TWN0911 - The Washington Newspaper September 2011

TWN

September 2011 1

The Washington Newspaper

THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Seattle, WA Permit No. 422

Vol. 96, No.9 September 2011

Journal of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington • www.wnpa.com

‘Bright’ idea: Sign up early for convention NNA chief to lead off 124th WNPA gathering

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DEADLINES: Early Bird Registration:

Sept. 9

Hotel Reservations:

Sept. 16

Final Convention Registration:

Sept. 23

www.wnpa.com/events

ON THE WEB:

egister for “Building a Bright Future,” WNPA’s 124th Annual Convention, by Sept. 9 to get early bird rates or, at the latest, by Sept. 23.

Members will convene at the Holiday Inn Downtown Everett Oct. 7-8 to learn, network and celebrate their successes.

Keynote speaker Tonda F. Rush opens Friday’s rich educational opportunities with a presentation on the strong position community newspapers have with readers and her concerns about current policy issues at the federal level,

including the state of the postal service.

CEO of the National Newspaper Association, Rush represents the interests of community newspapers in Washington, D.C. and will take questions after her presentation.

The presentations that follow cover topics important to newspaper staffs every day — from legal issues and audits to advertising sales and community newspaper photography.

They’ll also inform news organizations on immediate opportunities for eEditions, video, mobile, apps, and other web-based aspects of the today’s news business.

Information gleaned from these sessions,

SUCCESSFUL RESCUE

See WNPA, page 6

NNA selects BetterBNC.com for its contests

Search committee’s findings endorsed by group’s board

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Damian Mulinix/Chinook Observer, Long Beach

Surf rescue swimmer Doug Knutzen carries Dale Ostrander to the shore near Long Beach on Aug. 5 after rescue swimmers Eddie Mendez (at left) and Will Green (not pictured) found him floating in the surf. Three days later, the boy was conscious and speaking to doctors at a Portland hospital. He continues to recover at a hospital closer to his Spanaway home. Picked up via Associated Press by more than 60 newspapers nationwide, Damian Mulinix’s photo was voted Picture of the Week on MSNBC.com’s photo blog and featured on major national and regional night and morning television news shows.

he SmallTownPapers online contest platform, BetterBNC. com, has been selected by the National Newspaper Association for its 2012 newspaper contests.

“After careful review of various online platforms, the committee found SmallTownPapers’ platform easy to navigate, it offers an enhanced contest entry and judging experience – and provides all this at a reasonable price,” reported Sara Dickson, Programs and Outreach Manager for NNA. NNA CEO Tonda F. Rush charged Dickson and her committee with identifying the best vendor based on three criteria: ease of entry for members, a more streamlined judging process and enhanced stewardship of association resources.

The NNA board approved the committee’s recommendation at its summer meeting.

“We look forward with eager anticipation to launching our 2012 newspaper See NNA, page 4

NCW Media, Sound Publishing go shopping together Sound purchases Okanogan weekly; NCW nets monthly

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ound Publishing Inc. has purchased the Okanogan Valley-Gazette Tribune from NCW Media Inc. The deal also includes the bi-annual tourist publication, Recreationland, which serves visitors within North Central Washington and British Columbia’s Southern

Okanagan.

“Bill and Carol Forhan have built up a tremendous business in a very desirable market.

“Also, the Bill staff at the Forhan Oroville-based paper bring excellent skills and knowledge to our group and we look forward to their contribu-

tion to our company in the future,” said Josh O’Connor, vice president of East Sound Newspaper Operations, Sound Josh Publishing Inc. O’Connor The Okanogan Valley-Gazette Tribune has been in operation since 1905 and distributes 2,700

copies in Oroville and Tonasket and surrounding communities every Thursday.

Also included in this transaction is the sale of the Wenatchee Business Journal, a monthly, to NCW Media Inc. “The sale of the Wenatchee Business Journal reflects the changing landscape within the newspaper industry.

“We have very dedicated and talented staff who have played an integral role in the business

journal’s success to date. We felt this publication would be better served by a local entrepreneur who could compete more effectively in Wenatchee and surrounding markets,” said O’Connor.

“Under NCW Media Inc.’s ownership the Wenatchee Business Journal will continue to produce an award-winning publication and we look forward See BUYS, page 2

September 2011 2

The Washington Newspaper

One records battle I wish I could stick around to fight

By KIM BRADFORD

The News Tribune, Tacoma

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August 18, 2011

oday, 12 years after I began editorial writing, I am leaving it to rejoin the newsroom. I have accepted a position as editor of the newsroom’s politics and government team.

I will miss many aspects of opinion writing, but none more than the people – the readers and sources who challenged me to sharpen my thinking and the colleagues who did the same.

Patrick O’Callahan and Cheryl Tucker are two of the most supportive and talented co-workers I have had. They will continue the important work of fostering debate on the issues that most affect this community.

But before I give up the soapbox, I am climbing up on it one more time to lobby for a cause that has personal meaning.

During my time on the TriCity Herald’s and The News Tribune’s editorial boards, I wrote hundreds of editorials championing open government and public disclosure of records.

Citizens have the right, I ar-

gued time and again, to know how their public officials are governing on their behalf.

If that’s true, and I believe it is, then how much greater a right should a citizen have to access the most fundamental of government documents, the one that recorded his or her birth?

There is no such right for thousands of adopted Washingtonians.

Their birth certificates are a work of fiction, doctored to record only the names of their adopted parents. The originals are exempted from disclosure by one of the 300-plus exceptions to the state’s public records law.

That is about to change for a lucky few. This fall, a 1993 law takes effect for the adoptees who are least likely to know their birth parents. Come October, children adopted at birth will have access to their Washington birth certificates for the first time.

The law states that for “adoptions finalized after Oct. 1, 1993, the department of health shall make available a noncertified copy of the original birth certificate to the adoptee after

the adoptee’s eighteenth birthday.”

Children who were adopted as newborns in October 1993 begin turning 18 this fall.

The state Department of Health doesn’t have any real handle on their numbers. But given the current rate at which the state processes adoption amendments to birth certificates, it’s possible that more than 50,000 adoptees will have access to their original birth certificates in the coming years.

That’s provided that their birth parents haven’t filed paperwork blocking the release. As of May, none had. That’s consistent with what adoption researchers have found in other states that allow biological parents to indicate contact preferences; fewer than 1 percent ask for no contact.

Many adoptees adopted before 1993 would like the same right. As the law stands, they are limited to petitioning a court to order the records’ release or to paying a confidential intermediary to inspect the records for them and contact birth parents.

For the last two years, they

have lobbied the Legislature to get rid of the 1993 date and allow all adoptees, upon reaching the age of majority, to request their original birth records.

Lakewood’s own Sen. Mike Carrell was the last lawmaker to make a run at getting legislation passed. His bill was opposed by some access advocates because it retained the provision giving birth parents’ veto power over the release.

Their arguments for equality are compelling, but social reform is nearly always incremental – just ask gay couples whose “everything but marriage” legal status in Washington is itself the result of several rounds of legislation.

Advocates and lawmakers might be well advised – as the American Adoption Congress recommends in some cases – to accept compromise legislation like Carrell’s with an eye toward winning unfettered access in the future.

What Washington will find is the same that Oregon and three other states have discovered upon unsealing adoptees’ birth certificates: Adoptees who

request their birth certificates aren’t stalkers bent on disrupting their birth parents’ lives. They are simply people who want to know a little bit more about themselves. In some cases, they never attempt to even contact their biological parents.

Oregon has released 10,000 original birth certificates since voters passed the law there in 1998. Not a single problem has been reported.

I have one of those 10,000 certificates. It sat in my file cabinet for 11 years until earlier this year, when I wrote to the woman whose name is on it to let her know that I am happy, healthy and grateful.

She wrote back to say that I had affirmed what she always knew – that she had made the right decision 39 years ago – and she thanked me for finding her.

We continue to email each other occasionally.

I want the same opportunity for adoptees who were unlucky enough to be born in this state.

If any public records battle is worth fighting, it’s that one.

Reprinted with permission.

Proud to be the Hotline Atto

for WNPA and its Members

To train and inspire young journalists.

Officers: President: Paul Archipley, Edmonds Beacon, Mukilteo Beacon l First Vice President: Jana Stoner, Northern Kittitas County Tribune, Cle Elum l Second Vice President: Bill Forhan, NCW Media, Leavenworth l Past President: Sue Ellen Riesau, Sequim Gazette, Forks Forum l Secretary: Bill Will, WNPA, Seattle Trustees: Desiree Cahoon, Lake Stevens Journal l Mike Dillon, Pacific Publishing Co., Seattle l Donna Etchey, North Kitsap Herald, Poulsbo l Keven Graves, Nisqually Valley News, Yelm l John Knowlton, Green River Community College, Auburn l Lori Maxim, Sound Publishing l Stephen McFadden, RitzvilleAdams County Journal Staff: Executive Director: Bill Will l Editor/Manager of Member Services: Mae Waldron

FOUNDATION Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

SUPPORT YOUNG JOURNALISTS

BY DONATING COOL ITEMS TO THE WNPA FOUNDATION Helping you tell the stories that need to b AUCTION

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

www.alliedlawgroup.com • Seattle • Olympia

Officers: President: W. Stacey Cowles, The Spokesman-Review l Vice President: Mike Shepard, Seattle Times Company Board: Rufus Friday, Tri-City Herald l Jill Mackie, The Seattle Times l Dennis Waller, Chronicle, Centralia Executive Director: Rowland Thompson THE WASHINGTON NEWSPAPER is the official publication of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. It is published monthly

by WNPA, 12354 30th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98125, phone (206) 6343838. Email: mwaldron@wnpa.com; URL: www.wnpa.com, in conjunction with Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, P.O. Box 29, Olympia, WA 98507, (360) 943-9960.

Email: anewspaper@aol.com.

It’s the Foundation’s only annual fundraiser!

••• HELP GENERATE INTERNSHIP STIPENDS FOR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS WNPA Convention Oct. 6-8 Holiday Inn, Downtown Everett ••• Contact Mae Waldron mwaldron@wnpa.com

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to the opportunity of working with NCW Media Inc. in printing, cross-sales and national sales representation,” he added.

Both deals were effective Aug. 1.

Sound prints more than 30 community newspapers in Western Washington and Oregon.

NCW Media, founded in 2000, is owned

by Bill and Carol Forhan of Leavenworth, Jeff and Audrey Walter of Brewster, and Jeff and Liz Gauger of North Canton, Ohio.

It publishes five community newspapers and a variety of niche publications in North Central Washington.

September 2011 3

The Washington Newspaper

OPEN ACCESS & LEGAL ISSUES

King County agrees to deal in records suit

Settlement hailed by couple, questioned by head of agency

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The Seattle Times

ing County will pay a $125,000 settlement to a Vashon Island couple who alleged county officials improperly withheld public records including a letter they say was probably written by the wife of a county employee, an environmental regulator.

The county will “certainly learn a lesson from this regarding how seriously to take public records,” said David Vogel, attorney for Bill and Susan Tobin, a Vashon couple who battled the county for six years after the letter alleged they had illegally remodeled their home.

The deal, signed by the Tobins in early August, notes the agreement is a “compromise and is not to be construed as an admission of liability” by the county.

But John Starbard, director of the agency embroiled in the controversy, said the settlement is a “huge lesson” about properly handling public records.

However, Starbard suggested penalties for violations of the state records law may be too steep.

Is the letter that sparked the lawsuit, he asked, “really worth $125,000 worth of the public’s money?”

At the center of the strange case is an anonymous letter a county employee, Greg Wessel, said he received about improper building on the Tobins’ property. After hiring handwriting analysts, the Tobins suspected Wessel’s wife wrote the letter.

The dispute dates back to 2005, when the Tobins were trying to close a deal to sell their Vashon house. On April 19, they were visited by Wessel, who worked for the county’s Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES).

According to the facts laid out in a decision by the county hearing examiner in 2007, Wessel said he had received an anonymous complaint that the Tobins had remodeled their house without proper permits.

Anxious about their impending sale, the Tobins allowed Wessel to inspect their property.

Wessel then told the Tobins he’d See KING, page 5

Court: Release cop misconduct probes

Important ruling overturns lower courts’ decisions

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The Seattle Times

n a landmark decision, the state Supreme Court ruled Aug. 18 that law-enforcement reports dealing with alleged misconduct by police officers must be made public even if the accusations are not upheld.

Eight of the nine justices found that the public has a “legitimate interest” in knowing how the allegations were investigated.

But five justices found that the names of officers who have been exonerated may be redacted from the records on privacy grounds.

The decision stemmed from criminal and internal investigations of a Bainbridge Island police officer who was cleared

of allegations that he sexually assaulted and choked a woman during a traffic stop in 2007.

The court overturned Superior Court judges in King and Pierce counties, who had held that criminal and internal investigation reports in the case could be withheld in their entirety under privacy provisions of the state’s Public Records Act. It sent the case back to the lower courts with instructions to redact the officer’s name but produce the remainder of the records.

The Supreme Court ruled on appeals brought by the woman who alleged she was assaulted, a Bainbridge Island citizen and two journalists, including one for the Kitsap Sun. Michele Earl-Hubbard, a Seattle attorney who filed friend-of-the-court briefs on behalf of the Seattle Times and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, hailed

the ruling, saying it also applies to all public employees and private citizens who claim privacy after being investigated by law enforcement.

The decision is likely to affect the Seattle Police Department’s longstanding policy of withholding records when officers have been cleared of misconduct allegations in internal investigations.

It also could have a bearing on a pending court case in which the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild is seeking to keep the public from learning the names of officers who have been found, after internal investigations, to have engaged in misconduct.

The Supreme Court’s lead opinion was written by Justice Mary Fairhurst and joined by Justices Gerry Alexander, Tom Chambers and Susan Owens.

Those concurring with the opinion but arguing that the Bainbridge officer’s name

should be disclosed were Justice Barbara Madsen, who wrote the opinion, Justices Charles Johnson and Debra Stephens and Justice Pro Tem Richard Sanders.

“The lead opinion misconstrues the privacy exemption to apply to the identity of a police officer who is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct occurring during the course of performing public duties,” Madsen wrote.

In a dissent, Justice James Johnson found that none of the records nor the name of the officer should be revealed because doing so would violate his right to privacy.

Johnson’s dissent provided the fifth vote against disclosing the officer’s name.

The overall ruling followed other decisions in recent years in which the court has broadly interpreted the Public Records Act and the public’s right to know.

Police panel members quit amid allegations

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Kitsap Sun, Bremerton

wo members of a Bainbridge police oversight commission resigned amid allegations they broke open meetings rules by having closed-door discussions with the city manager about firing the commission’s chief examiner, an outspoken critic of the Bainbridge Island Police Department.

The resignations of city Civil Service Commission members George McKinney and David Hand, who is now reconsidering his resignation, came shortly after Chief Examiner Kim Hendrickson questioned the three-member commission’s practices and its decision earlier this month to terminate her contract and transfer the examiner’s duties to a city employee.

At the Aug. 24 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Debbi Lester accused City Manager Brenda Bauer of violating state rules governing open public meetings.

“Having commissions come to your office is a violation of the open meetings act,” Lester said to Bauer.

Councilman Bob Scales declared that Lester’s “unfounded assertion” was in breach of her duty as an elected official.

Lester noted that the commission’s admission of meeting in private without public notice is a matter of public record. The commission is noted as discuss-

ing its meeting with Bauer in commission meeting minutes.

According to commission documents, Bauer had proposed transferring the examiner position and invited the commission to meet with her to discuss the matter.

Despite what Lester called a “tainted process,” the council voted 4-2 to endorse the commission’s decision to remove Hendrickson and transfer what had been an independent position to the city’s executive department.

Council members Scales, Kirsten Hytopoulos, Barry Peters and Hilary Franz voted in favor. Lester and Councilman Bill Knobloch voted against.

Councilwoman Kim Brackett raised concerns about the commission but left the meeting before the vote was taken.

Hendrickson, a former political science professor and Bainbridge City Council candidate, believes that asking tough questions led to her removal.

As chief examiner, Hendrickson raised concerns about access to police information, police hiring and testing standards and the lack of openness in which police leaders communicate with the commission. The Civil Service Commission is charged with ensuring that police hiring is based on merit rather than favoritism and that employment decisions, including demotions and promotions, are done in

accordance with city rules. The commission can, in some cases, conduct investigations and hear grievances, according to the city attorney.

Earlier this year, Hendrickson was ordered by the commission not to discuss commission business with the public or press and was denied access to her files unless under police escort.

Hand, who serves as the commission’s chairman and has been on the commission for 15 years, said the council’s vote in support of the commission’s decision made him change his mind about resigning. He said Aug. 25 that he intends to retract his resignation.

Hand said Hendrickson did an “excellent” job as examiner, but he agreed with Bauer that transferring the examiner duties to a city employee would cut costs and boost efficiency.

The transfer would, he said, alleviate some of Hendrickson’s own concerns that, as a contractor, she did not have an office, file space, computer or an official phone line.

He stressed that the examiner can do its job effectively and independently even if the job is under Bauer’s direct supervision.

“I don’t see where there’s any conflict,” he said.

With the commission’s decision made, Hendrickson said that she favors a compromise in which the city would hire a part-time employee rather than

add the examiner’s duties to an existing staff member. She also recommends that the examiner answer to the commission, not the city manager.

Hand said he resigned after reading a letter signed by Hendrickson that questioned the legality of the meetings with Bauer and whether the commission followed proper procedure to remove Hendrickson.

The letter also was signed by commission member Robert Fernandez, who voted against removing Hendrickson.

Hand admitted he wasn’t sure whether the commission had broken public meetings rules and believes they were under executive session while in Bauer’s office.

Knobloch doesn’t buy it.

“They knew very well what the rules were,” he said, noting that a previous chief examiner had taken issue with the commission after they met privately with the mayor in 2005.

City Attorney Jack Johnson declined to discuss whether public meeting rules had been broken but did say that the commission can meet privately in some cases.

Bauer did not return calls for comment.

Appointing replacements for the Civil Service Commission will follow normal city protocols, with the City Council approving applicants to six-year, unpaid terms. Applicants must be residents of Bainbridge for at least three years.

Port Townsend council takes stand for open government Five members vote to protest move to change FOI Act Port Townsend-Jefferson County Leader

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he Port Townsend City Council voted 5-1 on Aug. 1 to send a letter to senators and Pentagon officials

urging they block proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act. Those changes would allow the U.S. Department of Defense to withhold safety information regarding Indian Island explosives. Councilor Laurie Medlicott opposed the letter.

Deputy Mayor George Randels said a half dozen people

spoke in favor of the letter. One of them was Glen Milner of the Seattle area, who won a U.S. Supreme Court case earlier this year over how the Navy was withholding specific information about Naval Magazine Indian Island, the ordnance handling and storage depot across the bay from Port Townsend. The Navy has since proposed FOI changes

that Milner said constitute an end-run on the Supreme Court decision.

“The council was well informed on this issue and emphasized that they were for open government,” Milner wrote in an email to the Port Townsend-Jefferson County Leader.

Randels said councilors plan

to submit any edits during the next several days before Mayor Michelle Sandoval approves a final version.

The letter targets Section 1014 of the National Defense Authorization Act, Senate Bill 981.IS, which would prevent the release of information about possible safety risks surrounding explosives at Indian Island.

September 2011 4

The Washington Newspaper

PASSINGS

Journalist-legislator Former Record publisher dies also led Zimmerman passes Ludtka volunteer efforts

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Camas-Washougal Post-Record

arold (Hal) Zimmerman, former owner/publisher of the CamasWashougal Post-Record, state legislator and community organizer, died Aug. 4 from liver and kidney failure after a 10-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.

He was 88.

Zimmerman, who in his 53 years as a Camas resident displayed almost unlimited energy in his multiple roles of newspaper publisher, legislator and community activist was named Camas’ “Citizen of the Century” by the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce in 2006. He was a past president of WNPA (1961-62) and an honorary lifetime member of the association.

A native of Valley City, N.D., Zimmerman graduated from high school in 1941, where he was valedictorian. The year before his father died in a traffic accident, so after graduation he and his mother moved to Washington and he enrolled at the University of Washington.

His college career, however, was quickly interrupted

by World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Zimmerman was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving on ground duty in Texas and California. After the war, he returned to college and in 1946 met Julianne (Judy) Williams in a news writing class. They were married after graduation in 1947, and the following year the couple’s first child, Karen, was born.

Early in his career Hal had worked at various newspapers, editing the North Seattle News, and editing and writing for the Sedro Woolley Courier Times.

He was also an editor and sold ads for the Skagit County Dairymen magazine. But Hal and Judy by this time wanted to buy their own newspaper and learned that the Cowlitz County Advocate, in Castle Rock, was for sale. In 1950, they purchased the weekly paper and operated it until 1957. In that year, after selling the Advocate, the couple moved to Camas with children Karen, Judi Jean and Steve and acquired the Camas-Washougal Post-Record.

Journalism remained an attractive occupation for Zimmerman in the late 1950’s and 1960’s, but his energetic nature drew him to politics by this time as well. While residing in Castle Rock, he had been a Cowlitz County Republican chairman and on arriving in Camas he soon became a precinct committee man. Then in 1966 he decided he wanted to represent the 17th District in the state legislature. He ran against and defeated Camas Mayor Bill Sampson for the seat, which began a 22-year career as a state representative and senator.

In 1980, Zimmerman shifted from the state house and won a state senate seat which he held for eight years. He eventually retired from politics in 1988 having served the 17th District for 22 years, never defeated in a race for office.

Also in 1980, Zimmerman sold the Post-Record to Eagle Newspapers, but continued writing as a columnist for many years.

Zimmerman is survived by two adult children, Karen and Steve, and six grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Judy, and their daughter, Judi-Jean.

Cancer claims Lakewood aviation leader, publisher Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

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eneral aviation lost an aviation media pioneer July 26 with the death of Dave Sclair, former publisher of General Aviation News.

Sclair and his wife, Mary Lou, were industry icons at aviation events nationwide since the couple purchased what was then called Northwest Flyer in 1970. The Sclair family grew the publication and changed its name to Western Flyer and then later, with the acquisition of other smaller tabloids and additional growth, renamed it General Aviation News.

For the past decade, their son Ben has served as publisher, although the senior Sclairs

FOURNIER Media Services, Inc.

Brokerage — Consulting Appraisals JOHN L. FOURNIER, JR. P.O. Box 750 Prosser, WA 99350 Voice 206/409-9216 Fax 509/786-1779

remained fixtures in the industry, always busy at aviation shows handing out the famous pink classified pages of the esteemed publication.

The Flyer Media Inc. parent company owned by the Sclairs and based in Lakewood, Wash., also produces the Living with Your Plane national directory of fly-in communities.

Sclair was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer earlier this year. Numerous treatment attempts failed and, at his wishes to make things easier on this family, he was moved to hospice care earlier in July.

Ben notified industry friends of his father’s death early July 27. “If you can say such an event is peaceful, this was. Mom and I were sitting with Dad, talking through old memories and reading stories from Dad’s workin-progress book, ‘A somewhat lighthearted look at the life and times of Mary Lou & Dave’. I can’t begin to thank everyone for the outpouring of prayers, kind words and support, both physical and emotional.”

in Ellensburg

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Leavenworth Echo

ohn E. Ludtka, former editor and publisher of the Ellensburg Daily Record, died July 17 at his home in Leavenworth.

Born Jan. 4, 1930, in Huron, S.D. Ludtka was the son of Bessie E. (McClintock) and John Albert Ludtka.

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from South Dakota State University in Brookings, where he put himself through college leading and performing with his 10-piece dance band known as the Collegians.

On June 20, 1954, he married Janice Lee Todd in Mobridge, S.D. Ludtka was inducted into the U.S. Armored Infantry later that year serving in Mainz, West Germany, during the Korean Conflict. He was discharged as a captain in 1956 and from Reserve Duty in 1965.

Returning to the U.S. in 1956, he became sports information director and a professor of journalism at Eastern New Mexico University at Portales, N.M. and served as assistant director of public relations.

In 1963 he moved his family to Ellensburg, where he became a professor of journalism and director of public relations at Central Washington University.

In 1968 he became editor and publisher of the Daily Record.

Ludtka believed in bettering his community through volunteerism and was a member of many volunteer organizations. He was a member and past president of the Ellensburg Rotary Club, a member of the CWU Foundation and the Sports Writers of America Association.

He and his wife, Jan, were honorary chairs of the National Western Art Show in 1991.

He was an honorary member of the Ellensburg Rodeo Board, and inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2006.

Most recently the Ludtkas were honored with the Darwin

J. Goodey Award presenter by the John Clymer Museum of Art in Ellensburg.

Ludtka published the Ellensburg Rodeo Program for 20 years and authored “The Tradition Lives,: The First 75 Years of the Ellensburg Rodeo.”

He was also a founding board member of the Kittitas Valley Bank.

After Ludtka retired as publisher in 1992, he and his wife moved to Leavenworth, Albuquerque, N.M., and later Las Cruces, N.M. They celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary this past June.

He is survived by his wife, Jan; four children: Mark Ludtka (Paula) of Bellevue, Cathy Lockwood (Charlie) of Vancouver, Karol Miller of Brewster, and Lynn Ludtka of Bothell; and seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the John and Jan Ludtka Endowed Scholarship Fund, via the CWU Foundation, or the Clymer Museum of Art.

Wine writer Woehler dies at 79

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Tri-City Herald

ongtime Tri-City Herald reporter, wine writer and community advocate Bob Woehler died Aug. 24 of complications from blood clots.

He was 79.

Woehler had his first winerelated assignment covering the opening of Preston Premium Wines in Pasco in 1976, and became one of the state’s earliest wine writers with his column “Woehler on Wine,” which started in 1978.

“As a wine writer, he was honest in what he perceived,” said Coke Roth, a Kennewick lawyer and former owner of Roth Distributing, a beer and wine distributor in the TriCities and Moses Lake. “He tasted a lot of crummy wines, especially in the early days, but he never said anything bad about them publicly. He was a real gentleman all the way around.”

Woehler and Roth became friends in 1973 and traveled together to various emerging

NNA

wine regions in the Northwest and worked together to start the Tri-Cities Wine Festival.

“I can’t tell you about the amount of wine we drank together, but it was oceans,” Roth said.

Woehler started working for the Herald in 1967 and retired in 1994, but continued writing about wine.

When he stopped writing “Woehler on Wine” last year, he said, “I never dreamed when I started writing about the Washington wine industry in 1978 that it would be a lifetime joy for me.”

Woehler was tasting editor for Wine Press Northwest since its launch in 1998, and wrote two columns every issue for the magazine. One column, “Bargain Bob,” focused on low-priced wines and the other, “Vintage Musings,” looked at wineries that have been around the industry for many years.

His last two columns will appear in the fall issue of Wine Press Northwest, which comes out next month.

Woehler started his journalism career in radio and was news director of a radio station in Omak before moving to newspapers. He held newspaper reporting jobs in Renton, Othello, Pendleton, Hermiston and Cottage Grove before joining the Herald.

Retired Herald Executive Editor Ken Robertson said Woehler was the leader of the reporting staff when he joined in 1976 as the new city editor.

“Over the next couple of decades until his retirement, he proved to be a prolific reporter with an incredible nose for news stories no matter what beat he worked on,” Robertson said.

Woehler’s wine column also helped the Herald become “known for its coverage of wines and the wine industry, which Bob foresaw would be hugely important in the state of Washington,” Robertson said.

At the time, there were fewer than a dozen wineries in the state and now there are more than 700.

ing number of report, search and sort functions that ease their workload.

One update that helps admins early in the contest is the option to select start and end dates for when members may submit contest entries separately from the dates of the judging cycle. Previously one set of dates covered both submitting entries and judging.

Admins also benefit from the “calculate entry fee” function offered to newspapers.

A new entry-fee report provides the total fee per newspaper along with division, competition/category, entry title and fee for each entry.

Later, during the judging phase, admins can use the judging progress report for a quick update on how many competitions remain to be judged and by whom.

SmallTownPapers will add more new features in releases coming up this fall and winter.

The earliest users of the site, in addition to Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, were press associations in Oregon, Arizona, West Virginia and New York.

SmallTownPapers is an affiliate member of WNPA based in Shelton.

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contests online through SmallTownPapers,” Dickson said.

NNA’s commitment brings the site’s total users to 84 news organizations, including state press associations, AP bureaus, Society of Professional Journalists chapters, public radio directors and other media groups.

Contest participants have benefited from the continual addition of new site features including this spring’s “calculate entry fee” function, which provides an accurate fee total for each newspaper.

Behind the scenes, contest administrators have an increas-

September 2011 5

The Washington Newspaper

Sequim places in NNA’s General Excellence contest

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n its first entry in the General Excellence contest of the National Newspaper Association, the Sequim Gazette received an honorable mention in the competition among non-daily newspapers with circulation of 6,000-9,999.

The Gazette finished behind the Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News & Guide, which placed third.

Sue Ellen Riesau is publisher of the Gazette and Forks Forum and the WNPA Past President.

The Gazette also placed third in the Best Sports Section/ Page category for non-daily newspapers of 6,000 or more circulation.

The Liberty Lake Splash earned four awards in nondaily divisions for newspapers

of 6-10,000 circulation: third place for Best SmallPage Ad, Best Business Story and Best Environmental Story, and Sue Ellen honorable mention in the Riesau Performing Arts Story category.

The Herald in Puyallup received an honorable mention in the Best Feature Story category for non-daily newspapers with 15,000 or more circulation.

Awards will be presented Sept. 24 during NNA’s 125th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Albuquerque, NM.

PostGlobe website closes after 2 years

T

The Seattle Times

he Seattle PostGlobe, an online news site that began after the closure of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2009, is shutting down.

The PostGlobe started as a nonprofit news site created by laid-off workers from the PostIntelligencer, where more than 100 journalists lost their jobs as it went online only.

“Now it’s time for the PostGlobe to say goodbye and thank you. It’s time for us to move on,” wrote co-founder Sally Deneen in a posting on its website July 29.

The PostGlobe said it is no longer collecting donations through its fiscal sponsor, Shunpike.

In its mission statement, the PostGlobe said it wanted to be part of a community conversation about the city and the concerns of people.

The P-I’s owner, the Hearst Corporation, shut down the print version in March 2009. It went online only, at Seattlepi.com.

KING

from page 3

have to refer the case to enforcement officers as a likely code violation.

A subsequent county order said the Tobins had to obtain permits or demolish non-permitted construction. The Tobins appealed and asked to see the anonymous complaint.

The county gave them a copy with parts blacked out, “without any justification,” Vogel said.

The Tobins asked to see the original complaint and were told by the county it was missing.

They became suspicious, Vogel said, because their house was not visible from the road and they didn’t think their neighbors would have complained.

Susan Tobin decided to check Wessel’s handwriting through real-estate records available to the public. She found records that Wessel and his wife had both signed.

“Margaret Wessel’s handwriting was remarkably similar” to the anonymous complaint, Vogel said. The Tobins then hired two experts who agreed but said more evidence was needed.

Meanwhile, the hearing examiner ruled for the Tobins in a decision that entirely dismissed

the county compliance order.

“Mr. Wessel gained unreasonable entry into the Tobin property and conducted a warrantless search by using an impermissible ruse,” Hearing Examiner Peter Donahue wrote.

The Tobins sued the county, claiming it violated the state’s open-records law. That case was scheduled for trial Aug. 22.

But the two parties agreed to a settlement July 28, according to Vogel.

The Tobins accepted the deal, he said, because “they wanted to get on with their lives” and a judge might have ruled against them.

The Tobins still live on the island, as do the Wessels.

Greg Wessel, an environmental scientist for the county, could not be reached for comment.

In an interview, Bill Tobin admitted he had built without proper permits. “I don’t really have an excuse,” said Tobin, an attorney.

Starbard, the DDES director, said he doesn’t know if Wessel’s

wife wrote the anonymous letter. But its author “did the right thing,” he said — even if it was Wessel’s wife.

“Whoever wrote the letter is a citizen, a resident of Vashon and certainly has the right to express what was allegedly a violation of law,” Starbard said. “Does the spouse of a county employee give up certain rights? I don’t think so.”

Is it a conflict of interest for a county employee to handle a complaint by the employee’s spouse? “If that happened, that’s not ideal,” Starbard said.

Wessel continues working on the island, Starbard said, because “it’s been reported to me he does excellent work and is well suited to it.”

One last note: The county contacted the Tobins in June to say it had found the original complaint letter. It was in the files of a retired supervisor.

Jina Kim, a county attorney who worked on the case, could not explain why it hadn’t been found before.

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September 2011 6

The Washington Newspaper

WNPA

from page 1

more numerous than in past years, will further newspapers’ ability to add value to their communities.

On Friday, members will vote in new trustees during the WNPA membership breakfast and, at the awards luncheon, witness the installation of officers.

WNPA President Paul Archipley of Beacon Publishing, Mukilteo, will become past president.

Outgoing past president, Sue Ellen Riesau of the Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum, will join the WNPA Foundation board for a three-year term.

Both publishers have served two terms in their current offices.

Jana Stoner, publisher of the Northern Kittitas County Tribune in Cle Elum and first vice president, will advance to the presidential office.

Second vice president Bill Forhan of NCW Media will become first vice president. NCW Media publishes four weeklies, the Leavenworth Echo, Cashmere Valley Record, Lake Chelan Mirror, and Quad City Herald in Brewster, and the monthly Wenatchee Business Journal.

Also at the luncheon, the winning logo in the 125th WNPA Anniversary logo design competition will be unveiled, and Bill Will, WNPA executive director, will present the 2011 Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher and Dixie Lee Bradley awards.

Winners of more than 600 awards in the Better Newspaper Contest will be announced at the BNC Awards dinner.

A reception starts at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.

A detailed brochure, registration and hotel information are online at www.wnpa.com/events.

WNPA’s staff offers thanks to Annette Shacklett of the Leavenworth Echo for designing this year’s convention brochure.

Founded in 1887, WNPA will celebrate its 125th anniversary in Oct. 26-28, 2012, in Yakima.

Any questions? Contact Mae Waldron, mwaldron@wnpa.com or (206) 634-3838 ext. 2.

seattletimes.com

‘Fly-out’ menus are part of the updated navigation on the Seattle Times’ upgraded website.

Times updates site, weekend section

A

t seattletimes.com, an expanded navigation bar with rich fly-out menus puts more features just one click from the home page.

The fly-out menus each offers two or three short columns of hyperlinked destinations, particularly appropriate for small screens.

The bar debuted in August along with a host of other changes, including dramatically increased white space throughout the site.

Among the user-engagement highlights on the home page are large pull-quotes in the Opinion & Conversation section, one each from

an editorial and a reader comment. In “On Facebook,” readers can find out which seattletimes.com stories are recommended. And the list of “most read” items is grouped under a new subhead, “Trending with Readers.”

Also launched in August, Weekend Plus is a new Friday section that combines elements from the former Thursday and Friday activity guides.

Weekend Plus suits the tighter budgets of both readers, who now have access to more information about family-friendly and low-cost activities, and the newspaper, which has just one section to produce.

From Friday’s NW Ticket, Weekend Plus has “Best Bets” as well as the MovieTimes section with reviews and features, and recommendations on where to go and what to do — at the theater, gallery, concerts and nightclub — for that weekend and weekends ahead.

Most travel information formerly in Thursday’s NW Weekend (fairs, festivals, regional travel, outdoor recreation) migrated to Weekend Plus or to the NWTraveler, a new section in the Sunday newspaper. NWTraveler’s back page features exotic destinations formerly provided at the back of Sunday’s NWArts & Life section.

Press Forward We applaud the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s commitment to advocating for community newspapers, freedom of the press and open government. We are honored to continue serving as a resource in these valuable efforts.

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September 2011 7

The Washington Newspaper

Comeback kid: Print gets up off the mat I

n the speaking business, July, August and December tend to be the slowest months of the year. This year, however, things are different. A quick look at my calendar reveals no less than eight conferences between mid-July and mid-August.

Combined with the busiest January through June period in my career, the hectic summer is causing me to think that something is up.

I was talking to my colleague, Ed Henninger, a few days ago, and he was telling me how busy his year has been. For those of you that don’t know him, Ed specializes in newspaper redesign.

Before venturing a guess at what is causing this flurry of activity, let me share a few things I’ve noticed in my travels over the past few months: 1. Several papers I’ve visited either just purchased or were preparing to purchase new CTP (computer Kevin to plate) systems. It Slimp Director, seems like Newspaper Intsitute only yesterof Technology day newspapers and magazines were taking the plunge into imagesetters, those huge boxes that created the film from which plates were burned. Most of the papers I visit these days seem to fit into one of two categories: • They are using CTP systems to create plates, bypassing the imagesetter altogether • They are creating PDF files, which are sent to nearby presses And it’s not just the big papers and printers that are buying CTPs. I’ve worked with several non-daily and small daily papers that have purchased CTPs to improve the quality of their printed products.

2. Most papers I’ve visited had either just made a major upgrade in hardware and software or were getting ready to make a major upgrade. It’s more common to see Creative Suite CS4 or CS5 products than older versions running on newspaper systems. Although I still see QuarkXpress, usually version 7 or 8 (I’ve only run into version 9 at one paper so far), it seems the vast majority of newspapers are running Adobe’s Creative Suite, which includes InDesign.

3. Most papers I’ve visited are making major revisions to their websites. I’m not talking

Kevin Slimp speaks at a recent training event for a newspaper group. Attendance has been up at most conference and training sessions this year, according to Slimp. He thinks this indicates increased confidence in the future of our industry. minor updates here. It seems like just about every weekly and small daily I visit is making a significant investment in their online products. The question is no longer, “Do we need to have a website?” It’s, “Here’s a list of things we want to do with our online presence. Can you help us find the right vendors and products to help make that happen?”

4. Most newspapers I’ve visited this summer are taking steps to create or improve their presence on mobile devices. The number of readers accessing our products through smart phones, iPads and other devices will increase with each passing day.

Nobody wants to be left behind.

5. Most papers I’ve visited this spring and summer tell me that business is up. In many cases, I’m told advertising revenue is up significantly over the past two years. That probably has something to do with the increased interest in training and consulting.

I will be speaking at my first magazine convention this month. It will be interesting to hear how the economy of the past few years has affected their business and whether they’ve seen an upswing this year as well.

At the advertising conferences I’ve addressed this year, I hear the same story. Business is up.

It’s not where it was 5 years ago, but it’s significantly better than it has been.

It might be a bit premature, but, hey, somebody’s got to say it. It looks like we’ve turned a corner. Could we turn another corner and see advertising revenue drop like we did two years

ago? Sure we could. Our business is closely tied to the economy and where the economy goes, the advertising dollar goes.

However, it’s wise for newspapers to invest in the future.

These papers that have taken steps to upgrade their operations will benefit greatly if the current cycle of increased revenue continues.

A major benefit that I hear mentioned time and time again is how much more productive newspaper operations become after these upgrades. On the downside — at least for me personally — is that increased productivity allows operations to create better products with smaller staffs. But like other industries, we have to become as efficient as possible to compete.

And by improving workflows, the hours needed to create a product are decreased significantly.

What would I advise if I were to visit your newspaper?

Probably a combination of upgraded hardware and software, improved workflow methods and continued training for your staff.

For the time being, it looks like I’m going to remain busy.

October and November look quiet at the moment, but calendars have a way of filling up quickly.

I guess I’ll sleep when I’m old.

••• Talk about a busy week.

After two days with the West Virginia Press Association in Morgantown, I’ve spent the past four days with Alyse Mitten, executive director of Mid Atlantic Community Papers Association, driving through Ohio and

Pennsylvania. It’s one of those trips where regional training events are held on college campuses and training facilities for area newspaper staffs.

It’s a longer trip than usual, with lots of traveling built in.

I normally don’t do these long trips any more, scheduling most of my travel on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but Alyse booked this adventure three years ago and I wasn’t about to let her down.

On the first day of our journey, Alyse had an idea that, in my humble opinion, was quite innovative.

In addition to the scheduled training events, Alyse decided to contact publishers along the seven-hour route between Mansfield, Ohio and Philadelphia, Pa., and ask if they’d like to host gatherings around meals. This provided us the opportunity to meet with their staffs and discuss anything that might be on their minds.

I was surprised when, at the first stop in New Castle, Pa., Karen Hutchinson and 20 of her employees showed up at Compadres Mexican Restaurant full of excitement about the opportunity to discuss the future of our industry. It was late in the evening and I didn’t expect more than a couple of folks to show up.

Karen giggled as she explained to me that she told her staff a few hours earlier that Kevin Slimp was coming to town and any of them were welcome to join him for dinner. I laughed. I laughed harder when Mark, the paper’s editor, handed a magazine to me and asked if I would autograph the page with my column.

I’ve been asked to sign Acrobat boxes, programs, shirts and all kinds of items during my travels, but it still takes me by surprise whenever it happens.

The discussion turned to business very quickly. We spent over an hour discussing the paper’s online presence and strategizing what could be done to draw more visitors and advertisers to the site.

We held healthy discussions concerning technical issues like color settings to improve their photo quality, best ways to create PDF files and the need to upgrade some of the software and hardware being used.

At one point I turned to Karen, who was sitting next to me, and ask her to tell me how she got started in the business.

We laughed when she told me about typing the stories on a typewriter and using stencils for the headlines. She beamed

when she talked about their first computer: an Apple classic with a nine-inch screen. She and her late husband, Frank, couldn’t figure out how to use the computer to create pages. Luckily their 13-year-old son figured it out and they were in the digital age at last.

I asked Karen how business was going and, like most publishers I visit these days, she told me they were having a good year. It’s always comforting to hear that.

Frank Jr., Karen’s son and the paper’s publisher, turned the topic to revenue. He said he’d heard that I sometimes spoke at conferences on the topic of making money on newspaper Websites. He was eager to hear my ideas.

I quickly transformed from Kevin the dinner guest to Kevin the lecturer and shared some ideas sent to me from readers of my column. I noticed several people around the long table frantically writing notes as I suggested possible ways to increase revenue on their site.

After learning how their current Website was created and maintained, I suggested moving immediately to a vendor who could greatly enhance their product in just a few days. Time was wasting and they had new online competition in their community.

“Don’t spend another year or two trying to create your own perfect website,” I told them.

“Find a content management vendor that can get a better, easy to use, site online within the next few days.”

More frantic writing followed.

Fortunately, all I had to do was talk.

Two nights later, I met with a group of publishers and MACPA board members in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was interesting to see that the factories that were torn down in the Billy Joel song are now casinos.

Our discussion focused on the future of our industry and everyone agreed that things are definitely looking up this year.

That’s always good news.

My enthusiasm about our business is fueled when I take a trip like this. Meeting so many people who are excited about the role of newspapers in their communities and looking for ideas to move into the future provides an adrenalin rush that’s hard to match.

By the way, Karen was right. The chili pablanos at Compadres were excellent.

S-R parent company freezes pensions, offers early retirement

C

owles Co., which owns the Spokesman-Review, KHQ-TV, The Journal of Business and other businesses, announced in mid-July it will freeze the company’s pension plan effective Sept. 1. At the same time, Cowles will open its 401(k) match to all employees affected by the change.

Late in July the newspaper offered an early retirement package to Spokesman-Review employees over age 55 who have

been with the company for 20 years or more. About 50 percent accepted the offer.

The pension transition affects about 473 employees, or 56 percent of the company’s eligible workforce who were not included in a partial freeze three years ago. Their accrued pension benefit will be capped at present levels.

“Revenue and profit predictability has diminished dramatically across all of our businesses

in the last decade,” Cowles Co. President Stacey Cowles said in a prepared statement. “It is no longer feasible for companies to guarantee payments 10 or 20 years from now when we can hardly predict what’s going to happen 10 weeks from now.”

The company instituted a partial freeze of the plan in 2008 and moved new employees and existing employees under age 36 to the matching 401(k) that year.

The company will match

100 percent of employee 401(k) contributions up to 6 percent of salary.

“We’re proud that we have postponed the freeze as long as we have and that we are able to offer a very generous match,” Cowles Chairman Elizabeth “Betsy” Cowles said in a prepared statement.

Cowles quoted a Mercer Consulting survey estimated that 90 percent of employers do not offer a pension plan or have fro-

zen their plans. Only 8 percent offer a 401(k) match of 6 percent or higher, the survey found.

The family-owned, Spokanebased company’s subsidiaries also include NBC affiliates in the Tri-Cities and Yakima, Inland Empire Paper Company, Western Farmer Stockman insurance, North Idaho’s Nickel’s Worth newspaper and the River Park Square.The pension change applies to employees at all Cowles subsidiaries.

September 2011 8

The Washington Newspaper

CAREER MOVES n Tri-City Herald Executive Editor Ken Robertson has retired from the newspaper after 35 years. Robertson joined the Herald as city editor and assistant managing editor in 1976, after working as a reporter and managing editor at the Helena (Mont.)

Independent Record. He was named managing editor in 1991 and executive editor in 2000. Robertson will remain on the editorial board until a new publisher is named to succeed Rufus Friday. Friday left the paper in June to lead the Lexington (Ky.) HeraldLeader. Robertson’s successor, Laurie Williams, has been with the newspaper since 1984, and in 2000 was promoted to assistant managing editor. She and Robertson are Montana University graduates. n John Hanron has left his position as editor of the Methow Valley News in Twisp. After nearly 14 years with the paper, he said is ready for his next chapter. His successor, Don Nelson, bought the newspaper in July. n Chris Geier has joined the Chronicle in Centralia as photojournalism editor. Most recently an intern at the Lima (Ohio) News, he graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in May 2010. He also was a freelance photographer for media outlets in California’s Bay Area, where he lived in Oakland. n Paul Schmid, a former Seattle Times news artist who writes and illustrates children’s books, has been honored by the Society of Illustrators.

Illustrations from two of his books, “Hugs for Pearl” and “A Pet for Petunia,” will be shown in the Original Art exhibit at the

society’s Museum of Illustration in New York City. n Islands’ Sounder editor Colleen Armstrong has been promoted to associate publisher of the Eastsound weekly. She will continue as editor, and also manage the daily affairs of the newspaper office. Armstrong managed the Islands’ Weekly on Lopez for five years before moving to Orcas in 2008 to become the Sounder’s editor.

Marcia Van Dyke will continue as publisher of the Sounder as well as five other Sound Publishing newspapers in the San Juans and on Whidbey Island. Meredith Griffith, a staff reporter at the Sounder, recently completed a week-long fellowship with the Institutes for Journalism & Natural Resources. She attended the 2011 Puget Sound Learning Institute, which provided site visits and speakers on ecological, political and energy issues affecting the Puget Sound watershed. IJNR, initially a program at the University of Montana, incorporated in 1997 as an independent organization to advance public understanding and civic engagement about the environment through expeditionstyle programs for journalists. n Tom Corrigan has joined the Issaquah Press, writing features and covering city schools. Though Corrigan most recently was a reporter in Bothell, his career has been primarily in Cleveland, his hometown, where he covered schools and politics. n After 17 years of delivering the Belfair Herald, Max Loya, 79, has retired. Loya said the delivery job gave him a chance to meet interesting people and make life-long friends. He had moved to Belfair about 25

years ago, after a coworker in Japan told him Belfair was like paradise. At that time, Loya was working in Asia for the Defense Department. Loya enlisted in the military at 19, and served three military tours in Vietnam before signing on with Defense. n Yakima Valley Newspapers has named Chris Thorn editor of the Yakima Valley Business Journal. After graduating from Eastern Washington University’s journalism program in 2008, Thorn had worked his way up from reporter to editor of the Selah Independent. Also a YVN newspaper, it ceased publication in 2010. Thorn and his wife live in Yakima, and both have families in the area. n Omak native Zachary Van Brunt has joined the staff of the Omak-Okanogan Chronicle as a reporter covering the Omak School Board and communities in north Okanogan and Ferry counties. He has been freelancing for the paper since April, and has lived in Seattle for the past seven years. He is a print journalism grad of Washington State University. n Jessica Slocum has been named general sales manager of the Snohomish County Business Journal in Everett. Her sales career includes a five-year stint with the Everett Herald, where she focused on real estate listings. Prior to joining the Herald, she worked for 18 months at the Seattle Times selling real estate classifieds and for three years on the retail advertising sales staff at the Klamath Falls (Ore.) Herald and News. n Sports reporter Emily Hanson is the newest addition to the Shelton Mason-County Journal’s editorial staff.

Previously she reported for

the Okanogan Valley GazetteTribune in Oroville, covering Tonasket as well as city government, high-school sports and a murder trial. She is a 2008 graduate of Washington State University, where she majored in communications with an emphasis on print journalism.

The move to Shelton brings her closer to her hometown of Lacey. n Garth Meyer is new on the Whitman County Gazette reporting staff. Originally from Richland, he spent four years as a sports reporter for small newspapers in John Day, Molalla and St. Helens, Ore. He graduated from the University of Oregon in Eugene and studied advertising in Minneapolis.

Meyer succeeds Jeslyn Lemke, who left the newspaper to pursue a graduate degree at Eastern Washington University. n Claire Schilperoort, a Sunnyside native and a senior in the creative writing program at Washington State University, interned this summer at the Daily Sun News in Sunnyside.

Reporter Emma Fierro left the paper to go back to school to become a teacher. n Ryan Higgins is interning at the Monroe Monitor, taking photos and writing stories. He is a high school student and the son of the late Steve Higgins, a longtime writer for the Monitor. n LaVendrick Smith is a general reporting intern at the Mukilteo Beacon, his hometown newspaper. Now a senior at Mariner High School in Everett, Smith hopes this year to be the editor of the school newspaper, the Marauder Journal, where he was sports editor last year. n The News Tribune in Tacoma has promoted Public Life team leader

John Henrikson to assistant managing editor for digital operations. Henrikson has been a local editor for TNT since 2003 and recently completed a web technology certificate at the University of Washington.

Replacing Henrikson on Public Life is Kim Bradford, who has been an editorial writer with the newspaper for six years. TNT also hosted three interns this summer, Sy Bean, a Seattle University student from Vashon Island; Stephanie Kim, a University of Washington student from Kent; and Chris Wells, a University of Montana student who also lives in Kent. n Rebecca Leisher, a 2011 University of Oregon graduate, reported this summer for the South Whidbey Record in Langley. She completed an editorial internship at YES Magazine on Bainbridge Island before joining the Record for the summer. n Ryan Hueter is writing stories for the Sequim Gazette’s “Acorns to Oaks” series, featuring recent Sequim graduates involved in adventures across the nation and world.

Hueter graduated from Peninsula College in Port Angeles. n The Daily Record in Ellensburg hosted two interns this summer, Nichole Williamson and Iris Dimick.

Both are students at Central Washington University.

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