Month: August 2010

Subtitled: Criminals are Dumb. We got a voicemail from the CLO yesterday with some rather interesting information. He’d called in response to JoAnn’s call and email about the “confrontation” by the neighbor. Now, we haven’t heard back yet from the CLO as to his inclination on the information he passed along, or even why he…

Subtitled: Movie Rights for Sale. Inquire Within. Yesterday’s sonic booms–that from south Tacoma sounded like (and shook the house like) explosions-brought everyone who was home at the time out into the neighborhood. Including the guy, who decided to come across the street to chat, or in his words, “confront” us. He denied that he’s selling…

So in the continuing saga of the neighborhood and dealing with the dope peddler, an officer had a chat with him the Friday after our van incident, essentially telling dope dude that he [the officer] thought that he [the drug seller] was selling dope, and that he needed to stop or he’d be out. Sounded…

It’s been a week and a half since the attack. I call it an attack now because that’s what it was: not just a message sent by the dope peddler intent on intimidating us, but an attack on the minivan, on our property, on our economic well-being, and on our sense of security. It’s been ten days…

Today’s not been the best of days. Not that there’s been anything bad that has happened today, but because the stresses of the things that have happened recently are coming to the forefront. (Just peruse previous posts over last couple weeks…). The unexpected bills, the expected bills, and a slow start to the month (after…

Ok, back to the other issue at hand in the household…the lead and the work on the house. Today’s lesson is on the Davis-Bacon Act. Short version is this: it was a Republican-sponsored bill in 1931 that requires paying “prevailing wages” on public works or other federally-funded projects over $2000. Sounds as decent as most…

Sept. 23, 1989…a day that should have lived in infamy in Tacoma. On that day, a group of off-duty Army Rangers engaged drug-selling gangsters. Over 300 shots were fired, and fortunately nobody was killed. The News Tribune published some great articles about it last fall, here and here. The event took place because Tacoma would…

A clarification, first. In the post yesterday about the incident, I wrote this: But, in typical Tacoma Police Department style, they won’t bother to send anyone out. As it turns out, Tacoma does not do their own dispatching. That “service” is farmed out through LESA, who has their own policies for effectively and efficiently ignoring…

The title says it all–that’s how I’m currently feeling. JoAnn just woke me up, saying that someone was breaking windows on her van outside. She’d heard and caught a glimpse of the person, and was on the phone with 911.  Rear hatch window, driver’s window, and windshield. We haven’t had anything like this happen for years. But…