Edited Profile Story

Natural light from the large windows in the new environmentally friendly dorm save enough electricity in one year to light Martin Stadium for 233 hours straight. This “green” fact is one of several artfully displayed on the walls throughout the new Olympia Avenue dormitory at WSU. The dorm’s fresh, exposed interior atmosphere highlights the different energy-saving components it offers, including a geothermal heating and cooling system, water-saving toilets and showers, reused wood, a gas fireplace, indoor bicycle storage, and carpet and furniture made from renewable and recycled materials. The Olympia is the first of seven environmentally sustainable dorms that WSU will build over the next four years. The popular dorm received more than twice as many residence applications as its 229 beds could accommodate—before it even opened in August 2009. Junior Anthony Smith, 20, The Olympia hall president, applied for his room back in March 2009. “I got a double with a full bath,” Smith said. “I lived in Gannon-Golds for two years and then I switched over here—[this is a] huge difference,” Smith said emphatically. After he surveyed the on-campus living environment when he came to WSU in 2005, WSU President Floyd decided freshmen needed higher-quality residence, according to John Gardner, WSU’s vice president of economic development and global engagement. “President Floyd wanted to upgrade the quality of life for new students,” Gardner said. According to the WSU Sustainability Initiative, President Floyd appointed the Sustainability and Environment Committee, to provide leadership and guidance in “planning, development, organization, and implementation of the programs supporting the [Initiative]. “[WSU] Facilities and Operations will try to put in place a continued renovation of everything,” Gardner said. He said affordability and the kind of living a building will offer should be illustrated and exemplified in how each new building is constructed and operated. Sustainability means “leaving it there for the next generation,” Karl Englund, assistant research professor for the Composite Materials and Engineering Center said. “It’s about minimizing effect and utilizing materials correctly and wisely.” Englund said planners need to assess consumption and design when evaluating whether to revamp an old structure or build one from scratch. He said cost is not just financial—it includes the energy used to create new building materials and dispose of old ones. “There is a lot more to it than the bricks and the plywood and stuff,” Englund said. “The energy that goes into creating a zero energy house from scratch will take 18-20 years to balance out.” Reusing old materials and products is one way to save the energy costs of recycling. WSU Capital Planning and Development wanted to involve students in the dorm project, according to Robert Barnstone, associate professor at the School of Architecture and Construction Management. Barnstone’s specialty is in efficient and sustainable recycled materials development. “We wanted to be able to do something for the building that was unique and sustainable,” Barnstone said. Capital Planning held a student contest to design something sustainable for the new dorm, and his students won, he said. Students Josh Lafreniere and Dan Blohowiak designed and built a conference table out of reused materials for the dorm’s community room on the ground floor.
“They designed it fairly quickly,” Barnstone said. “But building it took almost a whole semester.”
The students used glue-lams (laminated support beams) for the table top, and scrap metal and a piece of electrical conduit (pipe) for the base. “It’s fair to say that any building that we build or renovate has these [sustainability] dimensions in mind,” Gardner said. The Compton Union buildin g which opened in fall 2008 is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, and Olympia Avenue is registered for a LEED certification. “The new dorm is likely to receive the silver rating,” Gardner said. “Everything we do has a consequence,” Englund said about sustainability methods, consumption, and ecological footprints. “We just have to be aware [of] the butterfly effect.” All buildings on campus have been generally built with the most sustainable technology available at the time, according to Gardner, and many of the buildings on campus have been retrofitted with energy-saving technologies. “How they are implemented and where, will depend on their use and economic sustainability,” Gardner said. “ Those decisions are made with every new structure and every new renovation.” Sources: Anthony Smith anthony.smith@email.wsu.edu Karl Englund englund@wsu.edu John Gardner gardnerj@wsu.edu Robert Barnstone 509-335-8196 WSU Sustainability Initiative Sustainability and Environment Committee

student edits

1. The 2,800 square-foot four-bedroom house will be built on a concrete foundation.

2. Carlton, owner of Palouse Synergy Systems, said eastern Washington could be transformed into a renewable energy leader if people understood the benefits.

3. “I got a double with a full bath,” said John Gardner, WSU's vice president of economic development and global engagement. “I lived in Gannon-Golds for two years, and then I switched over here—[this is a] HUGE difference,” he said emphatically.

4. PCEI is will be offering workshops like the artists’ studio roof, so that locals value and know how to implement sustainable techniques, she said.

5. “The new dorm is likely to receive the silver rating,” Gardner said.

"Everything we do has a consequence,” Englund said about sustainability methods, consumption, and ecological footprints. “We just have to be aware [of] the butterfly effect.”

6. He also raises money for student scholarships.

7. She said she has been ostracized in her dorm, and she might move to another hall.
8. Sherman said SEL improves Pullman’s atmosphere, but it does not make Pullman immune from the recession.

Records Request Ideas

1) I could do a request for University budget records for construction of new buildings and renovations of old ones. I could also request records of how much they pay in utility bills each month. I could then look at how much green buildings are saving the university each month and write about weighing the costs and benefits of renovating or building new buildings on campus, even though the universities are undergoing overall budget cuts. Is this the time to be spending? Why is/isn't it necessary? Etc.
2) I could request records of contracting costs of campus green construction. Who all is bidding? How much? How many contractors and architects did the university look at? Why? Is the university getting the most for its money? Are any companies or architects being favored? Is it all by the book?

Slime power could replace gas power

Algae could provide a viable alternative for fossil fuels in just a few year, experts say in a report by the Agence France-Presse.

The green, slimy water monger provides a good source of lipids, which scientists can extract energy from for bio fuel. Algae is a good source because it grows quickly in areas not used for agriculture: marshes, waste water, ponds, etc.

Commercial production could start by as early as 2011, Paul Woods, chief executive of Florida-based Algenol Biofuels said.

Some experts are skeptical that this is a hasty prediction. After decades of research, algae-fuel production costs are still too high for it to be a viable replacement for fossil fuel, but costs should drop as production increases, others say.

Researchers are also examining how algae fast consumption of carbon dioxide can be harnessed to make planes, trains and cars run cleaner, lessening the CO2 footprint in the future.

Blog Time Exercise

Blog time! Let’s look at a few resources.

1. Go to http://www.foia.cia.gov/
a. Under Top Searches, identify the most frequent records searches in July, August and September of this year.
ufo: 2533
ufo: 2729
guatemala: 3779
b. Under Top Searches, pull up the 25 most viewed documents. Find ‘Police Officers Spot UFO.’ Where did this incident occur?
Lithuania

2. Go to http://www.ire.org/ Look at “Extra! Extra!” Identify two stories that used state or federal documents.
Wasting Away series
Children failed by Los Angeles County child welfare system

3. Go to the Student Press Law Center’s home page. On your blog, post a link to the SPLC’s Automated FOI Law Request Generator.
http://www.splc.org/foiletter.asp

4. Go to http://www.doioig.gov/, which is the Web site for the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Interior. Find a copy of the 2008 Inspector General’s report on unethical behavior at the Interior Department. Any luck?
no

5. Using Google Uncle Sam, find a copy of the 2008 Inspector General’s report on unethical behavior at the Interior Department. Author: Earl E. Devaney. (Key words: cocaine; promiscuity; improper gifts)
http://www.doioig.gov/upload/Smith%20REDACTED%20FINAL_080708%20Final%20with%20transmittal%209_10%20date.pdf

Personal Profile

Use of natural light from the large windows in the new environmentally friendly dorm saves enough electricity in one year to light Martin Stadium for 233 hours straight. This “green” fact is one of several artfully displayed on the walls throughout the new Olympia Avenue dormitory at WSU.
The dorm’s fresh, exposed interior highlights the different energy-saving components it offers, including a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, water-saving toilets and showers, reused wood, a gas fireplace, indoor bicycle storage, and carpet and furniture made from renewable and recycled materials.
The Olympia is the first of seven environmentally sustainable dorms WSU will build over the next four years. The popular dorm received more than twice as many residence applications than its 229 beds could accommodate—before it even opened in August 2009.
Junior Anthony Smith, 20, The Olympia hall president, applied for his room back in March 2009.
“I got a double with a full bath,” Smith said. “I lived in Gannon-Golds for two years and then I switched over here—[this is a] HUGE difference.”
WSU President Floyd decided freshmen needed higher-quality stays, after he surveyed the living environment when he came to WSU, according to WSU Vice President of Economic Development and Global Engagement John Gardner.
“President Floyd wanted to upgrade the quality of life for new students,” Gardner said.
According to the WSU Sustainability Initiative, President Floyd appointed the Sustainability and Environment Committee, to provide leadership and guidance in “planning, development, organization, and implementation of the programs supporting the [Initiative].
“[WSU] Facilities and Operations will try to put in place a continued renovation of everything,” Gardner said.
He said affordability and the kind of living a building will offer should be illustrated and exemplified in how each new building is constructed and operated.
Sustainability means “leaving it there for the next generation,” Karl Englund, assistant research professor for the Composite Materials and Engineering Center said. “It’s about minimizing effect and utilizing materials correctly and wisely.”
Englund said planners need to assess consumption and design when evaluating whether to revamp an old structure or build one from scratch. He said cost is not just financial—it includes the energy used to create new building materials and dispose of old ones.
“There is a lot more to it than the bricks and the plywood and stuff,” Englund said. “The energy that goes into creating a zero energy house from scratch will take 18-20 years to balance out.”
Reusing old materials and products is one way to save the energy costs of recycling. WSU Capital Planning and Development wanted to involve students in the dorm project, according to Robert Barnstone, associate professor at the School of Architecture and Construction Management. Barnstone’s specialty is in efficient and sustainable recycled materials development.
“We wanted to be able to do something for the building that was unique and sustainable,” Barnstone said. Capital Planning held a student contest to design something sustainable for the new dorm, and his students won, he said.
Students Josh Lafreniere and Dan Blohowiak designed and built a conference table out of reused materials for the dorm’s community room on the ground floor. “They designed it fairly quickly,” Barnstone said. “But building it took almost a whole semester.” The students used glue-lams (laminated support beams) for the table top, and scrap metal and a piece of electrical conduit (pipe) for the base.
“It’s fair to say that any building that we build or renovate has these [sustainability] dimensions in mind,” Gardner said.
The Compton Union building that opened in fall 2008 is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified and Olympia Avenue is registered for a LEED certification.
“The new dorm is likely to receive the silver rating,” Gardner said.
Everything we do has a consequence,” Englund said about sustainability methods, consumption, and ecological footprints. “We just have to be aware [of] the butterfly effect.”
Buildings on campus were generally built with the most sustainable technology available at the time, according to Gardner, and many of the buildings on campus have been retrofitted with energy-saving technologies.
“How they are implemented and where, will depend on their use and economic sustainability,” Gardner said. “Those decisions are made with every new structure and every new renovation.”


Sources:
Anthony Smith anthony.smith@email.wsu.edu
Karl Englund englund@wsu.edu
John Gardner gardnerj@wsu.edu
Robert Barnstone 509-335-8196
WSU Sustainability Initiative
Sustainability and Environment Committee

Follow the records

We’re going to follow a records request from the origin to the end. Use Lexis-Nexis to find the resulting news stories.

Page 1. On June 16, 2006, the Seattle P-I requested records on Enrique Fabergas. Who is Enrique and what records did the journalists find?
Fabregas was a foster parent of two teenage girls and adoptive parent of one younger girl. He was accused of physically and sexually abusing the girls. The state ignored/unsubstantiated multiple reports about Fabregas, before arresting him on multiple charges of child abuse and pronography. The Seattle PI reporter recieved part of a DSHS 900-page report on Fabregas from another source. They also recieved documents from DSHS and the courts.

Page 2. In February of 2005, The Spokesman-Review requested access to something called BART, which was overseen by something called the “Mitigating Circumstances Review Board.” Find the news story that resulted from this request.
"DSHS check clears convicts; 174 kept jobs despite murder, rape and more"- Ben Shors, staff writer

Page 3. This is an internal records release form. How is this different from a public records request?
The internal release form is requesting records from within a specific agency (Morning Star Boys' Ranch). The public records release form would be requesting information that is already considered public- and subjet to FOIA.

Page 4. This is the agency’s response to a records request. What does RCW 13.50.100 say about public records?
"Records not relating to commission of juvenile offenses — Maintenance and access — Release of information for child custody hearings — Disclosure of unfounded allegations prohibited. ... Records retained or produced by any juvenile justice or care agency may be released to other participants in the juvenile justice or care system only when an investigation or case involving the juvenile in question is being pursued by the other participant or when that other participant is assigned the responsibility of supervising the juvenile. Records covered under this section and maintained by the juvenile courts which relate to the official actions of the agency may be entered in the statewide judicial information system. ..."

Page 5 through 9. Review the pages.

a. It’s actually the same two-page report with two copies in the state records system. Why two copies?
One has notes, and one does not. Notes are part of the public record.

b. What is the priest’s account of how the boy lost a 4-inch clump of hair?
The boy disobeyed and the priest was a hold of his hair when the boy tried to run away quickly. The quick movement caused the priest to pull out the hair he was gripping.

c. What are the alleged and acknowledge forms of corporal punishment at the home?
Hair cutting, hacks, grounding and hand-slapping

d. Why are notes written on the page but not included in the body of the report? Can you use those if they aren’t in the official report?
Someone labeled this a draft, but it is not. It is public record and can be used. There has to be something in there to show that it is a working doc. in order to be considered a draft.

e. The ‘Incident Report’ page has been labeled ‘draft.’ Why was it released?
above

f. Why is a routing slip included in the report? Find the RCW that requires the release of this slip.

g. Who or what precipitated this investigation?
mother and counselor

h. Finally, here’s the story that resulted in 1978. Why did the state refuse to release the report in 1978?
confidentiality of clients

Exercise

Trends and news profiles

This exercise is designed to help you track local government data through online search engines. We can use that data to find trends, interesting facts and, of course, story ideas (such as profiles).
We've discussed the need to interview "real people" to illustrate trends and data. But how do we identify those trends or data sets.
Let's look at some really simple online reporting tools that might help ... (I use this exercise in J305, but most of you haven't taken J305 from me, so I've tweaked it slightly for this course.)


I. State and local

a. Using the online resource www.census.gov, answer the following questions:

1. What’s the population of Whitman County? 41,664
2. Percent white? 85%
3. Percent with bachelor’s degree? 48.2%
4. Median household income? $54,205
5. Persons below poverty? 26.7%



II. Drilling down into Census data: Housing

a. Google/unclesam is a powerful tool that let’s us search all “.gov” Web sites. Go fto the search bar and type “Whitman County building permits.”

b. Click on the second link, “Whitman County QuickLinks.”

c. Under Business QuickLinks, click on “Building Permits.”

1. Find the annual construction costs for building permits for Pullman from 2004 to 2008. Report it for each individual year.

2004- $21,793,767

2005-$40,062,508

2006-$34,549,367

2007-$31,922,839

2008-$14,007,013

2. What’s the most current construction cost for 2009? (Obviously the annual report isn’t yet available so look for the most recent month.)

$7,170,166 YTD

$1,716,199 AUG

3. Write a lede based on this information.


III. Federal grants and insurance
Who needs government? Well, Whitman County certainly received some federal help last year. But we want to know how much.

a. Go back to the QuickLinks main page and click on something called “Consolidated Federal Funds Report.”

b. Under ‘Available Data,’ choose 2008 and Geography. Click ‘Submit.’

c. On the next page, choose ‘Washington’ and ‘Yes’ on County. We want ‘All Fund Types.’

d. On the next page, choose Whitman County.

1. How much did Whitman County farmers receive in Crop Insurance? $5,191,477
2. How much did Whitman County receive in grants? $122,982,596
3. Name three of the grants.

a) AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH-BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

b) PLANT AND ANIMAL DISEASE, PEST CONTROL AND ANIMAL CARE

c) WILDLIFE SERVICES



IV. Health Care in Whitman County

a. Let’s take another big national issue: Health insurance. Return to the Quick Links page.

b. Under People Quick Links, locate “2005 Health Insurance Coverage.”

c. Choose Washington and then ‘Submit.’

1. Which two counties have the highest percent of uninsured people?

a) San Juan County

b) Whitman County

2. What’s the percentage in Whitman County? 29.2%


V. Population

Is Whitman County’s population growing? Let’s look at population trends.

1. Type “Whitman County population” into Google Uncle Sam. Which federal or state agency comes up first in the Google list?

www.ofm.wa.gov/databook/county/whit.asp The 2007 Data book

2. Click on the first listing, which takes us to the Office of Financial Management’s profile of the county.

3. On the profile page, click on “Population, Change, Marriages and Divorce.”

a. What’s the total population change in Whitman County from 2000 to 2007, according to OFM?
b. What’s the natural increase? 1,960 ppl
c. Explain the difference between “total change” and “natural change.”

Total change is the total, including births, deathe, and migration.

Natural Change is the difference between births and deaths.

4. Go back to the Google search results for ‘Whitman County population.”

5. Choose the second result, which should take you to Whitman County page.

6. Under General Information, click on “Whitman County Overview from the Choose Washington website.” (Should be Web site, right?)

7. Under “County Data,” click on Population.

a. Based on this projection, how many people will live in Whitman County in 2025? 46,786ppl

Whitman County Agenda

1. The Web site www.whitmancounty.org provides the agendas and minutes for the meeting of the county’s commissioners. Navigate to the commissioners’ page.


2. Open the current agenda.

a. According to the agenda, what meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m.?
Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee meeting
3. Review the minutes from the Sept. 21, 2009, meeting. Find the H1N1 report.

a. How many confirmed cases in Whitman County?
b. How many doses of vaccine will be available in Washington state?
c. How many in Whitman County?
d. What is Dr. Moody’s suggestion on how to distribute?
e. Write a lede based on this information.

Personal Profile Proposals

Lawrence Pintak- Founding Dean, College of Com, lpintak@wsu.edu Comm Add 101, Pullman, 509-335-8535

Pintak was a war correspondent for many years. He spoke recently about the change in the journalism standard and practice of foreign coverage. I think a profile of Pintak would highlight the bigger issue regarding the inadequacies of foreign correspondence and war coverage, and how mass media's practices and concerns affect news content and quality.

David Demers- Professor, Communication, Murrow East 219b, Pullman, 509-335-5608, ddemers@wsu.edu

As a professor and student advisor, Demers has guided student journalists to pursue investigations despite resistance from administration. He encouraged his students to take a denied FOIA request to court and win against the university they were attending. Demers is an interesting and engaging person, and his experience demonstrates the issue of university politics and censorship efforts interfering with student journalism. This issue is not isolated to that university. Many educational institutions attempt to interfere with undesirable student reporting.

Other ideas:

John Gardner, Vice President Economic Development and Global Engagement, gardnerj@wsu.edu
Mike Wolcott- Director of Institute for Sustainable Design, 509-335-6392, wolcott@wsu.edu
Toni Nelson, ACUPCC Program Director, Second Nature, 859-940-2545, tnelson@secondnature.org
The new WSU dorms that are supposedly completely eco-friendly and energy efficient

Is it Libelous?

Is it libelous?
Why or why not?

1. “Up until the day he died, he was a brilliant writer. But the drugs made him a thief, a pimp and a liar,” said friend Karen Smith, who was with Johnson at the time of his death.
This is not libelous because Johnson is deceased. However, if he were alive, thief and pimp charges could possibly pose a threat if the reporter could not prove their truth; even though it was a quote. The accusation could be harmful to Johnson if he were alive.


2. “Megan Fox is a man!” Headline on Weekly World News Web site
This is potentially libelous unless Weekly News can prove it. Even if Megan Fox is a public figure, she may be able to prove actual malice.


3. “In my opinion, Kevin is a murdering rapist.”
Again, even though it is a quote, the charges could be very damaging to Kevin. This is potentially libelous if Kevin was not convicted of these crimes.

Police Report Exercise

Identify the following:
The investigating officer: Detectives R. Graves and R. Webb
The potential crime: suspect might have committed murder in the past.
Officer's response: It is Det. Graves and Webbs Feelings that Mr. Welsh is truly imbarrased and regretful of the incident and that there is no reason to believe he is a threat to society.
Date and Time: The Spokesman-Review obtained the 1986 Spokane Police report October 25, 2002
The basic narrative: Bishop Lawrence Welsh went to Chicago for the Knights of Columbus convention where he picked up a male prostitute, engaged in oral sex, and choked the prostitute according to a police report filed by the prostitute. The case was referred to Spokane because Welsh was a sex counselor in Spokane and was also suspected in the Green River murders. Detectives Graves and Webb met with Welsh and Archbishop Hunthausen. Welsh agreed to be evaluated by a psychiatrist. According to the police report, "It is Det. Graves and Webbs Feelings that Mr. Welsh is truly imbarrased and regretful of the incident and that there is no reason to believe he is a threat to society." The report was handed up to Brass and buried.