Pat McGregor of the Whitman Area Neighbors was one of the driving forces behind the proposed Alcohol Impact Area that would encompass the South End and Eastside of Tacoma.

He bought his house in 1999 and has worked with neighbors to clean up the area, including driving out a drug dealer. He also lives just south of the boundaries of Tacoma’s original AIA.

“In about 2004, I started noticing an increase in street drunks in the neighborhood,” he said. “I had already known about the first AIA but wasn’t sure what we could do. I e-mailed (Councilman) Rick Talbert and asked what we could do. He said it was a long process if you’re thinking of creating an Alcohol Impact Area.

“We organized a walking tour of the Lincoln Business District. We just wanted to see what the issues were. We had about 50 people attend – business owners, residents, city staff, all kinds of people.

“It was easy for me to say there was a problem, but I didn’t have any information. I contacted the Tacoma Fire Department and Tacoma Police Department and said, ‘What are the stats? Do you even keep track of it?’ They both responded with these density maps, and you could see where the hotspots were.”

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One of the area’s funniest blogs, No Rhubarb, is back – and finds a reason to rip on the Tacoma Rainiers’ loveable mascot.

The subject line about Saturday's Rhubarb tryouts: "Feel Like Selling Your Soul To Satan?"

Classic.

I just got off the phone with Paul McNutt, one of the guys who helped a hard-luck farmer near Dryad, Lewis County.

This time, they're taking on a bigger project.

One of the farmer's neighbors has been in rough shape since an accident at the Port of Seattle. The floods last month forced him and his family to the roof of their house, where they watched everything they owned break under the pressure of the water.

Now a group of volunteers is building a new house for them. They're getting some help from a few Tacoma residents, too -- a painter and a man with an excavator volunteered to help any way they could after reading last week's story in the TNT.

"I asked the wife what she wanted out of the house," McNutt said, "and all she said is that she wanted a roof over her head. That's all.

"We want to make this like 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.' We want to get as many people as possible to help build this."

We're talking Alcohol Impact Area again today.

I'll be talking with some of the key players who contributed to helping the proposed AIA -- which includes basically the entire southeastern portion of Tacoma -- a near-reality.