A great local blog that I failed to read for the last year or so because my blog reading habits revolved around google reader.

But, for some reason I checked over there tonight, and guess what: Flummel, Flummer, Flummo is now with rss.

They must have someone watching this thing. h/t: B&P

As provided by the state Dems:


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By artistdogboy

I was a lazy comment moderator when I had the power at Olyblog, but I sure did respect those who did wade into the fray to try to keep things civil. And, I rolled my eyes at the folks who claimed bias on the part of the moderators (imperfect as they were).

JstPlnOnry (just plain onry) was one of those who chafed at moderation:

I just figure I'm an adult, no matter where you are, you're going to run into somebody who says it like it is whether it's a heated comment or moment or not! I can choose to engage or choose to walk away! Here, I can choose to engage or choose not to respond!

I guess because I am an adult who knows how to make wise choices, deleting posts and banning people from commenting really saddens me. They have a right to their opinion just as much as I have a right to mine! I'm not always going to like their opinions but it doesn't mean I have to silence them over it. And I certainly wouldn't like being silenced for my opinions! (Which is why I call Aaron Mason out for his stupid ban button and criteria so much!)

A handful of the folks who didn't like the moderation policies at Olyblog went off and started their own effort. Hurray for them (though I still hate not having rss feeds over there), but it looks like JstPlnOnry is learning that life is hard as the moderator, even if Olyforums has a more wide open set of rules:

In my defense, and I stand by my decision, I did not "prevent" you from posting. I prevented you from verbally abusing & belittling other posters here. Your original post is still up, but your ability to continue to post your anger at those who didn't respond to you has been shut down.

If somebody would like to respond to you, they are more than welcome to PM you. Had you not attacked non-responders the way you did, the ability to comment would still be available.

Eric Earling: Reichert is the candidate of old media.

Mark Gardner: Burner is the candidate of new media.

And, all from the same editorial.

So little actual information out there on the crowded district court judge race, so I'm passing this along (even though the original blog that posted it decided to take it down).

If you're a Republican in Thurston County, according to the anonymous person who wrote this, you're vote should go to Gilbert:

Regarding Greg Rosen and Bill Gilbert

1. Bill Gilbert knows the County's District and Superior courts well as his experience as a deputy prosecutor here and a defense lawyer give him the required knowledge and working of the District Court. He knows what works well and what doesn't. He wants to make a difference and that's why he's stepping up.

2. Bill Gilbert is endorsed by many crucial people at the Attorney General's office, i.e. those on the 7th floor where McKenna's office is located. These are the people whom McKenna hired. However, there are three strikes against Rosen I'd like you to know:

a. Greg Rosen was hired by Gregoire.

b. He is supported by maybe a couple other career attorneys at the AG office, who are not known to have Republican type of commitment to the Constitution.

c. Greg Rosen is also one of the four endorsed by the Democratic Party. I would not trust his judicial philosophy.
Judicial Race should not be a Popularity Contest (A letter to the editor from a fellow republican)

The County’s District Court Judicial race seems to have degenerated into a popularity contest like electing other politicians. A massive endorsement list does not reflect the quality of a judicial candidate and should NOT be the criteria for voters’ decision. In fact, attorney is a profession which ally themselves more together than any other professions. When was the last time you hear a lawyer testifying against another for legal malpractice? Endorsements from other big legal names actually make me more suspicious of ‘collusion’ within the legal community.

Instead, I urge voters to cast your vote based on the candidate’s ability to make sound judicial judgments (jurisprudence), which is directly related to a candidate’s length of time as an attorney and variety of experience in various areas in the legal field.

A few big names in this race have relatively short experience as attorneys. Sam Meyer, who was endorsed by The Olympian and other big names in the field, has been an attorney for only 13 years. Likewise, Jodi Erickson-Muldrew has 13 years & Laura Murphy has only 8 years.

Bill Gilbert has over 20 years’ legal experience with variety as deputy prosecutors in two counties, pro tem judge in various capacities, and a business owner in private practice. His variety of experience at various levels and capacities in Thurston County courts lend him the most relevant insight into what voters deserve at the District Court.
http://www.billgilbertforjudge.com/

Bill gets my vote.

This story is about the harrowing tale of student journalists in Pierce County bumping heads with school administrators over what to publish in the school paper.

I sort of had the same experience at my high school, but with a literary magazine, and not a newspaper. Instead of working in the system, I got together with my friends and with $20 and 90s home computer put together a 8 page literary magazine that we distributed around school for the better part of a year.

Today, I would have put up a Ning social network to allow any student to put up stories. I would email out links to everyone I know with an email address, and republish on facebook and myspace. I'd also pass out photocopies of articles for anyone who wants one.

By continuing to work through a school district funded publication, we're teaching student journalists the exact wrong lesson for the media environment today. You don't need someone else to let you or to pay you to be a reporter. You should just be one.

She was his student at UW:

Quick Note To Kathy W.

I remember your grandfather, Archie Binns, very well, indeed. He was one of my professors in Novel Writing at the University of Washington. He was a very interesting man who shared many traits with other writers who taught at the U. in those days: Dylan Thomas, Theodore Roethke, Richard Eberhart. His personal life was very dramatic and exciting, too. We were all in awe of him because he was a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

I would write to you in private, but I have no way of knowing anyone's email address when they post on my weblog.

Ann

Subscribe to my link blog, which I'm trying to use more often and that I just learned tonight you can view and subscribe to.

Inspired by this.

Cascadia is a mega-planned development near Orting, that as far as I can tell, has hit a big road bump. I haven't been able to find anything newsy on whether construction on the project has halted or not, but evidence is mounting.

Their news page has been silent since April and totally dead since July.

As far as I can tell, the three builders (Bennett, Centex, and Shea) that have bought into the project (one for $12 million) aren't selling homes there.

Has the largest planned community in Washington fallen to the axe of the housing bubble?

Son of Roland, what say you?

Either way, I'm up there every so often for work, so I'm thinking of driving by just to take a look.

Aside from spending bookstore gift cards, I've found the best new way for me to buy books.

From now on, I'll fill out the order form from Orca and exchange emails with the nice staff down there and pick up my book in a few days.

The process was amazingly like getting a book from the library, minus actually having to pay for the book at pick-up and a couple of emails.

Now that I think of it, the emails (and one phone call) were actually a very pleasant addition to the process. Made ordering a book a human process, rather than pulling out my credit card and punching in the numbers. I felt a lot better spending the money waiting until the book was available downtown.

I'm not too familiar with the plight of independent book stores against the giant book sellers, but I'm sure there have been some discussions on how to use the web to fight against amazon.com, B&N and Borders. While efforts like Booksense and Indiebound are commendable, it turns out (at least in my case) the best thing to do is to make it simple and pleasant to order a book for pickup.

Have nice and responsive staff and an email form that works. By making interacting with customers online a priority, Orca has secured me (again) as a loyal customer.

Ken this morning:

When did Christine Gregoire become Chris Gregoire? When her political handlers decided she needed to become more friendly and approachable. In her first run for governor she ran as Christine Gregoire, in an effort to appear professional and in charge. This time around, she wants to be seen as just one of the girls.

This is a nice little myth that the governor has tried to repackage herself as a kinder, gentler version of herself. Convenient for a subset of folks that think a strong female leader should be "kinder and gentler."

Poor Ken though, these internets sure are tricky for him, because he's 100 percent wrong (from Internet Archive circa September 2004):

Chris Gregoire was raised in Auburn by her mom, who made a living as a short-order cook. She worked her way through college with a job at a print shop and earned a teaching certificate before attending law school. Chris shares our views and values. She'll lead Washington in the right direction.

I guess in 2004 she wasn't interested in packaging herself as "professional and in charge."

I saw the weirdest signs while driving around today. Throughout southern Pierce and eastern Thurston County, there were Dino Rossi signs that featured local candidates. Signs along Highway 507 in Pierce County had Dino Rossi's name on one side and Randi Becker (who is running for state senate) on the other.

There are similar signs in Thurston County with Rossi on one side and Robin Edmondson (county commission candidate on the other.

I took a short video of the Rossi/Edmondson sign on Pacific near Marvin outside of Lacey:



Just a few questions:

1. Who's paying for the sign? Dino Rossi trying to establish coattails? Local party? State party?

The individual candidates (who are both challengers) working together to try to establish connections with a popular Republican candidate who will likely win in their districts, while they have a harder go at it?

2. What is the reporting requirments on a sign that supports two candidates?

3. No matter who paid for it, does this mean that Dino Rossi is bigger than the Republican party in these rural districts that elect Democrats?

Mariners, ech. I wish I could have kept looking, but with the one person I-continued-to-talk-about-the-Mariners-with being out of town and that losing streak, I had to look away.

For the last three years I've kept a tally of wins and losses, until about a week into September. I stopped marking the calendar about a week into September.



I'll update the calendar later today to finish out the year. It was probably trying to blog about the Mariners not losing 100 games that pushed me over the edge, ironically.

In a couple of months I'll be looking forward to baseball (and North American soccer), but for now I'm glad the train is good and wrecked.

Well, a producer/host/blogger:


ORGANIZATION: TVW

POSITION: Executive Producer / News Editor / Host

CLOSING DATE: Oct. 3

DESCRIPTION
TVW – Washington Public Affairs Network – is offering a unique and challenging career opportunity for a professional communicator. TVW is looking for an Executive Producer to oversee the content and creative direction of the network’s produced programming.

Not only does TVW’s Executive Producer get the opportunity to consistently do in-depth reporting on substantive issues, but this position is also a civics educator responsible for maintaining TVW's meticulous reputation for trusted, unbiased, politically balanced coverage.

Specific responsibilities include:
- Producing, writing and hosting a weekly public affairs news magazine program
- Writing, editing, managing and promoting the network’s news blog
- Creating, writing and coordinating production of on-air promotions
- Developing additional issue-oriented documentary programming

QUALIFICATIONS
The position requires energy, innovation and leadership; a strong working knowledge of television; the ability to write, edit, report and make news judgments – all under tight deadlines; and the temperament to work cooperatively and positively with others while under pressure.

A minimum of two years' television experience and a degree in communications, broadcast journalism or a related field is required. Washington state public policy expertise or experience is preferred.

HOW TO APPLY
To apply, submit résumé, cover letter and demo DVD – by Oct. 3 – to Mike Bay, VP of Programming, TVW, P.O. Box 25, Olympia, WA 98507-0025 or email mikeb@tvw.org. EOE.


In my perfect world, they'd split up the job of host/producer and blogger into two jobs. It probably has to do with budget constraints, but the job of a blogger and broadcast person are two different jobs.

Well, maybe someday.

Started a list of blogs at the Olympia wiki. This is essentially my effort to chart the olympiablogosphere and to remind people that the wiki even exists.

So, if you have a blog, list it there please.

Got started this morning and was basically able to outline two big categories: community blogs and individual blogs. I think this is an important distinction because the first group the places I would suggest people to go if they wanted to participate directly in a community, the second, for one on one conversation with a blogger.

I was only able to list two blogs in the individual blog list before I got called away, so since this is a wiki, feel free to add to it.

I'm not sure I've ever suggested this to you, and I don't know if you even listen to podcasts, but I think the Sound of Young America would be a good listen for you.

Especially this episode. Not sure why exactly, I just thought of you when I listed to it this morning/last night.

Felix Day was empty, and so was this blogger. I was up after the game, and I was online, I just forgot to post anything.

The Mariners still have seven to win to avoid embarrassment.

I read a lot about newspapers and the business of newspapers, but I hardly blog about it. Son of Ronald Roland reminded me that I had a thought to ask of people that read this particular blog.

Ok, recently we've seen an exodus of the "adult in the room" of the Washington press corp:

Dave Ammons and John Hughes to the Secretary of State's office.

Robert Mak for City of Seattle.

David Seago for retirement.

David Postman to Vulcan.

Ralph Thomas to Katz Communications Group.

Given that Ives Galarcep, a ten year veteran reporter from a mid-sized east coast newspaper, can make the successful transition from his print job to a self-sustaining niche blog.

Also, given that Crosscut has a place in Seattle media world.

Ok, so here's the question to answer:

Do you think after Postman, Ammons, Hughes, Thomas and Seago left their print jobs, and instead of going into the government and PR worlds, they started a group blog, that it would work out for them?

My answer in the comments.