Bloglander

A few weeks ago I wrote about the renovations at Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe on the Washington State University campus. The counter setup was adjusted during spring break to improve customer flow — now you can gawk at the ice cream case without holding up the registers — and the seating area is being expanded by absorbing the outdoor patio area. 

A lot of the big construction work was completed during spring break, so a lot of those changes were already done when I visited a month ago. But the massive panels of plywood in place of windows definitely made it feel like a work-in-progress. 

So this weekend the renovation took a big step forward with the installation of the new front windows. You can see how it's turning out on Facebook, where the creamery posted the photo below and lots of others. Pretty soon it’s going to be hard to remember how it used to be.

The Department of Labor & Industries will honor Washington workers killed on the job during a somber Worker Memorial Day ceremony in Tumwater on Tuesday afternoon. 

In a ceremony at L&I headquarters, officials will read the names of workers who died in 2012 from job-related illnesses or injuries. Family members of deceased workers will also be invited to ring a bronze memorial bell in honor of their loved ones.

About 65 workers will be recognized during the ceremony, including Danny Bergeson, who we wrote about in October after he died while trimming trees on a prison work crew in Stevens County. Officials say the investigation into Bergeson's death continues.

Washington state has observed Worker Memorial Day since 1990. Labor & Industries started holding its annual memorial ceremony in 1993.

Details on the event, with information on some of the workers being honored, is available at the L&I website.

UPDATE: The Spokane Regional Labor Council will also sponsor a local event this Saturday. A workers memorial ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday along the Centennial Trail in Mission Park in Northeast Spokane. 

"The purpose of the ceremony is to honor those that died and to bring public awareness to the importance of workplace safety," writes Beth Thew, secretary-treasurer for the Labor Council.

The ceremony will also honor Washington military personnel who died last year. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 51, Military Order of the Purple Heart and Fairmount Memorial helped organize the event.

A public picnic will be held in the park after the ceremony. 

Anti-tax activist Tim Eyman announced his latest project today. The new initiative requires every November ballot to include an advisory vote on whether voters support a constitutional amendment requiring a legislative supermajority to raise taxes, with the goal of pressuring the legislature into putting such an amendment to a public vote.

Eyman's PAC, Voters Want More Choices, announced the new effort in an email today. Eyman is well known for pushing initiatives in nearly every election cycle, most notably the supermajority law, requiring two-thirds of the state Legislature or a public vote to approve raising any taxes. Because the Legislature can annul new laws after two years, Eyman has put the measure on the ballot repeatedly. It passed for the fifth time last fall, but was then struck down as unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court in February.

"We were angry when House Democrats, cheered by the Governor, sued the voters to overturn this voter-approved law. We were furious when 6 judges took away a protection that 1.9 million people supported," Eyman writes in the announcement. "But when you really think about it, they probably did us a favor because we were never going to get a permanent solution (a constitutional amendment) until the temporary solution (a law) was no longer an option.  That’s where we’re at now."

The new initiative keeps the annual approval for tax increases on the ballot and makes all tax increases imposed by the legislature after Jan. 1, 2013, temporary, limiting their duration to one year. It would also require the state voters' pamphlet to include how the governor and legislators voted on tax bills. The policies would all expire once a constitutional amendment requiring supermajority approval for any tax increases appears on the ballot.

Here's the full initiative text, from the Washington Secretary of State's list of proposed initiatives for 2013:

'Round Here

A Spokane County District Court Judge reminisces about Afghanistan. (SR)

A big bump in the beer excise tax could give local breweries a wicked hangover. (KXLY)

Idaho starts the messy task of creating state-based health-care exchanges. (CdaPress)

Yonder

After all the embarrassing "breaking news" mistakes from media outlets, journalists are doing amazing, in-depth work on the aftermath of the Boston bombing and subsequent man-hunt. (Washington Post; Boston Globe; New York Times)

Watch This!

Former Newport, Wash., actor-turned-Broadway-superstar Cheyenne Jackson stars in the (pretty hilarious) Onion News Empire pilot on Amazon.com. All in all, it's a pretty brilliant parody of Aaron Sorkin's self-important The Newsroom. (Amazon)

On Wednesday night, we're welcoming you to drink some great local beer with us while watching one of the best bad movies of all time.

That movie, of course, is a little flick called Teen Wolf and I wrote about it at length in this week's paper.

It's all happening at the Bing Crosby Theater and here are the details.

You might think Teen Wolf is just a silly '80s movie, but that's where you're wrong. What other film gives you the sort of advice dished out by the film's coach Bobby Flinstock? He's the guy who gave us the three rules to live by. Watch below and then we'll see you on Wednesday.

for being an idiot. I want to apologize to the few people at the Iron Horse
in Coeur d'Alene on a Frida night near closing. I drank too much before I
got there, it's that simple and I acted a fool. I don't remember what I
said but I know it wasn't nice because I remember in flashes that I was
cussing and carrying on as I got kicked out of the bar and for that and for
how I carried myself and treated you, I'm sorry for being an a-hole.

To companies who take two or more weeks to choose an employee from those
interviewed and then don't have the courtesy to notify those not selected.
Have they never waited for a phone call that never came, a call that could
affect the rest of their lives? Shame on them for their lack of empathy.

Jeers to the women on the bus who, when asked to quell their use of
expletives around my young children, disparaged me for having a biracial
family and insulted my daughters' hair. Cheers to the man who told them my
request concerning their language was valid and that they had no reason to
insult me and my family. Thank you, sir.

Young lady, evidently you were angry as you exited the Cheney Library
Monday. Did you get a fine? Not find the book you wanted? "F___!
S___!B_____!" you shrieked. Only a nine-year-old and myself to witness the
outburst. The nine-year-old smothered a giggle. Nothing much more amusing
to that age group than an adult meltdown (they themselves having been so
recently removed form the age of tantrums). Just a suggestion, I believe
that Tuesday is storytime and provides a much larger audience who, for the
most part being under six, will reward your performance with satisfying
shock. In addition you might consider also throwing yourself on the floor
while you fill the air with profanity. I think it would add to your act.

at Buck Knives. Just a little shout out to you for being a good friend.
Hoping the best for you in your new position! I am sure you will do a great
job. I am looking forward to the day when you will buy me lunch with that
pay raise. Good luck to you and see you around work!