Late Season Snow

Tomorrow is the first day of March, but once again, we woke up to a cover of snow in our neighborhood.  King 5 reports area schools will start 2 hours late.  Rising temperatures will probably melt the snow by the afternoon.

Palm Springs III-Our Rental Car

Our nephew, Ethan poses on in the red Camaro that we rented for the entire trip from LA through Palm Springs and back to the LA Airport. Thank you to Sixt Car Rentals for the surprising upgrade, the car did us well.  Ethan, I'm told, did not actually drive the car.

Big Snafu At Oscars--Wrong Picture Announced

It was a smooth night at the Academy Awards, host Jimmy Kimmel seemed comfortable as the host of the event in spite of offending some Trump supported for what seemed to be light hearted jokes about the president and some other folks for joking about an African American actor's name. To top it off, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the making of Bonnie And Clyde, the two starts of the movie, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty (pictured) were on stage to announce the best picture. 
But in the biggest mess up in Oscar history, La La Land was announced by Dunaway, but after the large contingent had started it's speeches it was announced that the winner was Moonlight. The world was stunned and both facebook and twitter lit up like a Christmas tree.  The cause of the error, it was later announced was because the pair had been given the wrong envelope.

Palm Springs II-The Escape Room

With our nephews and my in-laws, we went to a Palm Spring Escape Room.  A group is put into a room and is put on the clock.  It is up to the group to find and solve a series of puzzles to be able to exit the room.  We were grouped with another family that had children and a talent for that kind of thing.
We were given an hour to find a way to solve the puzzles. With the help of the other family in our group we were able to get out with 12 minutes left.  We were told that only 28% are able to solve the puzzles in the allotted time.
We finished the evening with a great dinner at Trio in downtown Palm Springs.

On To Palm Springs!

Actually Indio, which is considered Palm Springs. It is actually the Coachella Valley which consists of several cities in the desert of Southern California.  The top two pictures were taken from the World Mart time share where we stayed.   The top two pictures were taken from the property.  Top was looking at the mountains from the front.  The middle, of course, was our pool.  The bottom when was taken at the flea market that is held on weekends at the College Of The Desert in Palm Desert.

LA V--Drive Through Malibu

One day after the devastating rain shower, we made the scenic trip to the Malibu Beach area.  Top pictures, Malibu Canyon.  Bottom two pictures were taken from the Moonshadows Restaurant at Malibu, where we watched the sun set over the Pacific.

RIP: Alan Colmes

Greta Van Susteren who has worked for both Fox and MSNBC, pays tribute to one of the few Liberals at Fox, Alan Colmes who passed away at 66. Because he worked for the Conservative leaning network, Colmes was often not taken seriously by those who shared his views.  Colmes also seemed calm compared with the very combative Sean Hannity when they debated on Hannity And Colmes, a Fox prime time show.  Colmes left that show in 2009, leaving Hannity to do the show solo.

LA Trip IV--The Belgium Waffle Haus

The Belgium Waffle Haus in Granada Hills makes cool designs on it's coffee drinks.  It also has unique ways of serving Belgium Waffles.

LA III--Trip To Lighten Up Lounge

I told my cousin Burl that I would be in town and was invited to the infamous Lighten Up Lounge to watch him do his internet radio show "True Crime Uncensored".   The show, on internet radio, allows Burl to combine his two passions, radio, he was a  former DJ for KJR and KOL in Seattle and writing "true crime" in which he has won awards for his many books.
These days, Burl lives in the LA area and teams up with another former Seattle area DJ, Magic Matt Alan, to do his own show as well as appearing on Matt's show, Outlaw Radio.
True Crime Uncensored has riveting true stories of notorious crime. I don't know if you could find anything like it anywhere, the show runs Saturdays at 2:00 pm Pacific Time.  You can also listen on podcast by clicking on mixcloud to Burl Barer.
The Lighten Up Lounge is an 1876 Virginia City Type bar in a backyard somewhere in the LA area.
Since I also love radio and had not seen Burl in well over 10 years, it made for a fun afternoon.

LA II--Battling The Rainstorm

The next morning we were greeted with a familiar sight.  Good thing we don't come down for the weather, oh wait, we do.  A rainstorm of historic proportions had hit the town. It was as bad as last week's rainstorm in Seattle.
  Not realizing the magnitude of the situation, we set out in our rented Camaro (above) to the Griffith Observatory (bottom picture) where there was very little to observe.  We did have an enjoyable day at the planetarium.  The views got a little better, but the driving conditions did not improve.  After a hazardous drive, we were back safely at the hotel.  Our dinner engagement with some of our friends was cancelled and we had nice dinner at the hotel.

Sportscaster Rod Simons

Minnesota sportscaster Rod Simons has passed away.  A former Washington State University student, he worked at KJR and some other Seattle stations.  He was covering the Twin's Spring Training at the time of his passing.  He is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Trip To LA-Hotel Angeleno

We flew into LA Thursday and stayed a couple of nights at the Hotel Angeleno.  The hotel is located just off of Sunset and the 405.  It  is 17 stories with a beautiful restaurant at the top.  Once a Holiday Inn, it has a painting of Marilyn Monroe in the lobby.  It's round room keys say "we are not square."

California Dreamin' - The Mamas

KIRO Radio Recalls KIRO 7 TV Folly

KIRO 97.3 Radio ran a report of a revolutionary idea that the TV side would undertake in 1993.  It was known as news "Out Of The Box".  It had actually been used in the past for news teases. Instead of broadcasting from the studio, they deliver the news from the news room.  Anyway, KIRO news historian Felix Banel delivered this report.  Click here.  The experiment did not even last a year.

Legendary Actor Walter Brennan

Three time Oscar winner Walter Brennan is shown in this picture from the Bygone Walla Walla page.
Brennan, who was on his way to visit property that he owned in Joseph, Oregon, had flown into Walla Walla in the early 1960s.

Happy Valentines Day!

Landslide Hits Maple Valley

A home was destroyed but there were no reported fatalities when a landslide hit Maple Valley on 249th Ave SE last Thursday.  The area was evacuated by the fire department.  The landslide hit about 1:30, neighbors were able to return to their homes about 6pm that evening.  The area had been hit with hard rain and melting snow making the surrounding hills unstable.

Covington Rocks!

We saw the Jet City Players at Nikki's in Covington.  Covington is just west of Maple Valley on the Kent-Kangley Road.  The band played music classic rock along with some contemporary music.

High School Nearing Completion In Maple Valley

A view of the soon to be finished new Tahoma High School, scheduled for opening this fall.  This is as close as I could get as building is fenced off.   The football field, amazingly enough, looks like it's ready to go.
The new high school is located in what used to be known as the "donut hole" off Kent-Kangley Road.

Kenny Easley

Congratulations to former Seahawk Kenny Easley on his entering the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.  Thank you to my brother, Steve for this

Familiar Face On The Celebrity Apprentice

Geoff Harvey, who worked in Walla Walla radio before returning to his native Tri-Cities, is shown in this episode from The Celebrity Apprentice with his sister in law, Karen.  Geoff, who is mentioned in this blog, has a daughter, Courtney, who is a producer for E!.
  The task for the celebrities was to do a presentation for Carnival Cruises.  The Celebrity Apprentice is now hosted by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Super Sunday Fun

Lady Gaga performs at halftime at this year's Super Bowl.  Deb and I watched with our friends at Twin Peaks Sports Bar in Tukwila.  Every table had it's own TV and there is a bank of big screen TVs over the bar.  We all left before the game ended due to reports of incoming snow.  As you probably now know it was a tale of two halves.   The Atlanta Falcons cruised to large early lead only to have the New England Patriots come back in the second half to win.   The crowd mostly cheered Atlanta, but there was also a very audible section of New England fans. 

Maple Valley Wears A Coat Of Snow

The was our front yard this morning.  Snow began falling yesterday evening.  We may touch on yesterday's Super Bowl later.

It's Super Bowl Sunday!

I'm rooting for the Falcons.  I love their high powered offense and think that quarterback Matt Ryan is very underrated.

Seahawk Kenny Easley Inducted Into the Hall Of Fame

The Seahawks will not play in this year's Super Bowl, but fans from the '80s will be happy to know that Safety Kenny Easley was voted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. 
Easley was a UCLA product who played his entire career with the 'Hawks.  He was known for his hard hitting style which earned him the nickname "The Enforcer".  He was an All Pro three consecutive years from 1983-1985.  He was selected AP Defensive Player Of Year in 1984.
Easley was forced to retire early from football when it was discovered that he had irreversible kidney damage. According to the Seattle Times football writer Bob Condotta, he had never been previously considered for the Hall Of Fame, however this year he had been nominated by the Veteran's Committee.

Dan Springer Reports

Dan Springer reported from the U.S. District Court in Seattle.  The Springers live across the street from wife's sister and brother in law so we often see them over the holidays. Springer is a reporter for Fox News.

Donald Trump attacks Arnold Schwarzenegger at National Prayer Breakfast

I always thought that you were supposed to leave you ego at home at the National Prayer Breakfast.  This was very weird in my opinion.

Washington AG Gets Trumps Travel Ban Blocked

A Seattle federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump's travel ban.  This was a result of the work of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Judge James Robard, a Bush appointee issued the order.
 It is not the first time an attorney general from Washington has challenged a sitting president.  Rob McKenna, a Republican, challenged President Obama's Affordable Care Act.  McKenna was not successful. 

Stormy February

Maple Valley, which is in the Cascade Foothills has experienced some wild wind storms the last couple of days.  This basketball hoop a couple doors down from our house was knocked over. The cold wind has been brutal.  Today is much calmer but has been wet and rainy.

Cool Things That We Ship

This rare autographed autobiography of the Great Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax was packed with other baseball memorabilia at The UPS Store in Crossroads.   The items were shipped to an auction house on the East Coast.

Just Like The 80s--Both Parties Lead By Women

Back in the Reagan-Bush years, two great female leaders were making names for themselves.  Karen Marchioro  was the state chair of the Washington Democratic Party. She was  hardscrabble plain spoken and represented everything Democratic.  Jennifer Dunn led the Washington Republican Party, she was known for cordiality.  She was about hair in place and fashionable dress.  She represented everything Republican. 
Dunn would later serve our district in congress.  Marchioro became a well regarded political consultant.  Although, they were polar opposites, it seemed like the two had mutual respect for one another.  The real irony is that Marchioro and Dunn died within a week of each other in 2007.  Marchioro had a long bout with cancer.  Dunn was just 66 when she died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. Both were the first women chairs of their respected parties.
While both Marchioro and Dunn served their parties during the same time frame (1981-1992), Susan Hutchison  has served as Republican chair since 2013.   Tina Podlodowski was elected last Satuday.  Just like the previous pair, their styles represent their parties.  Unlike the other two, it is doubtful that the two would ever find common ground.  Podlodowski  wants to work to get Democrats elected in every county in the state.  Hutchison is one of the country's most outspoken Trump supportors.