In the Media
A nearly $3.2 million project to make 26 buildings at Western Washington University more energy-efficient is expected to begin in March.
The university is using a state program called Energy Saving Performance Contracting to finance the work to reduce Western's annual use of electricity, gas, water and sewer.
That reduction is expected to save $227,000 to $337,000 a year - the higher amount factors in inflation through 2024 - with the savings going to repay a $3.06 million bond.
When Julie Martin recommends a player off her Marysville-Pilchuck High School girls' basketball team, Western Washington University women's coach Carmen Dolfo listens.
Of course Martin has a little insight into exactly the type of player Dolfo is looking for because she played for the Vikings before graduating from the school in 2002, when she was known as Julie Walker.
"Julie was a great player, herself, and she's done a great job as a coach," Dolfo said in a phone interview. "When she feels strongly enough to recommend one of her players, of course we're going to listen."
A cadre of artists who gathered at the Tsuga Gallery last week chatted about their painting and photography and the challenges of fixing up a 100-year-old building.
The conversation frequently returned to another subject: the late Janet Cimino, whose love of art and generosity are behind the gallery's opening.
Cimino, who died last August at age 67, left the storefront on Cathlamet's Main Street to a trust with instructions that it be used for an art gallery.
The longtime owner of Smokey’s Pizza, known for his charitable giving to sports teams and schools, has died at the age of 53.
Wayne Redjou died Jan. 2 from complications of cancer surgery, wife Dellan Redjou said Wednesday. Wayne Redjou was in remission from throat cancer, which had emerged again in October.
Lectures about San Quentin, the world water crisis and the overthrow of Libya's dictatorship headline the 10th annual World Issues Forum this winter at Western Washington University.
The lecture series is sponsored by WWU's Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies. All events are free and open to the public.
Lectures are noon to 1:15 p.m. Wednesdays in Fairhaven College auditorium, unless otherwise noted. For details, see www.wwu.edu/fairhaven/news/.
Gov. Chris Gregoire in her State of the State address on Tuesday said she hopes lawmakers in Olympia can fix the $1 billion budget crisis, pass a temporary half-cent sales tax increase, reform education, approve a $3.6 billion transportation package and legalize same-sex marriage during the 60-day legislative session.
Republican legislators from Southwest Washington agreed that the budget must be cut but criticized other aspects of the Democratic governor’s agenda.
“While we must cut, we must also find real reforms,” Gregoire said. “We must look for new revenue for the state of Washington.”
The state Supreme Court's plan to loom over the Legislature like a storm cloud until K-12 education funding improves will separate the wheat in political leadership from the chaff.
The unanimous ruling — two justices dissented over the court retaining jurisdiction in the case — changes the game for state lawmakers beginning to pare billions in spending. Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed spending for education, usually the starting point, must be viewed with an eye toward the court's ruling.
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday unveiled a plan to raise $3.6 billion for the upkeep of roads, bridges and ferries and pay the bulk of it with a new fee on the state's oil refineries.
The governor used her annual State of the State address to argue that Washington needs the funds in the coming decade because it is woefully short of money to patch potholes, repave highways, keep state ferries operating and improve major routes crisscrossing the state.
"When we build roads, they don't take care of themselves. When you buy a car, you pay for it, you maintain it by changing the oil, rotating the tires and make the repairs," she said.
"Would you like to meet a llama?"
That's the question Niki Kuklenski loves to ask when she encourages people to experience one up close.
Kuklenski, 41, a Western Washington University graduate and substitute teacher in Mount Baker School District, has spent a lifetime training and breeding llamas. She is rated one of the nation's experts in all aspects, including her work with Delta Society Therapy Llamas. She and her husband, Jeff, operate a llama farm, JNK Llamas, near Bellingham.
Western Washington University's Western Gallery presents "Gosia Wlodarczak: Between Wander & Settlement," Tuesday, Jan. 17, through March 2. The Australian artist works on drawings while at her chosen sites and takes into account the cultural background of her locations, the specifics of the site, and timely situations.