MATT DRISCOLL: TJ, POT, GRIFFEY, HEIGHT, AND MONEY >>>

It’s becoming routine now â€" these Saturday morning Week in Reviews, that is. At first, when I started a month or so ago, it would take me a while to get going. It would take some time for my brain to start firing on the required 60 percent of its cylinders needed for writing cheap shots and wise cracks, and it would take me a while to remember all the little things that happened throughout the week that was.

But now, as it’s becoming routine, I head to the computer raring and ready to go on Saturday mornings â€" at least with the aforementioned 60 percent of brain cylinders firing … or whatever.

Without further adieu, here’s what you missed if you were on meth for the entire week of March 2-6.

Monday, March 2

Though I wouldn’t bet on many Seahawk fans being able to spell his last name, news broke on Monday that the Hawks had acquired standout wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh in free agency, signing him for five years and $40 million.

I bet the guy over at the Trib’s Seahawk’s blog is loving typing H-o-u-s-h-m-a-n-d-z-a-d-e-h. That’s going to get old real quick. And something tells me he’s going to be typing it a lot this year. Houshmandzadeh is a major upgrade for Seattle, and a much needed upgrade. He’s been enough to make most Hawk fans, it seems, forget almost entirely about the dismal ’08 campaign, and start talking about the possibility of Seahawk domination again in the NFC West (and by domination I mean finishing 9-7).

Unless, of course, TJ gets hurt. He does play WR for the Seahawks now…

Tuesday, March 3

God bless the ACLU â€" even if they probably don’t believe in such silliness.

On Tuesday the ACLU Washington sent out an e-mail news release in support of Washington state Senate Bill 5615 â€" which would basically make possession of anything under 40 grams of weed a civil infraction. The penalty for such a civil possession would be $100, which would go to the Criminal Justice Treatment Account.

Naturally, I applaud the ACLU and this bill. The ACLU’s release did a fine job of outlining the potential cost savings of such a move. It probably won’t pass, of course, because old, scared, white politicians prefer scotch over weed, but someday ... just maybe … we’ll come to our senses.

Well, I’ll probably be baked, but someone will come to their senses (those who make laws, I suppose) and admit the current plan just isn’t working.

Here’s a gaggle of Internet search dope smokers to prove it. 

Wednesday, March 4

Ken Griffey Jr. and his slightly swollen knee made their spring league ’09 debut in a Mariners jersey on Wednesday.

It was super exciting, except for the part where he went hitless in two plate appearances.

That’s baseball.

What might be more exciting is Ken Griffey Jr’s awkward cameo on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, circa sometime when I had braces.

Thursday, March 5

I’ve been following it for what seems like forever, but another page of the Olympia isthmus rezone fight wrote itself on Thursday. Lately, it’s been nothing but victories for those who oppose building on the isthmus, which has to be making the folks at Oly 2012 a wee-bit irritated. As you may recall, they’d prefer high density housing on the isthmus, and think building such housing would help make Olympia more of a sustainable community, not dependent on cars, and help fend off suburban sprawl.

But folks like Olympia 2012 are in the minority, it seems, or at least it appears that way much of the time. Perhaps they just don’t have the fight that those that oppose building on the isthmus do.

Jerry Reilly, the chairman of the Olympia Isthmus Park Association (a group fighting to see that Oly’s isthmus becomes a park), and a former planning commissioner in Olympia, sent out this email with the news that Senator Karen Fraser’s bill SSB 5800, which would limit building heights on the isthmus and make it next to impossible to develop there, was passed by the state senate on Thursday.

Dear Friends,

The Senate late this afternoon passed SSB 5800. The vote was 36 yes, 10 no and 3 excused.

This was a very strong bipartisan vote, from all regions of the state, to protect the views from and to our Capitol Campus.

We owe great appreciation to Senator Fraser for her outstanding leadership on this important issue. Senator Swecker and Senator Murray also gave strong floor speeches in support of the bill.

Representative Sam Hunt (sponsor of the House companion bill) came over to the wings of the Senate to congratulate Senator Fraser on passage of the bill. The responsibility for passing the bill in the House will now fall upon Sam. We need to give him as much support as possible.

Thanks to all of you for your great contributions in generating support from all parts of our state. It is an issue of statewide significance to protect America's most magnificent Capitol setting.

Now it is on to the House and another victory!

Friday, March 6

There’s was a big fuss this week made about the raise Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson had coming â€" which would have been 14.5 percent had he not called it off on Friday.

As has been much talked about in other forums, Tacoma engaged in some wonky study a while back designed to determine whether the city was paying its employees enough.

To the delight of city employees, no doubt, in many cases it wasn’t. The findings recommended raises, and the raise Anderson was set to receive would have put his pay inline with other city manager types from around the country.

To those that know Anderson, his decision on Friday to forgo the raise is not surprising. As far as officials go, Anderson is about as honest and genuine as they come â€" or at least that’s the impression I’ve always gotten. You don’t get the sense Anderson does it for the money â€" as much as someone who makes over $200,000 a year can not “do it” for the money, anyway.

So, it wasn’t surprising to see him forgo the raise, what’s surprising is the situation got to the point of furor that it did.

Did it really take a rocket scientist to see that a raise of any sort would be reported on, and obviously not go over well with the generally destitute masses?

With that, I'll leave you. Have a great weekend.

BOBBLE TIKI: HE PUT IT THERE >>>

Bobble Tiki likes to say he put the "bump" in Bump Kitchen- always pointing toward his lap and doing one of those pelvic thrust moves with a wink. Typically, Bobble Tiki does this at Bump Kitchen shows, when trying to lure unsuspecting middle aged women drunk on white wine on to the dance floor.

Sometimes it even works.

At a Bump Kitchen show, there's plenty of action like this to be had. Packing the dance floor with a body grabbing, booty shaking mix of groovin' favorites and bumpin' originals, Bump Kitchen is, like, the party band for the middle age club scene- a cougar heavy, expensive jeans wearing, tanned and trimmed mob that should never be taken lightly.

Tonight Bump Kitchen will celebrate the release of the band's new CD, Who Ordered the Waffle?, with a show at Jazzbones in Tacoma. There's no reason to expect this night to be anything less than the typical, sweaty, gyrating fracas that every Bump Kitchen show eventually turns into.

"Fans, old and new, can expect a whole new recipe- a remodeled sound that employs more vocals and a stronger funk element," explains Joe Bevins, Bump Kitchen's bass guitarist.

"This album is a true testament to who and what Bump Kitchen represents," adds drummer Everett James.

"Jazzbones is one of our favorite clubs to play," continues James about Jazzbones, just one of a number of local venues where Bump Kitchen inspires plenty of bumping" amongst a growing and loyal legion of fans.

"Our following in the Northwest is strong because we love to play for the fans, and we never take them for granted," says Dave Broyles, Bump Kitchen's guitarist.

"We bring it every show."

[Jazzbones, Saturday, March 7, 9:30 p.m., $10, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

RON SWARNER: SATURDAY'S WINE TASTINGS >>>

Dropped by Tacoma Wine Merchants to grab a bottle for a party tonight. Owner Bill Bonnie is pouring Alandra Portuguese red and white as part of his wine tasting today. Theses two simple table wines are good and they're attractively priced at around $8. The white has a clean, fresh floral aroma, with a crisp, fruity palate.

Wine tasting, noon to 5 p.m., Tacoma Wine Merchants, 21 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253.779.8258.

Wine tasting, 1-4 p.m., $5-$7, Swing Wine Bar, 825 Columbia St. S.E., Olympia, 360.357.9464.

Wine tasting, 2-5 p.m., Wine Bank, 7017 27th St. W., University Place, 253.564.1101.

Wine tasting, 1-6 p.m., Wildside Wine, 608A S. Oxford St., Tacoma, 253.565. 0811.

Wine tastings, noon to 4 p.m., free, Madsen family Cellars, 2825 Marvin Road N.E., Olympia, 360.438.1286.

Wine tastings, 1-5 p.m., $5, Medicine Creek Winery, 947 Old Pacific Highway S.E., Olympia, 360.701.6284.

Wine Tastings, noon to 4 p.m., complimentary, Corkscrew Cellars, 116 E. Stewart Ave., Puyallup, 253.770.9463.

LAUREN NAPIER: VALENCIA PLAYS THE VIADUCT >>>

With every band out there in the trendy all-ages scene, or in the pop rock genre in general, sounding homogenous and just plain boring, Valencia, a Pennsylvania product scheduled to play the Viaduct tonight, has a lot to prove.

To check out the full article in this week's Volcano, click here.

RON SWARNER: NEW BURGER JOINT ON 12TH STREET >>>

Dropped by the new Flip-N-Out Burger joint today during March Snowstorm 2009. This independently-owned restaurant in the former 12th Street Diner spot across from Mandolin Café had a snow-free parking lot providing little chance of me flip-n-out on my back.

I like Flip-N-Out because it has no drive-thru. No neon. No chrome. No affectation whatsoever. This is a burger joint that doesn't pretend to be anything else (although the color scheme matches The Red Hot and their sign reminds me of In-N-Out burgers).

The kitchen makes thick, hand-formed patties (with plastic gloves) â€" free of “preservatives and fillers” â€" grinds them on site, then cooks them on the grill until they're well done but juicy. The burger comes loaded with mustard, mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions unless you ask for the other free options: hot sauce, steak sauce, jalapeno peppers, pickles, grilled mushrooms, and more. My cheeseburger was a stratum of flavor and texture, thereby elevating the importance of the interplay of toppings and folding everything â€" toasted bun, burger, American cheese, mustard and ketchup, grilled onion, sweet tomato, pickles, lettuce and grilled mushrooms â€" into a single, over-arching burger gestalt.

The two tiny napkins thrown in my brown bag was a joke. You need six white squares.

Flip-N-Out also does decent, thin-cut, crispy fries that don’t need extra salt, although mine could have been warmer.

The menu also includes double burgers and cheeseburgers, kosher hot dogs, bacon hot dogs, cheese dogs, veggie dogs, Coke products and shakes.

It should also be noted that this isn’t a fast-food joint. They don’t have an army behind the counter. Everything is prepared after you order then you carry your grub to the indoor and outdoor seating, which includes a room with two roll-up garage doors, obviously not up today.

The burger options are priced $3.39 to $5.89. The hot dog options sit at $2.49 to $4.09. Free peanuts are available in the dining room.

[Flip-N-Out Burger, 4008 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.267.7002]

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

Snow.

Taxi driver killed in Tacoma.

The News Tribune’s parent company will shed 15 percent of its work force.

It's only an hour!

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: CLUB HOPPING IN TACOMA >>>

Here are a few photos I snapped Saturday night in Tacoma.

Bump Kitchen CD release party at Jazzbones

Jeanlizabeth at Jazzbones

Red Jacket Mine at The New Frontier Lounge

Friday Mile at The New Frontier Lounge

Kry at The Swiss

More photos on the Weekly Volcano's Photo Hot Spot