Peer 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 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.”

4. PCEI is hoping to change that by offering workshops like the artists’ studio roof, she said. It will help locals value and know how to implement sustainable techniques.

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

Everything has a consequence including sustainablity methods, consumption and ecological footprints, Englund said.

“We just have to be aware (of) the butterfly effect,” he said.

6. He also fundraises for student scholarships.

7. She said she has been ostracized in her dorm. If things continue this way, she might move to another hall.

8. Though helping to improve Pullman’s atmosphere, SEL doesn’t make Pullman completely immune from the recession, Sherman said.

Record Request Ideas

1) For the profile story, I was interested in looking into the university budget cuts to custodial services. The official sources weren't very willing to talk, but if I had documents to base my interviews around, they might feel more pressured to work with me.

2) I want to find out who the university gives student information to and what those contracts look like. What benefit does the university get and what does it do with any money raised?

3) Using records to look for any patterns is how Parking Services gives out tickets. Is the number higher at certain times of the year? What has the role of ticket prices been in the number handed out? The direction of this story would really depend on what the documents show.

Records 2

1) a. July - UFO, August - UFO, September - Guatemala
b. Lithuania

2) EPA investigation into Atlanta lead smelter
Questionable individuals retain U.S. pilot licenses

3) FOI letter generator

4) No

5) http://www.doioig.gov/upload/Smith%20REDACTED%20FINAL_080708%20Final%20with%20transmittal%209_10%20date.pdf

SEL still growing and hiring despite economy

Last May, Shawn Greenman had his last final on a Thursday. He got a job Friday and graduated Saturday.

“I always thought my senior year I would have a job lined up by April or March,” the computer engineer said. “I saw myself going crazy by March if I didn’t have something set up by then.”

Greenman said he did receive offers from several companies, but none of the positions were in the field he wanted. At the end of April, during the poster presentation for his senior design project, he was approached by a manager from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. looking to fill software engineer positions.

“I spent the last three weeks of school preparing for the interview,” Greenman said. “Friday was a six-hour interview, but I got the job.”

While the economic recession has forced many businesses and public institutions to cut back, SEL, headquartered in Pullman, continues to grow. The state had a 9 percent unemployment rate in August, and Whitman County's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent according to the state's Employment Security Department.

But in contrast to WSU, which was forced to cut about 200 filled positions from its budget, SEL has more than 100 positions open, said Adina Bielenberg, SEL public affairs manager.

“Schweitzer is doing really well through the recession,” she said.

Edmund Schweitzer founded SEL in 1982. As part of his Ph.D. project at WSU, Schweitzer invented the first all-digital protective relay. SEL works in the power protection industry. This means its products are used to minimize blackouts and electrical system damage through monitoring and controlling electric power systems.

Before the digital relay, it was impossible to know where the fault on the power line was, Greenman said. People had to drive from one end of the line to the other, until the fault was found. Digital relays tell utility companies exactly how far a fault is from the sub station.

After selling its first products in 1984, SEL has grown to include 43 domestic offices and 30 international locations, employing 1,900 people. About 1,500 of those employees are in Pullman, Bielenberg said.

SEL is doing well during the recession because the company’s business model “is very conservative,” she said.

“The company is built on profit,” she said, “which means profit is reinvested back into the company so there’s not a lot of debt.”

Greenman said he feels lucky to have a job at SEL, even luckier because he enjoys it.

“I still have some friends who have graduated and have not found a job yet,” he said. “And some who are still in school who are just beginning to realize the job market is in a definite downturn.”

He said it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of companies hiring.

“They’re out there, but there’s less of them,” he said. “It’s an employers market, so students can’t shop around. They might just have to take a job.”

SEL’s presence does more than help students find jobs in tough times, City Supervisor John Sherman said. It also helps diversify Pullman’s economic base.

Prior to SEL’s arrival, Pullman had become over-reliant on higher education and agriculture to drive its economy, Sherman said. In 1982, both of these sectors were in trouble. WSU had benefited from the baby boom, but by '80s, it had become a “baby bust” and family farms were disappearing.

“(SEL) has really been the centerpiece for expanding Pullman’s economic base,” he said.

He said the additional 1,500 jobs in the community have had a “phenomenal” positive economic impact on the city.

“Schweitzer has made tremendous contributions to the quality of life too,” Sherman said.

Edmund Schweitzer paid more than $2 million for the Pullman Aquatic Center, which the city now runs, Sherman said. He also gifted land to the city for Terre View Park, and he has given fundraising gifts to the library and hospital.

Community is one of SEL’s company values, Bielenberg said.

She said SEL employees also recently finished a beautification project at the intersection of North Grand and Terre View. In addition, the company has partnerships with WSU, Pullman High School and the Palouse Discovery Science Center.

“We would hope we are good stewards for the community,” she said.

Though helping to improve Pullman’s atmosphere, SEL doesn’t make Pullman completely immune from the recession, Sherman said.

“We’re still feeling it through WSU, which had to make so many cuts,” he said. “But (SEL) really helped buffer the impact of the recession.”

Greenman said Pullman is great as a college student, but once all his friends move on, he’s not sure how he’ll feel about living and working in the small town.

For now, he said he’s relieved to have a job.

“I really enjoy working at SEL,” he said. “When I interviewed with the group at (SEL) I had a feeling that this is where I want to be.”

Sources

SEL Public Affairs Manager Adina Bielenberg - 509-334-8776

City Supervisor John Sherman - 509-338-3208

Shawn Greenman - 509-680-7705

Beat update, week 9

The federal govenment is providing $1 million in aid to help repair a road that washed out in Central Washington earlier this month.

Students from WSU and Eastern are working together to explore of the option of rail travel returning to the Palouse.

Follow the records

1) Enrique Fabregas was a convicted sex offender who housed foster children. The journalists found his Department of Social and Health Services' file.

2) Story: Convicts cleared to work at DSHS; 174 kept jobs despite murder, rape and more

3) It is authorizing the release of information from a private company that is usually confidential and unavailable through normal public records requests.

4) It is guidelines for when juveniles records can be released and when they will be withheld.

5) a. One had additional notes on it that may lead to more information.
b. The priest said he was holding the boys hair while he was sitting in a chair. The boy then got up so suddenly that it ripped his hair out.
c. Punishment include "hacks," haircutting and grounding. Alleged punishment also include slapping, being pushed, and being deprived of visitations home.
d. There are notes because it the response of someone who saw the report. The notes can be used because they are now part of the public record.
e. Because it's not a real draft. It is an actual report.
f. RCW 42.56.070 The routing slip has more notes on it that are part of the public records.
g. In 1978 there were allegations of abuse at the home. A mother and counselor complained.
h. confidentiality of clients

News trends and profiles

I) 1. What’s the population of Whitman County? - 41,664
2. Percent white? - 86.6%
3. Percent with bachelor’s degree? 44.0%
4. Median household income? - $36,538
5. Persons below poverty? - 26.7%

II) 1. 2004 - 21,793,767, 2005 - 40,062,508, 2006 - 34,549,367, 2007 - 31,922,839, 2008 - 14,007,013
2. 7,170,166

IV) 1. Whitman and San Juan
2. 29.2 percent

V) 1. Office of Financial Management
3. a) 1,960
b) 1,324
c) Natural increase is births minus deaths. Total increase includes people moving to the area.
7. a) 46,786

Whitman county agenda
2. a) Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee meeting
3. a) 4
b) 600,000
c) 360
d) Dr. Moody feels the county should wait to distribute the vaccine until there is enough injectable vaccine to offer to the majority of residents.

Profile story ideas

SEL: This idea would not profile a specific person, but rather Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and how the company has impacted Pullman. It would include information about SEL, how it came to Pullman, how it has grown, etc. It would also rely on interviews from city officials to explain how SEL has changed the city since it arrived.

Capital, Planning & Development: Like the idea for SEL, this story could be about CP&D and not a specific person, but it could also be about the director, Keith Bloom. This profile would seek to explain the role and purpose of CP&D on campus and also explore why it exists. The profile would hopefully help explain why campus constantly has different construction projects happening and explore the tie to WSU's land-grant university status.

Snow removal: I thought it would be interesting to profile members of Pullman's road crew, to find out how they prepare for winter and what goes into keeping the roads clear. The story would include any changes in their strategies from past years, the impact of new technology, and any impacts on their budgets due to the poor economy and how they cope.

Pullman transit: Pullman has an amazing transit system compared to the rest of the state. It would be interesting to look at any trends in ridership. The story would also explain how the student transit fee came into existence, and how that fee is tied to transit service today. The specific individual to be profiled could be a bus driver or a Pullman transit official. Student anecdotes might also be useful for the story.

This week in infrastructure news

Construction:
Sprague project wrapping up

WSU regents approve construction bonds

Technology:
Local businesses turn to Twitter

Boeing sees $1 B charge from rising costs

City planning:
Nonprofits oppose I-1033

City releases snow removal plan

Browne's addition named one of nation's 10 greatest

Is it libelous?

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.

I think this one is a little tricky. If the friend saw a first hand account of how Johnson changed while on drugs, it could very well be the statement is true for what she saw. The statement would need to be corroborated by police reports or something before being run. The context of the rest of the story is important for this one.


2. “Megan Fox is a man!” Headline on Weekly World News Web site
Yes, this is libelous as it is untrue.

3. “In my opinion, Kevin is a murdering rapist.”
This is libelous, because having the in my opinion isn't enough to overcome that this statement is made as if fact.

Haunted Palouse helps support community

PALOUSE, Wash. – When the small town of Palouse in southeastern Washington hosted its first Haunted Palouse in October 2002, the event drew about 500 people and raised a little more than $3,000.

“We thought 500 was awesome,” Haunted Palouse organizer Annie Pillers said. “We thought we had hit the jackpot.”

Since 2002, the event has only grown. Last year about 3,400 people visited Palouse over four nights, raising more than $30,000. In its seven years, Haunted Palouse has raised a total of approximately $121,700.

“When we first started, we had (stretches of) 45 minutes with no one here,” Pillers said. “Now, you can hardly take a potty break.”

This is the eighth year for Haunted Palouse, and the event will run Oct. 23, 24, 30 and 31 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is $15.

The event began as a way to save the Roy M. Chatters Newspaper and Printing Museum on Main Street.

When Palouse flooded in 1996, there was damage to a lot of the buildings, but especially to the museum because of its wooden floors, Pillers said. The floors fell apart, forcing the museum to close.

Several years later, members of the town were trying to brainstorm fundraising ideas so the museum could re-open. Two town-newcomers went to a Chamber of Commerce meeting and suggested a haunted house.

“We didn’t know we couldn’t do it, so we did it,” Pillers said.

The museum, which now hosts one of the events’ haunted houses, is usually closed on the last Saturday of September, and then building begins, Pillers said. The museum was designed around the haunted house because a lot of the equipment is too big to move. Depending on the calendar year, there are at least two weekends to build, and the event lasts four or five nights.

“It takes a lot of man power,” Pillers said. “Easily 50 people in a night, probably more.”

As the event grew over the years, so did its number of beneficiaries. The Palouse Arts Council became involved soon after the council formed in 2004, and it now runs a second haunted house.

Some of the money raised is helping to fund the construction of a new community center and to buy playground equipment for Palouse City Hayton Green Park. The Chamber of Commerce is the official sponsor of the event and also receives a portion of the proceeds.

A new participant, the Palouse Lions Club, will be involved for the first time this year as well. The club will run a new event at Haunted Palouse – a Haunted Hay Ride.

“No one ever comes and says we need some money,” Pillers said. “They come and say, ‘we’re willing to work really hard. Can we be a beneficiary?’ It’s real community spirit.”

The Arts Council became involved as a way to raise money to operate the old Palouse Grange Hall. Most of its portion of Haunted Palouse proceeds is used for maintenance and improvements to the building and also for some events, said Kaye McGehee, Arts Council co-chairwoman for Haunted Palouse.

“Almost everyone in town comes together and contributes something to (Haunted Palouse),” she said.

As the event sponsor, the Chamber of Commerce promotes and is responsible for most of the Haunted Palouse’s planning, said Mike Milano, Palouse city councilman and chamber member.

“The city is involved to support that in any way we can,” he said.

The city makes sure there are an adequate number of police officers on duty, provides space for some of the events, and also provides for other needs like extra garbage cans, Pillers said.

Janet Barstow, treasurer of the chamber and also the museum, said she thinks the event helps put Palouse on the map.

“We talk to the guests while they wait in line,” she said. “It’s surprising how many say they didn’t even realize there is actually a town called Palouse.”

Barstow said the event will continue as long as people are willing to come.

“We would not do this if it wasn’t fun,” Pillers said. “It’s a hoot. We have a blast. We love it.”


Sources:
Annie Pillers (in person interview) – (509) 595-1129
Kaye McGehee – (509) 878-1980
Mike Milano – (509) 595-0664
Janet Barstow – (509) 878-1742

Outline:

Lede – People and money
History of Haunted Palouse (how started)
How the event works
Who benefits from Haunted Palouse and how (where money goes)
The role of the Chamber
Why the town does it

Good and bad of infrastructure

Well designed infrastructure can made a difference. Schools in the area are being remodeled with special attention being paid to certain design elements shown to improve learning. Read the story from the Spokesman-Review here.

Poorly planned infrastructure can lead to waste. Trees originally planted for beautification along the highway, now must be removed for safety reasons because they're too big. Story, again from the Spokesman, here.

Infrastructure can be inventive. This story from the Spokesman is about how Spokane is using crushed glass for road construction.

Police report

Police investigated allegations that Bishop Welsh had attempted to strangle a male prostitute while on a trip to Chicago. Welsh admitted the having relations with the prostitute, but denied the attempted strangulation.