Dear Mom -

I know you read The B-Town Blog, because I know your computer’s IP address (and Mom, will you please stop commenting on that Naked Lady Sculpture story? That is soooo July of you!), and I wanted you to hear my really really important segment I did on KUOW’s “The Conversation” today.

Okay, so it was less than two minutes, but hey, at least I got on the air.

Uh-oh, I forgot to mention the URL of our website.

Oh, and they didn’t have time to let me mention the Forklift Rodeo either. Dang.

And I didn’t get to talk as much about annexation as I had prepared for (I studied it all morning long, and even called Jenn at the City of Burien for info!).

But I know you’ll love this, because you love me. You still do, right Mom? Mom???

Oh well, enough blabbering…here’s the audio file for your listenin’ pleasure (or not):

[display_podcast]

(click that little arrow button above to play the recording back Mom…kind of like a CD player’s “Play” button…)

Wednesday morning (July 1st), KUOW Radio featured German Urban planner Thomas Sieverts, who will be the featured guest at a “Nosh & Walk” event Thursday night, July 2nd at the Burien Interim Art Space, beginning at 4pm.

Sieverts coined the term “Zwischenstadt,” a book on the dissolution of the traditional European city, and the new form of urban landscape that emerges. The book was later republished in English under the title, “Where We Live Now.”

The term “Zwischenstadt” became popularized to mean an “in–between city,” or the city between the old historical centers and open countryside. He previously taught urban planning at the University of Visual Arts in Berlin and the Technical University in Darmstadt. He has run his own practice since 1978, and in 2000 jointly founded the architecture group, S.K.A.T.

Thursday night at B/ IAS, Sieverts will discuss Burien’s “Zwischedstadt-edness,” which should provide for some interesting discussion since this will be his first trip here.

Here’s an MP3 of KUOW’s interview with Sieverts:

[display_podcast]

The Highline Amateur Radio Club will hold its second meeting at 10am on Saturday, February 28th at the Burien Fire Department, located at 15100 8th Avenue SW in Burien.

Besides a short business meeting on club organization, it is planned that there will be a speaker on how hams can support the local cities’ emergency management organizations.

FYI, “Highline” includes areas like: Burien, Des Moines, North Highline, Normandy Park, SeaTac, and Tukwila (and just about anywhere else nearby – these hams don’t discriminate).

For further information, contact George, N7SNI at N7SNI@ARRL.net or 206-244-4256.

View Larger Map

Story & Photos by Janet Grella

On Wednesday Dec. 10th, I left the BTB offices on 10th SW to visit the Digital Print Center at Bartell Drugs in their new location in Burien. I had already been schooled on how to make my own custom-made Christmas cards by a very knowledgeable associate the day before.

I was delighted to find the Salvation Army and KOMO 1000 News collecting new toys outside of the Burien Bartells location:

After designing our Christmas card, I conducted an interview with Bartell’s Ad and Marketing Manager Jennifer Kupka and Major Kathy Sargent of the Salvation Army.  I learned that this is the sixth year that Bartell Drugs has teamed with a number of media outlets and the ‘Army’ to collect Toys for the Giving Tree.

How exciting it was to have KOMO 1000 News’ tent outside of Burien’s very own Bartells, mostly because it was the only Baretells location selected for the massive toy drive by KOMO and the Salvation Army.  All 50+ Bartell locations are collecting toys, however.

In an all-day event in front of Bartells, by 4:30pm, three large barrels had been collected, and the fourth was filled to capacity.  Plus there were cash donations in the familiar red bucket. Also collecting toys and cash were KOMO’s Morning News Anchor Bill Yeend and Account Executive Barbara Ross.

According to www.bartellsdrugs.com, the Salvation Army Toy ‘N’ Joy Giving Tree takes place from Nov. 20th to Dec. 17th, where Bartell Drugs has teamed up with the Salvation Army to collect new, unwrapped toys for needy children from age 0-17.  The collected toys, according to Major Kathy Sargent of the Salvation Army, will be distributed in the Salvation Army’s “toy warehouse,” held at Qwest Exhibition Center on December 18 from 9AM to 6PM.  Parents/guardians of children who have signed up will be able to go shopping to select gifts for their children.

Bartells wants to thank all of their customers for helping put smiles on over 3,000 children’s faces at Christmas time.

For those who missed it, here is a the full MP3 Podcast of the Monday “Placeblogging” edition of KUOW’s “Weekday” where we were a call-in guest (our short blabbering comments can be heard around minutes 38:02 and 47:45:

[display_podcast]

If you’re near one of those old-fangled airwave-transmitter receiving “radio” thingys this morning, be sure to tune in to KUOW 94.9 FM at 9am (or you can listen online like the rest of us here) as Steve Sher’s “Weekday” will be discussing “Placeblogging“:

Neighborhood blogs: A townhouse is going up next door, someone got mugged around the corner, and a new coffee shop opened down the street.

That’s the kind of thing you want to know when it happens near you.

But it’s probably not going to make it into the city newspaper.

Hyper local bloggers have sprung up to fill you in on your neighborhood news. Some bloggers are reporters. Some are software developers. Some are just curious citizens. One only writes haikus.

Are local blogs how all of us will get more information in the future?

Is it a sustainable business?

Do you read a local blog?

Email weekday@kuow.org.

We’ve been asked to call in around 9:30am (what…studio’s not big enough?), so we’ll see if they take our call and let us blabber incoherently about “faceflogging,” whatever that is…

Of course, we always encourage our readers to participate, so if you’d like to interact (or support us), either email weekday@kuow.org or call them a bit before 9am at (206) 543-KUOW or 1-800-289-KUOW.