Buzz Bin

by Inlander Staff


Our Time in the Sun? -- It was great to see that Spokane poet (and recent Inlander story subject) Scott Poole made headlines online at both CBSNews.com and in CNN.com's entertainment sections over the past week. We've appreciated Poole for years now, but it turns out that a poet who delivers verse during morning radio drive programs isn't something that every community has.


Poole is the editor of EWU Press, and his poetry collection Hiding From Salesmen is due out any day now from Lost Horse Press. A little more Web-browsing also revealed another local voice getting national attention. Frank Sennett's weekly news commentary feature, The Alternative Source, was picked up by the trendy Web site Salon.com. Congratulations, guys!


Both Poole and Sennett's radio work is crafted by Spokane Public Radio producer (and Inlander correspondent) Marty Demarest, who was nominated last week, along with his colleague at KPBX/KSFC Doug Nadvornick, for a prestigious NFCB Golden Reel award for their live coverage of One Spokane. The nomination places their work among the best in the nation. The winner won't be announced until later this year, but in the meantime, we're thrilled that local news and culture are as compelling as anything else you can find on the national radar.





Speaking of Sun -- Boy, do we hate January and February here in the Buzz Bin. January makes us want to draw ugly faces on dirty cars, take up smoking and exhibit generally passive aggressive behavior. February is 28 days of relentless ennui with one pointless, lace-edged holiday in the middle. But our new raison d'etre here in the Buzz Bin has to do with the fact that we recently passed the nine hours of daylight mark here in the Inland Northwest. Spring must surely be on its way.





Making a Fusco -- You know nobody cares about your reading enjoyment the way we do. Which is why we're introducing three new features this week, including the debut of our new comic strip, The Fusco Brothers. Penned by New Jersey's J.C. Duffy and published in four Andrews and McMeel comic collections, The Fusco Brothers follows the "four Fusco bachelors, Lance, Rolf, Lars and Al, along with Lance's girlfriend, Gloria, as well as Axel, the Fuscos' faithful wolverine."


Here in the Bin we're out of our minds with excitement about Kenneth Cleaver's new "consumer correspondent" column (sort of a Michael Moore-esque take on sending letters to corporations and other organizations). And coffee breaks are made for spending with our new crossword puzzle, which falls somewhere between TV Guide and The New York Times in terms of difficulty. Check it out this week on page 48.