OK, I kind of dropped the ball on getting y'all plenty of good video and photos, but I did shoot a short video of what it's like outside the club just before 10 p.m. I was there for about 30 minutes Saturday, and the crowd size swelled and dwindled, and the noise levels fluctuated as well.

Here's the video:

With all the complaints I had been hearing about the clubs at Brick City, I decided to check it out for myself Saturday. There were definitely a bunch of people hanging outside Club Impact. In the time I was there, the crowd fluctuated from about 30 to more than 50 people.

The music was definitely pretty loud outside, but I personally didn’t see anything illegal (other than a couple of people throwing a football in the street). Earlier Saturday evening, though, a reader e-mailed me a photo of someone urinating in the alley next to the club.

I overheard someone (not attending the club and likely homeless) walk up and ask one of the clubbers if she had any drugs to score. She said no and walked away. When I asked about it, she declined to talk and went back inside.

I talked to nine people hanging outside. Many acknowledged they had heard about rowdiness, but all said they hadn’t witnessed anything. They all did, however, defend the club. Here is what a few had to say in their words:

Russell Highland, 16:

“I’ve been here about three or four times, and I really like it. It gives me something to do. Otherwise, I’d probably be sleeping right now.”

Scott Willoughby, 20

“It’s a great place to go and hang out.”

Bryan Hornbeck, 20:

“There aren’t many good places to go in Tacoma, and this is one of them. There have been some problems, but I think that’s been some people’s personal problems. But really, for the most part, it’s a good group of friends hanging out.”

Claire Gardipee, 22:

“It’s a really good venue. It’s clean and comfortable. You can get close to the band. It’s not as scummy as the other types of venues where these bands play.”

“It’s a clean atmosphere. There are no drugs, no alcohol.”

Matt Donaho, 21:

“Most of the problems I’ve seen are noise-related. I don’t think it’s as bad as what people think it is.”

“Every time I’ve been here after hours, everyone clears out without a problem.”

Ashleigh Love, 17:

“The reason it’s all-ages is because it’s clean. What people do in their spare time is up to them. They don’t bring it in here. It’s a positive place to be.”

I've talked to a few more business owners who are, to say the least, not happy with the crowds outside Brick City. I'm heading out there tonight and tomorrow to check it out myself. Here are some of their comments.

Sherry Hopson, co-owner, Headliners Salon and Studio:

We need an understanding of what the ordinances are now. And maybe we need strengthened ordinances and more enforcement of the ordinances that are already there.

Kris Blondin, owner, Vin Grotto:

(World Vision) invites kids down to the area for a function – and that’s fine – but it’s about what happens outside of the venue. There seems to be no supervision or any concern after the event or during the event. I think there’s a responsibility to the neighborhood when you run a business.

UPDATE: Apparently there were no shows Friday. Or at least it looked mighty empty the few times I drove past it. I'll check again Saturday.

I visited Salishan for the first time a few days ago. I rarely make it to the East Side as it is (not for anything malicious, but simply because I don’t have much reason to go) but had always zoomed right past the development.

Apparently I’ve been missing a lot.

I was pretty dang impressed. Lots of sidewalks, green spaces and what appeared to be friendly neighbors. Come house-buyin’ time, I’m definitely going to look there. I’ve been raving about it to my friends since driving around.

And today, I discovered there’s some validity behind my raving. While stories like this are usually the domain of our real estate blog, I’d like to spread the news of the awarding of a Governor’s Smart Communities Judge’s Award of Merit to the Tacoma Housing Authority.

I’ll be honest: I don’t really know what a Governor’s Smart Communities Judge’s Award of Merit is, but I’ve determined a few things: It’s awarded by the governor, it goes to smart communities, there is judging involved, and it recognizes merit. Sounds mighty impressive. I haven’t received a Governor’s Smart Newspapers Judge’s Award of Merit anytime recently, so hats off to the THA folks.

(Actually, kidding aside, a press release tells me the awards have “been established to recognize outstanding work by local governments and their partners on growth management and community development.”)

The jury apparently was as infatuated with the neighborhood as I was. The release said they called it a: a large-scale neighborhood redevelopment project that creates 970 attractive rental units and [more than] 300 homeownership units for various income levels; education and health centers, parks and open space, while incorporating low impact development techniques.

They also called the financing “impressive” and the affordability “outstanding.” Of course, that’s all relative in the Northwest ($750,000 for an 800-square-foot condo on Queen Anne? No thanks.), but a pretty good accomplishment.

I'm still learning how to shoot and produce short videos to the Web, and the Tacoma Farmers Market gave me plenty to shoot. There were musicians playing for tips, the organic farmers with colorful veggies, stalls selling everything from honey to home mortgages and food hot off the grill being sold to businessmen and students alike.

(Oh, and there is the always welcome sight of a taco truck. Can't beat food from a moving vehicle.)

I interviewed a few of the local vendors and compiled it in this video. Click and enjoy!

If you were hanging out near the convention center in the early afternoon today, you would've learned that certain things shouldn't touch power lines. But, of course, telling is one thing. Showing you things -- like kites, work boots and aluminum ladders -- is much, much more entertaining.

Click the photo on the right. Watch video clip. See electricity fly. Be happy you're not on the ladder when it touches the lines.

This isn’t the first time the Brick City building at 754 Pacific Ave. has attracted unwanted attention.

Last July 2, Verrick Vere Yarbrough shot and killed 18-year-old Rhaczio "RhaRha" Simms in a gang-related outburst of violence. A stray bullet also hit 17-year-old bystander Tiffany Walker, temporarily paralyzing her.

This summer, a jury convicted Yarbough to more than 60 years in prison. Here’s an excerpt from the article we ran about the sentencing:

Deputy prosecutor Gerry Costello said the time was justified. Yarbrough started a gunfight on a crowded public street, Costello said. That was outrageous. He had wounded two people and taken a life.

"The defendant's crime will have a lifelong impact," Costello said. "The aftermath of what he did, what he started on Pacific Avenue, is horrible. It's time for a reckoning."

Yarbrough's attorney, Robert Meyers, argued for less time - something closer to 480 months. That would still be 40 years, he said. His client would be in his 50s, no longer young, no longer the teenage gangster who sparked a gunfight last July 8 outside Club Friday.

"It's virtually a life sentence," Meyers said of the sentence recommended by Costello.

Officials at World Vision were swift to distance themselves from the crime. From a May 3 letter to the editor, written by Brian Boyd, the Federal Way-based charity’s Tacoma program director:

• Club Friday was not on trial; Verrick Yarbrough was • Club Friday was not part of this incident. Neither the deceased nor the shooter was ever in our facility

• The shooting did not happen at or outside Club Friday; it was the result of an ongoing gang feud that surfaced at other locations and ended on Pacific Avenue outside the On the Rocks bar. One of our patrons was a victim of this senseless act of violence.

Club Friday was closed after the shooting but reopened on March 16 with increased security measures, according to our report:

• An eight-camera system for monitoring everything that happens in and around the club.

• Hiring a professional security team to supplement off-duty police and volunteers.

• A new tracking system that requires patrons to have their Washington state IDs scanned, thus allowing organizers to keep closer track of who's been in the club.

Here’s an article I’m working on. Feel free to chime in on it:

Karla Zuspan says it’s not easy to be a small-business owner downtown. Rent is expensive, parking is scarce and street lighting leaves something to be desired.

Now, she has a bigger problem.

Brick City, a building that houses Club Friday at 754 Pacific Ave., is driving away potential business, Zuspan says.

Zuspan – and several other downtown business owners – say a combination of loitering teenagers and blaring music are a byproduct of the club, which is run by Federal Way-based charity World Vision and offers an alcohol-free atmosphere for youth aged 16-20.

The clubs at Brick City have been in the news a lot over the past year. A gang-related shooting at Club Friday in July 2006 left a 19-year-old man dead and a teenage girl paralyzed and led to the closing of the club, though the Saturday-night youth event at Brick City, Club Impact, remained open. Club Friday reopened in March with increased security.

Zuspan, who owns Ever After across the street from the club, said she typically expands business hours during the holiday season. This year, she’s not sure.

“The problem isn’t so much the kids excited,” Zuspan said, “but it’s what happens outside. I’ve seen drunk girls stumbling in the streets. I’ve seen drug deals going down in the alley. It might be regulated inside, but no one’s watching after these kids outside.”

She also believes many of the people who loiter outside are in their 20s – too old to get into the clubs at Brick City.

Patrick Coyne, the owner of Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub across the street from Brick City, said he has seen a significant dropoff in business on Friday and Saturday nights – typically the busiest nights of the week – since the club reopening. The pub offers outdoor seating, but the ambiance is ruined by the blaring music, Coyne said.

Coyne said business owners have asked the City Council to enforce noise and public-disturbance ordinances but have so far been met with little success.

There are a lot of other people I still need to interview: the folks at World Vision who run the club, the kids hanging outside on the weekends, the police about enforcement of city ordinances and more business owners in the area. If you’d like to weigh in on this, feel free to e-mail me.

Tollefson Plaza is a nice place. Good location. Nice views. A bit of open space to relax in the hustle of downtown.

So Tacoma Public Utilities thought erecting a wooden utility pole in the middle of the plaza would be a nice touch.

OK, the pole is temporary. And as bizarre as it looks, it’s for a pretty cool reason.

The Governor's Industrial Safety and Health Conference is in town Wednesday and Thursday, and the pole is the focal point of a competition. Teams of linemen from across the state will take part in pole-top rescue contest, which means drivers cruising by could see utility workers shimmying up the pole.

There’s more information about the competition here.

Oh, and that hole in the middle of the concrete? The city plans to install eventually install a Christmas tree – the bordering areas are already wired for lights – in the plaza, said streets and grounds maintenance worker Allan Drozd.