It started as a simple, neighborhood website, but when the limbs started to fall in 2006 Tracy Record realized it was capable of so much more. With the current system of corporate news on the decline Record knew she was onto something.

“The old system of these big, giant corporate organizations suddenly aren’t really sustainable anymore,” said Record.

Ever since that fateful windstorm, Tracy Record and her husband, Patrick Sand, have been covering the life and times of west Seattle and publishing it to their website westseattlebog.org.

The website is managed full time by the couple, who, on occasion employ free lance journalist and photographers to help cover the west Seattle area. The website is dedicated to providing 24/7 coverage of the area and receives help from the community around them.

“People sending us notes, wow I saw this, wow I heard this, is really; really huge,” said Record.

However it takes more than just tips to keep this on-line publication afloat. While it may seem that publications like this can run pro-bono it’s simply not the case. The website incurs a number of costs including Internet access, telephone, computers, cameras, transportation, business licensing, server management and more.

To help cover these sorts of costs WSB has turned to the old model of selling advertising space. The website features ads from State Farm Insurance, YMCA and other local businesses.

While the budget might be tight Record is optimistic that her publication and others like it will continue to thrive in today’s economy. This is because of the entrepreneurial spirit that WSB and other similar news outlets have to offer.

“We’re entering an era where there is going to be a lot more entrepreneurial journalism going on and that’s what this is,” said Record.

Photo courtesy of Eric M. Strauss

We’ve all been there, maybe you were sitting in class or waiting in line at the grocery store, but you felt it. That unmistakable tingle that works its way from the back of your throat until it comes rocketing out your nose. You have allergies.

Between short breaths and nasal congestion, I found myself wondering, how can I reduce my suffering? I did some research and came up with the following tips to help seasonal sufferers, such as myself, break free from the death-like grip this time of year always seems to have.

Dust Mites

Dust mites are one of the most common causes of allergies.  Mites are typically found living in areas of the home that are high in humidity or dead skin flakes. In other words your bed. One of the easiest ways to beat this little bugger is by simply washing your sheets, or opening a window to allow fresh air into the room.

Pollen

Trees, grass and weeds are the most common contributors to this type of allergic reaction. Contributors that are seemingly impossible to avoid. To help reduce the amount of pollen you’re exposed to, try staying in doors during the peak pollen hours of the day, typically between 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Also, at night before you go to bed, take a shower to remove any pollen that has made its way into your hair follicles.

Animal Dander

One of the reasons most people suffer from allergies comes from their pets. Humans are allergic to a protein found in the dead skin flakes and saliva of these household critters. To help reduce your exposure, simply keep the animals out of the bedroom and off of furniture. Bathing and brushing your pet on a regular basis will also help reduce your exposure to these allergen catalysts.

While these aren’t the only things you can do, these simple and easy “to-do” tips will help any allergy sufferer make it through the season.

Today it seems as though media moguls are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place.

Readership is down for most print publications across the country and the trend shows no signs of slowing. Fortunately not all journalists are throwing in the towel just yet. Finding themselves laid off in an increasingly difficult job market, many are turning to non-profits as a way of continuing to tell the stories of today.

One of the front-runners in this area is the newly launched Seattle PostGlobe, which is staffed primarily by former writers of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, but in a market as bleak as today’s, how do these publications stay afloat? How are they reaching their audiences and are we likely to see similar publications in the future? In the coming weeks I hope to answer these questions and more as I investigate this up and coming style of news reporting.

Last night I  caught up with the same group of home brewers I covered about a month ago. Their batch had finally matured and was ready to be bottled and kegged. I brought along my camera and put together the following slide show, enjoy.

Flags were placed on PLU's grounds to represent lives lost during the war in Iraq. Each flag represents 10 people.

Hundreds of white, green and red flags cover the grounds of PLU representing American and Iraqi losses during the war in Iraq.

4,250 US troops. 5,500 Iraqi troops. 95,000 Iraqi civilians. Together they total 104,750 lives that have been lost as a result of the war in Iraq. These stats came from iraqbodycount.org, and were displayed displayed on posters around Pacific Lutheran Universities Red Square. Accompanying the signs were little flags placed all over the grounds, each one representing 10 lives lost during the war.

The display was put up as a way to bring the war home, a way to show those of us here in the states the sort of sacrifice and losses our most recent conflict has brought about. Students were encouraged to sign a large banner with messages of encouragement for the families and friends who were forced to say goodbye to their loved ones. However such displays aren’t limited to PLU’s campus.

A similar display was erected in Lafayette CA. Jeff Heaton, a resident of Lafayette, hammered  thousands of white wooden crosses into the hillside off of highway 24 as a memorial to those lost during the war. His memorial has been a heated subject for the residents of Lafayette, but once the hostilities lessened in Iraq so did the public outcry against the memorial which still stands today.

I have never understood why people would take offense to memorials such as these. To often these violent conflicts exist in a make believe world detached from our own. It’s time that we recognize that these wars are apart of the world we live in, and that they can’t be ignored. 4,250 Americans have made a sacrifice for our country that we will never understand, it would be doing them an injustice to ignore their sacrifice, to pretend like it never happened.

It’s time that we understood the ramifications of the decisions that lead our country’s men and women into harms way. Every time one of them lays down their lives, at least two hearts are broken. I encourage everyone to stop by red square and at least observe the sacrifices that have been made for all of us who call ourselves American, may the fallen RIP.

This one piece of legislation protects nearly the same amount of land that the Bush administration was able to protect in eight years. Major proponents to the legislation felt that by preserving so much federal land it would hinder the development of energy production. This is because things like dams, solar and wind power wouldn’t be allowed on the land. The legislation also protects areas like historic battle fields, rivers and wetlands. Which perhaps, isn’t such a bad thing.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the Evergreen state of Washington, but preserving the environment and places we call home has always been second nature to me. After all the natural beauty of America has been a selling point for generations, and it should remain as such.

Our country finds its self in a unique time and place in global history. The planet is undergoing a series of climate changes and the economies of the world are lagging. These problems won’t be solved over night but this legislation helps. It’s refreshing to see that for the first time, in a long time, something is being done to bring about a positive change which in this case is a lack of change.

By preserving these lands we not only help to combat climate change, we help to preserve our nations history and the very landscapes on which it occurred. Kudos to you Mr. President, kudos.

Spring break is a time synonymous with doing everything opposed to being productive. Instead of reading a textbook students will read gossip magazines, they’ll trade sitting in a classroom with sitting on a beach. However this glorious vision of spring break isn’t always reality.

For me, spring break has been a time for work, not play. Starting the first weekend of break I was responsible for running a two day, 20 team, Ultimate Frisbee tournament called The PLU BBQ. In between roughly 5 hours of sleep I was setting up fields, reporting scores, cooking burgers for 600 people and competing in the event. Our program hosts the event every year and this year was one of our best. With teams coming from Canada and an Alumnus flying in from London to attend, it helped to make this a truly international event. However my work didn’t end there.

Moving into the week I have picked up hours working at my summer job as a Manager with Regal Cinemas. This means I’m responsible for a number of things but primarily the buildings day-to-day operations. So why would a 22-year-old college senior choose to spend his final spring break in such a less than glorious fashion? The answer is simple, to make ends meet.

Perhaps all isn’t lost, instead I have gained an insight into what life after college might entail. Maybe it won’t be running a tournament or managing a movie house, but it’s life without a classroom, it’s life without walls. There are roughly 2 months till this world which has seemed so distant becomes a reality, ready or not world, the class of 2009 is coming.

First year Kyle Kennedy goes up over the offense to get this D in the end zone against Claremont Saturday at the Stanford Invite

This last weekend Pacific Lutheran Universities Men’s A and B Ultimate Frisbee teams traveled south to Ripon Ca to compete in the Stanford Invite. The tournament featured 48 teams from around the nation including the #1 ranked Florida.

The tournament took place over two days and pitted PLU against some of its toughest competition to date. The Reign started the tournament with a landslide loss to the University of California San Diego loosing by a score of 3-13.

However after a short bye the Reign were back to their usual gritty form when they took on the University of Claremont. The Reign took half at score of 8-5 but were unable to keep up with the Braineaters in the second half as they went down 0-2 by a score of 10-13. The second half of Saturday was much better as the Reign were able to pull it together and come up with key wins over the University of California Irvine and Westmont to finish the first day 2-2.

Fighting daylight savings and the cold morning air the Reign went back to work at 8:00am Sunday morning when they took on the University of California Los Angeles. The game was hard fought but the Reign found themselves on the short end of the stick and lost by a score of 8-12. Bouncing back in the next round the Men’s A team was able to squeeze past the University of California Santa Clara and move onto it’s final game of the weekend with a record of 3-3.

In a rematch from Saturday the reign took on UC-Irvine and found themselves in yet again another grudge match. With their backs against the wall and short on time PLU found themselves trailing by 3 points with less than 10 minutes into the game. The defense caught fire and came away with 3 quick score to even it up at 13 a piece with no time on the clock forcing both teams to play a winner take all double game point. Unfortunately the Reign weren’t able to produce and found themselves on the short end again, finishing the weekend 3-4.

All three of PLU’s Ultimate Frisbee teams will be in action again on March 21-22 as they host the annual PLU BBQ to be held at Heritage Park in Puyallup. The tournament will feature 20 open and 10 women’s teams including a PLU Men and Women’s Alumni squads.

In today’s current economic climate many people are forced to give up their creature comforts. Things like mochas, chocolates and dinning out have gone from being essential to being extras on the side. However there are some goods that never seem to go out of style.

The Nielsen Company and Bevinco released the results of a survey from May of 2008 which found that beer is the least affected of all alcohol purchases in restaurants across the United States. However for poor college students going to the local pub isn’t always economically feasible.

That’s why many students have turned to brewing their own beers at home. I was fortunate enough to catch up with a group of students as they prepared to brew and put together the following sound slide.

All of the supplies used to create the brew were all purchased locally at The Beer Essentials, you can visist thier website at www.thebeeressentials.com to learn more about homebrewing.

Pacific Lutheran University dusted by late night-flurries.

Last night, while many students we’re safely bundled in their dorm rooms, the campus they have come to call home was assaulted. No, it wasn’t by weapons or fists, but snow, Mother Nature’s natural graffiti.

The snow left a trace around the grounds of Pacific Lutheran University but was enough to cancel some classes. Tom Forseth, a senior at PLU, was surprised to hear that his Art History class was canceled due to the weather.

“I checked my e-mail and couldn’t believe it, canceling a class for this?” said Forseth.

Today the temperatures are expected to rise reaching a high of 39 degrees with a 30 percent chance of precipitation throughout the day. Tonight the temperatures will fall below freezing which could leave the door open for another round of late-night flurries.

But don’t break out the wool scarf and winter jacket just yet. Tomorrow’s temperatures are expected to reach  44 degrees with scattered clouds and sun breaks. However,  if you can’t wait that long for the warmth to return, you can follow this link for some hot cocoa that will be sure to keep Jack Frost from nipping at your nose.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/hot-cocoa-recipe/index.html