In Brief

by Cara Gardner


Spokane Live! -- SPOKANE -- Remember the Dan Dickau song? Now the people behind that epic tune are involved in another media adventure -- this time on TV.


LaunchPad Productions has joined forces with Fusion Media Productions to put on a new morning show called Spokane Live! It will run on KAYU Fox 28 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6 am and on Thursdays at 9:30 am.


"I have a whole new respect for what it means to work on a deadline," says Bill Kalivas, CEO of LaunchPad Productions. Kalivas is one of the executive producers of the show, which aired for the first time earlier this week.


"It's a magazine-style show," says Kalivas. "This week we are doing something on CenterStage Theater, Twigs Restaurant, the Gorge Park project and a local pet store."


The same show will run one week at a time. LaunchPad Productions has purchased the air time from KAYU, and while some of the spots are underwritten by sponsors, others are funded by income from commercials.


Hosting the new show is local actress Brooke Bailey.


"[She] brings a quirky, fun energy to the show," says Kim Beatty, vice president and CEO of LaunchPad Productions, and the other executive producer of the show. "We want it to be interactive, so we will ask viewers for their input."


"But no politics, that's not what it's about," adds Kalivas. "We are going to be edgy at times, but this show will be about celebrating the innovative people in Spokane." --Pia K. Hansen





Are You Prepared? -- SPOKANE -- Like most of us, you're probably not ready for the challenges that could come with a big earthquake, a fire or another disaster of significant magnitude, but help is on the way.


Today, from 4:30-7:30 pm, the American Red Cross Inland Northwest Chapter is launching its 'Together We Prepare" community disaster education campaign with a star-studded event at North Central High School.


"We have a goal, a huge goal, to have everyone make a disaster plan, build a disaster kit, get trained in first aid, volunteer and give blood," says Pat Moesely, executive director of the local Red Cross Chapter. "On May 1st, we are pretending that Mount Spokane erupted and we are opening a make-believe shelter at North Central to test our emergency response team and to create awareness about how important it is to think about these things before they happen."


The clients at the pretend-shelter are mayors from the area, police and fire chiefs, news anchors, business executives, politicians and stars from local athletic teams.


"Every celebrity will have a sign saying what their problem is," explains Moesely. "Perhaps they left their house without their dentures, perhaps they can't find their kids, whatever it is, our volunteers have to help them."


Also on-site will be the Inland Northwest Blood Bank's new blood donation bus. And Red Cross volunteers will be on hand to help people prepare a "quick and dirty disaster plan," as Moesely calls it. "We'll tell you what you need in a disaster kit, whether it be duct tape or food or something completely different."


Locally, Red Cross responds to disaster victims every 52 hours, but receives no public funding.


--Pia K. Hansen





King is Coming -- POST FALLS, Idaho - Bernice King is coming to North Idaho to visit the Faith Tabernacle Church in Post Falls as a part of its fifth annual "Increase" conference, which begins on Monday.


"We have the conference to increase our impact on the community," says Pastor Mike Walker.


King is the youngest child of Coretta Scott King and the late Dr. Martin Luther King, and by most she's remembered from the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo that captured her, as a five-year-old girl, hiding in her mother's lap during her father's funeral.


Today she is the assistant pastor at an inner-city church in Atlanta, Ga., where she oversees the youth and women's ministries and spends a lot of her time mentoring teenage girls.


Walker says Rev. King is expected to address the congregation on Friday, May 9. But while King is the main speaker, the Faith Tabernacle Church has a full week of presenters lined up for the conference.


"Monday, we have Pastor Tommy Barnett from the Phoenix First Assembly, the fastest-growing church in the country" says Walker. "We think this will be our biggest conference so far -- we do expect standing room only." -- Cara Gardner





The conference runs from May 5-9, at 7 pm nightly, at 5073 E. 16th Ave., Post Falls. Call: 208-773-0236.





Publication date: 05/01/03