Ron And Don Interview Barefoot Bandit

I debated whether or not to post this.  Society has a penchant for glamorizing crooks.  Characters who harm others for their own benefit are made to be heroes, while the victims and law enforcement who work hard to protect us are ignored.  D,B. Cooper who hijacked a plane has been described as a folk hero, while Hollywood makes movies that want you to root for Bonnie And Clyde, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, and Thelma And Louise.
That said, Colton Harris Moore, known as the "Barefoot Bandit" has carved a narrative.  He is also is the subject of an upcoming movie.  Harris-Moore was sought in an intense manhunt after stealing of seaplanes in the San Juan Islands and beyond.  He was finally arrested in the Bahamas after risking not only his own life but of innocent people on the ground by flying airplanes that he was not trained to fly. 
Last week, he was featured in an interview on the Ron And Don show on KIRO-FM.

Have A Happy Passover

Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne and others -- "While My Gui...

In memory of Prince, one of my favorite Beatles songs, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", in this video by Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, and George Harrison's son Dhani, Prince does this amazing guitar solo.

Pop Singer Prince Dead

1980s pop  singer Prince has been found dead.  No details available yet

Summer Temperatures In April

Depending on who you talked too, the Seattle area either enjoyed or suffered through 4 straight days of 80 degree weather.  This has never happened before at this time of year.

Welcome Back Brandon Browner

Popular Cornerback Brandon Browner is a Seahawk again.  Browner was one of the original members of the Legion Of Boom along with Cam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, and Earl Thomas. After the Seahawks Super Bowl victory, the salary cap forced the team to cut many valuable players.  Browner wound up with the New England Patriots, where he play a large part in the Pats Super Bowl victory over the 'Hawks. Last year, Browner played with the New Orleans Saints.  He was slowed by injuries, but is said to be healthy for the 2016 season. Browner rejoins Chancellor, Sherman, and Thomas on the team.

Democrats Pack The House At Mount Si High School

It was a beautiful day, but Democratic delegate for Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton packed Mt Si High School in Snoqualmie for the 5th Legislative District Caucus.  The LD Caucus is the 2nd tier of the process of picking delegates to the Democratic National Convention in July.  Supporters of both Clinton and Sanders made passionate speeches, while a committee worked behind the scenes to credential the delegates.  The delegates then broke into the three Congressional districts that make up the 5th LD.  From each sub caucus, delegates for each presidential candidate picked delegate for the Congressional caucus and state convention, in proportion to the votes each candidate received in the precinct caucuses last month.  Simple enough?
Top picture is the 2 long lines to get into the caucus.  Middle picture is inside the caucus.  In the bottom picture,Democratic candidate for 5th district State House, Jason Ritchie addresses the delegates.  Ritchie is running against incumbent Jay Rodne.
Also speaking were 5th LD Senator Mark Mullet and 5th LD candidate for State House Darcy Burner.  Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson, who is also running for State House was also present.

Paragliders Above Issaquah

When the weather starts warming, paragliders dot the skies, south of Issaquah.  They jump off Tiger Mountain and land in a field off Issaquah-Hobart Road. 

The White Rock

The city of White Rock,B.C., was named after this giant stone that lays on it's beach. The rock figures prominently in the lore of the local Salish people's narrative.  I didn't post this at first because I thought I had put it up in a post from an earlier visit a couple years ago. One our visit to Canada, we also stopped at Crescent Beach.

More Tulips At LaConnor

I think this picture really captures the beauty of the Tulips at Roozen Gaarde.  The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival takes place every April in LaConnor.
LaConnor is located about 70 miles north of Seattle. 

Barers Of Maple Valley Visit Birch Bay

We spent the weekend at Birch Bay (bottom picture).  On the way up, we looked for a good place to eat and wound up at the Fireweed at Eaglemont Golf Course in Mt. Vernon (2nd from top).  We visited nearby White Rock, BC and also dined outside at sunset  (top picture). On the way home, we stopped in LaConnor  to see the tulips (second from bottom).  We stopped at Roosen Gaarde, a local tulip farm where we saw this windmill.  The tulips in full bloom are one of Washington's most beautiful sights.

Goertzen Hall On WSU Campus

One of  Seattle's most beloved media figures, Kathi Goertzen is remembered at the Murrow College of Communications.  Kathi Goertzen Hall stands on the Pullman campus to honor the KOMO TV anchor who won the hearts of viewers with her brave fight against a brain tumor.  My sister-in-law snapped these pictures while taking my nephew to a WSU school visitation.
Goertzen was a 1980 graduate of WSU.

Beatles - Ticket to Ride (Live at Wembley Stadium 1965)

One of my favorite Beatles songs.

Advice From My Father

No, my dad wasn't General Patton, but he did use a phrase from either the General or the movie or both.  It was in paraphrase "no one ever won a war dying for his country, you win by making the other guy die for his" what he meant is to not sacrifice what belongs to you in an effort to get ahead.

Signs Of Spring In Our Backyard

This tree in full bloom in our backyard caught my attention.

Edward M. Kennedy 1980 Democratic National Convention Address

In 1980, Senator Ted Kennedy became the third of the brothers to run for president. Kennedy was disenchanted with the sitting Democratic president Jimmy Carter. After an interview with TV journalist Roger Mudd, it was perceived that he was the articulate and inspiring of the 3 brothers.  Kennedy also was plagued by a scandal and revelations of the darker side of the Kennedy dynasty.  Appearing at the Democratic National Convention in New York City, President Carter was already the party's nominee. Knowing that his ambitions to be president were probable gone forever,  Kennedy made the speech of a lifetime.

Robert F. Kennedy's Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Speech

I saw this touching video on "The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donell" on MSNBC, On April 4th , 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy was in the midst of his campaign for president when he received word that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had been assassinated.  Making an appearance in Indianapolis, Kennedy was told that under the circumstances, the city could not afford to protect him. 
A happy crowd, unaware of King's assassination had gathered to greet the senator.  It was up to Kennedy to tell the crowd.  Perhaps Kennedy's well chosen words prevented Indianapolis from having the riots that took place nationwide.  Two months later, Kennedy would also fall to an assassin's bullet.

Pastime Cafe To Reopen As Taverna In Walla Walla

The townspeople of Walla Walla are buzzing with news that the landmark Pastime  is planning to reopen this summer as the Passatempo Taverna.  Not everyone is pleased.  During the wine boom, the Pastime stood as the one symbol of Walla Walla, the way it used to be.  Having it now operated in conjunction with a winery, as a place for pretty people, does not sit well with everyone.  One of the partners is Mike Easton, who is behind Italian restaurants in Seattle.  Also involved is Jim German, who had previously set up an upscale restaurant in Waitsburg and Walla Walla winemaker Ali Mayfield.  Now, if they could just bring back the Red Apple.

Peter Jordan Live

Local Jazz artist Peter Jordan performs in Renton.

Maple Valley Reporter Covers Caucus

The Maple Valley Reporter, one of two weekly feature papers here, did a great article on the Maple Valley precinct caucuses.  Reporter Anna Karen Perez Guzman writes about her caucus experience, click here.

Seattle Storm Great Lauren Jackson Retires

Seattle Storm fans may wish it was an April Fool's joke, but Lauren Jackson has announced her retirement from basketball. The 6'5 center and 4 time WNBA MVP winner teamed with Sue Bird to lead the Storm to 2 WNBA championships.  One of the most visable figures on the Seattle sports scene, she perhaps deserves credit for saving WNBA basketball in Seattle.  The Storm was sold along with the Sonics to an ownership group led by Clay Bennett from Oklahoma City.   While Bennett was able to move the Sonics to his hometown, he would sell the Storm to a Seattle ownership group that has kept the team located here.
An Australian, Jackson's team won 3 Olympic Silver Medals and one Bronze, competing ironically 3 times against Storm teammate Sue Bird's U.S. team.  In 2004, Bird's team and Jackson's team won Gold and Silver in the Olympics, then teamed up to win the first WNBA championship for the Storm.
Jackson had been plagued recently with injury problems and had not played for the Storm since 2012.

Patty Duke Show Intro

In honor of the late Patty Duke.  Thank you to Lee Goldberg for this video.

Patty Duke Dies

Patty Duke, who played a wacky teenage girl and also her lookalike cousin, Kathy on The Patty Duke Show in the 1960s has died.  Hollywood writer and blogger Ken Levine, penned this tribute. 
She won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker.   She was also an advocate for mental health issues.  Patty Duke was 69.

More On Joe Garagiola

Joe Garagiola played major league baseball from 1946-1954, but was more famous for his broadcasting career.  This is similar to figures like Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall.
Garagiola was a Major League catcher for 4 major league teams, best known would be the St. Louis Cardinals. 
He was a panelist on the Today Show. He was also an occasional substitute host on the Tonight Show.
 He would later become the lead announcer on the NBC game of the week.  He had a 30 year association with NBC.   He was also a TV pitchman for Chrysler-Plymouth in the 80s.  
An establishment figure, Garagiola appeared in court to defend MLB's reserve clause, a stance he later deemed "a terrible mistake."
He later headed a crusade against the use of smokeless tobacco by Major League players.
His son, Joe Garagiola, Jr.  was an executive for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Democrats Fill The Maple Valley Caucuses

The Maple Valley Democratic Caucuses filled Tahoma Jr. High School to capacity, even as attendees were invited to turn votes in and leave.  Some precinct caucus members even met outside in the school yard.  The library and some upstairs classrooms were opened as the 800 capacity room was met in minutes.   A huge thank you to the Tahoma School District and all of the volunteers who helped make the caucus a success.

The Turtles perform the theme to It's Garry Shandling's Show

Howard Kaylan posted this as a tribute to the late HBO comedy character Garry Shandling.

Maple Valley Democrats To Caucus

Join me at the Maple Valley Democratic Caucus at Tahoma Jr High  25600 Summit-Landsburg Road at Ravensdale 98051.  If you do not live in Maple Valley, you can find your location by clicking here.Caucuses begin at 10:00am today (Saturday, March 26th).  You may want to show up early as a big crowd is expected. 

Joe Garagiola Dies

Former Baseball catcher and TV personality Joe Garagiola has died.  More later

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Fun At The Hockey Game

Last Saturday, we celebrated my nephew Ethan's 17th birthday at the Seattle Thunderbirds game.  The T Birds came from behind and beat the Portland Winterhawks  after a three on three overtime and a shoot out. 

A Tribute Picture From A Family Friend

My Dad (left) and college buddy, Dave Slotnick stroll down a Tacoma street.  The two remained lifelong friends.  Thank you to Dave's daughter for this picture.

Dad

My father Alan Barer passed away yesterday at 86.  This picture was taken at his winter home in Rancho Mirage.  My dad was diagnosed with cancer last summer and fought it valiantly.
He was a graduate of Walla Walla High School.  He received a degree from University Of  Washington where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. 
He served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict.  After working in the Bay area,  he returned to Walla Walla and entered the family business B. Barer and Sons.  After his father's death in 1967, he partnered with his Uncle David Barer.  In 1985, he became sole owner of the firm.  He married my Mother, Jean Granek in 1956, I was the first of 4 children.  When my mother became ill, my Dad took care to make sure the family could carry on as well as run the business.  About this time, his Mom had become ill with Alzheimer's.  It became a real juggling act to keep everything on an even keel.  He did it with a smile and without complaint.
He was a community leader, active in Toastmasters, Kiwanis, Rotary, The Walla Walla Little Theatre and the Democratic Party.  He loved morning coffee in Walla Walla with other business leaders in town. He was a member of Congregation Beth Israel in Walla Walla. 
After my Mom's death, he retired and moved to Kirkland in 2000. B.Barer And Sons was sold to Oxarc.  He met and married Jean Austin.  They enjoyed world travel.  My Dad loved to share memories which he was able to do on his blog. He joined Herzl Ner Tamid in Mercer Island.
A service will be held this week in Walla Walla and there is talk of another memorial service in Seattle.  He leaves three sons, one stepson, one stepdaughter, grandchildren, one great grand daughter, and his wife, Jean Austin Barer.  His daughter passed away last year.

Son Of Legendary Singer, Frank Sinatra, Jr

Frank Sinatra, Jr, whose looks and voice were similar to his famous dad, died yesterday of a massive heart attack in Daytona Beach, Florida. Sinatra was scheduled to perform on stage later in the evening at the time of his passing.
 His career seemed to be jump started after his fathers' passing. Audiences wanted to keep memories of his father alive.
 Sinatra was his father's bandleader in the elder Sinatra's last years of touring
 He was a victim of a kidnapping in the early 1960s, a ransom of $240,000 was paid for his release.  Frank Sinatra, Jr was 72.  He is survived by two sisters, Nancy, who had also had a very successful music career, and Tina.  He is also survived by son, Michael.

Merrick Garland Tapped For Supreme Court

Merrick Garland has been named by President Obama to replace Judge Scalia on the US Supreme Court.  Garland appointment has to be approved by the Senate in order for him to serve in that position.

Seattle Based Jazz Star Ernestine Anderson

Distinguished Jazz Singer Ernestine Anderson died in a Shoreline nursing home at 87.  Anderson was a 4 time Grammy nominee and her career spanned 6 decades.  She performed at the first Monterey Jazz Festival and at the Kennedy Center.  She was friends was music producer Quincy Jones, another Seattle native.

Peter Jordan Brings "Saxy Jazz" To Renton

Deb and I spent an evening last night at Shuga Jazz Bistro in Renton to hear the sounds of Peter Jordan and his jazz combo 2Saxy And Urban Flo.  Jordan, a sax virtuoso,played with the '70s pop group Heatwave, known for such hits as "Boogie Nights" and "Always and Forever".   Jordan is a local artist originally from Cincinnati. He has also played the The Emotions, The Stylistics,  Sister Sledge. and many more well known bands. 
The combo, also featuring a drummer, a percussionist (bongos), and two guitarists, played 3 strong sets including a rousing version of Marvin Gaye's classic "What's Going On" a very appropriate song considering what's happening in the political scene.
Shuga Jazz Bistro located at 317 Main Ave South in downtown Renton, serves up many Southern dishes as well as jazz entertainment.

Pat O'Day Featured Speaker at 2016 Eastside Heritage Center Benefit Dinner

From the SeaTac Media blog, Pat O'Day spoke at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue for the Eastside Heritage Center.  As you would expect, he gave a rollicking speech.

Signs Of Spring

The tree in front of the house is in bloom

Legendary Beatles Producer George Martin Dies At 90

Outside of the Fab Four, who is the best known name involved with the Beatles?  Would it be Linda McCartney?  Yoko Ono? Brian Epstein?  If the question was, who was the guiding force behind the music,  it would have to be George Martin the producer.  Many knew the name because it was on every album. He was credited with being the "5th Beatle". I liked to call him the "2nd George".
Martin had an ear for the times.  He sped up the tempo on "Please Please Me", one of the Beatle's earliest hits. Against Paul McCartney's wishes, he added a string quartet to "Yesterday". He kept the guitar feedback in "I Feel Fine" and made it sound like it belonged in the song.  Martin himself played a piano riff  in the Rubber Soul song "In My Life".  He produced the groundbreaking "Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.
He is perhaps due a lot more of the credit for the Beatles success than he received, but he was fine with that. The Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil Beatles tribute "Love" was a collaboration of  Martin and his son Giles.
Sir George Martin died in his sleep on March 8th.  He was 90.

KOL-FM Soundcheck 1970

I'm told that KOL-FM was Seattle's first "Progressive" FM station.  Instead of high energy uptempo DJs, this genre had the opposite, and if you listened, you probably would have heard music from artists that you had not heard before.  While I was not around Seattle at the time, I believe this genre spawned KZAM, KZOK, and KRAB.  Later KISW and KEXP.
This format or lack of in shape or another was also prevalent of college campus radio stations.  It later became known as Album Oriented Rock and eventually surpassed AM radio, by then, the playlists had gotten tighter and it was less experimental.

Local Firm Gets Investment On Shark Tank

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A rather unique company received an investment on ABC's The Shark Tank, one of my favorite TV shows.  Combat flip flops, based in nearby Issaquah, features clothing created in war torn countries like Afghanistan and Laos.  It's motto is "business not bullets".
Former Army Rangers Matthew "Griff" Griffin and Donald Lee came up with the idea after seeing locals with jobs making combat boots in Afghanistan. 
The shark investors were Mark Cuban, Damon John, and Lori Granier, combined they put up 300,000 for a 30 percent investment in the firm.  You can find the Combat Flip Flop Facebook page here

Cantwell Celebrates Former Congressman Tom Foley's Achievements

Tom Foley from Spokane was a Democrat who represented Eastern Washington, one of the most Conservative areas in the nation.  His ability to compromise allowed him to stay afloat. He was able to rise to become Speaker Of The House, but in doing so, was painted by his opponents as representing a body that was out of touch with it's constituents. He became the first sitting house speaker to lose an election.  He was replaced by the very partisan Republican Newt Gingrich when the congress flipped in a GOP landslide in 1994.  Thank you to Mary Westlake for this video.

2016 5th District Democratic Caucus Locations Announced

Locations for Democratic Precinct caucuses on Saturday March 26th have been announced.  The contest between Secretary Hilary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders is very much still in play. The locations are

Upper            Mt Si High School Freshman Campus
            9200 Railroad Ave
            Snoqualmie, WA  98065-9640

May            Maywood Middle School
            14490 168th Ave SE
            Renton, WA  98059-7951

Maple            Tahoma Jr High School
            25600 SE Summit Landsburg Rd
            Ravensdale, WA  98051-9732

Issaquah        Issaquah Middle School   
            400 1st Ave SE
            Issaquah, WA  98027-4246

Lower            Tolt Middle School
            3740 Tolt Ave
            Carnation, WA  98014-7537

Klahanie        Challenger Elementary School
            25200 SE Klahanie Blvd
            Issaquah WA  98029-5763
For more information click here.  Caucuses will begin at 10:00 am. 

Anne Frank Exhibit Arrives In Area

A traveling Anne Frank exhibit has arrived in the area and will be on display at Seattle's Holocaust Center For Humanity at 2045 2nd Ave.  Anne Frank is, of course, the girl who was holed up in an Amsterdam warehouse with her family.  Anne recorded her experiences of the family who were eventually arrested and interred in concentration camps.   Visitors will be able to view a replica of her diary and read her writings.  The exhibit will leave the area on May 18th.

Afternoon Drive Time Radio Hosts Ron And Don Help Raise Life Saving Money

In one of the great area radio stories of all time, KIRO 97.3FM Ron Upshaw and Don O'Neil helped raise over 140,000 dollars to help Seattle Detective Dave Clement to go to Chicago for a potentially life saving operation. 
Clement suffers from CIPD, a disease where the immune system attacks the nervous system.  KIRO 7 TV, which is no longer tied with KIRO radio, ran a story in the middle of February that the officer was denied his insurance company  the funds who have a surgery at Northwestern University.  Clement's employer, the city of Seattle, which is self insured, also denied the claim on grounds that the surgery is "experimental".
Hosts Ron And Don, used their bully pulpit and huge drive time audience to hammer on Clement's 26 years of service to the community. They used an "us against them" technique to get it's listeners to go to the "go fund me" page and make small donations.  At the time of this post, over 158,000 dollars has been raised, well exceeding the target 145,000.

Former Sonics Co-Owner Dies In Car Crash

The KIRO radio web site, mynorwest.com reports the death of Aubrey McLendon, the former part owner of the Seattle Super Sonics.  McLendon was found to be complaisant in principal owner Clay Bennett's plan to move  the NBA team from Seattle to Oklahoma City.  The emails became public as the city of Seattle went into a court battle over whether the Sonics could be held to their lease.  The city in a controversial move, decided to allow the team to break the lease in a settlement which allowed the move.  The team is now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. 
McClendon, the former CEO of the Chesapeake Energy Corporation was just indicted for orchestrating a scheme between two unnamed energy companies.

Los Angeles Radio Icon Dies

The SeaTac Media blog reports the death of LA DJ legend, Charlie Tuna.  Tuna, whose real name was Art Ferguson, was known in the Northwest from a syndicated radio show. He also hosted game shows like the 25,000 Dollar Pyramid and did voice overs on shows such as Mike Douglas and Thicke Of The Night.
Tuna began his LA radio career in 1967 at KHJ. He raised millions for a Los Angeles Children's Hospital with his "Tunathons".   He has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Remembering Jessica Savitch - www.NBCUniversalArchives.com

Anyone remember the NBC news updates that ran in the evenings?  Jessica Savitch found particular fame with that, sadly her life was shadowed with news of her personal problems.  She died in an auto accident in 1983.

Sports Radio 950 Carries Blazers

Sports Radio KJR 950, who for almost 2 decades has bashed the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a rivalry with the former Seattle Super Sonics, has started carrying some of their games.  It is a move that can make sense, since our area has been without NBA basketall since the Sonics departure.  Since almost all NBA games are at night, it is a  low risk move. 
The Portland Trail Blazers are owned by Mercer Island's Paul Allen, who also owns the Seattle Seahawks.

LA III: Fox Car Rental Hassle

Exactly two weeks ago we arrived in at LAX to start our trip.  We arrived on time and our luggage was with us in a timely fashion.  We waited for a shuttle to our rental car destination.  We had rented a car that we would share with the rest of the family with Fox Rent A Car.  I had never heard of them and now I wish that I hadn't. 
We waited two hours for a shuttle, not in a lounge but in the LAX street curb.  We had a daytime show to catch in Palm Springs with my dad and his wife the following day.  We tried to call but got only a recording.  The shuttle finally arrived a 1 in the morning.  It took us to a shabby building where there was a long line (see the picture above).   While we waited many of the clerks went off duty and were not replaced.  A very nice professional gentleman finally helped us.  We finally got to our hotel at 3:30.
Our car was fine, but the experience got our trip off to a bad start.
UPDATE  The Fox Rent A Car people responded to my YELP review and refunded most of our money, along with an apology for what we agreed was an unacceptable waiting time.

Seattle Sportsnet Blog Takes On Seattle Times On Arena

The Seattle Times has recently run a series of editorials opposing the proposed sports arena in the Sodo district.  A recent Alex Akita post in the Seattle Sportsnet suggests evidence shows the paper may be exaggerating some facts as part of a "personal vendetta" against Cris Hanson. and the project. You can read the article here.

Walla Walla's Whitman College To Change Newspaper Name

Whitman College, in my hometown of Walla Walla, is igniting controversy nationally by changing the name of it's on campus newspaper.  The paper, known as "The Pioneer", has been publishing since 1896.  The college, known for being much more liberal than it's surrounding town, claims that the paper's name honors "white invaders".   Many though say, that even though the area's pioneers were far from perfect, they made sacrifices to make better lives for later generations.  The paper is hoping that the name change will encourage such discussion.  No new name for the paper has been announced.

Cousin's Photo Appears On Popular Show

My cousin Linda Woods was watching an episode of Modern Family and noticed one of her paintings on the set.  You can find Linda's blog here