STEPH DEROSA: SONOFABITCH >>>

The Tacoma Parking People are out today, er, people.  This morning I parked in front of The Mix so I could enjoy some leisurely Internet time at PSP and I got nabbed for not turning my wheels away from the curb.

In my defense, I usually turn my wheels, stay within the lines, pull close to the curb, and keep distance from other cars.  I’m known for my parallel parking superpowers, often pulling into a tight spot within three points. 

But this time, the one time I didn’t pay attention, I was busted. There goes 30 crisp bills down the drain. 

You are warned.

PAUL SCHRAG: PANHANDLING BANS MISS THE MARK >>>

French poet, journalist, and novelist Anatole France once said, “It is only the poor who are forbidden to beg.”

Those words might be worth considering in Puyallup, where city officials have voted to take a stand against aggressive panhandling. This week, council members passed into law a measure that makes it more difficult for poor people to ask people of more significant means for money. The law mirrors those passed in other regions, which jacks up fines for people who ask for help at particular locations, including cash machines, car washes, vehicles stopped at traffic lights and others. The ban comes in response to increasing citizen complaints about panhandlers, who seem to be migrating to Puyallup in increasing numbers.

Read my full report on the Weekly Volcano Web site.

LINK: Pierce County quality of life meter

BOBBLE TIKI: OH DEAR GOD PLEASE NOT AGAIN >>>

Oh dear God please don't let it be all depressing and stupid and please don't let it all embarrass us on a state level all over again even more than it already has and even more than it already is and even more than we've endured lo this past woeful year. Hello? Please? Is it already too late?

Why yes, yes it is.

And lo and behold, apparently another dumb ass group of vandals have destroyed more property in Tacoma.

Metro Parks reports:

This news is, well, simply staggering. Mind-blowing. Gut-wrenching. Colon-knotting. Eyeball-gouging. And so on.

We're posting pictures of police training exercises at Stadium HS.

MICHAEL SWAN: I GUESS YOU CAN UPCHUCK THERE, TOO >>>

I’m sure you have heard by now about a Chuck E. Cheese in Attleboro, R.I, Maine, Mass., getting nabbed in an alcohol sting.

Wait, you can buy booze at a Chuck E. Cheese?

Here’s the mantra at their Web site:

I don’t have kids. Maybe I’m missing out.

SUZY STUMP: BIG BOWL OF BLEAK >>>

Sometimes Go! likes to wallow in our own misery. We refer to it as going out and getting a big bowl of bleak. We stick our face right in the bowl and lap it up ravenously. It makes us feel really bad, and then, sometimes, it makes us feel really good because once we're done, we know it's over, and things can only get better, right? Here's today's Bowl o' Bleak thanks to The News Tribune:

Tacoma ranks the highest in crime of any city in the Pacific Northwest, according to new statistics from CQ Press.

Tacoma ranks No. 39 for cities with the highest crime rating, with the city's score at 143.92. If you want to look at it the opposite way, Tacoma is the No. 347 safest city in the nation.

The closest Northwest city is Everett, which comes in at No. 55.

LINK: The rest of the Trib's post â€" if you need a second helping

MATT DRISCOLL: THE SAME THING, MINUS THE DOG JOKE >>>

Much like the questionnaire I sent out to County Exec candidates while putting together this week's Super Spooky Endorsement Issue, I sent out a similar questionnaire to folks running for the Pierce Council. Some people got back to me, some didn't. This was to be expected.

I've now posted the responses of Tim Farrell, Dick Muri and Vincent D. Stewart on our website. You can check it out by clicking here. 

MATT DRISCOLL: EXCEPT FOR PILOT J. DOG >>>

Long before I made the cop-out decision to endorse my Chesapeake Bay Retriever in this year's Pierce County Executive race, but just about the time most of Tacoma's respectable blogs with political content were already doing the same thing, I distributed identical questionnaires to all of the candidates vying for the office. I figured it was a good way to compare how the very different candidates see the issues, and also a good way of testing their typing skills. Few people realize how important typing skills are when you're wearing the County Exec pants. (Ladenburg reportedly types 137 words per minute.)

I've compiled the questionnaires filled out by three of the four candidates running for County Exec (guess who didn't respond?), and posted them for all to see on our website. Check it out here.

Take it for what it's worth, and due to my limited techno-prowess, be prepared to scroll.

RON SWARNER: BAD POSSE ON FAWCETT >>>

Last night between 10 and 11 p.m. a convertible full of kids sped down Fawcett Avenue in downtown Tacoma body bombing car windshields. I caught them returning to one of their bombings. They were pointing and laughing. I couldn't grab the license plate number in time.

JOHN HERBERT: REDUCE CRIME, MAKE PRETTY >>>

It's officially creepy â€" Make Tacoma Safe and Clean is the name given to the City of Tacoma's crime reduction efforts, complete with a huge list of tactics.

Let's get to work.