What is the craziest thing you have ever done to cover a story?
How much do you incorporate computer aided reporting in the stories you cover? Do you?
From your perspective, how has journalism changed over the course of your career?
How has it changed for the better? For the worse?
Looking back what would you do differently? What should we as new journalists do differently?
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Document Story Proposal
Using documents of the school's electric bill for eco-friendly buildings, I'll look at the costs and savings it incurrs by being LEED certified. I'll talk to Mike Dillon of Avista Utilities about the Utility Rebate Program, Louise Sweeny of Capital Planning and Development, and the students involved in the CUB design and construction. I want to look at the CUB, which is LEED certified, in comparison to the Rec Center, which is not. I will be focusing on the financial aspect of the implementation of bill that requires all state-funded buildings of 5,000 sf or more to be built to LEED certification. If WSU did not have to certify, what could it save long-term on utilities? Or, do the credits of certification make up for having less money to commit to actual green building costs?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Trend Story
A new Washington law requires most government-funded building and renovation plans to meet LEED certification, raising concerns about whether it is worth the average $10,000 to $50,000 price tag.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Investigative Journalism or a Witchhunt?
In Frontline's story about the expose series the Spokesman-Review ran on Mayor Jim West, Editor Steven Smith said, "If he's [Mayor Jim West] engaged in this activity … we need to know that. If he's not -- there's no story." I took this to mean that the difference between a legitimate and illegitimate news story about scandal involving political official depends on whether or not that official is engaged in illegal activities. If they are, then it is a matter of public concern, but if they are simply engaged in a legal alternative lifestyle, then publicizing it would be more of tabloid-like than real journalism.
Reporter Bill Morlin justified the use of a concealed identity on Gay.com as part of The Spokesman-Review's and the FBI's "sting operation" because he did not participate in it personally. Doing so would have involved him in the story- which would be a violation of his publication's ethics. However, using information obtained by an independent private investigator was not in violation of his ethics- personal or professional. However, I question how he defines his ethics. I suspect that when that policy was written, it had more to do with honesty than technicalities. If you hire an assassin because murder is illegal, you'll still go to jail for murder if you get caught. It doesn't matter who pulls the trigger.
I think that when the story first surfaced to the The Spokesman-Review (pre-published) the paper felt an obligation to investigate. Although bias is not supposed to be a participant, I think that the Mayor's lifestyle choices and age interest contributed to his guilty image. Even though the Mayor maintained his innocence, I think that the adrenaline the journalists experienced for exposing a scandal in the government created a snowball effect that ultimately evolved into a witch-hunt instead of an unbiased quest for truth. I hate to mention it, but newspaper sales were also a likely factor.
The Spokesman-Review benefited at first because it exposed a corrupt politician, but the witch-hunt that ensued damaged its credibility. The scandal hurt the gay and lesbian community because it reinforced a profile stereotype of homosexuality linked to pedophilia. Yet, it may have helped advance gay rights in politics at the same time.
Mayor West lost his career, his reputation was ruined, and one could argue that the stress hurt his battle with cancer. Even though some argue that at least West did not have to hide his sexuality anymore, it was no one's right but his to decide whether or not to stay in the closet. West's guilt would have been the only factor to warrant his outing, and he was not proven guilty. If the difference between a legitimate and illegitimate story is the legality of activity in question, then why did this series appear in the Spokesman-Review as it did?
I think there are ethical problems in the organization of this series. Although journalists are expected to assert an element of scrutiny over the actions of public officials, making connections where there are none proven leads the public- rather than informing it.
Reporter Bill Morlin justified the use of a concealed identity on Gay.com as part of The Spokesman-Review's and the FBI's "sting operation" because he did not participate in it personally. Doing so would have involved him in the story- which would be a violation of his publication's ethics. However, using information obtained by an independent private investigator was not in violation of his ethics- personal or professional. However, I question how he defines his ethics. I suspect that when that policy was written, it had more to do with honesty than technicalities. If you hire an assassin because murder is illegal, you'll still go to jail for murder if you get caught. It doesn't matter who pulls the trigger.
I think that when the story first surfaced to the The Spokesman-Review (pre-published) the paper felt an obligation to investigate. Although bias is not supposed to be a participant, I think that the Mayor's lifestyle choices and age interest contributed to his guilty image. Even though the Mayor maintained his innocence, I think that the adrenaline the journalists experienced for exposing a scandal in the government created a snowball effect that ultimately evolved into a witch-hunt instead of an unbiased quest for truth. I hate to mention it, but newspaper sales were also a likely factor.
The Spokesman-Review benefited at first because it exposed a corrupt politician, but the witch-hunt that ensued damaged its credibility. The scandal hurt the gay and lesbian community because it reinforced a profile stereotype of homosexuality linked to pedophilia. Yet, it may have helped advance gay rights in politics at the same time.
Mayor West lost his career, his reputation was ruined, and one could argue that the stress hurt his battle with cancer. Even though some argue that at least West did not have to hide his sexuality anymore, it was no one's right but his to decide whether or not to stay in the closet. West's guilt would have been the only factor to warrant his outing, and he was not proven guilty. If the difference between a legitimate and illegitimate story is the legality of activity in question, then why did this series appear in the Spokesman-Review as it did?
I think there are ethical problems in the organization of this series. Although journalists are expected to assert an element of scrutiny over the actions of public officials, making connections where there are none proven leads the public- rather than informing it.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Math Fun Times
As we look at trends and data sets that drive our reporting, we need to establish a baseline for dealing with … math. Let’s do a quick quiz of the basics.
1. Last year, the school spent $8,300 for office equipment. This year, it will spend 5 percent less. How much will it spend this year?
$7885
2. The spelling and grammar test was taken by 217 students. Thirty-seven failed. What percent passed?
82.9%
3. We have a company. We make crap. Some people get paid more than others. * The CEO earns $150,000 a year. She has a nice office and thinks big ideas. * Two top managers earn $100,000 a year for attending meetings, writing memos, etc. * The company has three security guards. They bust heads and carry Tasers. They earn $40,000 a year. * Finally, we have 2 designers/engineers. They do the actual work. We pay them $35,000 and put them in cubicles like zoo animals.
Mean salary? $67,500 Median salary? $40,000
Which is more accurate? The median since 5 people make 40K or less and 3 make more.
4. Desperate for revenue, the government decides to increase the tax on beer. The tax on food is 5 percent. But if you buy beer, you pay an extra percent, or a total of 6 percent. Supporters of the tax say this is only a 1 percentage increase; critics say this is a 20 percent increase. Who is right?
Both. Technically you are paying 1 extra percent. But a 1 percent increase from 5 percent is 20 percent; 1 percent is 20 percent of 5 percent.
5. a. The city’s budget was cut from $2 million to $1.5 million. What was the percent decrease?
25%
b. The city’s budget increased from $1.5 million to $2 million. What was the percent increase?
33.3%
6. Last year, your property tax bill was $1,152. This year, it rose to $1,275. What’s the percent increase?
10.6%
7. We want to look at home sales in October.
* House 1 costs $225,000. * House 2 costs $207,000. * House 3 costs $129,000. * House 4 costs $192,000. * House 5 costs $3.2 million.
What’s the mean price? $790,600 What’s the median? $207K
8. You and your 4 roommates have ordered a 16-slice pizza. Because you skipped lunch, it is agreed that you should have a 1/4 share of the total. The roommates divide the remainder equally. How much does each one get?
3 slices
9. Let’s say someone wants to establish a University District. To gain support, he/she needs to establish that safety is a problem in the area. Assume the following:
* Pullman had 183 assaults last year. Spokane had 502. * Spokane has 200,000 people. Pullman has 25,000. Is the average person more likely to be assaulted in Spokane or Pullman? More likely in Pullman.
What's the per capita assault rate in each city? Pullman 73.2/10K people, Spokane 25.1/10K people
10. House prices increased 40 percent this year to a median price of $210,000. What was the median house price last year?
$150,000
(Credit: Poynter Institute)
1. Last year, the school spent $8,300 for office equipment. This year, it will spend 5 percent less. How much will it spend this year?
$7885
2. The spelling and grammar test was taken by 217 students. Thirty-seven failed. What percent passed?
82.9%
3. We have a company. We make crap. Some people get paid more than others. * The CEO earns $150,000 a year. She has a nice office and thinks big ideas. * Two top managers earn $100,000 a year for attending meetings, writing memos, etc. * The company has three security guards. They bust heads and carry Tasers. They earn $40,000 a year. * Finally, we have 2 designers/engineers. They do the actual work. We pay them $35,000 and put them in cubicles like zoo animals.
Mean salary? $67,500 Median salary? $40,000
Which is more accurate? The median since 5 people make 40K or less and 3 make more.
4. Desperate for revenue, the government decides to increase the tax on beer. The tax on food is 5 percent. But if you buy beer, you pay an extra percent, or a total of 6 percent. Supporters of the tax say this is only a 1 percentage increase; critics say this is a 20 percent increase. Who is right?
Both. Technically you are paying 1 extra percent. But a 1 percent increase from 5 percent is 20 percent; 1 percent is 20 percent of 5 percent.
5. a. The city’s budget was cut from $2 million to $1.5 million. What was the percent decrease?
25%
b. The city’s budget increased from $1.5 million to $2 million. What was the percent increase?
33.3%
6. Last year, your property tax bill was $1,152. This year, it rose to $1,275. What’s the percent increase?
10.6%
7. We want to look at home sales in October.
* House 1 costs $225,000. * House 2 costs $207,000. * House 3 costs $129,000. * House 4 costs $192,000. * House 5 costs $3.2 million.
What’s the mean price? $790,600 What’s the median? $207K
8. You and your 4 roommates have ordered a 16-slice pizza. Because you skipped lunch, it is agreed that you should have a 1/4 share of the total. The roommates divide the remainder equally. How much does each one get?
3 slices
9. Let’s say someone wants to establish a University District. To gain support, he/she needs to establish that safety is a problem in the area. Assume the following:
* Pullman had 183 assaults last year. Spokane had 502. * Spokane has 200,000 people. Pullman has 25,000. Is the average person more likely to be assaulted in Spokane or Pullman? More likely in Pullman.
What's the per capita assault rate in each city? Pullman 73.2/10K people, Spokane 25.1/10K people
10. House prices increased 40 percent this year to a median price of $210,000. What was the median house price last year?
$150,000
(Credit: Poynter Institute)
Trend Story Ideas
1) I would like to do a trend follow-up to the last story I did about the green dorm, with a wider angle of building green at WSU as an investment in the future. Why did WSU build the cub and other buildings the way it did? This could reflect the larger state or nation-wide trend of green building on college campuses. Does it cost more to get LEED certified? Could certification money be spent on more "green" building options; meaning how does the certification cost dent the budget available for actual "green" amenities? Does WSU require all new buildings be built to LEED certification? Is it a trend or a requirement?
2) I could do a story on the trend of eco-friendly student habits: cycling for transportation, choosing eco-friendly products, etc. or of the Universities use of eco-friendly cleaning products in the janitorial dept. I ran across a bill that would require eco-friendly product use in all state buildings. How does that reflect the trend?
Are "green" products more expensive and taking away from the job budget? In a weak economy should people hold off on requiring "green" products to reduce costs?
2) I could do a story on the trend of eco-friendly student habits: cycling for transportation, choosing eco-friendly products, etc. or of the Universities use of eco-friendly cleaning products in the janitorial dept. I ran across a bill that would require eco-friendly product use in all state buildings. How does that reflect the trend?
Are "green" products more expensive and taking away from the job budget? In a weak economy should people hold off on requiring "green" products to reduce costs?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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
“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.
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?
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?
Friday, October 23, 2009
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.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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 buildin
g 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
Thursday, October 15, 2009
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
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
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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
Thursday, October 8, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Rural Story Proposals
Story Idea 1:
Uniontown has a population of fewer than 500 people, and yet 50 percent of that population was born out of town. I will investigate the leading reasons that brought those out-of-town residents there, and connect them with WSU.
Story Idea 2:
Uniontown has an interesting art scene. The WSU Photography club will be going there next week to take pictures of some of the artists and their work. I will go through them to find some up-and-coming artists and do a piece looking at the influential connections between art style, artist residents and a small-town setting.
Uniontown has a population of fewer than 500 people, and yet 50 percent of that population was born out of town. I will investigate the leading reasons that brought those out-of-town residents there, and connect them with WSU.
Story Idea 2:
Uniontown has an interesting art scene. The WSU Photography club will be going there next week to take pictures of some of the artists and their work. I will go through them to find some up-and-coming artists and do a piece looking at the influential connections between art style, artist residents and a small-town setting.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Community members creatively revitalize small town
UNIONTOWN, Wa.—Community volunteers had to remove 50 years worth of pigeon poop, decades of broken farm equipment and several layers of cement flooring before they could start to convert a 1935 dairy barn into an artisan center.
The two-year barn overhaul was part of the Uniontown Community Development Association’s (UCDA) project that involved 35-40 people “getting together to move the town forward,” local volunteer Sam Kimble said. The project was designed in-part to attract more people to the town, which has fewer than 500 residents, but is only about 15 minutes from Pullman, Lewiston, Clarkston and Moscow.
Resident artists Steve & Junette Dahmen donated the unused barn to the town in 2004. Artist Franceen Hermanson said the Dahmens wanted the community to use the barn for the arts. She also said the Dahmens stipulated a condition that the town keep the surrounding antique-wheel fence that Steve Dahmen built over the last 20 years—a focal point of many local artisans' work.
Hermanson is one of 20 area artists who rent studios at the barn, which also hosts a store, classrooms and events like music and dancing.
“There is something going on there all the time,” She said.
Local Uniontown Community Club member Marvin Entel was the contractor on the barn project, and previously helped community members restore the 110-year-old Jacobs Brewery Building in the center of town in 2003. The Sage Bakery and Cafe moved into that building, which was also part of the UCDA’s revitalization project.
Uniontown history has had several periods of popularity and decline. It hosted a three-ring circus, had slot machines in the club in the 1940s, and had an opera house.
Uniontown firefighter and club member Gary Robinson said the club was on the verge of closing about five or six years ago, but “a lot of people stepped up and put money into it.”
Club President Gabriel Voller, who also volunteered on these projects and others, said locals meet at the club Monday-Wednesday mornings and the Sage Café Thursday-Sunday mornings.
Community Club members Robinson, Entel, Voller and others said that the community keeps Uniontown alive.
Contacts:
The two-year barn overhaul was part of the Uniontown Community Development Association’s (UCDA) project that involved 35-40 people “getting together to move the town forward,” local volunteer Sam Kimble said. The project was designed in-part to attract more people to the town, which has fewer than 500 residents, but is only about 15 minutes from Pullman, Lewiston, Clarkston and Moscow.
Resident artists Steve & Junette Dahmen donated the unused barn to the town in 2004. Artist Franceen Hermanson said the Dahmens wanted the community to use the barn for the arts. She also said the Dahmens stipulated a condition that the town keep the surrounding antique-wheel fence that Steve Dahmen built over the last 20 years—a focal point of many local artisans' work.
Hermanson is one of 20 area artists who rent studios at the barn, which also hosts a store, classrooms and events like music and dancing.
“There is something going on there all the time,” She said.
Local Uniontown Community Club member Marvin Entel was the contractor on the barn project, and previously helped community members restore the 110-year-old Jacobs Brewery Building in the center of town in 2003. The Sage Bakery and Cafe moved into that building, which was also part of the UCDA’s revitalization project.
Uniontown history has had several periods of popularity and decline. It hosted a three-ring circus, had slot machines in the club in the 1940s, and had an opera house.
Uniontown firefighter and club member Gary Robinson said the club was on the verge of closing about five or six years ago, but “a lot of people stepped up and put money into it.”
Club President Gabriel Voller, who also volunteered on these projects and others, said locals meet at the club Monday-Wednesday mornings and the Sage Café Thursday-Sunday mornings.
Community Club members Robinson, Entel, Voller and others said that the community keeps Uniontown alive.
Contacts:
Phone numbers available via email
Sam Kimble
Franceen Hermanson
Marvin Entel
Gary Robinson
Gabriel Voller
Artisans at the Dahmen Barn website
Uniontown website 1
Uniontown website 2
Sam Kimble
Franceen Hermanson
Marvin Entel
Gary Robinson
Gabriel Voller
Artisans at the Dahmen Barn website
Uniontown website 1
Uniontown website 2
Outline:
Lede: What they did-clean up barn
Who: community members
What: barn donated to be used as art studio and gallery- Artisan Barn
When: finished in 2006
Why: part of town revitalization project
Where: small town approximately 15 miles+/- from the quad cities, pop. fewer than 500
Who: community members
What: barn donated to be used as art studio and gallery- Artisan Barn
When: finished in 2006
Why: part of town revitalization project
Where: small town approximately 15 miles+/- from the quad cities, pop. fewer than 500
Quotes
1. "Mary is trying hard in school this semester," her father said.
2. Early in the show, Steven Wright said, "How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?"
3. Did Steven Wright say, "If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you"?
4. "No," the taxi driver said. "I cannot get you to the airport in 15 minutes."
5. Gov. Peterson said she will support a tax increase this session. "Without it, schools will close," she said.
6. "My favorite line is when Jerry Seinfeld said, 'My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned 60 and that's the law,'" Smitty said.
7. My French professor said my accent is "abominable."
8. "Is Time a magazine you read regularly?" she said.
9. When did Roosevelt say, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"?
10. "Can you believe that it has been almost five years since we've seen each other?" Dot said.
2. Early in the show, Steven Wright said, "How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?"
3. Did Steven Wright say, "If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you"?
4. "No," the taxi driver said. "I cannot get you to the airport in 15 minutes."
5. Gov. Peterson said she will support a tax increase this session. "Without it, schools will close," she said.
6. "My favorite line is when Jerry Seinfeld said, 'My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned 60 and that's the law,'" Smitty said.
7. My French professor said my accent is "abominable."
8. "Is Time a magazine you read regularly?" she said.
9. When did Roosevelt say, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"?
10. "Can you believe that it has been almost five years since we've seen each other?" Dot said.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Political Story Outline
Outline: Who: Rep. Hudgins wrote HB 1594. Rep. Eddy and others co-sponsored the bill. Chair of the Higher Education Committee Rep. Wallace did not support it. It could not pass the committee without her approval.
What: HB 1594 did not pass. The bill “creates the environmental cleanup opportunity grant program to assist in the effort to recruit the next generation of environmental cleanup professionals.”
The Issue: Budget cuts affect the priority of environmental responsibility and sustainability in Washington State, and the jobs and education needed to fulfill that environmental role.
When: earlier this year
Where: State Legislation- Olympia
Why: “My impression was that [Rep. Wallace] thought it was going to take from the MOCA fund and she didn’t want to use it for scholarships,” Hudgins said. Rep. Eddy wrote in an email that Rep. Wallace is the Chair of the Higher Education Committee, so the bill could not pass through the committee without her approval. She wrote that Wallace probably disagreed with it partly because of budgetary concerns.
How: The bill would have used funds from the ECA. The state moved over 70m out of the ECA to cover budget cuts. The bill would have used 200k of those funds annually to provide conditional scholarships for environmental students. “It had trouble getting passed the higher education chair—Deb Wallace did not support the bill. I don’t agree with her concerns,” Hudgins said.
What: HB 1594 did not pass. The bill “creates the environmental cleanup opportunity grant program to assist in the effort to recruit the next generation of environmental cleanup professionals.”
The Issue: Budget cuts affect the priority of environmental responsibility and sustainability in Washington State, and the jobs and education needed to fulfill that environmental role.
When: earlier this year
Where: State Legislation- Olympia
Why: “My impression was that [Rep. Wallace] thought it was going to take from the MOCA fund and she didn’t want to use it for scholarships,” Hudgins said. Rep. Eddy wrote in an email that Rep. Wallace is the Chair of the Higher Education Committee, so the bill could not pass through the committee without her approval. She wrote that Wallace probably disagreed with it partly because of budgetary concerns.
How: The bill would have used funds from the ECA. The state moved over 70m out of the ECA to cover budget cuts. The bill would have used 200k of those funds annually to provide conditional scholarships for environmental students. “It had trouble getting passed the higher education chair—Deb Wallace did not support the bill. I don’t agree with her concerns,” Hudgins said.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Environmental Cleanup Opportunity Grant Program- HB 1594
Jenn Weldy
9/24/09
HB 1594
Contacts:
Zach Hudgins (360) 786-7956
Deborah Eddy (360) 786-7848
Washington State Legislation moved more than $75 million out of the ECA [environmental cleanup account] to help fill the budget deficit, Rep. Zach Hudgins, D, said. Hudgins said he sponsored House Bill 1594 in an effort to preserve some of that money for environmental work.
Hudgins said the budget cuts “caused problems in the environment arena but it also caused problems in the tuition arena. … Not only do you need money but you need people too.”
Hudgins said there is a need to create jobs, scholarships and use the toxic cleanup account.
HB 1594 would have provided conditional grants to environmental students. The bill would have cost about $200,000 annually to implement.
“I knew we were going to be moving money out of the account and I wanted to preserve some of that for cleanup in the future,” Hudgins said. “When we’re talking about $75 million, $200,000 isn’t very much.”
The bill would have put the Higher Education Committee (HEC) in charge of implementing a process for distributing the grants. A bill cannot pass through the HEC without the approval of Committee Chair Rep. Deborah Wallace, D, Wallace did not support HB 1594 earlier this year when the legislation was in session, and could not be reached for comment.
Rep. Deborah Eddy, D, a member of the Ecology and Parks Committee and a co-sponsor of HB 1594 wrote in an email that she was not sure why Wallace rejected the bill, but that “it’s a good bet that it was at least partly a budgetary matter. Funds spent on this program would not be spent on other programs that she might consider more worldly.”
Hudgins said he thought Wallace did not want to use the fund for scholarships because it was intended for toxic cleanup—not education. He said he did not agree with Wallace’s concerns because the money was being used for the same thing, “and used very little,” he said.
Hudgins is on the Environmental Health Committee and represents environmental concerns for the Duwamish River, which has several contaminated sites.
“Many of them are from our industrial legacies,” Hudgins said. Sites like these all over Washington State need cleanup, and Hudgins said that preserving ECA funds with HB 1594 would help ensure cleanup and create jobs.
According to the bill’s digest, it “creates the environmental cleanup opportunity grant program to assist in the effort to recruit the next generation of environmental cleanup professionals.”
The bill would take funds from the State Toxics Control Account and other donations to create a conditional grant account. It would award 10 conditional scholarships annually to students pursuing environmental studies. The students would have to serve two years worth of full-time employment involved in environmental cleanup work in
Washington State within the first five years following graduation. If students did not, they would have to pay back the scholarship with interest and fees equivalent to a student loan.
“My goal was to create jobs, provide educational opportunities and to clean up toxic sites around the state all at the same time—without raising taxes,” Hudgins said, since there was already a funding source intended for toxic site cleanup.
Hudgins said he had a lot of support from both parties, and when the Legislation resumes session in January he plans to rewrite HB 1594.
Eddy wrote in an email that she would not likely co-sponsor the bill again without indication of Wallace’s support for the program.
Hudgins said he will make changes in how to better involve the different agencies, including the HEC.
“The department of ecology understands it better so they will be evaluating the criteria this time,” Hudgins said. “You perfect it as best as you can, you throw it out there … then the hearing is a perfection process.”
Monday, September 21, 2009
Political Story Proposal
HB-1594
This bill "Creates the environmental cleanup opportunity grant program to assist in the effort to recruit the next of environmental cleanup professionals consistent with the green economy jobs growth initiative."
This bill addresses the issue of training youths in higher education for environmental jobs. How abundant are programs like these? Where are the finances coming from. Where is the supply and demand? How will this impact future government education funding programs that focus on environment advances and opportunities? I have a list of ten possible sources from behind the bill. I will also talk to financial aid, and students and faculty in environmental programs.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
President Floyd Blog
President Elson Floyd said the number of WSU flu cases reported in the media in comparison to other universities is misleading, because WSU's reports count all cases reported this semester--including those that did not test positive for H1N1. "Other universities may be using reporting systems that include only positive influenza tests or those who actually come to their clinics with influenza-like illness, which would tend to underestimate the number of cases," Floyd said.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
MLK Jr. speech
Civil rights activist Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of freedom, justice and equality today at the Lincoln Memorial to 200,000 supporters of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedoms.
"I have a dream," King said, "... that all men are created equal ... that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Rev. King spoke of the "chains of discrimination" and the right to the pursuit of happiness and of liberty, referencing the Emancipation Proclamation, signed 100 years ago.
Beat Interests
Stations Go Green Without Seeing Red
This highlights some financial aspects of eco-friendly architecture. It covers some ways to build green while cutting costs, including government rebates.
This highlights some financial aspects of eco-friendly architecture. It covers some ways to build green while cutting costs, including government rebates.
This covers research on consumer spending habits on green products.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Speech Story- Dr. Susan Crockford
The site of 3,500 to 2,500 year old houses found at Amaknak Bridge is the only one of its kind in North America and its remains reveal new human and animal migration theories, Zooarchaeologist Dr. Susan Crockford said Thursday at Washington State University (WSU) during her presentation about her fieldwork at the Unalaskan Island site threatened by road construction.
“These houses had actual chimneys with a fire hearth at the bottom—built into the wall. It’s a style of structure that is not seen anywhere else,” Crockford said.
The site had several houses up against each other that had covered rock-lined channels in the floor leading to the fire place. Crockford said some archaeologists there attributed the channels to central heating, but “my interpretation is that these are actually drafts to keep an open fire burning under really windy conditions.”
Crockford’s presentation, “Climate change in the North Pacific: Zoogeographical implications of mid-Holocene sea ice expansion in the Bering Sea,” explained how certain species of animal remains from 3,500 to 2,500 years ago proved that the Eastern Aleutian Island climate and landscape was arctic due to a neo-glacial ice expansion of the Bering Sea from 4,700 to 2,500 years ago.
Crockford said the climate conditions present when the site was occupied 3,500 to 2,500 years ago were very similar to those today in the Bering Strait. The sea ice was so far south that it created an arctic environment in the Eastern Aleutians. Crockford said it was “an unprecedented situation in historic times—that’s for sure."
Of the 76 species of birds, and land and sea mammals Crockford identified, many breed only in certain seasons and climatic environments. The abundance of certain juvenile and infant remains, such as the ringed, bearded and fur seals proved the ice must have been present as late as June or July most years, Crockford said.
Archaeologist Dr. Colin Grier, an assistant professor at WSU, said he “liked that she used a single site to re-open an old question—how did the Thule (pre-Inuit) actually populate the entire North American Arctic?”
Grier said Crockford did not present global climate data to back her theory and he was skeptical of Crockford’s use of a lack of sites in the Bering Sea as evidence to prove the area was iced over.
Grier also said he did not agree that the Thule were descendents of Aleut, but more “likely a conglomerate of many peoples and cultural practices that came together about 2,000 years ago in the Bering Strait.”
Crockford said people with a culture distinctly adapted to arctic conditions and hunting, “including whales (The Thule People),” migrated across the arctic from Alaska to Greenland about 1,000 years ago.
“This site was occupied well before that time but has many similar artifact elements,” she said.
Grier said there was still unexplained data, but the presentation was interesting and well-delivered.
“The intertwining of ice floes (sic), human movement/adaptation and climate was great,” Grier said. “What stood out was the uniqueness and significance of the site, and although not amplified in the talk, that the site is now trashed to make way for a new bridge, so we will learn nothing more.”
Crockford said her team carefully surveyed a small portion of the site for as much archaeological data as possible. She said she cringed at the thought of a bunch of graduate students hacking the site apart with a gardening tool—others that examined it later quickly unearthed the rest with a back hoe to get a more general gist of the site as a whole.
"It actually was a salvage project,” Crockford said. “They were rerouting the road leading to the airport. It was a big job—I think they allowed 6 months to excavate as much as could be done in this site, and then they were going to bulldoze the whole thing."
Dr. Crockford is a Zooarchaeologist with Pacific Identifications Inc., Victoria, B.C., Canada.
Contacts:
Dr. Susan Crockford, sjcrock@shaw.ca, http://pacificid.com/
Dr. Colin Grier, cgrier@wsu.edu, http://www.libarts.wsu.edu/anthro/faculty/grier.html
“These houses had actual chimneys with a fire hearth at the bottom—built into the wall. It’s a style of structure that is not seen anywhere else,” Crockford said.
The site had several houses up against each other that had covered rock-lined channels in the floor leading to the fire place. Crockford said some archaeologists there attributed the channels to central heating, but “my interpretation is that these are actually drafts to keep an open fire burning under really windy conditions.”
Crockford’s presentation, “Climate change in the North Pacific: Zoogeographical implications of mid-Holocene sea ice expansion in the Bering Sea,” explained how certain species of animal remains from 3,500 to 2,500 years ago proved that the Eastern Aleutian Island climate and landscape was arctic due to a neo-glacial ice expansion of the Bering Sea from 4,700 to 2,500 years ago.
Crockford said the climate conditions present when the site was occupied 3,500 to 2,500 years ago were very similar to those today in the Bering Strait. The sea ice was so far south that it created an arctic environment in the Eastern Aleutians. Crockford said it was “an unprecedented situation in historic times—that’s for sure."
Of the 76 species of birds, and land and sea mammals Crockford identified, many breed only in certain seasons and climatic environments. The abundance of certain juvenile and infant remains, such as the ringed, bearded and fur seals proved the ice must have been present as late as June or July most years, Crockford said.
Archaeologist Dr. Colin Grier, an assistant professor at WSU, said he “liked that she used a single site to re-open an old question—how did the Thule (pre-Inuit) actually populate the entire North American Arctic?”
Grier said Crockford did not present global climate data to back her theory and he was skeptical of Crockford’s use of a lack of sites in the Bering Sea as evidence to prove the area was iced over.
Grier also said he did not agree that the Thule were descendents of Aleut, but more “likely a conglomerate of many peoples and cultural practices that came together about 2,000 years ago in the Bering Strait.”
Crockford said people with a culture distinctly adapted to arctic conditions and hunting, “including whales (The Thule People),” migrated across the arctic from Alaska to Greenland about 1,000 years ago.
“This site was occupied well before that time but has many similar artifact elements,” she said.
Grier said there was still unexplained data, but the presentation was interesting and well-delivered.
“The intertwining of ice floes (sic), human movement/adaptation and climate was great,” Grier said. “What stood out was the uniqueness and significance of the site, and although not amplified in the talk, that the site is now trashed to make way for a new bridge, so we will learn nothing more.”
Crockford said her team carefully surveyed a small portion of the site for as much archaeological data as possible. She said she cringed at the thought of a bunch of graduate students hacking the site apart with a gardening tool—others that examined it later quickly unearthed the rest with a back hoe to get a more general gist of the site as a whole.
"It actually was a salvage project,” Crockford said. “They were rerouting the road leading to the airport. It was a big job—I think they allowed 6 months to excavate as much as could be done in this site, and then they were going to bulldoze the whole thing."
Dr. Crockford is a Zooarchaeologist with Pacific Identifications Inc., Victoria, B.C., Canada.
Contacts:
Dr. Susan Crockford, sjcrock@shaw.ca, http://pacificid.com/
Dr. Colin Grier, cgrier@wsu.edu, http://www.libarts.wsu.edu/anthro/faculty/grier.html
Questions:
- What did you find most interesting about your research at Amaknak Bridge? Why is it a "career highlight?"
- What does having a chimney built into the house mean for the site? Was it the earliest such finding for North American Native people? Is it of regional significance or continental, or other?
- Where does this site fit in the time-line of migration? does it?
Story Ideas
Story Ideas
- Making existing buildings more eco-friendly, while maintaining cost-efficiency
http://cleantech.wsu.edu/projects/sustainable.aspx - Research on WSU campus about biofuel
http://cleantech.wsu.edu/projects/renewable.aspx - WSU research aimed at improving the efficiency and reliability of electric power and energy systems
http://cleantech.wsu.edu/projects/smart.aspx - WSU research improves existing materials and creates those with even greater strength, durability, flexibility, and that are less toxic to the environment. http://cleantech.wsu.edu/projects/advanced.aspx
- This research explores the particular function that local communities and average citizens play in environmental decision making.
http://cleantech.wsu.edu/projects/environmental.aspx - WSU also is discovering ways to reduce soil erosion, waterway pollution, and resource consumption associated with agriculture.
http://cleantech.wsu.edu/projects/climate.aspx
Sources
- Environmental Research News
http://researchnews.wsu.edu/environment/201.html - Institute for sustainable design
http://sustainabledesign.wsu.edu/ - Clean Technologies and Innovative Solutions
http://cleantech.wsu.edu/default.aspx - WSU Research
http://research.wsu.edu/
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Questions for Jonathan Randal
1. Have you ever faced an ethical dilemma where you had to choose between remaining objective to the situation and writing about it, and putting aside your notepad and pen to act in the welfare of others or yourself?
2. Some say Al Jazeera is biased against the West and others say it is more neutral and objective than Western media. Having spent so much time in Middle Eastern conflict areas, What is your first hand opinion?
3. Have you ever been censored, or completely suppressed, by a superior, governmental agency or your conscience for national security or the greater good?
4. What do you think will be the next big conflict?
5. What will your next book be about? When can consumers expect it?
2. Some say Al Jazeera is biased against the West and others say it is more neutral and objective than Western media. Having spent so much time in Middle Eastern conflict areas, What is your first hand opinion?
3. Have you ever been censored, or completely suppressed, by a superior, governmental agency or your conscience for national security or the greater good?
4. What do you think will be the next big conflict?
5. What will your next book be about? When can consumers expect it?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Beat/Story Ideas
One of the more important issues today is the environment. WSU, like many other campuses is "going green" in a variety of ways, including recycling, research about sustainability, and using innovative eco-friendly building materials and designs. My beat will address environmental issues that are important on a wide scale, but with a specific connection to WSU. I think "green" issues are important to WSU students because most are aware they have the power to influence the condition of their environment, and many are concerned locally and globally.
In my beat, I plan to cover issues stemming from and influencing university research, student activities and campus renovations. Some key sources will be WSU researchers, student activism groups, administrators overseeing campus construction and budgeting, published and ongoing environmental impact studies, and WSU environmental press releases. I can cover this beat from Pullman because it is directly connected to WSU. The majority of my sources are local and easy to access. Other sources will be available online or via telephone.
WSU conducted a study that showed a connection between environmental toxins and inherited diseases like cancer and liver disease. I'll use the study to raise the issue about human exposure to chemicals in pesticides and fertilizers, and the organic trend.
- WSU Study Shows Environmental Toxins Can Cause Inherited Diseases Go beyond organic: Bliss serves up raw food with soul
- The foods you should definitely buy organic
- Keeping chemicals out of the classroom
An ever-growing popular trend is the switch from disposable water bottles to reusable ones. This is attributed to by an effort to create less waste for the planet to have to digest and to avoid harmful plastic chemicals such as BPA. This is of interest to WSU students because they are part of this trend, often spending $20 or more on a reusable bottle. This story will investigate the trend's origins, costs (locally, nationally, etc.) and connections to the environment.
Fuel is a hot topic for many students since even those who are not driving much now, will be when they graduate and start careers and commuting. WSU researchers are currently examining bio-fuels. Advances in bio-fuels could impact student pocketbooks and influence future car-buying decisions. This story will look into other alternative fuel sources, associated costs, supply and demand, and the effects it can have on students and the environment.
- Renewable Energy-Bio-fuels
- State looks at grasses, grains, wood products to produce fuel
- Clean Energy and Climate Change Law and You
- Research and Markets: Biomass Report - Market Research Report Ed 3 - 2009
Useful Sources:
- Cherie Winner, WSU News Service, 509-335-4846, cwinner@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
- WSU Green Media Resources
- John Gardner, Vice President Economic Development and Global Engagement, gardnerj@wsu.edu
- Howard Grimes, Dean of the Graduate School, Vice President for Research, grimes@wsu.edu
- Keith Jones, Director, Office of Intellectual Property, jonesk@wsu.edu
- Markus Flury, WSU professor of soil physics, 509-335-1719, flury@wsu.edu, $1 million grant for cleanup
- Jim Harsh, WSU professor of soil chemistry, 509-335-3650
Public Affairs Issue
Madonna booed in Bucharest for defending Gypsies
I think this is an interesting and well-written article that used an event to highlight an ongoing issue of racism and discrimination in Eastern Europe.
I think this is an interesting and well-written article that used an event to highlight an ongoing issue of racism and discrimination in Eastern Europe.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Caster Semenya- Public or Private Issue?
The International Association of Athletics Federations, I.A.A.F., challenged a female athlete's official sex and right to compete against other women, according to an essay in The New York Times by Alice Dreger, a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. South African world champion runner Caster Semenya's sex was questioned in part because some say she is too man-like, athletically.
Dreger's essay detailed some of the biology commonly used to define male and female, and other biological factors that blur the definition. She wrote that the I.A.A.F. will determine Semenya's sex using a scientific team of various doctors and specialists, including an endocrinologist, gynecologist and psychologist. Dreger also questioned the guidelines for sex verification.
Is this issue a public affair?
Yes.
Not because Semenya's sex is something that should or should not be questioned. Not because she should or should not be allowed to compete against women. Not because the guidelines that differentiate between male and female are or are not accurate/biologically sound/ethical/etc.
The Semenya issue is a public affair because it asks those questions. It not only questions rules and guidelines that determine which competing class an athlete falls in within a sporting association, but it questions the very definition of sex. It questions biology. The results of this issue may impact similar arguments in other sports and arenas. These questions challenge the association between sex and gender, and what the many facets of those identities mean to people. These questions are a matter of general concern and interest because they reach beyond the sporting arena to the general public.
Dreger's essay detailed some of the biology commonly used to define male and female, and other biological factors that blur the definition. She wrote that the I.A.A.F. will determine Semenya's sex using a scientific team of various doctors and specialists, including an endocrinologist, gynecologist and psychologist. Dreger also questioned the guidelines for sex verification.
Is this issue a public affair?
Yes.
Not because Semenya's sex is something that should or should not be questioned. Not because she should or should not be allowed to compete against women. Not because the guidelines that differentiate between male and female are or are not accurate/biologically sound/ethical/etc.
The Semenya issue is a public affair because it asks those questions. It not only questions rules and guidelines that determine which competing class an athlete falls in within a sporting association, but it questions the very definition of sex. It questions biology. The results of this issue may impact similar arguments in other sports and arenas. These questions challenge the association between sex and gender, and what the many facets of those identities mean to people. These questions are a matter of general concern and interest because they reach beyond the sporting arena to the general public.
A Few Beat Interests...
- Science/Current research projects, advancements and new discoveries funded by WSU, or conducted by WSU faculty, students, etc.
- Crime/police reports in Pullman
- Local Politics/Small Government
- Education- all levels, including funding, programs, requirements etc.
- Environment- going green, pollution on the local level, advances and setbacks, affects on/ effects of agriculture, etc.
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