TresSugar

Newspaper Asks For Donations - Would You Chip In?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:00:36 -0800

Seattle residents might not be able to read a paper over their morning Starbucks for much longer. Thanks to its inability to make money, the Seattle Post Intelligencer's days in print are numbered. But staffers want dedicated readers and philanthropists to keep it alive online. While there are already many online news outlets, reporters hope that the community values journalism that provides more than a superficial survey of local events.

The Seattle P-I is using MinnPost as an example. That outlet makes money from philanthropic support, membership contributions, and advertising. The paper (can we call it that, still?) operates on the assumption that high-quality journalism is not a consumer good, but a community asset.

Would you be willing to donate money for reports, until traditional newspapers figure out a business model?

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University of Washington Students Eat With Compost!

LibertySugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:37 -0700

When people live somewhere as naturally beautiful as the Pacific Northwest, I imagine they stop at no limits to help keep their environment clean and green. The University of Washington has banished all things plastic from its dining hall, opting for serving products that can be tossed directly into a compost pile.

The cups, containers, plates, and utensils are made of corn, reed work, and sugar cane. Sweet! The "silverware" wasn't so hot at first. Not only did it break down in the soil, it broke down in warm dishes like soup, too. But a year and a half after it began the creative-green initiative, the campus found a product that gets the job done.

Seattle should thank the University of Washington for the trial-and-error success because starting Jan. 1, all food establishments in the city will have to stop using foam, and by July 2010 all plastic must be substituted with recyclable or compostable containers. Sounds like hometown-company Starbucks has to rethink its lids!

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Second Base? Lesbian PDA at Ballgame Causes Controversy

LibertySugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:00:29 -0700

An usher at a Seattle Mariners baseball game asked a lesbian couple to stop kissing because it was making another fan uncomfortable. I didn't know ushers were PDA police!

A woman in the audience asked the stadium official to interrupt the romance because there were kids at the game. The Mariners responded to the controversy, stating the usher intervened on account of the team's no-groping, no-making out rule, not because of their sexual orientation. The team's spokeswoman maintained that the couple was told they could continue to kiss, but they had to tone it down.

But the women deny they were getting touchy feely, saying that they just gave each other brief kisses while enjoying garlic fries. The garlic fry detail sort of makes their not-making out story more believable.

If there is a double standard, I'm not sure where it applies. Would a spectator complain, and an usher interrupt, if the pair was not gay? Does political correctness dictate that these women be allowed to violate the stadium's code of conduct otherwise applied to straight couples? Why are public displays of affection (gay or straight) inappropriate for a family environment?

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Seattle's Schizophrenic Shooter Had Valid Gun Permit

LibertySugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:00:19 -0700

A mentally ill man who shot three people at a music festival in the Pacific Northwest last week had obtained his weapon with a valid concealed weapon permit. A bullet from his Glock 19 handgun hit three victims last Saturday while Grainger was fighting another man. The bullet passed through a man's nose, another's wrist, finally ending up in a woman's leg.

22-year-old Clinton C. Grainger suffers from anxiety and schizophrenia and has been receiving treatment for a meth addiction since he was 18. Grainger's issues did show up as disqualifying conditions when he applied for a gun permit in January 2007. A mental illness diagnosis alone is not enough to restrict a citizen's right to bear arms under Washington state and US federal law.

To find out what federal law is regarding mental illness and gun permits, read more.

Federal law requires that an individual be involuntarily committed to a mental institution, found not guilty by insanity, or deemed by a judge as a "mental defective" and a danger to himself or others, before second amendment rights are restricted. Nevertheless, it appears that if background checks were more sophisticated, at least Grainger's narcotic addiction would have prevented him from obtaining the permit. Yet, as with the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech, crucial disqualifying information located in different systems were not properly shared.

Are nominal and negligent background checks to blame for victims' injuries? Should we make it harder for those with a mental health diagnosis to obtain a gun? Considering that many Americans are treated for anxiety and depression, what mental illness should cause a citizen to lose the right to bear arms?

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Headline: Street of Dreams Ablaze in Seattle

CitizenSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:13:36 -0800

At least four large homes are currently on fire in the "Street of Dreams" model home development near Seattle this morning. The fires are considered suspicious as they were set in multiple places in each of the separate homes.

Fire officials say that a sign saying ELF was found at the scene. ELF stands for the Earth Liberation Front, and they have claimed responsibility for other arson attacks, including one at the University of Washington in 2001.

Survivor: Seattle

GiggleSugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:00:00 -0700

Something tells me indie dude Jason here isn't going to last too long on "Survivor"-- even an episode set in Seattle. His challenges? Fight for one purple skittle and find cream for his double tall Americano. His strategy? Curl up in a fetal position and rock back and forth like a baby. That'll work.

Electric Youth: Headed to a City Near You

TresSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0700

When making its list of the best cities for America's youth, the Wall Street Journal looked at factors like how easy it is find a job or a future mate.

Where today's young people decide to settle down once the "recovery" begins will have a big impact on American cities. Urban centers that become "youth magnets" should see a boom in cultural allure, along with an economic advantage.

Here are the top-five youth magnet cities, according to the WSJ:

1. Washington, DC (tie): The 2008 election of the "cool" Barack Obama set off a "youthful pilgrimage" that shouldn't end anytime soon.
1. Seattle (tie): Seattle's mix of culture, high-tech industry, natural beauty, and university presence makes it a youth magnet.
3. New York City: NYC is still a big city of dreams.
4. Portland: Despite a double digit unemployment rate, Portland's public transportation, access to outdoor activities, and artist culture attracts young people.
5. Austin: A university town with housing and job opportunities makes this city a great place for young people to settle down.

Out of all these cities, where would you rather live?

Front Page: Afghan Voters Head to Polls

TresSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:00:14 -0700

Afghan men and women headed to the polls today amid Taliban threats and rocket attacks. - New York Times
On compassionate grounds, Scotland releases the convicted PanAm bomber, who has terminal prostate cancer. - Associated Press
US News & World Report releases its 2010 list of the best colleges in America. - New York Daily News
A Seattle woman is suing magician David Copperfield for sexual assault. - Seattle Times
Teenage South African runner Caster Semenya is undergoing gender testing amid speculation that she is not a woman. - AP

How Wild Is Our Sex . . . and Our Dreams?

TresSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Well, this wasn't exactly the most unbiased survey, but it certainly was comprehensive: the Stranger, Seattle's weekly alternative paper, asked 6,942 people their secrets in the bedroom, out of the bedroom, and in their dreams. Since one-third of the participants came from outside Washington state, I'm going to say it's close enough to represent what most people are doing - close enough for a quiz!

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Take the quiz

Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama

GiggleSugar — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:19:42 -0800

A few days after President Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States, kids from all over the country were asked to send him letters giving him advice, making requests, and just generally being cute and hilarious. I am totally getting Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama, and I think you should, too! Here are some particularly funny and touching excerpts:

"Dear President Obama, I want to tell you hi. Do you work with Santa Claus?" - Sergio Magana, age 5, San Francisco
"Dear President Obama, I think you should get a Labradoodle and name it Soñador (it means "dreamer" in Spanish) . . ." Lydia Sumner, age 10, Seattle
"Dear President Obama, I really hope you put America back together. No pressure though." - Sheenie Shannon Yip, age 13, Seattle
"Dear President Obama, When you are president, don't eat junk food. Junk food makes you fat. Your family shouldn't eat junk food, either, because it is not healthy. Obama, you rock." - Amy Ramirez, age 8, San Francisco

Enjoying these? Well why not read more.

"Dear President Obama, I know you want to save the earth, but people don't want to clean. . .I always dream of cleaning the world with you. . ." - Stephanie Gonzalez, age 7, Los Angeles
"Dear President Obama, You should not smoke when you are president! There are simple reasons. Because you will die by smoking, and then you will not be president! But I want you to be . . ." - David Lopez, age 7, Los Angeles
"Dear President Obama, I have a great idea for you: you should set up a special phone, a special place just for kids to call the president if they find things that are dangerous and can affect people, like someone smoking. This would be a special place for kids to talk to Barack Obama and let him know what's going on." - Dhamaril Nunez, age 9, Boston

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