Victory Music Space Becomes...

bob March 28, 2008

Oh the irony of a bail bond business located within a low income housing project.

Nick March 28, 2008

That’s not irony, that’s synergy! :-) But no matter how you look at it, it’s still nauseating.

Is this really how much of a pushover city hall is? That it can’t even keep a bail bond place from setting up shop on the very same block?!

I envision a fantastic political cartoon: a man wearing a shirt that says “Theater District” swimming up to a rescue boat called “Tacoma’s Most Iconic Neighborhoods” but being pulled down to the ocean floor by a ball & chain labeled “Aladdin Bail Bonds” RR Anderson, get on it! :-)

Daniel Blue March 28, 2008

im a genie in a bottle baby,
got to rub me the right way.

someone get me walt disney on the phone.

someone should have beat them to the punch and put in a little mermaid donut shop or a pocahontas child’s base ball glove store.

go local or die b*&$%, rub the lamp.
those aladin guys park their bond man van in my alley, which is 4 blocks away.

if i were a criminal, i would choose my bondsman/woman based on how well i thought he/she could track me down.

“I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we’re only dreaming”

Mofo from the Hood March 28, 2008

You can do what you want to do IN LIVING COLOR

The Gulag March 28, 2008

So are those three wishes what counterbalance the three strikes law, or do we even pay attention to that initiative anymore?

Dave St March 28, 2008

Mr. Blue. Well written. I’m sitting here listing to the the last part of the Beatles “I Want You (She’s so heavy)” which had a very interesting effect on the reading of your post.

Accidental Collaborative Art?

altered chords March 28, 2008

Let’s support this new-comer to the downtown area. Businesses do not survive unless we actually patronize them!

I suggest that today at the “Visualize Downtown” gathering at Frost Park (12:00 noon today), we craft a strategy to get arrested and use the genie to bail us out.

Might need liquid courage first. Too bad there’s no liquor store near the Broadway performing arts center.

PS – Bet I saw Aladin more than anyone in Tacoma.

altered chords March 28, 2008

On second thought, Let’s just go to Pacific Grill instead.

Christine March 28, 2008

Lovely.

Dave St March 28, 2008

While you may not appreciate the nature of the patrons of a Bail Bond company there are two thinks to keep in mind. First, they are generally staffed 24 hours so there is someone watching the neighborhood and since they have lots of cash on hand their security is usually pretty good. Secondly, in Tacoma, this is a lucrative business so if you are nice to them, they may be interested in improving the area and willing to participate.

I know, I may be sounding silly to some but there’s a general dismissal here that doesn’t portray the inclusion I hear touted elsewhere in Tacoma development conversations.

I personally don’t know anything about the bail bonds business other than what I see in old Shaft reruns so who’s to say there isn’t an upside?

Ok, that’s about as preachy as I get. Just food for thought.

Sassy McButterpants March 28, 2008

I know this isn’t going to make me popular, but what business is it of the City of Tacoma to get involved in a private business dealing?

I think it’s wrong to stereotype BailBonds places as magnets for horrible people. People that are actually able to get a bond aren’t the problem.

Ehhem. Not that Sassy has any experience with that. <<Cough>>

Jake March 28, 2008

Its about perception. I think the human brain works like this:
Bail bondsman = Jail
Jail = Crime, undesirable people, drugs, etc

The fact they opened up shop in the Theater District may hurt what people think of the neighborhood. For some people that might just be the last straw and maybe they will move.

An out of town vistor (who may have already heard a few stories about Tacoma) steps out of the Rialto Theater to be greeted by a bail bonds shop. Might leave a bad perception is some peoples mind.

altered chords March 28, 2008

Joking aside – my take:
I don’t want the city dictating what the free market should be dictating.

This is simple supply and demand at work. It is dissappointing to see high DEMAND for this service.

No, that business is not a magnet for criminals. Rather it is arrested people being a magnet for this service. Is that really a sector of strong demand that any of us can feel good about?

It is imperative that each of us ACTUALLY patronize local business in order to be a MAGNET for the types of entities we WANT to show up.

It’s one thing for a young Russell employment prospect to say there is no “nightlife” in Tacoma and quite another thing for REAL demand to be sufficient to support the wide range of “nightlife” choices that a prospective Russell employee or any one of us wants.

So, go out and buy something from someone local.

I don’t want to resurect (sp?) the “list” but you know what I mean.

Thanks for reading.

Republican (By Default) March 28, 2008

This is just full-service nightlife. After going out, getting drunk and high, vandalizing some property with graffiti and getting arrested, they’ll need bail. Seems to me the renaissance continues.

A few more theatres close, some more bail bonds offices open and pretty soon that whole area will be a bunch of hippies patronizing bail bonds businesses. Sounds like synergy to me.

Maybe we need to revisit the thread about the BIA’s new signs. I think we need a ‘Bail Bonds’ district. Is there a Sesame Street character to use on that one? Maybe we can borrow the Hamburglar.

Nick March 28, 2008

@Jake

You put into words exactly what I’ve been thinking. I could care less that a bail bonds office is down the street (in fact, I did care less back when I knew what the business was, but didn’t have the awning up yet). It really has nothing to do with the people that patronize the business, and everything to do with perception.

The way I see it, if this place had been there when I was deciding where to move downtown, I would most likely have chosen elsewhere or even moved to Seattle. If I could see myself in this situation, I have no doubt others will be thinking the same thing. Yes I know PCJ and the courthouse are two blocks up, but it was easy to forget. Now I’m reminded of my proximity to a county jail and the snob in me says eeew! (I have no shame, I’ll admit when I’m being snobby ;-) )

As Erik mentioned today at Frost Park, it’s a signpost for the neighborhood shouting “this is the best the neighborhood can do” – not exactly a great sales pitch for future investment in the area. And that’s what really bothers me: that an area trying to better itself has one more thing working against it.

Phew! I will now conclude my rant.

Chris K March 28, 2008

What struck me about the office is that you can actually see inside. There are too many office buildings in Downtown that use reflective windows, preventing the general public from seeing how active the area really is.

Crenshaw Sepulveda March 28, 2008

Better to have the bail bonds there then any empty store front. I know it isn’t a chic boutique but empty store fronts are far worse for a community then a bail bond office. Maybe next time we can do better with the location. Within one block of the Aladdin are several high end condo buildings. I get the feeling that Aladdin expects a good deal of business from the condo dwellers.
The poor have no money for bail bonds.

Andrew March 28, 2008

@RBC:

LOOK OUT EVERYONE!!! THE HIPPIES ARE ATTACKING!

citywonk March 28, 2008

This is what happens when your entire neighborhood becomes a Criminal Justice Theme Park. See item about the Criminal Justice Task Force elsewhere on Exit 133.

The Gulag March 29, 2008

If it’s mostly about perception, maybe Aladdin could be persuaded to have a fancier entrance facade. Maybe, instead of the current awning, they could have some fancy styled, gilded, lettering affixed to the building. Then they could light that up with some grand period revival spotlights above. Maybe there’s even some Old World, Elizabethan style, spelling of Bail Bonds (Baile Bonds?) that they could use.
Apart from that…. valet parking?

Mofo from the Hood March 29, 2008

Criminal Justice Theme Park…good one, citywonk.

Evidently crime pays in the neighborhood. It provides job security for lots of people. Lots of people in the criminal justice system family and all their shirt tail relatives.

Have you thought about the word tolerance lately? Someone once said that tolerance is the last cry of a dying civilization.

onbroadway March 31, 2008

I know the thread is more about what’s going into this space, but if I may, I got a Victory Music update from a couple of old friends and current Victory Music Board Members I ran into yesterday at a birthday party. One of those gatherings where everyone had ties to each other over the last 40 years, even though they were from many different affiliations. (Lynn DeNino’s comment: Everyone in Tacoma is separated by one-half degree). Victory Music has not disappeared and is indeed alive and well. The physical storefront location had just become increasingly less important with most of the work being performed elsewhere or on-line. It was only being used one day a week or so, so the $600-$700 expense will be put to better use elsewhere. This 501c(3) organization still operates four open mikes (Tacoma, Seattle, Alderwood, Bellevue), still publishes the monthly Victory Revue magazine/newsletter, and has anywhere from 300 to 500 supporting members/subscribers. Most exciting is that they are about to release a pair of singer/songwriter submission compilation albums to add to their catalog, and a website revamp after that. Meanwhile, as you may have read in the Weekly Volcano or elsewhere, founder Chris Lunn and others have formed Ancient Victorys, a separate organization to document and present Northwest Acoustic Musicians who performed on Victory Music stages through 1990, a huge list that includes some name you might recognize, like Tim Noah (performed at the first open mike in ’60), Baby Gramps, Jim Page, Jim Valley, Artis the Spoonman, and so on.

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