blogs.kxly.com

Welcome to my little slice of blog. I’ve been waiting for months now to start this thing and the time is finally here – just in time for the new year!

Coming to KXLY in August was a major transition in my life. I was moving from my birthplace of Seattle to Spokane (okay, admittedly not that drastic of a move) and I was shifting my focus from News Radio to Television and Web.

You’ll no doubt hear about my transition to TV through blog posts – because some of it can be quite comical and I wouldn’t deprive you of my bloopers, but what’s important to point out is the web aspect of my job.

After Good Morning Northwest I plop myself down in front of the web desk and create content for KXLY.com. This one aspect of my job has a bigger picture; the jobs of today’s journalists are changing.

You can’t be just a TV reporter or just a radio reporter or just a newspaper reporter anymore – journalists are now expected to make the transition to web and if you’re still resisting it… buh-bye! Why? You’re driving the reasons why – you want your news now and only the news you want to read… that’s why you go online.

I’ve been a blogger for a while now and I find the medium refreshing. It’s less formal, more personal and it opens up the possibility for conversation with you. You want a slice of the news world and rightly so! So bring it! Teach me something and I’ll teach you something.

Point, Click, Learn is where I’ll bring you Cool Clicks, which is a segment I do on Good Morning Northwest. Cool Clicks are websites that teach you something, make you laugh, save you money, entertain you, etc… I’m bursting at the seams with Cool Clicks so you’ll get your fill.

Gadget Guy, Johnny 5 will also make appearances on this blog – hopefully every Friday. I’ll also pass along tech information… not the kind only a computer science major would understand, but the kind of information that will help protect you.

Who knows, maybe I’ll throw in a few restaurant reviews, too.

You can find many of my Cool Clicks archived on our YouTube channel and I’ll start you off with one of them: DealAlerter.com. Maybe your New Year’s resolution is to stop spending so much money or just save your money. Well, the coolest thing about shopping online is that you’ll never pay full price again.

Deal Alerter lets you set your price and then sends you an email when an online retailer is selling it at your price.

As my husband would readily tell you, I am not someone who should be dispensing advice on how to save money. I spend money on frivilous things - and, I’m like Donna Reed when it comes to handling personal finances (my husband does all of it - and, he’s really good at it). But, this week, I’m hoping to learn something from a series of stories we’re doing on kxly4. And, I hope you’ll learn something, too.

Monday morning kicks off “Save You Money” week on Good Morning Northwest on kxly4 HD News at 5. Granted, we do a lot of money-saving stories anyway… but, this is a very focused effort to get as many money-saving tips out as we can. We’ll feature everything from how to save money by only using cash to ways to save money on appliances. We’ll tell you how to save money at the butcher’s counter and how you can get your bank to pay you for things you would buy anyway. And, we’ll see the return of the “Diva of Deals” - a local woman who takes coupon clipping to a whole new level. The last story we did on her drew national attention - this week, she’ll show you how buying in bulk can save you money at the grocery store.

I hope you’ll join us on Good Morning Northwest and the News at 5. Also, I hope you’ll use this blog to share your money-saving secrets. We could all use the help these days!

Well… I will be for Halloween.  I know the dude pretty well since I spend at least 4 hours sitting next to him everyday.  I’m excited to deliver some classic, well used Mike Gonzalez lines tomorrow, like “I’m from Maimi”.  If you watch the show, you know he says it a lot.  I’m looking for more Mike lines.  So if you have any, send them my way.

Mike plans on doing the same thing to me.  My loud obtrusive, perhaps even annoying, laugh might be one thing he sheds light on.  Melissa Luck already did her impression of me yesterday… talking about how I shop at the dollar store.  Haha, it was pretty good.

 I’ll post our impressions of one another tomorrow.  Or, you can watch as it happens tomorrow on Good Morning Northwest HD starting at 5 AM.

KXLY4 HD News, long the pioneer in new media in the Spokane area, has started a new, independent community news site specifically for the region’s Hispanic community.

Nuestra Comunidad is the brainchild of Good Morning Northwest anchor Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a native of Miami, Florida, has found since his arrival in Spokane that the strong and growing Hispanic community across the Inland Northwest was under-represented online. Without any online gathering place where people could get the latest news and information geared specifically to the Hispanic community Gonzalez set the wheels in motion to bring together people of similar interests.

In addition to Gonzalez bringing his voice and perspective to “Our Community” through interviews with members and leaders of the area’s thriving Hispanic community he’s working to assemble a list of regular contributors to the site from across the region including La Voz Hispanic News in the Tri-Cities and money advice from Spokane-area financial advisor Ty Barbery among others.

Nuestra Comunidad includes a variety of features geared towards bringing the Hispanic community closer together including:

1. Latest news and information of interest to the community.
2. Tips and advice on money management.
3. Events Calendar where people can submit and track activities going on across the region.
4. A community guide and professional guide with various non-profit organizations in the community that promote the advancement of the Hispanic community.
5. Business Directory where business owners can add their business listings free of charge.

Nuestra Comunidad, launched in October, is a partner site to KXLY4 HD News’ growing list of websites which include:

Get involved in Our Community.

If you’d like to become a contributor or get involved in Nuestra Comunidad, please contact Mike Gonzalez at (509) 329-4400 or mikeg@kxly.com.

If you’d like to submit an event for the calendar or if you have any questions about submitting your business to the business directory, contact Rob Kauder at (509) 329-4400 or robk@kxly.com.

If you’d like to advertise on Nuestra Comunidad or any other of our community of sites, please call Debbie Sieverding at (509) 329-4202, or e-mail her at debbies@kxly.com

    A quick good morning and thank you to so many for helping support Cancer Patient Care. 

     I just finished up a pair of live interviews this morning, one with KXLY 920 News with Rick and Teresa Lukens and the other on Good Morning Northwest with Mike & Kalae. 

     Here’s Day 1 when Kjerstin Ramsing interviewed me live from Oz Fitness  (Click here to watch the video)

     Over the course of just 30 days we’ve raised nearly $5,000 dollars for low-income cancer patients and their families in the Inland Northwest and logged thousands of miles in the pool, on the bike and on the road.  My most sincere appreciation to all of you.  But it’s not too late to help (see below to donate).

     My good friend Lori, who lives on the West side, donated money for Cancer Patient Care and committed to cycling 15 miles a day for 30 days and sent me pictures of her bike’s odometer to prove she’s been on the bike. 

(You can just make out 340 from Sept. 1)

(And here’s 800 this morning)

    Great job Lori!  And thank you to so many others for making a donation toward our challenge.  You can still donate by going to Cancer Patient Care’s website here. 

     Here’s something I want to share with you. Yesterday I received a check for $250 from a family who lost a daughter to breast cancer.    I’d like to thank them publicly but they want to remain anonymous.   Just goes to show you how important this cause is to support. Thank you, too!

    And in mid-October we’ll be having an auction for an autographed photo of Lance Armstrong, thanks to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Details when we get closer to the auction date.

    I’ll have more updates on my final triathlon later today.  Have a great day! 

Here’s the latest update on the saga of Mustard Seed’s Bong Bong Chicken that was featured on Good Morning Northwest Sunday and the missing recipe elements namely the sauce:

Thank you for your interest in the Bong Bong Chicken recipe, particularly the recipe for the sauce. Unfortunately the chef from the Mustard Seed who prepared the dish on Good Morning Northwest Sunday misspoke when she said the recipe would be available on the website after the broadcast on Sunday.

According to managers for the Mustard Seed, the recipe is considered a trade secret and a spokesman for the restaurant said after the segment aired that they are “not at liberty to provide an exact recipe.”

People interested in getting the Bong Bong sauce can purchase it directly from the restaurant located in Northtown Mall at 4750 North Division Street.

We at KXLY apologize for all inconveniences in this matter.

Teresa Lukens and I have been getting a steady flow of e-mails since Good Morning Northwest yesterday morning asking where in the wide world of sports the recipe for the sauce for the Bong Bong Chicken was.

Most people, in general, were salavating at the opportunity to get their hands on a great recipe from the Mustard Seed and were polite in their inquiries.

A few people, on the other hand, took the opportunity to use some colorful metaphors to savage the news staff, the program and the website for not having the Bong Bong Chicken sauce recipe on our site in a timely fashion as if their centerpiece for their halftime snacks during the Seahawks - St. Louis game was going to be Bong Bong Chicken sauce.

If you were looking for the recipe, here’s the deal. Teresa just let me know (In fact she’s on the phone explaining the mystery of the sauce recipe to a viewer as I type) that we got the recipe for the chicken from the Mustard Seed but we did not receive the sauce recipe. We’ve been calling and e-mailing them to get that sauce recipe so we could e-mail the recipe out and post it to the site as well. So far no sauce recipe but we’ll keep at it ’til everyone gets their Bong Bong Chicken .

While you’re waiting for the recipe, might I interest you in some Pasta Jambalaya? My wife borrowed the recipe from Emeril Lagasse a while back and it’s an incredible dish. Word of warning: It’s a lot more spicy than Bong Bong Chicken , especially the morning after it’s cooked.