The strange thing about having both a smartphone + legit camera (5D Mark II) - it’s easier to take out your phone then stand around fiddling with camera settings.
I didn’t take that many photos during my weekend adventure, but I imagine ill have plenty of time for more photo opps. I’m thinking about find an NYC photo meetup group I can bum around with during my free time.
(When viewing non-mobile site - click the arrow button things to view ALL the photos, but I’m sure you already know that.)Being one of the younger folks in the newsroom had its perks last week as I helped our business reporter locate those mosquito boxes in downtown Spokane. Since he’s 50+, my young ears could detect the whining noises. I took photos of the boxes so you know what you’re looking for.
They’re located at:
Read Tom Sowa’s story “Frustrated by loitering crowds, building owners turn to technology”. And you can hear the audio for yourself and test your ears.
I quit my job and ran away to St. Louis with my man. I didn’t know much about the city except what I’ve heard. It’s the home of the Cardinals, Scott Joplin, Chuck Berry, toasted raviloi and the bastard child of pizza.
It has one hell of a view. The top of the gateway arches about 630 feet in the air through a caustrophobic tram.
We pressed together in a pod with a couple from Denmark who have been married for 41 years. Not only that, they’ve got every Canadian province and American state under their belt. I can only count twelve states I’ve visited. I’ve got a long way to go.
A documentary took a gamble in the 60s to tape the engineering marvel that is the arches. Its tight shots of working men and pounding hammers won itself an Academy Award.You can watch “Monument to a Dream” before you make the trek up the steel structure.
Its timely music by Robert Wykes was plucked from local talents. At the time, he was a music professor at Washington University in the Clayton neighborhood which is like the U-District of Seattle mixed with Capital Hill.
Somebody at the City of Spokane has been dreaming of Luke Perry a bit too much. In a city press release, they explain that you can text a number to get updates on the Hillyard neighborhood to your phone.
Additionally, the group will roll out the “Hillyard Mobile Network,” an unprecedented, innovative marketing effort in the Spokane region. Citizens can dial the number 90210 on their cell phones, type Hillyard in the text box, and hit send.
We think they mean 99210 because 90210 is the area code for a region in California and a hit television series.
In other news, councilman Mike Fagan is hosting a council connection tomorrow at 6 p.m. He’ll be discussing how to revitalize the Hillyard neighborhood with business owners. The program will be aired live on City Cable 5.
It’s a bell Spokane Police ombudsman Tim Burns likes to ring every chance he gets. He even chimed in at Monday’s public safety committee to recommend the activity of ride-alongs.They’re an opportunity to see what officers face on a daily basis, but Burns says it goes beyond that; it’s a chance to see these men and women as more than just police officers.
“They’re people like the rest of us,” Burns said Wednesday during an interview at his eclectically-styled office in downtown Spokane.
“Oftentimes when you see them drive by, all you see is the car and then the uniform,” Burns explained. “You don’t understand what goes on behind that. When you better understand them, you can understand their commitment to service and the community.”
Burns tries to take a ride-along once a month. He says many other city officials have done the same.Mayor David Condon was spotted on a ride-along earlier this month. During his ride-along with Officer Jay Kernkamp, they responded to a high-speed chase through North Spokane that brought them to the scene of a crash in Hillyard.
For Burns, it’s a little different. Being on the road with officers gives the officers a chance to see what he does as police ombudsman.
“My office can serve a valuable role in this,” Burns said. He added, “Part of it is seeing what I do and their awareness of who I am.”
Burns is not some shadowy figure with an unusual title. He’s just a guy with a fish bowl on his desk trying to make a better community.
He calls his office fish: “Fish”.
More Information: How do you request a ride-along with Spokane Police? There’s a process, but it’s easy. Learn more.
Twenty stories above the core of downtown Spokane is an amazing view of the surrounding skyline. The Bank of America Financial Center is the tallest building in Spokane and some offices have the pleasure of seeing everything. On a bright and sunny day you can see all the way from Riverfront Park to Mt. Spokane.
The top two floors are taken up by Winston & Cashatt Lawyers. The receptionist, Sue Milliken, has a solid view of the Paulsen Building. She looks for “Old Glory” waving back to her at the top of the building, but on Wednesday morning Milliken noticed that it was missing.
“I usually use it as my wind indicator,” Milliken added.
On foggy days you can’t see anything. Cloud cover can sometimes obscure their great view even though they’re so high up.
While heading back down to the ground floor in the elevator, we ran into Spokane Valley firefighter, Jason LaJiness. He had just finished his morning run going up and down the flight of stairs. He’s not participating in the upcoming Scott Firefighter Stairclimb in Seattle’s Columbia Center later this year in March. Instead, he’s training just for moral support for his crew.
“Maybe I can back door my way in there if somebody backs out,” LaJiness said.
He added that the famous stairclimb was sold out by other firefighters in one hour and fifteen minutes. Many firefighters use the Spokane building as a training ground for the Seattle stairclimb. If you trek the building’s stairs four times, that would equal the 69 flights of stairs at the Columbia Center.
A revolutionary ordinance could separate the act of urinating in public from Lewd Conduct.
The first reading of the ordinance made tonight’s agenda at Spokane’s weekly city council meeting.
Funding for community centers may diminish as the city’s Parks and Recreation Department cuts nearly a million dollars by 2013. Slashed funding could affect senior and youth programs at community centers.
The city wants to change that by finding alternative ways to fund these programs so they keep helping neighbors in the future.
With a comfortable 12,000 seats, Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena was able to sell out seats when big names, Elton John and Taylor Swift, came to Spokane.
The Arena has also been host to the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament. To keep up with the hosting rights, they’ll have to expand their seating capability. What they currently have, is not enough.
It’s one of the most unusual incidents of graffiti seen in Riverfront Park. Last night, the iconic “Radio Flyer” red wagon was vandalized with religious messages. Crews spent the day cleaning up the mess, but the wagon won’t be the same.
“It’s very rare that we see vandalism based on religion,” Craig Butz, Riverfront Park manager, said. He continued, “This year has been worse than average. It’s going to cost us extra money.”
Nicole Hensley is a journo for hire.
Former breaking news reporter at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash. Origins in Western Washington, but now Brooklyn, NY transplant.
I share neat things that I see, read or write. Email me at nkhensley@gmail.com.
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