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The people overseeing the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster are learning some valuable lessons from the long-running cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. A Japanese government delegation recently toured some of the southeast Washington site this week.

Enter here to win!

• Jazz vocalist Sara Gazarek
• May 29, choose 7:30 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. show
• The Triple Door, Seattle

Amongst a community teaming with startlingly gifted young singers, Sara Gazarek stands out as a particularly extravagant artist. Her first two albums introduced her singular sound and vision, steeped in the tradition of jazz but deeply informed by contemporary songwriters and performers. With Blossom & Bee, her highly anticipated debut release on the respected indie label Palmetto, Gazarek turns over an exciting, glistening new leaf.

The idea of vertical farming is all the rage right now. Architects and engineers have come up with spectacular concepts for lofty buildings that could function as urban food centers of the future.

In Sweden, for example, they're planning a 177-feet skyscraper to farm leafy greens at the edge of each floor.

The lawyer for the family of a missing Utah woman says there's an ongoing federal investigation into Susan Powell's disappearance.

Anne Bremner made the announcement at a Seattle news conference on Tuesday, a day after local officials in Utah said they had closed their investigation into the Susan Powell case.

A group of NGO workers and activists are hoping to ramp up the conversation about how poverty is depicted. Their new platform, Regarding Humanity, seeks to foster dialogue about poverty porn, but to bring together practitioners, educators, journalists, and students in the question: “How do we as a community dedicated to social impact maintain local agency, … Continue reading →

Sensitive personal information belonging to thousands of applicants to a government phone program was exposed to the public on the Internet, according to a new investigative report from Scripps Howard News Service.

The federal program is called Lifeline, and it reimburses phone companies for providing service to low-income Americans.

Scripps reporter Isaac Wolf says he was able to access more than 100,000 records from one of those private

Sax section, International Sweethearts of Rhythm (credit: thegirlsintheband.com)

Based on actual conversations:

WHY WE NEED THIS MOVIE #1

Me:  I’m going to watch this movie, “The Girls In The Band.”  And hopefully write a review.

Hip Old Jazz Radio Dude:  Oh, yeah?  What’s it about, chick singers?

Me:  Um, no.  It’s about the great female instrumentalists who couldn’t get hired by the big bands, or almost any band led by a man.

HOJRD:  Didn’t they have those all-girl bands to play in?

Me:  Well, that’s what they had to resort to in order to make a living.  And even then, they were treated as novelty acts, not as “real” musicians.  Many of them were better players than their male counterparts, but they had to put on frilly dresses and smile all the time.  You know, I think –

HOJRD:  (eyes glazing over, attention span limit reached) Oh, yeah, yeah, right.  Excuse me, I have to go dust off this turntable…

WHY WE NEED THIS MOVIE #2

Me:  I really enjoyed your playing tonight!

Very Young Female Saxophonist:  Thanks so much.

Me:  Are you glad you continued with your music after college?  It couldn’t have been an easy career choice.

VYFS:  Um, what?

Me:  Well, historically, female jazz instrumentalists were largely ignored, or treated with disdain by male musicians.  They’d never get called for gigs, or if they actually got into a band, they could be replaced with a male musician at any time, without any notice.  You know, I think–

VYFS:  (looking at me like I’m deranged)  I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Excuse me, I have to go adjust my reed…

Alternately touching and humorous, The Girls In The Band is a delightful movie that can serve as a primer for the nearly forgotten story of  the talented, hard-working, dedicated musicians who just happened to be female during a time when “girls just don’t do that!”  It’s nicely paced, moving between interviews and archival film footage and photos, and filled with great music.  The older musicians tell their tales, the hurts and disappointments still fresh; the good times, the excitement and the love lingering and making it all worthwhile.  The younger musicians listen, learn and pay tribute.

The Girls in the Band has won Audience Awards at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Omaha Film Festival and the Victoria Film Festival.  Director/Producer Judy Chaikin has a couple of Emmy nominations under her belt for her documentaries, as well as numerous film festival awards and a Blue Ribbon from the American Educational Film and TV Festival.  A theme running through most of Chaikin’s work is “righting a wrong,” and she spent eight years making this film so that the stories and the art of these musicians would not disappear.

One can forgive the hip old jazz guy for being from another era.  One can rejoice that the very young jazz girls don’t have to deal with the same issues that plagued their predecessors.  Both could still benefit from watching this entertaining slice of history.

April showers bring May flowers. But in this case, the blossoms are too small for even a bumblebee to see.

Engineers at Harvard University have figured out a way to make microscopic sculptures of roses, tulips and violets, each smaller than a strand of hair.

To get a sense of just how small these flower sculptures are, grab a penny and flip it on its back. Right in the middle of the Lincoln Memorial, you'll see a faint impression of Abraham Lincoln.

Building Markets wants corporations to put the breaks on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and put the money into local investments. Ainsley Butler explains in a blog post today: Poverty can be beaten when people have jobs. In the world’s poorest economies, 9 out of 10 jobs are created by small business owners. Access to … Continue reading →

Microsoft thinks it has the one.

The company revealed the Xbox One, its next-generation entertainment console, during a presentation Tuesday at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Roughly 79.5 million people make a trip to France each year making it the world’s most visited country. The least visited country is a Pacific Island nation of Nauru. For those of you who may have guessed North Korea, you could not have been more wrong. The reclusive state that likes to launch missiles into the ocean garners … Continue reading →

When people take a break from debating whether Africa is or is not rising, they like to talk about China. The emerging economic powerhouse is making its mark on Sub Saharan Africa by support port projects in Kenya, mines in Zambia and standing behind the Sudanese government. The activities mean China is slowly becoming a … Continue reading →

Emergency crews combed the sticks and rubble remains of an Oklahoma City suburb Tuesday morning less than a day after a massive tornado slammed through the community, flattening homes and demolishing an elementary school. At least 24 people were killed, including at least seven children, and those numbers were expected to climb.

As the sun rose over the shattered community of Moore, the state medical examiner's office cut the estimated death toll by more than half.

Scientists Ponder ‘Epoch’ of Damage to Global Water System (VOA) - Scientists say a new geologic epoch has begun whereby humans are causing major damage to global water systems. They warn of a planetary transformation comparable to the retreat of the glaciers more than 11,000 years ago. Pepsi to march in, as foreign troops leave Afghanistan (Reuters) – … Continue reading →

Plastics have only been in wide use since the 1940s, yet they are everywhere, from sandwich bags to phones, to keyboards, to rain gear. Even the cans of soup in the grocery aisle are lined with it.

It's hard to imagine a world before these conveniences. What would your life be like without plastics?

In our digital world of social media, blogs and the like, is the newspaper industry a dinosaur? 

Only 11 newspaper businesses are publicly owned. Is it foolish to invest in them? Legendary investor Warren Buffett doesn't think so. He's acquired 28 papers in the past couple of years.

A veteran of 32 years at The Seattle Times, financial commentator Greg Heberlein, can't help but believe Buffett is on the right track.

Newly released police files say Josh Powell had an affair with a Utah woman just months before his wife disappeared.

According to a West Valley City police detective's report, investigators contacted the woman, whose full name is redacted, in August 2010, after her phone number was discovered in connection with the case.

Five years after Seattle had to get rid of its free-standing public toilet structures, Mayor Mike McGinn wants to give it another go, this time with a new design. 

Although Oklahoma is a state where tornadoes are a fact of life, few days stand out like May 3, 1999.

That was when some 70 tornadoes touched down over a 21-hour period, cutting paths of destruction like deep cuts of a knife blade in and around Oklahoma City.