Last night as the Weekly Volcano went to press, Proposition 1 - the measure that would raises sales tax within Pierce Transit's boundaries by three-tenths of 1 percent - was still too close to call. If passed, the Pierce Transit board says it will increase service hours from 419,000 to 515,000 by 2017 and restore special event service, such as Puyallup Fair routes, which were cut last year when voters said no to increased funding.

Pierce Transit riders are clutching the bus handrails. A no vote most likely means no night and no weekend service, and a slashing to some daily routes. To those with disabilities, reduced bus service means a loss of jobs.

"As an organization we do not have the resources or infrastructure to provide transportation. There is no viable alternative for people," says Ken Gibson, executive director of TACID, the agency that promotes the independence of individuals with disabilities. "The Pierce County Coordinated Transportation Coalition is working on these issues, but it is extremely complex and expensive - this is a core reason why it isn't provided for privately. It is expensive and seen as a public good rather than a profitable enterprise."

This morning, Seattle Weekly staff writer Matt Driscoll, a public transit rider, posted an update on SW's Daily Weekly blog.

With the fate of Pierce County's bus service literally hanging in the balance, Gig Harbor City Council and Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners member Derek Young said somberly Tuesday night that he remained hopeful later voting returns would save Pierce Transit's Prop 1 from the demise it seemed headed for. Initial returns showed the three-tenths of one percent sales tax hike in Pierce Transit's boundary area failing, albeit it by a slim margin.

"There's still a path to victory," Young said Wednesday morning. "The gap narrowed a bit last night, but we need some big movement from tonight's results."

Wednesday evening brought a movement. And then a slight retreat.

Results released at 4:40 p.m. provided the glimmer of hope transit proponents had been waiting for. Though Prop 1 still trailed, the deficit was down to 735 votes. Young told me Pierce Transit officials estimated 110,000 Pierce Transit district ballots were yet to be counted at that point.

If things continued to trend in Prop 1's direction, this meant enough ballots remained for the proposition to make up the difference and take the lead.

To read Driscoll's full post on Prop 1, click here.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO GRAB A SEAT: "I believe that concerned citizens need to attend the Pierce Transit Board meetings and have their voice heard by the officials making the decisions," says Gibson.  "The next PT Board meeting is Nov 19 at 4 p.m. at the Pierce Transit Headquarters in Lakewood."  

HELP US FIND THE SEXIEST PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Once again, the Weekly Volcano is unleashing The Sexy Issue, giving one and all the chance to gaze at the sexiest people in the South Sound - as voted on by all of you, our dear readers. The great thing about the Volcano's annual Sexy Issue, if we do say so ourselves, is how it manages to prove, year after year, that you don't have to be on a Kia Super Bowl ad to be smoking hot. Our annual Sexy Issue is the Weekly Volcano's way of showcasing the South Sound's sexiest denizens - and by denizens we don't mean celebrities; we're talking about regular dudes and dudettes who just happen to look sexy as hell when taking us on test drives, trimming our meat or brewing our beer. These folks can be just as hot - and a hell of a lot more accessible, theoretically - as anyone you typically see on TV and in magazines. 

This year, we are asking you to nominate the person who makes you all hot and bothered in the following categories: Actor/Actress, Artist, Brewer, Karaoke Host, Lead singer, Lawyer, Butcher, Car Salesperson, Blogger and Personal Trainer.

On Thursday, June 7, the Weekly Volcano will publish The Sexy Issue, immortalizing the sexy, chosen few forever.

Help us find them.

Voting ends May 11 at 5 p.m. - so help the Weekly Volcano find the South Sound's hottest citizens. Vote today!

Vote for the South Sound's sexiest people

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment of the day comes from Zhsa who doesn't not beleive, not for one second, the sleepy young Lakewood man can't remember how a bullet got lodged in his arm.

Zhsa writes,

Maybe I've watched too much television, but I think he's a big, fat liar. He was involved with a crime where he cannot identify his assailants because perhaps he was either a) afraid of revenge or more likely, b) committed a gun crime himself. Nobody forgets a gunshot wound or at least some of the things leading up to it. Although, the original blog entry was unclear as to whether any of his belongings were stolen. If they were not, I suspect that the victim knows a lot more than he is saying.

IT HAPPENED SATURDAY IN LAKEWOOD >>>

As if you all didn't already know, I'm incapable of doing two things at once.  That is, with the exception of drinking a cold tallboy while inconspicuously checking out a guy's ass, but that's about all I'm good at doing simultaneously (wink, wink).

A prime example might be this past weekend at the Dockyard Derby Dames Season 6 opening bout.  It was my debut as an announcer for the DyDD bouts and Holy Toledo, Batman - I was excited!

So excited, in fact, that I hardly paid attention to the bouts.

I mean, at first I tried to jot down the dynamics of the first two jams between The Trampires and Marauding Mollys, but after the initial sounds of hearing my own voice on the loud speaker I was hooked.

Co-announcers Phil Dirt and James T. Jerk assigned me to be a part of the crowd and it was my duty to interact and infiltrate whatever information I could get from spectators.  Every other jam, which is approximately every 5 minutes, the dynamic duo would throw my name out there and ask what I was up to.

Naturally, I had a load of fun interacting with the standing room only crowd that packed the Pierce College Health Ed Center this past Saturday night.

The Weekly Volcano Hot Spot located inside the beer garden had injured Femme Fianna, men leaving for Afghanistan, and one of my favorite Femme Fianna OG's, Louda Than Bombs.

Throughout the night I rubbed elbows with the boyfriend of Weekly Volcano's sexiest athlete (Hit O' Honey) and his friend in a purple spandex full-body suit.  I even made him knock on his penis area to prove he was wearing a cup. 

You see, I was way too busy taking care of very important cup checks and simply could not administer any sort of focus on the Dockyard Derby Dame bout before me.

For this, my dear roller derby fans, I apologize.

I will, however, recap for you the fact that the sound system went out before the first bout began resulting in the National Anthem being sang a cappella (and without speakers) by the talented Harm A. Knee of Hellbound Homewreckers.

Twiggie Smalls surprised the crowd with an impromptu wedding ceremony involving her fiancé, The Henchman. They were both on skates. (Go figure.)

Marauding Mollys definitely got the award for largest fan attendance with Hellbound Homewreckers coming in a close second.

Femme Fianna skated their hearts out with a completely new team. That's right: Fresh Meat.

In the end, one thing I can tell you is that I had a blast getting to know everyone in the crowd and plugging my favorite alternative newsweekly, Weekly Volcano.

If only I could do both things at once.  Le sigh.

Anyway, here are the final scores:

Bout 1:

The Trampires - 147

Marauding Mollys - 222

Bout 2:

Femme Fianna - 76

Hellbound Homewreckers - 229

LINK: More photos from Dockyard Derby Dames Season 6 opener

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012 >>>

1. Squeaking. Squawking. Rocking. And rolling. The Squeak and Squawk Music Festival kicks off today in Tacoma full of indie posturing, a dollop of wacky costumes, a healthy dose of experimenting and a heaping helping of tight pants and ironic haircuts. You'll find the back story and full schedule here. One band you won't want to miss is The Back Pockets from Atlanta, Ga. Some 10 or a dozen members fill out the band, including some people seemingly specifically recruited to wear masks and make whooping sounds. The band's music can be poorly encapsulated as art-folk-punk, but the performance adds up to so much more than that. The Wimps and the Cutwinkles join the Back Pockets at 9 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge.

2. Democrat Tim Farrell, who represents Tacoma on the Pierce County Council, seeks to change the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer office by commanding it. On his "Elect Tim Farrell for Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer" website, Farrell list his most important priority if elected to the position, is to "... run a professional office where staff, constituents, and fellow public servants are treated with respect." Hear his plan at 5 p.m. at Amocat Café in downtown Tacoma.

3. As you no doubt heard, and stated several times on the Weekly Volcano's website, the HIDE/SEEK exhibition currently residing at the Tacoma Art Museum is the first major exhibition to explore homosexuality in American art, featuring more than one hundred works spanning from the late 19th century to the 1980s. The exhibit seeks not to offend but rather to explore - and what exploration it offers is surprisingly moving. Wait for it. ... The Tacoma Runners explore the streets and bars of Tacoma every Thursday, and their running attire is often surprisingly moving. Yea, that doesn't make sense. Tacoma Runners will meet at the Tacoma Art Museum at 5 p.m. for a 3-mile jaunt around downtown Tacoma. Afterward, the group will check out HIDE/SEEK and have some drinks. There.

4. For baseball fans looking for that small town community feeling that minor league baseball exudes, the Tacoma Rainiers are ready to provide another season of wholesome family entertainment. The Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners' AAA affiliate, kick off their 2012 campaign with the club's home opener at 7:05 p.m. against the Salt Lake Bees. In celebration of the season opener, beers will be $2.

5. The McKassons are way more talented than your family. Brother and sister Ryan and Cali McKasson put their Celtic/Scottish magic on full display every time their feet touch the stage, especially when Ryan's wife Brooke McKasson and Cali's husband Matt Jerrell join the band. Tonight at 8 p.m. Ryan escapes the family for a show at the Lakewood Playhouse. Dig fiddle? Get there.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: South Sound happy hours

TUESDAY, APRIL 3: WE HAVE A WINNER >>>

After three weeks of voting the Weekly Volcano readers have picked the most popular breakfast in the South Sound.

The Tournament of Breakfast Championship match pitted the Moon Rise Cafe in Lakewood against the new kid on the block, Dirty Oscar's Annex in Tacoma.

Yesterday's championship battle saw the most online voting before dinnertime (5 p.m.) of the tournament, topping out at just over 7,000 votes. The Moon Rise Cafe had a commanding lead by the time the voting switched to the live ballot voting at 6 p.m. during the Tournament of Breakfast Party inside Meconi's Tacoma Pub and Eatery in downtown Tacoma. At the party, folks filled out breakfast voting/raffle ballots when they weren't tossing back $5 martinis and screaming at the NCAA Men's Championship hoop game on the tube.

As promised, we tallied the on-location votes during halftime of the hoop game, which Dirty Oscar's owned. The Sixth Avenue bar that serves awesome food won the on-site voting by six votes.

A large representation from the Moon Rise Cafe and Dirty Oscar's Annex were in the house. The Moon Rise arrived early with their black and purple Moon Rise T-shirts. Supporting the Lakewood Cafe and wearing the same T-shirts were The Villa Caffe and Imbibery owners Robyn and Jason.

"Jason and I invented the Villa Caffe over breakfast at the Moon Rise. We have a soft place for it in our hearts," said Robyn.

The Dirty Oscar's Annex also arrived in black T-shirts, but that's just how they roll. 

Team Moon Rise Cafe / Photo credit: Winter Teems

Team Dirty Oscar's Annex / Photo credit: Winter Temms

Dirty Oscar's Annex owner Jake Barth and Moon Rise Cafe owner Christine Curren / Photo credit: Winter Teems

It was a breakfast love fest. The two competing restaurants hugged it out, complementing each other on their talents. Old Milwaukee Cafe owners Pat and Chad attended the party to give props to both resturants. The Moon Rise had nothing but kind words for number two seed Old Milwaukee. The Moon Rise beat the popular Sixth Avenue restaurants in second round action.

At halftime of the basketball game, Pappi Swarner jumped behind the mic, grabbed the house PA, and gave away six or so raffle prizes, most to the lucky employees of Dirty Oscar's Annex.

The Weekly Volcano staff quickly downed their drinks and tallied the ballots. After combining the ballots with its 77 percent vote lead accumulated online, the winner of the 2012 Tournament of Breakfast was announced:

Moon Rise Cafe.

Both South Sound breakfast joints will be receiving Tournament of Breakfast trophies after completion of the engraving. Also, look for an upcoming feature on the Moon Rise Cafe in the Weekly Volcano.

So it's official: The Moon Rise Cafe is the winner of Weekly Volcano's 2012 Tournament of Breakfast. Eat it up, South Sound.

EDITOR'S NOTE: More photos from last night's Tournament of Breakfast party will be posted soon.

Thank you!

We would like to extend special THANKS! to Shakabrah Java for sponsoring the Tournament of Breakfast. The popular Sixth Avenue breakfast joint made it to the Poached Eight before falling to Dirty Oscar's Annex. It's a damn tasty breakfast.

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

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

LINK: More Tournament of Breakfast 2012 Party photos

MONDAY, APRIL 2: THIS IS FOR ALL THE SAUSAGES >>>

The titanic breakfast throwdown finale in on! Voting for the 2012 Weekly Volcano Tournament of Breakfast Readers' Poll Championship game is live right now.

After three weeks of voting, you have picked the most popular breakfast joints in the South Sound area. What began as 64 omelet-slinging joints has been narrowed down to two: Moon Rise Cafe and Dirty Oscar's Annex.

Who do you think has the best breakfast?

>>> The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

Today's Championship Competition

Welcome to the big dance. Online voting will end at 5 p.m. Voting will resume at 6 p.m. live at the Tournament of Breakfast Party at Meconi's Tacoma Pub and Grill in downtown Tacoma.

FRIDAY, MARCH 30: FINAL FOUR BREAKFAST BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

The South Sound loves breakfast - at least according to the thousands that have voted in our Tournament of Breakfast. Yesterday's breakfast action set a record for highest vote count for a single day. And number one seeds fell. They fell hard. Every winner yesterday won by capturing 60 to 75 percent of the votes.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Homestead Restaurant (No. 12 seed) vs. Moon Rise Cafe (No. 7 seed)

Alfred's Cafe (No 1 seed) vs. Boxcar Grill (No. 2 seed) 

Shakabrah Java (No. 1 seed) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (No. 2 seed)

Norma's Burgers (No. 1 seed) vs. Ciciada Restaurant (No. 10 seed)

What four breakfast-slinging joints will move onto the Final Four?

The drum roll please ...

Thanks to your votes, we've narrowed down the Tournament of Breakfast Readers' Poll to four restaurants:

• The Moon Rise Cafe
• Cicada Restaurant
• Alfred's Cafe
• Dirty Oscars Annex.

Let's remember that every breakast that made it into the tourney is worth a fork and knife. Still, someone's gotta win. We started with 64 of the South Sound's best morning meals. Now, these four big breakfasts face off for the ultimate glory - egg to egg battles to determine the best breakfast in the South Sound. Which restaurant has the moxie to nail down the championship? Whose omelette will win it all?

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Final Four breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 29: FOUR POACHED EIGHT BREAKFAST BATTLES ON THE DOCKET >>>

The Poached Eight is fully fleshed out: Homestead Restaurant, Moon Rise Cafe, Norma's Burgers, Cicada Restaurant, Alfred's Cafe, Boxcar Grill, Shakabrah Java and Dirty Oscar's Annex. Eight establishments that - according to our readers' poll - serve the best breakfast in the South Sound.

It's all come down to eight. All the signs in the restaurants, the mass emailings to customers and friends, the breakfast phone trees have paid off for these eight egg slingers. It's now crunch (or Cap'n Crunch) time for the breakfast royalty.

On to today's Tournament of Breakfast action and yesterday's results.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Alfred's Cafe (Tacoma) vs. Poodle Dog (Fife)

Fife City Bar and Grill (Tacoma) vs. Boxcar Grill (Tacoma) 

Shakabrah Java (Tacoma) vs. Masa (Tacoma)

The Hub (Tacoma) vs. Dirty Oscar's Annex (Tacoma)

Alfred's Cafe, the heavy favorite to win the East Region after perceived contenders such as Johnny's Dock and Buttered Biscuit were dismissed in earlier rounds, cruised to an easy win over the aging Poodle Dog with 70 percent of the votes. Alfred's decorated big dishes, blueberry pancakes and corned beef hash, enjoyed solid days, with the Monte Cristo turning it on late in the game.

Despite an early lead from the heralded Fife City Bar and Grill, Boxcar Grill and its large, devoted Sounder Train-riding fans proved too powerful in yesterday's action, catapulting into the Poached Eight with a resounding victory. Boxcar Grill is known for sausage gravy, with 67 percent of the gravy pure sausage. Strangely, that's exactly the percentage of the vote Boxcar received yesterday. Weird. Today Boxcar will face neighboring Alfred's Cafe.

The way Shakabrah Java has managed to bring it during this year's Tournament of Breakfast has been nothing short of amazing. Yesterday, many already had established competitor Masa penciled in as a winner. Those people, however, were foolish - as Shakabrah Java once again proved its breakfast prowess. The votes don't lie, and when the final buzzer sounded Shakabrah Java had racked up roughly 58 percent of the vote. It was the closest game of the day.

We feel bad for the Stadium District on this one ... especially those denizens who love to mix an amazing chicken fried steak with their Bloody Marys and extreme sports TV watching. But something tells us they'll survive, and they'll do so in tasty style with The Hub breakfast they (and much of the area, it seems) have come to love. Unfortunately for The Hub, the task yesterday of taking down Dirty Oscar's Annex was simply too much - and the votes told the story. When all was said and done, D.O.A. moved on with nearly 67 percent of the votes in the day's most active contest.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Alfred's Cafe
  
• Boxcar Grill
  
• Shakabrah Java
  
• Dirty Oscar's Annex
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Poached Eight breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.

>>> VOTING CLOSED FOR MARCH 28 <<<

You know how yesterday we said you, much-appreciated readers, had responded in droves to our Tournament of Breakfast so far this year.

Well, we lied. We hadn't seen anything yet.

Yesterday was droves, people, perhaps more. Yesterday was just plain freakin' nuts. When it comes to breakfast, it's obvious you really care.

Maybe too much ...

On to today's Tournament of Breakfast action and yesterday's results.

Yesterday's Tournament of Breakfast Results

Here were the match-ups:

Marcia's Silver Soon Cafe (Tacoma) vs. The Homestead Restaurant (Tacoma)

Affairs Cafe and Bakery (University Place) vs. Moon Rise Cafe (Lakewood) 

Norma's Burgers (Lacey) vs. Hawk's Prairie Restaurant (Lacey)

McMenamins Spar Cafe (Olympia) vs. Cicada Restaurant (Olympia)

Once this game began it reaffirmed our opinion that there is no substitution for seeing a game like this in person, despite all of the advances in home entertainment technology. No screen or monitor can adequately capture the vividness of the strawberries, or convey the towering physical presence of a stack of pancakes. On television, hash browns look like an afterthought. In person, hash browns look ferocious. And according to statistics, hash browns were the deciding factor in this game. Twelfth seed Homestead Restaurant, behind its spuds, knocked off number one seed Marcia's with 54 percent of the votes.

The Moon Rise's raspberry jam has been surprisingly quiet throughout this tournament. Created in-house by owner Christine Curren, the jam was a key factor in bringing the Lakewood restaurant into the tournament. For most of the second half in its battle with Affairs Cafe, it was a different story. The jam came to life for the Moon Rise - as did many of Moon Rise's Benedicts. Affairs didn't want to go to its truffles, but it had to in the final six hours of voting. But the chocolate awesomeness wasn't enough. The Moon Rise Cafe grabbed 59 percent of the votes, and will battle The Homestead Thursday in the Poached Eight.

The Weekly Volcano's food tournaments mean everything - perhaps too much, as a team that dominates its regions during regular season play can have one bad day and see its season go down the drain. Certainly there is drama of the highest kind when it comes to mixing batter. The breakfast quiche kept pouring out of sixth seed Hawk's Prairie Restaurant's kitchen all day. It's only 450 calories! What was Hawk's Prairie thinking? You can't expect to start 450 calories and beat a powerhouse like number one seed Norma's Burgers. Seizing the opportunity, Norma's pulled in its I-5 Pile Up -  large buttermilk biscuits on top of hash browns and topped with two eggs then smothered with sausage gravy - and pounded the Hawk's quiche until it squeaked out a win with 52 percent of the votes.

McMenamins Spar Café got demolished by Cicada Restaurant, which was mildly surprising not because they lost but because they lost so badly - by 1,200 votes. The Spar Cafe kept all three of its Benedicts on the floor most of the game, with the Dungeness crab variation using the grilled tomato to its advantage.  For crying out loud, the Spar even pulled its Willapa Bay oyster shooter off the bench. What the hell happened to this Olympia institution? Cicada's green eggs and ham is what happened. The breakfast dish was unstoppable. It was ordered in the dining room. It was ordered in the fancy lounge. Someone even ate it at the hostess stand! Who says it's not easy being green? Cicada moves into the Poached Eight Thursday for a breakfast date with Norma's Burgers. Oh boy.

Let's take a look at the stack. The following are advancing to the next round:

• Homestead Restaurant
  
• Moon Rise Cafe
  
• Norma's Burgers
  
• Cicada Restaurant
  

The daily breakfast battles here on Spew are sponsored by Shakabrah Java on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

OK, let's check out today's Scrambled 16 breakfast battles. Vote for one breakfast joint per battle. Voting for today's breakfast battles ends at 11:45 p.m.