Every spring, Jon Rake and Jeff Stvrtecky remember the first week of May in 1992.

This week they are hard at work, preparing for opening weekend of the new musical "Happy Days" at Tacoma Musical Playhouse.

Twenty years ago, they were in the middle of the Los Angeles Riots, watching as the neighborhood they loved became a war zone, filled with looting, rioters and flying bullets.

The men lived in a home they'd restored in LA's West Adams Historic District. They loved their neighborhood, and their neighbors. 

Rake, a choreographer, and Stvrtecky, a music conductor had been planning for some time to move from LA. They'd dreamed of founding their own arts organizations, and wanted to do it in a community that really needed what they'd have to offer.

But it was the day the violence made its way to Stvrtecky and Rake's street, and a stray bullet flew into their living room, that the pair knew it was time to move on.

One of the best sounds you can hear on a Sunday night in downtown Tacoma is the soothing voice of Pete Kirkland.

A versatile, formidable performer, Pete Kirkland says his grandeur is due to his genuine nature. The leader of the six piece R&B band, In the Pocket is currently enjoying the best of many worlds; counseling empowerment, spiritual connections, artistic endeavors and life after cancer.

For about a year, Pete stepped in where Darren Motamedy left off and created a band he named In the Pocket Band. With four original members and two ‘borrowed’ members, together they have attracted a steady loyal group of supporters at the Tacoma Comedy Club where they perform every Sunday Night.

Pete’s career started at the age of 13 when he frequently played the drums and even earned $50 for his efforts. During the Vietnam era he sang for funerals of some of his friends returning home from the war. It was around this time that he discovered the power of music and his strength as a leader.

The Defense Department says a Camp Pendleton Marine from Tacoma has been killed in Afghanistan.

The department says 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Ramon T. Kaipat died Wednesday in combat.

He was assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.