PAUL SCHRAG: COMMUNITY FINALLY GOBBLED UP BY DEVELOPERS >>>

Light a candle for Country Aire Manor Park in Puyallup, a mobile home community where residents have been displaced to make way for another multi-million-dollar shopping center.

In January 2008 more than 150 Country Aire residents received word that the land underneath their homes was being sold so local representatives of a national development company could build a retail center, which will be anchored by Kohl’s Department Store. Expanded shopping options come as cold comfort to residents such as the 93-year-old woman who was forced to move into an apartment where the bathroom and bedroom are too far apart, and where she shattered her ankle trying to get to the toilet. There’s little comfort for the Donery family, all of whom shared a home at Country Aire, all of whom have debilitating illnesses such as cancer, and all of whom weren’t sure how they were going to survive forced relocation. Nor is there any comfort for several residents who had to abandon the homes they owned because there was nowhere to move them, or because they couldn’t afford to.

The story continues of the Weekly Volcano Web site.

HARVEY SIDERS: MAN WHO COMPOSED BUBBLEATOR MUSIC TO BE HONORED >>>

His name: Art Mineo; his game: jazz to opera, a skilled pianist, arranger and orchestrator. Roots: family from Sicily; Art is Brooklyn-born, calls Tacoma home. That barely scratches the surface. Maestro Mineo (a cousin to Sal) began his career as a jazz pianist listening carefully to big-band tenor soloists Flip Phillips and Tacoma-born Corky Corcoran. Their flowing, improvised lines shaped Art’s burgeoning operatic future as much as his studies with a New York Philharmonic flutist. His passion for bel canto, Verdi and Puccini inspired his operatic composing. Art has completed five (his favorite: Putanella, story of a prostitute; his latest work-in-progress: Mafia, self-explanatory.) He may be best known for penning the spacey compositions that played inside Seattle Center’s “Bubbleator,” no doubt one of the hottest attractions from the Seattle World’s Fair and an icon of local pop culture. Tonight you’ll have the chance to hear Mineo’s music and libretti. Famed baritone Barry Johnson will lead an ensemble of singers. 

CHUCK DULA: CHEERS >>>

The term “Happy Hour” was coined in the 1920s by the Navy as slang for the scheduled period of entertainment on-ship. Not surprisingly, the Irish took this hour so seriously that it was made illegal in the Republic of Ireland in 2003 under the Intoxicating Liquor Act. More recently, the Canadian province of Alberta created restrictions to happy hours that took effect in August, 2008. Within these restrictions, all happy hour-like promotions must end at 8 p.m., and drink prices must conform to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission's minimum price regulations at all times.

Luckily, we live in the South Sound where the drinking never, ever, ever stops. Ever. For any reason. Unless you die.

Remembering who serves what, how cheap it is, and when takes a lot of work. With our quick-reference happy-hour organizer on our Web site, you can spend less time planning and more time getting sloshed.

Is it happy hour yet? Find out here.

JAKE AND JASON DE PAUL: MERENDE REVIEW >>>

Few things in life that are worth waiting for. Your name to be called at graduation, your child to be born, Axle Rose’s Chinese Democracy, and a restaurant with a star chef to open right here in Tacoma. Il Trattoria di Merende is just such a place. Months and months past the projected opening date, the boys were still concocting reasons to drive into downtown and cruise Pacific Avenue to South Eighth Street. With noses pressed to glass, they peered inside and filled their heads with made-up recipes Chef Jeff Bishop might use to create succulent dishes. Finally, the time arrived; the door opened; people poured in.

Read our review on the Weekly Volcano Web site.

LINK: This week's wine and beer events

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

Ken Griffey Jr. headed back to Seattle. Yay!

DOT has $4.1 million worth of Tacoma Narrows Bridge work it wants to do in 2009 and 2010.

Skiing and falconry in luxury help Republican members of the House of Representatives ponder the ever-tanking economy.

The blogosphere weighs in on the Obama administration’s homeowners bailout plan.

Five of our states that could go broke

This may be the dumbest thing we have ever posted on Spew.

MATT DRISCOLL: IT WAS LOUD LAST NIGHT >>>

Last night at the Swiss, brothers Ben and Ted Fuller got back on their China Davis, well, um, caravan â€" and rode. Known lately for their politically conscious work in Fear Train Caravan, the brothers Fuller looked at ease doling out the less contentious sounds of their previous band, China Davis â€" which had been dormant since 2002.

Joe Rosati and the Lonely Guys joined China Davis at the Swiss last night, too.

You can check out the pictures that our man-about-town Steve Dunkelberger shot here.

TONY ENGELHART: WINTERGRASS GETS IN GEAR TODAY >>>

You hardcore twangers have been waiting a year â€" and now it’s finally here. Wintergrass 2009 kicks off today at the fancy Hotel Murano, and runs until Feb. 22.

That’s right, four days to get your twang on.

Now in its 16th year, the festival has become one of the most highly anticipated events of the South Sound musical season, and it’s easy to understand why.

To read my full story on Wintergrass in this week's Volcano, click here.

And for a schedule of today's Wintergrass events, click here.

Photo: Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands play Saturday and Sunday. Photo by Carson Zulinger