Marvin Hamlisch dead at 68

Marvin Hamlisch dead at 68

My heart was so heavy when I heard that Marvin Hamlisch had passed away at only 68 years old.  What an incredible talent and amazing man that I was lucky enough to have met this past year because of my equally amazing mother, Patti Payne. Interviewing him for her column in the PSBJ, she invited my son (her grandson), Jacob and I to join her backstage as he rested during a break.  He was gentle, inspiring, loving, softspoken and very Jewish, which we all appreciated.  The world was a more magical place because of your presence!

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/07/composer-marvin-hamlisch-dead-at-68/

Erin McCallum of Enterprise Washington, Business Institute of Washington, featured in Seattle Times, Snoqualmie Valley Record and Bothell-Kenmore Reporter

Erin McCallum, president of both Enterprise Washington and the Business Institute of Washington, was featured in several newspapers over the last week including the Seattle Times. Below is an exerpt from the Seattle Times article and links to columns in the Snoqualmie Valley Record and the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. 

From the Seattle Times: Washington's all-important primary election is here. With ballots in Washington state homes, voters are deciding on races for Congress, governor and other statewide offices. With a 46 percent projected voter turnout, this primary election is important for our state's future.

While the presidential and gubernatorial elections capture headlines, the critical races that really impact our lives are those for Washington state Legislature. It is a crowded field of candidates and challenging to navigate.

The top-two primary is Tuesday. Now is the time to become informed.

Based on the responses we heard in three recent, in-depth focus-group discussions we held with independent voters, Washingtonians are fed up with the status quo. The first focus group comprised women in North King and South Snohomish counties. The second focused on communities of color in south King and north Pierce counties and the third focus group consisted of men and women, ages 25-45 in East King County... To read more from the Seattle Times head here. 

To read the OpEd from the Snoqualmie Valley Record go here.

And finally, to read the piece in the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter visit here. 

 

 

Overlake Specialty School on Northwest Focus

Overlake Specialty School is a unique program coordinated with school districts, community service providers, families and others to meet the special needs of students in grades one through 12. The mission of Overlake Specialty School is to promote students' academic, social, emotional and behavioral growth in order to help them attain the learning abilities and behaviors necessary for success in the classroom.

This week's episode of Northwest Focus features Overlake Specialty School and originally aired on July 12 on IonTV, but can be seen here, as well.




For more information on Overlake's Specialty School, visit their website.

Museum of Flight Welcomes Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment

The most recognizable piece of the Shuttle Trainer arrived at Seattle's Museum of Flight Saturday, June 30, amid crowds of cheering spectators. The Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment, which is 28.75 feet long, 19 feet wide and 23.5 feet high, was transported in NASA's Super Guppy aircraft. The Shuttle Trainer is being delivered in several stages over the next few months and will be on display in its entirety at The Museum of Flight's Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.

The Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment being loaded into the Super Guppy aircraft at Houston's Johnson Space Center, ready to make its final resting place at Seattle's Museum of Flight  

Built in the 1970s, the Shuttle Trainer is the only one of its kind in the world and is the simulator in which each of the 335 space shuttle astronauts trained.

The arrival of the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment kicked off ShuttleFest 2012, a week-long celebration to commemorate the historic artifact's arrival to its final home.

To read more about the Shuttle Trainer or ShuttleFest 2012, click here to read the article from MSNBC.com.

For photos of the event welcoming the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment from the Seattle PI, click here.

Museum of Flight prepares to welcome shuttle trainer

NASA's full-fuselage trainer has helped train every crew in the U.S. space shuttle program and is coming to Seattle to stay in just under two weeks. The Museum of Flight will become the FFT's permanent home where visitors can step inside for an astronaut's-eye view.

The massive wooden structure is being flown to Seattle in sections in the Super Guppy cargo plane. The front end of the FFT is scheduled to arrive in front of dignitaries and cheering spectators at Seattle's Boeing Field shortly before noon Saturday, June 30.

To read more about the full-fuselage trainer, the Super Guppy or the events surrounding its arrival, see yesterday's front page article and supplementary information published by the Seattle Times.

Recent Seattle Times articles on the full-fuselage trainer's arrival:

NASA's full-size shuttle trainer hitching a ride to Seattle
Oddball NASA craft is perfect for hauling shuttle trainer to Seattle
Astronaut helping transport NASA trainer to area is Seattle native

Turner Construction awarded Puget Sound Business Journal's 2012 Corporate Champion Award for Economic Opportunity

On Thursday, May 17, Turner Construction was awarded the Puget Sound Business Journal's 2012 Corporate Champion Award for Economic Opportunity. The award honors Turner Construction for continually providing educational training programs that are designed to enhance and support the mission and continued success of local minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses. Through the Turner School of Construction Management, they are able to expand the opportunities available to local businesses by helping attendees build networks, establish joint ventures and win contracts with Turner and other construction companies. 

To read more about Turner's philanthropic efforts check out the Puget Sound Business Journal's story on the award here. 

Asteroid Mining Company Unveiled at Museum of Flight

On April 24, a Bellevue-based company called Planetary Resources unveiled plans to extract platinum, gold and other valuable resources from asteroids. The press conference took place at Seattle's Museum of Flight. Sounding eerily similar to a science-fiction movie, it is no surprise "Avatar" Director James Cameron is among the project's supporters.

Planetary Resources engineers and scientists are at work to fulfill the goal co-founder Eric Anderson put forth at the news conference: to launch the first probes within 24 months. With business people, space buffs, and media in the audience at the Museum of Flight, applause erupted at the exciting direction space exploration is taking.

Anderson said if all goes well, the company could have its first asteroid target identified and ready for mining within a decade.

Planetary Resources aims to use commercially built robotic ships to squeeze rocket fuel and valuable minerals out of the rocks that routinely whiz by Earth.

For more information on this exciting direction of space exploration, read the article from The Seattle Times, which also features this video.