Kids aren't the only ones with summer break on the brain. The Clover Park School District has announced administrative changes that will go into effect July 1, 2014, including changes at Joint Base Lewis-McChord:  

• Meghan Eakin, current principal of Beachwood Elementary School, will be the principal of the new Meriwether Elementary School being built on Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM)-Lewis North in the Meriwether Landing housing area.
• Paula Gayson, current principal of Clarkmoor Elementary School, will move to Beachwood Elementary School, which will be temporarily housed at the former Greenwood Elementary School on JBLM-Lewis Main for the 2014-15 school year.
• Southgate Elementary principal Charlotte Clouse will be the principal of the new Rainier Elementary School being built on JBLM-Lewis Main.
• Oakwood Elementary School principal John Mitchell will be the principal at Southgate Elementary School.
• Michael Vincent, assistant principal at Woodbrook Middle School, will be the supervisor of technology and instruction in the teaching and learning department for the 2014-15 school year.
• Tillicum Elementary Principal Taj Jensen will be the new principal at Tyee Park Elementary for the 2014-15 school year and will replace current principal Gail Gillis, who is leaving the district.
• Current assistant principal at Evergreen Elementary, Leila Davis, will be the new principal of Oakwood Elementary for the 2014-15 school year.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.8.2014 >>>

The Army's assistant secretary for Installations, Energy and Environment told senators that the Army needs another round of base realignment and closure in 2017.

Nearly 80 U.S. sailors are seeking $1 billion from the Tokyo utility that operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

The crisis between Ukraine and Russia appeared to escalate further today as Russia warned Kiev any use of force could lead to a civil war.

The U.S. is sending a guided missile destroyer to the Black Sea in order to reassure European allies in the region following Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Secretary of State John Kerry has been clashing with senior military leaders over U.S. strategy in Syria.

Congress and Pentagon are engaged in a new fight: Where do Apache helicopters belong?

The top U.S. Army commander in South Korea said the Republic of Korea-U.S. Alliance serves as an "insurance policy" for the global economy by maintaining stability in Northeast Asia.?

China calls on U.S. to restrain ally Japan as tension simmers.

The Fort Hood soldier suspected of killing three people and wounding 16 others last week began his eight-minute rampage on the sprawling Texas Army post after an argument related to taking leave.

The Air Force's secret space plane has been up in orbit for nearly 500 days - a space endurance record. But nearly a year and a half into the mission, the Pentagon still won't say what the X-37B is doing up there, or when it might come back.  

Navy's magnetic super gun to make Mach 7 shots at sea in 2016.

The U.S. Navy believes it has finally worked out the solution to a problem that has intrigued scientists for decades: how to take seawater and use it as fuel.

Boeing is touting the effectiveness of its fourth-generation EA-18G electronic attack plane over Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 stealth fighter as the lobbying battle over attack aircraft heats up.

The Hal 9000 of grills tells you when to flip the meat.

This video reveals the origin scenes of the Internet's most famous memes.

Watch: Chrissie Hynde's new music video.

Yay!: Peter Mayhew will return as Chewbacca in the Star Wars movie.

Finally: A great oral history of Deadwood.

Finally: Scratch-n-Sniff jeans.

Nice!

TUESDAY, APRIL 8 2014 >>>

1. While pipes and whistles could also describe half the Volcano's staff's college years, more accurately (and relevant to this attempt at blurb-sized information spreading) it's the description given to the Battlefield Band, scheduled for 8 p.m. in Traditions Café and World Folk Art.The Battlefield Band has led and been at the forefront of a great revival in Scottish music. Enjoy the unmistakable fusion of old songs and music with ancient and modern instruments. In the last couple of years the band has added a very dynamic young fiddler and piper Ewen Henderson who performed with the band at their last Traditions show. He joins talented musicians Sean O'Donnell, Alasdair White and Mike Katz. If you know anything about Scottish music, you have all ready bought your tickets.

2. Claude Lanzmann built Shoah, his nine-hour, 1985 Holocaust documentary, from more than 350 hours of footage - interviews, staged scenes, silent European landscapes as seen from a passing train, their secrets reborn in tender shades of green. At the age of 85, Lanzmann revisited footage from his groundbreaking Holocaust documentary and assembled a story that haunted him for years; one that very few people know. Lanzmann's film The Last of the Unjust center on Benjamin Murmelstein, the last president of the Theresienstadt Jewish Council, who was forced to have daily negotiations with Nazi official Adolf Eichmann. See The Last of the Unjust at 1:15 and 6:30 p.m. in The Grand Cinema.

3. Commencement Bay Haiku will meet at 6 p.m. in King's Books to read haiku or one page of haibun (prose with haiku), as well as discuss various aspects of haiku, haibun, or haiga (a painting, sketch or photo with haiku). It's not easy to convert the innards of your soul into scrawled words on paper and then wax rhapsodic as judging eyes stare at you. You may use this haiku about King's Books cats: Wanna go outside. Oh, no! Help! I got outside! Let me back inside!

4. What little information there is to be found about Seattle quartet, Be Calm Honcho, indicates an almost off-putting confidence for such a young band. Led by vocalist Shannon Harney's insinuating lilt, Be Calm Honcho create indie rock that drifts dreamily along, punctuated by stabs of surfy guitars and winsome oohs and aahs. Catch the band with Oh Rose!, New Slang and Judson Claiborne at 9 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

5. The 1230 Room probably has you at "$4 lemon drops," but you also may be interested in the downtown Olympia club's Tuesday deep, tech and progressive house night "Deep Tuesdays." It launches at 9 p.m. with drink specials, no cover and resident DJs Alex Bosi and Evan Mould.

LINK: Tuesday, April 8 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

It's a simple equation. Take ground beef and add heat. Then, it becomes tricky. Choices need to be made. Griddle or grill? Plain salt or complex seasoning blend? Poppy seed or potato bun? In those choices lie the path to burger greatness.

Over the past three weeks we've pitted 64 of the South Sound's best against one another in the mother of all reader-voted burger brackets. You've seen the carnage: No. 1 seeds fell, powerhouses butted heads and surprise patties made a run at the prize. 

Yesterday, our Tournament of Burgers came to a close. The championship match pitted the Westside Tavern in Olympia against Maxwell's Restaurant & Lounge in Tacoma, and you, the voters, made your decision. It was the closet margin of victory in Weekly Volcano food tournament history. For the first time, the championship party meant more than an excuse to drink on a Monday.

The day began with Maxwell's gobbling up online votes for an early lead. The Westside Tavern kept the game within a lettuce leaf's length, holding back its steak burger. At 3 p.m., Maxwell's surged forward after server Kent jumped up on the bar and broke out in what he calls the Burger Slide. With an hour left in the online voting portion, the Westside Tavern unleashed the kraken, their steak burger. When the 5 o'clock bell chimed, and the online voting closed, the Westside had a 17-vote lead.

At 6 p.m., the Tournament of Burgers moved into the live vote portion of the championship game, initiating a ballot vote and a bunch of beers at Meconi's Tacoma Pub. The Westside Tavern contingent arrived a half-hour before Team Maxwell's made its way down Saint Helens Avenue. The televised NCAA Men's Championship hoop game would every so often steal a burger conversation.

As promised, we tallied the on-location votes during halftime of the hoop game, a vote Maxwell's managed to own. After the raffle prizes found homes, and I stumbled through an explanation over Meconi's PA system, both vote sessions were combined and the Westside Tavern of Olympia was crowned the Tournament of Burgers champion by a four vote margin.

Then, a burger love fest broke out. Both restaurants congratulated each other, tossing out compliments (and tossing back shots!) as well as posing for pictures. An hour after Westside's win, both teams still held court at Meconi's, signing autographs and telling stories of early bracket victories.

Both South Sound burger joints will receive Tournament of Burgers trophies after engraving. Also, look for an upcoming feature on the Westside Tavern in the Weekly Volcano.

So it's official: Westside Tavern is the winner of Weekly Volcano's 2014 Tournament of Burgers. Eat it up, South Sound.

Thank you!

We would like to extend special THANKS! To Ricky J's Restaurant & Lounge for sponsoring the Tournament of Burgers. The popular Puyallup hangout really stepped up and made the tournament possible.

Also a big thanks to Meconi's Tacoma Pub and Eatery for hosting our Tournament of Burgers championship party last night. Good times.

But most of all, thanks to all the awesome folks who voted. You rock.

See you next spring for the Tournament of Mac N Cheese!

Doughnuts are serious.

Those soft, fluffy morsels of sweet, sticky and gooey goodness transforms the average person into the possessed, with the spittle flowing from the corners of their mouths and with a glint in their eyes that will stop at nothing to savor and devour.

Bring doughnuts to the office and watch your co-workers get their little grubby fingers all over that action in 10 seconds flat. Watch the poor soul who is late to the massacre and gets the dregs, which they eat with wild abandon anyway. Drop a fresh and delicious doughnut on the floor covered with a whole host of diseases and you will happily retrieve it, brush it off and happily consume it, regardless.

So imagine our delight when we learned that the historic and iconic House of Donuts in Lakewood was expanding its operations. We were on it faster than you can say "doughnut factory." This doughnut staple since 1959, with its drive-thru, kitschy coolness factor and the most glorious, made from scratch daily, orbs, circles and squares of doughy sweetness in the universe, is expanding into the former Movies To Go space next door. As the infamous DONUTS sign of yesteryear gleams in the spring sunshine, owner Tom Peterson and House of Donuts team aren't talking (yet); they are feverishly whipping up the new digs to absolute perfection over the coming weeks, just like their doughnuts.

And you know what that means? MORE, MORE and MORE.

House of Donuts, originally owned and operated by the Cheatham family for more than 50 years, started the doughnut greatness; I mean we are talking secret recipes, passed down secrets and know how. In past reports, the new owner wishes to honor the stuff of lore and love, with a modern touch. Serious business, this is, yes?

Stay tuned.

House of Donuts is at 9638 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW. Check out pics (hellah yeah!) on their website or Facebook page.

Terry's Office Tavern is a true tavern. The neighborhood hangout in Tacoma's Proctor District, by definition, serves only beer and wine. If a domestic beer, reasonable priced glass of vino or classic craft brew is your thing, Terry's has you covered. Suds and sips have served them well since they opened in 1936.

I visted on a weekend day and found a rail full of regulars watching the Mariners. Friendly conversation lingered in the air from both sides of the horseshoe bar.

Terry's menu consists of some appetizers alongside a hearty burger selection and chicken wings. Having established myself as an admirer of the hamburger and with us closing out the burger tournament last night it seemed only appropriate I opt for a burger. The Western Burger ($9.95) did not disappoint.

Upon a classic sesame seed bun was a charbroiled half-pound burger topped off with crispy beer battered onion rings, bacon, barbecue sauce and choice of cheese (pepperjack for me naturally). The burger smelled as smoky as it tasted - delicious.

It reminded me of burgers at a summer barbeque - nothing fancy or adventurous about this burger and there need not be. It's damn tasty. Don't fix it if it isn't broken!

Bonus: Terry's fries are hand cut, though you can choose tots, onion rings, soup or salad instead.

Service is what one hopes for from neighborhood digs: non-pretentious, efficient, casual and friendly.

Need a burger and brew with no fuss? Terry's Office Tavern is the place to go.

WESTERN BURGER, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. Sunday, Terry's Office Tavern, 3410 N. Proctor St., Tacoma 253.752.6262

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson's re-election kick-off party isn't the star-studded re-election shindig Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist held last week. Those who dig awesome bluegrass and Americana tunes will be just as happy as those who watched Molly Ringwald sing at Lindquist's party. Anderson has invited Barleywine Revue to perform at her party, which begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 10 at 1625 Historic Tacoma, 1625 South Tacoma Way.

It's about the job, though, and Anderson, who is a friend to musicians and the arts, among others, seeks to continue her service.

Let's read excerpts from her news release.

The Auditor's Office is responsible for overseeing elections for as well as business licensing, public document recording, vehicle licensing, animal control, marriage licensing, and passports.  More than 250,000 people visit the Auditor's Office every year.  Annual transactions exceed two million.

During her first term, Julie Anderson made it her top priority to de-politicize the office, focusing on professionalization and improved customer service.

"My goal has been to restore faith in the efficiency and integrity of local government," says Auditor Anderson. "I'm committed to putting people before politics."

Since her election in a 2009 special election, Julie Anderson has managed the transition to Vote-By-Mail elections, instituted the state's most-expansive ballot drop program, implemented same-sex marriage, and made more transactions available to citizens online.

Announcing her 2014 Kick-off, Ms. Anderson noted her policy of not accepting contributions from elected officials, candidates, employees, or the labor union that represents her employees.  "It's harder to run for re-election without taking these contributions. However, I don't want my re-election colored by any perception of favoritism. The Auditor's Office, more than any other, should be free from back-scratching. The outstanding employees who work in the Auditor's Office operate on merit, not favoritism."

For more information, visit www.JulieAnderson.org or contact the campaign 253-761-3602 or Julie@JulieAnderson.org.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.9.14 >>>

A Marine at Camp Lejeune shot and killed another Marine at the facility's main gate Tuesday afternoon.

U.S. won't share invasion intel with Ukraine.

Navy and Marines still unclear how Army will fit into Pacific Pivot.

Odierno: Army faces "tough" choices in uncertain fiscal times.

In the wake of last week's shooting on Fort Hood many soldiers and some lawmakers are calling on the military to reconsider allowing troops to carry concealed weapons on post.

Airmen at odds with Air Force brass over future of beloved A-10 plane.

Two key senators say U.S. Air Force plans to stop A-10 flights and training in October are against the law.

Lt. Gen. David Halverson took command of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command from Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter.

Russia's takeover of Crimea could prompt a review the U.S. military presence in Europe, which has declined steadily since the end of the Cold War.

The Pentagon will shrink the number of its nuclear weapon-carrying bomber aircraft and reduce the number of submarine ballistic missile launch tubes as it modifies its force posture to meet the limits of the New START treaty with Russia.

The head of the U.S. National Guard Bureau has given his blessing to the U.S. Army's plan to move all of the Guard's Apache attack helicopters into the active force while receiving several hundred Black Hawk and Lakota multi-use helicopters in return.

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese military chiefs traded warnings and rebukes Tuesday as they clashed over Beijing's territorial disputes with its neighbors, North Korea's missile program and cyber espionage.

As F-35 program officials prepared to testify to the Senate Armed Services Committee, they announced they were keeping back some $25.7 million, or 5 percent, of payments for the F135 engine used in the Joint Strike Fighter.

Engineers with the U.S. Navy have finished drawing up blueprints for a future class of nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines.

Boeing built Marines an Osprey Jeep with NASCAR connection.

A limited number of Airmen who received notice that their previously approved applications for early retirement had been declined will be given the option to retire if they still desire to do so.

Heartbleed: Why the Internet's gaping security hole is so scary.

The 10 best houses of the year.

Archie Comics is killing off its main character.

HBO renewed Game of Thrones for two more seasons.

The New Yorker has a piece about the genius of Dave Letterman.

David Hasselhoff is selling his Knight Rider replica.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 >>>

1. The exhibition at Museum of Glass by Jen Elek and Jeremy Bert is a colorful and interactive show of glass sculptures combined with about 50 large, refurbished neon letters that visitors can rearrange to their hearts' content. "Look! See?" fills two of the larger galleries in the museum. It's like an interactive children's museum lifted from its site and set down the in the galleries. The day I was there, a large group of children of all age, plus a few adults, were moving the oversized letters around to write their names or make poems or other messages on the floors and the walls. Read Alec Clayton's full review of the show in the Music & Culture section, then take a gander from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2. Pint Defiance celebrates Centralia's Dick's Brewing Company with a brewer's night 5-7 p.m. Dick's hit the beer scene in 1992, creating ubiquitous ales such as Double Danger and Dick's Cream Stout, among others. The Dick's crew will be in house with their IPA, Brown Ale, Pale Ale, Imperial Stout and Raspberry Triple Belgian Ale.

3. If you could ever wrap the matronly goodness of a mother's kiss, her love a tune of strength, her stories a place for the imagination to leap through the portal of everyday living and into the soundscape of music, riding the waves of Appalachian acoustics and vibrating on the end of a crescendo, then it would be in the soulful arrangements of Joanne Rand at 8 p.m. in the Urban Onion Lounge. Gabriel Wolfchild will open.

4. The Rock n Roll Lodge in Tacoma has a new jam night every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.

5. RowHouse and Shrews will rock Magoo's Annex at 9:30 p.m.

LINK: Wednesday, April 9 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Theater Artists Olympia, affectionately known as TAO, is taking over The Midnight Sun Performance Space in downtown Olympia. After 11 years of performances on stages from Tacoma to Centralia, the group will have a place to call home.

"We've been a gypsy group this whole time," says Pug Bujeaud, founding member and artistic director for TAO, "so it's both terrifying and exciting. I don't think people realize how much comes with putting on a show. ... But we have a lot of people involved that are really, really excited."

The Midnight Sun has served as a performance space since 1993 and has housed everything from punk rock shows to senior choirs, vaudeville performances to one-woman shows. For the past 10 years, manager and performer Elizabeth Lord has been a strong source of success for The Midnight Sun.

She sums up the passing of the torch by saying, "TAO will be awesome."

Many elements of The Midnight Sun will stay the same, although a new loft and elbow grease have already prettied up the place. But many of the aforementioned shows will continue and renting the Midnight Sun is still an option.

"We're really dedicated to keeping things going at The Midnight Sun," says Bujeaud, "... especially with Capital Playhouse closing, it really needs to be nurtured."

As with any venture, part of the nurturing process includes money. The group has started a fundraiser page, in hopes to get 100 people to donate $10 a month to help take care of rental costs and production fees.

Despite monetary risks and an identity change, Bujeaud has faith this is the right step for TAO.

"We've been a strong unit for 11 years," she says. "We're pretty unified and pretty strong. And we have great taste - as eclectic as it may be."

Chamber Music, an absurdist black comedy set in the year 1939, was the group's first performance as TAO 11 years ago, and will also be the first to grace the stage at their new home. The show runs April 25 to May 10.

CHAMBER MUSIC, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, also 8 p.m. April 27, 2:30 p.m., May 4, April 25-May 10, The Midnight Sun, 113 Columbia St., NW, Olympia, $12, 360.259.2743