Dasher Wades Into The Cedar.

It was a beautiful Sunday, after brunch at the Seven (Testy Chef), we took walked Dasher on the trail and to the little park by the Cedar River.

Stones Tour Postponed On Doctor's Order

The Rolling Stones, probably the world's most popular touring act, has postponed it's 2019 tour  as 75 year old front man  Mick Jagger is reported to need medical treatment.  This comes as little surprise as the Stones emerged in what became the turbulent decade of the 1960s. 

CNN reports that Jagger made a personal apology to fans on his Twitter account.

The band plans to reschedule tour dates when Jagger gets medical clearance.

Tree In Front Yard In Full Bloom

The tree in front of our house has blossomed again indicating that Spring is here. I've photographed and posted this almost every year with various success.  You really need to see it in person.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 30 KISS 101 Appears

Rock music was readily available in Walla Walla when KISS 101 launched in 1986.  Tom Hodgins, a local man known for his radio work, set up the new station with a studio at the top of the Whitman Tower, the city's tallest building and most famous landmark.
Unlike when KUJ switched to pop music, about a decade earlier, stations like KIOK, KSXT, and K-Lite already played music geared toward teens and young adults.
The station was personality oriented.  The picture above features morning crew members Big Jim Schwartz, along with his co-host Shannon, who helped me with info on the station.
 Lyn Daniels, a Spokane native who started at KUJ, would eventually join the staff.  Daniels would go on to become well known in Spokane country music.  Former Tri Cities DJ Chris Bartels also worked there.
In the late 1980s, about the time I was leaving Walla Walla, Burl Barer would take the morning shift, at first working with Shannon and then with another co-host.  Burl gave the station a little bit of a Seattle twist and did some great adlib commercials for B. Barer And Sons, the family business.
A big thank you to Tom Hodgins and Shannon for contributing to this article.

Kyle Smith Reported To Be New Cougar Cage Coach

Jon Rothstein has reported that WSU is working on a deal to make San Francisco  Basketball coach, Kyle Smith, their next head coach.  This comes at the heels of the firing of Ernie Kent.  

Smith, considered an up and coming mid major coach, has led the San Francisco Dons to three consecutive 20 win seasons.  

At this time, there are no plans scheduled for WSU to announce the hiring. 

Take Note: Brandi Carlile

This report was recommended by friends.  CBS comes to Maple Valley to interview Brandi, now a 3 time Grammy winner.

Jimmy Kimmel Not Convinced Gonzaga is Real

Jimmy Kimmel, a late night ABC talk show host has been goofing on Gonzaga these days.  The Spokane school has been a yearly fixture in the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the Tacoma Dome last Sunday promoting her memoir, Becoming.  She had earlier met with a book club at a local library.

Estrada Appears In Snoqualmie

We saw America's Great Gameshow with Erik Estrada at the Snoqualmie Casino last night.   Debra was able to get a picture with the TV star backstage.  Estrada starred in the police drama Chips in the late 1970s.

Lake Wilderness From The Lodge

The Lake Wilderness Lodge in Maple Valley has picture windows in front and in back.  After walking the dog down the Lake Wilderness Trail, I thought  it would be fun to take a picture of the lake from outside the front of the building.

Angels Hook Trout For 430 Million

The LA Angels made history this week by announcing the signing of star center fielder Mike Trout to a 12 year $430 Million deal.  Trout, a 7 time all star  and 2 time MVP has been with the Angels for his entire MLB career beginning in 2011.
The news is somewhat distressing for Mariner fans as the Angels are in our division.  The Mariners have gone into rebuilding mode hoping to be a contender in the long term future.

Ichiro exits his final game to a rousing ovation

An incredible moment captured as Ichiro leaves the ballgame for the last time as a player!

Ichiro Ends Brillian Career

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the few athletes in history to excel in two different countries has officially retired.  The Seattle Mariners began this season playing the Oakland A's in Tokyo, in Ichiro's home country. Ichiro was pulled out of the game in the 8th inning of the second and final game of the series.   He received a long standing ovation.  

Ichiro started with the Mariners in 2001, after three of the biggest stars in the team's history, Ken Griffey, Jr, Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez had departed to other teams.  It was that year that the Mariner won an amazing 116 games.  Ichiro won MVP and Rookie Of The Year awards in the American League,  The team was unable to make it to the World Series, though and dark times returned for the team.  

Ichiro's popularity began to wane as stories appeared that he could hit home runs but chose to hit singles and other unflattering stories, either true or untrue, began making their rounds on talk radio. Of course, with the Mariners playing poorly, Ichiro was a visible target. 

Ichiro, who is still beloved in his native Japan, retires with a batting average of .311 and 3089 hits.  He is a surefire Hall Of Famer and like LeBron James, a sports hero known more for his first name than his last.

Political Giant Birch Bayh Dies

One of the great leaders of the 20th Century, Birch Bayh died last week.  Bayh was a Democrat representing what we would now call a "Red State" Indiana.
Bayh was the lead sponsor of Title IX which prohibited gender discrimination  in education. He also helped craft the 25th and 26th amendments to the constitution.
 He was a candidate for the 1976 Democratic nomination for President.  He would lose his seat in the 1980 Reagan landslide to Dan Quayle who would eventually become Vice President of the United States.
Bayh's son, Evan, would later become a governor of Indiana and eventually a senator.    

The Moon Rises

A full moon rose over our Maple Valley neighborhood last night.  This picture was taken about 7:30 on the first day of Spring.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 29--The Whitman Campus Station

This Walla Walla station is 48 years old, yet it's easy to ignore. Many people who have lived in Walla Walla for years, may not even know it's there.  

KWCW is Whitman College's campus radio station.  It is located in the Reid Campus Center. 

I found it because it played rock, which was hard to find in my Walla Walla school days.  It for the most part wasn't mainstream pop.  It was things  like obscure album cuts, obscure bands, acoustical music, 60s music.  It was the ultimate underground station. DJs played what they wanted.  

In 1978-79, I took a break from WSU.  I got  a job at KTEL and went to WWCC for a year.  The community college did not  have a radio station and KTEL played all country. 

I volunteered to work at KWCW, that way a could play rock for the city.  I did not go to Whitman, but they were happy to have someone fill the air shift. It also helped that I had a 3rd class radio license, which was needed at the time. 

If you live in Walla Walla, you can listen to KWCW, known on campus as K-Dub at 90.1.  

Remembering My Father

My Dad, Alan Barer died 3 years ago on this day.  He is sorely missed.

Happy St Patrick's Day

KJ Wright To Stay With The Seahawks

Nervous  Seahawk fans were happy to hear that Linebacker KJ Wright has agreed to sign  2 year, 15 million dollar contract with the team.  Wright missed 11 games last year due to a knee injury. but had previously 100 plus tackles a year for 4 straight seasons.

Wright has spent his entire career with the 'Hawks.

Ernie Kent Era Ends In Pullman

Ernie Kent has been fired as WSU's basketball coach after going 5 years without a winning season.  The Cougar basketball season ended with the worst loss ever suffered in a Pac 12 tournament, an 84-51 loss to Oregon.  
Kent, who was hired by previous Cougar athletic director Bill Moos, had three years remaining on a contract.  The buyout will cost about 4.2 million.  The Cougar athletic department, however, decided it was an important step to change the direction of the program.
The Cougs had not been to post season in 7 years.

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 28--Good Bye Mason Dixon

Larry Brown had a silly radio name, no surprise, Jim Nelly, the owner of KUJ in Walla Walla, liked giving his air staff silly radio names. Larry worked what would be known commonly as afternoon drive using the name "Mason Dixon".  While Walla Walla doesn't really have commute time, it was the time when students, who listened to top 40 on their radios, would get out of school.  They could turn KUJ on their stereos and car radios.   Mason Dixon probably was working with the largest audience.  He was good.  

Mason Dixon was program director at KJUN in Puyallup.  After I left KYYX, I met with him with a tape to interview for a job.  He also worked at KOTY in the Tri-Cities with two former Walla Walla radio people, Geoff Harvey and Dancin' Dan Murphy.

Today, I read the sad news that Mason Dixon had passed away early last month.  He was 65.  Thank you to the Puget Sound Media blog.  You can read more here.

Levy Podcast Offers Stroke Info

Mitch Levy's podcast, known as Mitch Unfiltered, took a serious turn from the usual wisecracking and sports talk with a segment on recognizing the warning signs of a stroke.
Mitch has become concerned about stroke risk after hearing about a college basketball player suffering from one and also the untimely death of Luke Perry.
The segment, at 45 minutes into the podcast, features an interview with Dr. Sarah Lee, who is with the Stanford University Stroke Center Team.

America 50th Anniversary Tour--Tulalip Casino

A little excerpt from America Concert.

America Visits Tulalip Casino

This last Friday, Deb and I joined our friends at Tulalip Casino's Orca Ballroom to watch the iconic group,  America, perform.  The band was a virtual "hit machine" during the 1970s with great songs like I Need You, Sister Golden Hair, Ventura Highway and many more.
Although the venue was not the best, the seating was on one level throughout the room, making it a little more difficult for some the see the stage,  the concert was excellent.
The band featured the two surviving original members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. They strummed acoustic guitars and sang.  They were joined by guitarist Steve Fekete, bassist Richard Campbell and drummer Ryland Steen.
The band's music at one point was produced by George Martin, who also produced The Beatles.  The band cover the Beatle song Eleanor Rigby.  The group also performed their more optimistic Lonely People, which was much like Eleanor Rigby.   The band also covered the Mamas And The Pappas classic California Dreamin'.
The band is touring to mark it's 50th anniversary. 

Seattle Weekly Stops Publication

The Seattle Weekly has stopped publishing it's physical paper, according to sources, the last issue came out on February 28th.For years, the Weekly was Seattle's most notable alternative paper, featuring news that didn't make the mainstream media along with restaurant, movie, and music reviews.
The paper was founded in  the 1970s by David Brewster.

Snow Returns To Maple Valley

Almost exactly one month after a crippling snowfall hit  the  area, the white stuff has returned.  This was the scene outside our door this morning as we are not finished with this harsh winter.  

The latest snowfall seems to be having a little less impact, but still giving area residents headaches.

Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4 - 7/21/1970 - Tanglewood (Official)

Dynamic concert footage from the legendary rock group--Chicago.

VEEP: THE FINAL SEASON Trailer (2019) Julia Louis-Dreyfus HBO Series HD

After missing 2018 while Julia Louis Dreyfus was recovering from cancer, Veep is back for it's final season at the end of this month.  One of my favorite show, if not the favorite, I should be able to get back on the bandwagon after it's 19 month absence.

Hollywood Saddened By Luke Perry Death

Luke Perry, 1990's heartthrob and star from the Fox TV hit Beverly Hills 90210, has died after suffering a stroke last week.  He was 52. 

Perry leaves behind two children.

Inslee Running For President

Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, has announced his candidacy for President of the United States, becoming the first Washingtonian to do so since Senator Scoop Jackson, who made his second run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1976.
As home to Microsoft and Amazon, as well as Starbucks and Costco, our state has a much higher profile, however on the national stage, Inslee is still rather unknown.
Inslee's has worked his way from state legislator to congress, losing his seat in Washington's 4th CD in 1994, to being elected in Washington's first CD in 1998.
In 2012, Inslee took on the heavily favored Attorney General Rob McKenna and defeated him to become governor of Washington.
Inslee, sometimes compared with Al Gore, has made the threat of global warming, his top campaign issue.
With Washington's booming economy, Inslee has been relatively popular.  He has drawn some wrath with Republicans for pushing some progressive issues and some Democrats for compromising on others.
Picture is curtesy of the Seattle Times.

Killer Thriller--Review

Killer Thriller is Lee Goldberg's follow up to True Fiction.  It contains a huge surprise in the  middle of the story.  It takes Ian Ludlow and Margo French across Asia and France in another rollicking adventure.
After turning down an offer to join the CIA, Ian Ludlow returns to his normal life of writing for TV shows and novels.  One of his novels of action hero, Clint Striker, is being turned into a movie.  Ludlow is invited to travel to Hong Kong to observe the project.
While preparing for his trip, he encounters a desolate Margo French, who because of their thrashing of a house and stealing (actually borrowing) a car in their last adventure, has lost her dog walking business.  Feeling guilty, Ludlow offers to bring Margo on his trip to be a research assistant.
Meanwhile, there is upheaval in Hong Kong, as a series of businessmen have disappeared, one of them is the father of an actor in the Striker movie.  The Chinese government, seems to think that Ludlow is a US operative doing espionage and want to find out what his real motives are in traveling to Hong Kong.
Killer Thriller is available on Amazon. 

Palm Springs V--The Plaza Theatre

The beautiful Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs has been dormant since the The Fabulous Palm Spring  Follies closed in May of 2014.  Local residents and indeed, some visitors, are working to restore and reopen the theatre.
We watched the Follies many years ago and found it fun and entertaining.

Palm Springs IV--The Walk Of Stars

We spent the last day in downtown Palm Springs. The area prides itself on it's connections with show business as some of the biggest star in the business have made homes there over the years including Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra.
Like in Hollywood, the sidewalk, known as the Palm Springs Walk Of Stars, contains the names of many of the stars of our lifetime, including this  one of the famous pianist, Liberace.

Palm Spring III--TKB Bakery And Deli

Out in the desert,  New York style delis are extremely popular.  We heard a lot of great things about TKB Bakery and Deli and it didn't disappoint.  Named by Yelp as the number one place to eat in the nation, it features friendly service and delicious food.
Started in 1991. TKB stands for "The Kids Business".