blogs.kxly.com

I saw it again. This time it was NBC’s Today Show doing a segment on how to dress for less, how to get the same red carpet look for thousands of dollars less, how you can buy an entire outfit for under a couple hundred bucks! Wow! Amazing! Do you sense my sarcasm? My problem with these “dress on a dime” segments is that they aren’t helpful. Anyone can get a head to toe outfit for that kind of money.

They say 1968 was the year that Spokane had the most snow on the ground, but even in ‘68 there wasn’t a single day snowfall that rivals what we have seen this week. From around 7:00 a.m. Wednesday morning when it started, snowfall was uninterrupted in the immediate Spokane area for well over 40 hours. It wasn’t a Currier and Ives snowfall either, it was a steady, relentless, pile it on kind of snowfall that spreads havoc.

Wednesday evening’s commute was a mess. Heavy snow, slick roads, and impatient drivers, made it memorable. Hundreds of slide-offs, collisions, and vehicles stuck everywhere made for an interesting evening. Thursday morning we awakened to find more snow on the ground than Spokane folks have ever seen from a single snow event. It was clear that getting around town would be nigh on to impossible. The authorities told us to stay home, and thankfully most of us did. There were those who ventured. many of the probably wished they had stayed home too. There were vehicles stranded all over town.

Big snow like this brings back memories. Memories have a way of welcoming a bit of embellishment. Take that big snow year of 1968-’69. I’ve been told that snow didn’t melt until July. Actually most of it was gone in march, which is pretty typical, and the rest was gone by mid-April. In fact that snow year ranks 9th when it comes to overall snowy winters. 77.5 inches fell that year, but when and how it piled up knows no equal. Last year we received over 89 inches of total snowfall. That was the second highest snow total for a season. The all-time winner was the winter of 1949-50 at over 93 inches.

Records don’t matter though. If you were in Spokane in the last couple of days, you saw something unusual and historic. I’ll look forward to telling the grand kids about it.

More people live in liberty around the world at this very moment than at any other time in human history. Whatever else you think about President George W. Bush, he is substantially responsible for that truth. A month before the 43rd President departs from the White House, polls show that a majority of Americans don’t think much of George W. Bush, but had his administration not done what was done in the wake of 9-11, how many more innocent American civilians would have been killed by terrorists?

President Bush says nobody could have predicted in the Fall of 2001 that the country would not be hit again for the rest of his presidency, and he says, “It was not a matter of luck.”
This week the President mentioned several plots that were disrupted since the 9-11 attacks including an attempt to bomb fuel tanks at a New York airport, and a plot to blow up jets bound for the East Coast. President Bush says no one knows how many lives may have been saved. He could’ve told of other plots, but chose to talk about only the ones that were widely reported.

How George W. Bush will be remembered after Barack Obama succeeds him next month remains to be seen. In the short term, he will be chastised for the current poor economy, and many critics will choose to overlook the success in Iraq. There’s “plenty to debate about the decisions President Bush has made in the last eight years, but that there can be no debate that on his watch, there wasn’t another terrorist attack on the United States after 9/11. I think history will treat the 43rd U.S. President much better than today’s media which largely has driven the widespread negative regard for George W. Bush.

      Following an 11 hour day of covering Spokane’s first MAJOR snowfall of the season I came home to find a thick blanket of snow on my driveway. so, I thought it might make for a fun video if I did a time lapse version of my efforts.

     Real time was about 8 1/2 minutes. I was able to squeeze it down to 2 minutes by fast forwarding the video. Enjoy.

      PS: Lexy rarely leaves my side when I’m out doing yard work or in this case, shoveling snow.

Thursday morning… all of it was back and then some!

I answered calls tonight from a couple angry viewers, upset with our snow coverage today. I usually know within the first three seconds of those calls if the person on the other end really wants to know why we’re doing what we’re doing - or, if they just want to complain and hang up. I wish more of them would have stayed on the line and listened to my answer tonight - because I proudly stand by our coverage.

First off, know this: sometimes TV stations overdo it. We can acknowledge that. This, however, is not one of those times. By 11:30 this morning, we knew this was more than just another snowstorm. The roads were terrible - I-90 was closed near Geiger because of a nine car, two semi pile-up. I-90 was also closed in Coeur d’Alene because of a massive pile-up there. Everywhere in between, roads were being shut down and people were slamming into each other as the snow piled up on the streets. Now, many hours later, the snow is still falling. This is what you’d call a big storm. We decided to go wall-to-wall with our coverage just before four o’clock this afternoon. We don’t make that decision lightly. But, when we couldn’t keep up with the accidents and the afternoon commute was starting to look extremely hairy, we knew we didn’t have a choice. I was confident we made the right decision all along, but had that affirmed a couple hours later when we got a press release from Spokane Police saying chains were required for drivers on the South Hill. That’s a big storm, folks - and, a public safety emergency.

I’m not a snow wuss. I grew up in Montana and spent four winters in Wisconsin before moving to Washington, where I’ve spent 10 winters. Our news director is from Michigan - he’s not afraid of snow, either. But, there’s snow and there’s snow. When we get as much as we did today, we have an obligation to our viewers to share the latest information with them.

I know many of you don’t like to miss the national news. I get that. But, when it’s taking people an hour and a half to get across the Maple Street Bridge, we need to report on that. When they shut down all but two of the roads heading north and south, we need to report on that. When we’re nowhere near the end of this thing, we need to report on that.

Like many of you, I’m a creature of habit. There are things I do every day the exact same way - and, if I don’t, things feel a little off. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not OCD about this. But, some things are just easier if I follow a routine. That goes, too, for the websites I visit every day. I thought I’d share the sites I visit every day - and, see if you have any to suggest. And, though I probably should be embarrassed by some of my choices, I won’t be. The first step to recovery is admitting it.

kxly.com and other news sites: These are the sites I visit often (multiple times a day). I check our website to make sure we’re staying on top of coverage, to see stories that I may have missed on TV and to check for things like grammatical errors or things that don’t look quite right. I check our competitors’ websites even more frequently to make sure we’re not missing something we should be covering (I don’t feel bad about saying that, because I know our competitors are doing it, too). I also check the regional news sites, including the Seattle TV stations and newspapers. To stay competitive, you have to know what your competition is doing - and, sometimes, stories that are done in Seattle/Portland/San Francisco, etc. can be relevant here. Those are the sites on which I spend the most time (whether I’m at work or not). I also check NPR.org a couple times a day, just to see the headlines from a different perspective. And, I check Greatfallstribune.com a couple times a week to see what’s happening in my hometown.

Facebook.com: My husband used to tell me I was too old to go on Facebook (and, Myspace); until he realized all his friends were on it, too (and even some of their parents). I’ve reconnected with so many people from throughout my life through these social networking sites - and, it’s a really nice diversion. I don’t accept any friend requests from people I don’t know, though, so maybe I should be expanding my horizons.

PerezHilton.com: I’m a gossip junkie. It’s a sickness, but I can’t help myself. And, nobody does it like Perez.

TeamSugar.com: I discovered this site about a year ago and am still discovering new elements. It’s considered a social network site for women - and, is made up of a series of blogs about everything from fashion to home improvement to shopping and beyond. I used to be a daily visitor to fabsugar.com (the fashion site), but since I’ve been pregnant, I visit lilsugar.com every day. It’s a little something for everyone in one easy-to-navigate site.

Gomarquette.com: I am proud to have a degree from a well-respected Jesuit institution like Marquette University. But, when it comes to my free time, I don’t go to Marquette’s academic site - I go to check out what’s up with the basketball team. And, since I’m convinced they’re going to win a national championship this year, I’m sure I won’t be the only one checking it out!

Thedailybeast.com: A news clearinghouse run by former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown. It includes original content and newslinks in an easy to digest format. It has a sarcastic edge to it - that’s why I like it.

Those are the sites I check every day - though, I spend a good portion of my day online, so I check a lot more than just this. I hope you’ll share some of your go-to sites - I’m always ready to add to my list. 

Just as we told you, the snow is falling like crazy throughout Eastern Washington right now (and, Western Washington for that matter). I am not looking forward to venturing out into it later today, but I do need to go into work for a few hours and help with our snow coverage. I know a lot of you will be watching us and our competitors closely over the next few days, as the snow sticks around and the temperatures plummet. Some things the news crews do will annoy you - and, they’ll actually annoy me, too!

There are things we have to do during weather coverage like this: we have to give you driving tips (there were 60 crashes yesterday between noon and 5 pm  and it wasn’t even bad out there yet); we have to repeat ourselves (most people don’t watch all day, every day - people tune in and out); we have to tell you what’s happening in areas outside of Spokane (some people call and complain to us about this - but, our viewing area extends from Moses Lake down past Orofino, over into Montana and up into Canada… just because it’s not snowing at your house doesn’t mean other people in our region are not affected!). But, there are things we DON’T have to do… and, while you will see them, I hope you don’t see them on kxly4:

1. We don’t have to kick the snow! It’s a TV news reporter favorite. Some reporters LOVE to show you what the snow looks like by kicking it or shuffling through it. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to me - and, I saw a LOT of it yesterday. Show me the snow - but you really don’t have to kick it!

2. We don’t have to call it “white stuff”. That’s a pet peeve of a LOT of TV news people - but, a lot of other people insist on calling it “white stuff.” It’s snow. Call it snow.

3. We don’t need to talk to you like you’re in kindergarten. Yes, we need to warn you - and, we’ll remind you some tips about what to do if you’re trapped in your house or car during a storm like this. We also need to tell people who are new to the area (including some who have never driven in snow) the basics of how to drive in it. But, we don’t need to tell you to scrape your windshield and how to shovel.

4. We don’t need to give you tips that don’t make any sense. I have heard several news/weather reporters over the years say things like, “Might want to put on an extra jacket/blanket/sweater.” Seriously? First of all, if I’m cold, I’ll put an extra blanket on my bed. But, am I really going to put on two jackets? C’mon.

There are many more - and, I’ll be on my soapbox this week reminding our crews of why these things need not to appear on our air. I’m sure I’ll think of more - and, I invite you to add your own!

Getting reports now of snowfall in Moses Lake, Ritzville, Wenatchee and Colville… it is upon us.

I’ve spent the last hour or so planning our weather coverage for this weekend’s big storm. Yes, folks, by all accounts and forecasts right now, it’s coming - and, it could be a big one! I can hear it already: the chorus of newspaper columnists and longtime Spokane residents chastising us for “blowing the storm out of proportion.” I’ve resisted the urge to respond - but, it appears my willpower has worn down.

It’s easy to sit back and say TV news people go overboard with weather coverage. A lot of the time, I agree! I like to call it a weather hemorrhage when news stations go totally nutso about weather that doesn’t really matter. But, this storm - if it comes in the way it’s forecast - will be a bear. In fact, the guy at the National Weather Service called it a “bomb” (note: he’s a meteorologist with the weather service, not a TV guy…) We have an absolute responsibility to tell you what’s coming, tell you where the snow has fallen and tell you how it will affect you. Yes, it’s obvious that people should slow down on icy roads. But, every year, we respond to DOZENS of crashes from people driving too fast for conditions. Shouldn’t we gently remind them? Yes, it’s winter and we’re going to have snow and cold temperatures. But, every winter, people are caught off guard with homes that aren’t properly insulated and chimneys that haven’t been cleaned before the first fire of the year.

We will do our best - I promise you - to strike that balance between informing you and not making you feel like a pre-schooler by talking down to you. Will we always strike that balance? No. But, we’ll do our best. And, if you have any suggestions about how to better cover the snow that you know we’re going to cover anyway, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Enjoy the weather hemorrhage!

Gov. Chris Gregoire plans to release a balanced budget proposal in a couple of weeks. The budget will address the state’s largest deficit in history, and the Governor’s office says it will deal with the record shortfall without raising taxes. During her campaign for re-election, Governor Gregoire was allowed to get away with explaining dismal state finances by claiming that it was all the result of the national economy, stressed by the economic policies of George W. Bush. Now she will have to tell the truth. Her party spent us into oblivion over the last four years, and can no longer continue that practice.

The Washington State Legislature will take up the matter of the 2009-11 biennium budget when it convenes in January, and lawmakers will be forced to take a more conservative fiscal approach than they ever have before. It comes down to a simple question of what line items to keep and which get cut. Every decision will carry a political consequence that may cost Democrats the next time voters go to the polls. It was so much easier tossing a few shekels to every special interest group with their hand out in the last few years. Now the piggy bank is empty.

Even before next biennium, there is a more immediate problem: getting through the remainder of the current fiscal budget. Latest revenue forecasts show that the state must deal with a shortfall between now and next June of nearly 500-million dollars. Democrats will not appreciate hearing “I told you so” from minority Republicans, but the record shows the majority was constantly warned. So, let the cutting begin, and good luck managing the expectations of those programs and folks who think you’ll spare them.

     I think I fall into this category, darn it.   I tend to go the gift card route over the holidays partly because that’s what my family wants and partly because I loath shopping.  Technically, I don’t shop.  I go in, get what I want and get out.  I rarely wander and price compare.  This holiday I will make my purchases online too.  Since all my family is in SW Washington and the greater Portland area it’s easy to mail their gifts.   So this link is perfect for me and may be good for the clueless guy in your household.

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The Free Life – Helping you stress less, live better and enjoy life.

Tis the season to feel festive. I still have to track down this year’s Christmas tree and set-up the lights. My plan is to get that done this weekend. But if you’re already admiring yours or need some inspiration, there are a few free events taking place around town. Here’s the list:

SPOKANE

Davenport Tree Lighting Ceremony - Tonight at 6 p.m. The Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane hosts its annual tree lighting ceremony. Free viewing of trees on Mezzanine daily, now through December 13th. 10 South Post Street, Spokane.

POST FALLS, ID

Christmas Wish Movie Morning - Tomorrow, Dec. 6 is officially Christmas Wish Movie Morning at the Post Falls Theater. See any movie at 10 a.m. for just $5.  Half of each ticket sold will go directly to Christmas Wish. Post Falls Theater, 1486 West Seltice, Post Falls, ID. More information call: (208) 773-4332.

ST. MARIE’S, ID

Winter Sleigh Rides - Starting tomorrow The Forever Green Tree Farm in St. Marie’s is offering free sleigh rides. For adults and kids there’s also a two story holiday shop where I’m told you’ll enjoy hot chocolate, candy canes, cookies, and more. (12/6-12/7, 12/13-12/14) The farm is located at 500 Forever Green Drive, St. Maries, ID. For more information call: (208) 245-2440 or click here: http://www.forevergreentree.com/

The Free Life – Helping you stress less, live better and enjoy life.

SPOKANE

Festival Of One Acts, Tonight & Tomorrow (12/3 - 12/4) - Watch theater students direct and perform short plays. Begins at 7 p.m. Whitworth University, Cowles Auditorium, 300 W. Hawthorne Avenue, Spokane. Admission is free. (509) 777-3707.

POST FALLS

Spokane River Workshop, Tonight from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - A public workshop to discuss current issues affecting the river.  Sponsored by The Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Aquifer, Sierra Club’s Upper Columbia River Group, and the Center for Justice. Free admission and refreshments will be served. Post Falls Library, 821 N. Spokane Street, Post Falls, Idaho. (509) 209-2899.

 The Free Life - Helping you stress less, live better and enjoy life.

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is behind us, and that Christmas and the New Year are fast approaching. When I started this blog, I told you it was mainly about free things you can find in and around Spokane. But every now and then I’ll share some great deals with you, like today. 

If you still haven’t bought a Christmas tree this year, the U.S. Forest Service sells $5 dollar permits for families wanting a Christmas tree adventure. You can’t beat the price and it can be a fun, family outing. The information I found is specifically for the Colville National Forest in Colville, WA. But you can contact your local Forest Service office to figure out where you can use your $5 dollar family permit. If you go, here are a few tips from the U.S. Forest Service:

1. Buy a permit ($5) from the closest ranger station (Colville, Kettle Falls, Newport, Sullivan Lake or the National Forest Information Center in Spokane). Carry your permit with you and attach it to the tree after cutting.
2. Do not cut a tree from a campground or other developed area.
3. Cut tree from a thicket. Leave a healthy tree every 20 feet.
4. Cut the tree close to the ground.
5. Scatter the limbs before you leave.
6. Wear warm clothing.
7. Be sure your auto is prepared for weather in the mountains.
8. Ask your ranger station for maps and weather information before heading out into the forest. Explain your travel route to and destination to a friend or family member who is not traveling with you.

For more information on the Christmas tree permits click here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/colville/passespermits/christmas-tree.shtml

I’d love to hear back from any of you who head out on this adventure, and if you take pictures, send them my way: taniad@kxly.com. Happy tree hunting!

On this “Black Friday” the nation’s retailers can take some solace in the fact that the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which hit an all-time low in October, has improved moderately so far in November.

The Index now stands at 44.9 up from 38.8 in October. Still, Americans cut back on their spending in October by the largest amount since the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Commerce Department says consumer spending fell 1 percent last month, even worse than the 0.9 percent decline that had been expected.

Notwithstanding the gloom and doom news background of the last 45 days, the Commerce Department also reports that personal incomes in America were up 0.3 percent last month, slightly better than the 0.1 percent gain analysts had expected.

Consumers are concerned that the economy is falling into a deep recession, but the indicators seem to susomething more mild, despite the huge bailouts being doled out in Washington, D.C., and all the companies that are crying the blues. It is important to understand that in our economy, consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity. That means it matters what American households think about whether the economy is good or bad.

A one-percent reduction in consumer spending means that we are spending at the rate of 99% of what we spent in October, and in October we spent 3-tenths more than in September, and in September consumers spent about one-tenth more than they did in August. To put it another way, our spending, throughout this period of perceived “crisis” has been fairly consistent with what consumers spent before the problem was front page. What that means is that though consumers will likely not be in the market for those high ticket items this holiday season, they aren’t exactly going to stuff their money under the mattress either.

My conclusion: It’s not yet time to sing a requiem for retailers.