CHARLES MONROE: WASHINGTON STATE 2007 FORECLOSURES >>>

Pierce County led the state in housing foreclosures in 2007, according to a national report from California-based RealtyTrac, with foreclosure activity there increasing 43 percent compared to 2006. Thurston County auditor’s records showed similar increases.

Washington ranked 21st in the nation in foreclosure filings, with .57 percent of homeowners in the process of losing their homes. Foreclosures in Washington totaled more than 23,000 in 2007, an increase of 28 percent. Though the Pierce County economy and home markets remain relatively stable, the community’s abundance of low-income residents has made it a hot spot for lending trouble.

A slough of bills has been introduced this legislative session that would address what some observers claim is the root cause of the explosion of foreclosures â€" shady mortgages. Two bills come directly from proposals made by the governor following a year-long investigation of lending practices in Washington state. Senate Bill 6272 recommends the creation of $1.5 million in emergency funds for homeowner counseling. House Bill 2770 forwards 23 recommendations from a governor-appointed taskforce, including requiring simple language in foreclosure notices, mandating notification of counseling options in foreclosure notices, and making mortgage loan crimes felonies. Senate bills 6381 and 6471 would seek to regulate mortgage brokers and establish fiduciary responsibility to borrowers.

We here at the Weekly Volcano sometimes fantasize about the olden days, when robbing a financial institution or gold caring railcar was a possibility. Sometimes we fantasize about going on lavish spending sprees with all our make-believe loot. However, we’re not dim-witted or delusional here at the Weekly Volcano. We’ve watched enough Court TV to know bank robbers almost always get caught. Plus, we hate the idea of being sodomized in prison.

An example of the futility of modern day bank robbery occurred this morning, around 9:15 a.m., when a lone white male robbed the KeyBank in the 3900 block of North 26^th Street armed with a semi-automatic handgun. (Note: In the Volcano’s fantasy’s we don’t use guns to rob banks. We’re like MacGyver.) Wearing a mask, he pointed the gun at a KeyBank teller and demanded money. Once he had what he was after, he fled on foot to his vehicle, dropping his pistol along the way. Not long later, the gun, the vehicle, and the suspect were apprehended by police.

The suspect was booked into the Pierce County Jail. â€" Matt Driscoll

THE DAILY WORD
Learn it, use it, spell it

Dotage \DOH-tij\, noun:
Feebleness of mind due to old age; senility.

USAGE EXAMPLE: Though Brett Favre may suffer from dotage, his ass may sag like a bag of wet potatoes, and his hair might be grayer than Joan Rivers' nether region, his under hand flip to tight end Donald Lee in last weekend's playoff victory over the frozen Seahawks proved the old man still has plenty of gas in the tank to get the job done against Holmgren and Co. Oh, how he proved it.

THE MORNING NEWS

UNIVERSITY PLACE: How do we pick our next developer?

TACOMA: Hey, what happens if we push this red button?

NEW ZEALAND: Ninety-nine thousand (hic!) blades in the lawn. �

SPRINGFIELD: Surrounded by crutches.

HUSTLER OF CULTURE
You can stand atop the mountain and scream your naked desires to the universe or shed that synapse epilepsy and hug the South Sound today with your fellow man:

MUSIC: Baltimore, Maryland, is a long ass way away. Bobble Tiki doesnââ?¬â?¢t need Google Maps to figure that out. Bobble Tiki also knows that when a punk band travels all the way from Baltimore to play a show at the Viaduct in Tacoma, itââ?¬â?¢s worth supporting. Even if the music sucks, youââ?¬â?¢ve got to give any group of musicians willing to trek that far on a punk rock budget mad props. Even better, you should help them with gas money. Ruiner, a messy mix of punk and hardcore who will play the Viaduct tonight with Broadway Calls, are from Baltimore ââ?¬" and even better, they donââ?¬â?¢t even suck. In Bobble Tikiââ?¬â?¢s opinion, itââ?¬â?¢s a show worth missing Tuesday night TV for. Thatââ?¬â?¢s saying a lot for Bobble Tiki. Ruiner is a long way from home. The least you can do is give them a listen. 

MORE MUSIC: What's on tonight.

BAR EXAM: Steph DeRosa visits U.P. Station.

THREATS AND PROMISES COLUMN
Jazzbones has moved around some of its regular weekly gigs.  Randy Oxford jams on Thursdays now.  DJs spin under the title Mixed Tape on Wednesday.  Grab the juice here.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  Deal with it.

The Olympian reports that some clown stole “Trevor,” the police mannequin, out of a police cruiser parked at Sixth Avenue and College Street Northeast in Lacey.

Andrew McCarthy could not be reached for comment. â€" Brad Allen

Anyone know why I have been listening to sirens in North Tacoma all morning? â€" Brad Allen

UPDATE: Never mind â€" it's an apartment fire on Hilltop.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Tacoma has a new catch phrase for downtown development, and its "Whoa, Nelly!"

Check out John Gillie's status check in today's Trib. â€" Michael Swan

Driving away from a very entertaining and impressive MLKBallet MOVE! performance at the Tacoma School of the Arts 20 minutes ago I ran into a police blockade at 11th and Market and another on the other side at Ninth and Market.  Did the audience at the Northwest Sinfonietta riot tonight at the Rialto?  Anyone know what's going down tonight?  The sirens are still shrieking. â€" Suzy Stump

A large crowd in Olympia stopped traffic this morning on several downtown Olympia streets and Intertstae 5 exchanges protesting military equipment offload in the Port of Olympia destined for Fort Lewis.  Olympia Police officers dressed in riot gear carrying batons and pepper spray kept the Port of Olympia open by pepper spraying 20 or so Olympia Port Militarization Resistance protesters.

Here are a few awful shots I snapped this morning at the protest. â€" Brad Allen

Look what Spew found  while searching the Portland Independent Media  Center. â€" Suzy Stump

It's time. The wind is here. Do you have your Red Cross recommended emergency supplies kit? Do you have about $498 to spare? Or more like $985? Because if you truly follow the instructions and if you properly assemble the kit per the Red Cross guidelines, you will spend at least that on all the various "basic" supplies, double that if you make a kit for your car (which they do, in fact, recommend), quintuple that if you include vital ingredients and essential items any true Tacoman absolutely must have in the event they have to go without Frisko Freeze burgers and meat candy and the zihna mushroom quesadilla and Pabst and Today’s sandwich for a whole week.

Because let's be honest. Disaster preparedness is mostly for people with money. It is for the Visa credit carded and the disposable incomed, and condo dwellers and people who keep a spare pair of Manolo Blahnik boots in the trunk of the Cadillac Escalade, just in case. â€" Brad Allen