. So, for Tacoma’s sake, don’t everyone go down there to hawk autographs and soak up Fieri’s starlight.

There is a list at Southern Kitchen for those who want to vie for a chance. Martin says she has been swamped preparing for the visit, which will include a couple hours in the kitchen with Fieri, who is an accomplished culinary artist, and is rumored to smell like coconuts. Fieri was born Guy Ferry, which must have been hell in junior high.

Martin says she’s getting her hair done for the shoot, and will be preparing fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, cornbread dressing and jalapeno poppers for Fieri, and for America. Get out the napkins America. For the drool.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MICHAEL SWAN: FIT FOR A KING >>>

The memory of Martin Luther King Jr. always receives plenty of folksy acknowledgment on this day set aside in his name, but the best events tend to target togetherness. Here are a few:

Community March to the Dome Tacoma. Bates Technical College students, staff and families invite the community to march to the Tacoma Dome to attend the City of Tacoma's King event, 9:30 a.m., free, (Bates Technical College, 1101 S. Yakima Ave., 253.680.7178).

Martin Luther King Jr. March Downtown Tacoma. Community march to the City of Tacoma’s MLK Jr. celebration, Jan. 19 10 am (Tollefson Plaza, 17th and Pacific Avenue).

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Tacoma Dome District. Free continental breakfast followed by entertainment, Jan. 19 10:30 am, free (Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall, 2727 E. D St., 253.591.5151).

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Downtown Tacoma. Dr. MLK: From Slavery 2 Dreams 2 Presidency, performances by a variety of artists, Jan. 19 2 pm, free (Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., 888.238.4373).