Does the Federal Communications Commission value what the public has to say about media diversity in the United States? By mid-December, we should have our answer, and it will be a resounding "yes" if FCC Chairman Kevin Martin drops his proposal to allow big media corporations to grow even larger. But such an affirmation from the five member, Republican-majority commission won't come without intense public pressure.
Times are good for the city of Seattle. "Good for whom?" is the question. Last week the Seattle City Council gave approval to a $926 million general fund budget and a $3.6 billion total budget (when you count Seattle City Light, Utilities and federal grants). Due to strong revenue growth from sales and business-and-occupation taxes, the council got to work with a surplus of more than $35 million more than last year. Almost one third of the budget will be poured downtown to provide the infrastructure needed to add the equivalent of 12 Columbia Center towers worth of new high-rise office space over the next 15 years.
Does the Federal Communications Commission value what the public has to say about media diversity in the United States? By mid-December, we should have our answer, and it will be a resounding "yes" if FCC chairman Kevin Martin drops his proposal to allow big media corporations to grow even larger. But such an affirmation from the five-member, Republican-majority commission won't come without intense public pressure.
must be green ... it must not have a carbon footprint ... the season shouldn't be so obsessive. On and on went the advice this past weekend, on the blogs, in the newsprint and of course endlessly on the cable channels. It was as though all other news had simply evaporated and all focus was spent on the shopping extravaganza that will occur - or not- in the next four weeks. Hmmmmm.... Pakistan "elections," car bombings in India, cyclone victims in Bangladesh - oh, and then the perennial Darfur stories, global warming, our friends the Saudi Arabians who continue to send abroad their children...
We've noshed on noisettes, gobbled up turkey (no, I'm not apologizing for the terrible puns), masticated mashed potatoes, scoffed down stuffing, crunched cranberries, guzzled grog and polished off the pumpkin pie. Next stop: Christmas. Hey, don't blame me. I didn't put these two holidays, monuments to overindulgence and gluttony, a month apart.
Does the Federal Communications Commission value what the public has to say about media diversity in the United States? By mid-December, we should have our answer, and it will be a resounding "yes" if FCC chairman Kevin Martin drops his proposal to allow big media corporations to grow even larger. But such an affirmation from the five-member, Republican-majority commission won't come without intense public pressure.
Pages play an essential role when the Washington State Legislature meets - relaying messages to the Senate floor, delivering packages throughout the Capitol campus and bearing the flag at ceremonies. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Queen Anne, invites middle and high school students in the 36th Legislative District to apply for one of the weeklong paid page positions available in her office during the 2008 session.
...who hailed from where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, but came to love the western coastGloria Greer, a longtime Magnolia resident, died Nov. 5. She was 82. Born Nov. 30, 1924, in Velma, Okla., to Joseph and Faye Woods Jackson, she grew up in Duncan, Okla., and came to Seattle in 1945. In her early Seattle years she was employed at Blue Cross. She went on to work for Seattle Children's Home and ultimately retired from the Office of Admissions at the University of Washington.
Magnolia resident Andrea Love, a Garfield High School senior, is co-directing the Garfield High School Drama Club's rollicking winter show, a production of Neil Simon's "Rumors," to be performed Thursday, Nov. 29; Friday, Nov. 30; Saturday, Dec. 1; and Dec. 6, 7 and 8. All shows start at 7 p.m. and take place in the Garfield-at-Lincoln auditorium, 4400 Interlake Ave. N., on the southeast corner of campus. (While Garfield's home building is being remodeled, the school has temporarily relocated to the Lincoln High building in Wallingford.)
Sam Barnes is a senior at Lakeside. Younger brother John is a sophomore at Ballard High School. This Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. the two schools' basketball squads go at each other. But that's just the official version. The real event, as anyone in the know can tell you, is "The Battle of the Barneses at Ballard" or, better yet, "Barnes Brothers' Basketball Bowl at Ballard (BBBBB)"! Both boys played in the Magnolia Rec league and for Catharine Blaine K-8. And both are playing in this game because, sophomore standing notwithstanding, John starts for Ballard. Photos courtesy Karin Barnes ... but which team does she root for?
Midori Fulghum moved from her home in Japan to Seattle when she was just a teenager, but the Magnolia resident took a cultural phenomenon from her homeland and turned it into a wholesale business she's run and owned for almost two decades.Fulghum is a University of Washington graduate with a degree in psychology, but that was just a starting point for the shy woman (she didn't want her photo taken). "When I was thinking about what I wanted to do, French wired ribbon was getting popular," she remembered.
APPEAL HEARINGS: 635 Elliott Ave. W. (3005262) on a Land Use Application to allow two four-story administrative office buildings with parking for 564 vehicles located in below-grade garage. Review includes demolition of existing administrative office building (Darigold Building). The following decisions have been appealed: Special Exception to allow a structure height of 65 ft. conditionally granted; Determination of Non-Significance with conditions (no Environmental Impact Statement required). Environmental review completed and project conditioned as applicable. The appeal hearing will take place Jan. 7 at 9 a.m.
Questions or comments about the following applications or actions should be directed to the Regulatory Services Division, Washington State Liquor Control Board, 3000 Pacific Ave. S.E., P.O. Box 43098, Olympia, WA 98504-3098, or call (360) 664-1600.
All my life I have turned to the works of great writers and filmmakers for sustaining wisdom. I suppose art's hard-won truths have been the equivalent of a bible for me, since my oddball faith never fit institutionalized forms. When my dear friend of four decades passed away with shocking suddenness in September, I found a way to make some sense of her loss - and my grief - in a beautiful Polish film called "A Time to Die." My friend would have seen herself in "Time"'s elderly heroine, who faced age and death with wit, courage and care for those left behind. It's a given that great literature should tackle tough subjects like mortality. In contrast, film is supposed to deliver feel-good fare that will appeal to mass audiences often dominated by an undiscerning youth demographic. But sometimes this Baby Boomer craves movies about people with gloriously lived-in faces, cast not as supporting actors but as leads. Give me more cinematic allies and surrogates to wrestle with the challenging experiences that come at the other end of life. Give me more movies for grownups.
In addition to being a dandy meeting place, the Uptown Neighborhood Center at 157 Roy St. (intersection with Warren) offers some valuable, ongoing resources. You can avail yourself of these simply by walking in, any weekday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.