MICHAEL SWAN: LOCAL BLOG ROUNDUP >>>

OK, the logjam of good will, overspending, and plastic Nativity action figures slowed the local blogosphere down to a trickle. Here are a few notable posts from the past week.

>>>Tacoma preservation advocate Morgan Alexander looked back at 2009 in Tacoma on his blog, Morgan's Brain, which he posted Dec. 28. It wasn’t a banner year for Tacoma according to Alexander’s scorecard — the final tally was -230. Frank Russell, Luzon Building, Wintergrass moving and other bad news steered the scorecard to negative territory.

“And don't get me going about the Old Town Dock!” Alexander wrote. “What other city would keep a treasured icon hostage behind a fence?! I find the extended closure of the dock offensive on so many levels but mostly because it screams ‘TACOMA: CLOSED’ Is that how we want to feel!? Is that how we want the rest of the world to view us!?”

The post's comment section is still open if you would like to add your two cents.

>>>The TNT Diner reported New Year’s Eve that Il Fiasco has closed this week. The Trib received word via Tacoma auctioneer Randy Ehli, whose firm will auction off the restaurant’s fixtures next week online. I will miss candlelight Monday nights gazing through its large windows out onto Sixth Avenue during the $10 pasta feed. I was so close to adding a female companion to the romantic scene.

>>>The Trib’s Go Arts blog posted a short preview of upcoming arts events in Tacoma, which included a rumor that the Northwest Sinfonietta and the Tacoma Symphony might collaborate again.