Sunday, May 04, 2014
Real local news at last!
I stopped subscribing to the Satan-Review, partly because it's 100% Satan, but mainly because it doesn't tell me anything I need to know. The latter problem is true of most newspapers and TV and radio sources even when they're only 99.99999% Satan. (Minimum permissible proportion.) It was true 50 years ago before Satan took over those sources.
Newspapers have always focused on the doings of the High And Mighty. In modern times the High And Mighty are pure Satan, but that's not the important variable.
Satan or not, I don't give a flying fuck about the High And Mighty. Their political squawkings and social affairs have zero effect on the ordinary citizen.
Here's what I need to know on a daily basis:
(1) When will the rain/snow hit, and when will the rain/snow stop?
(2) What caused the power outage?
(3) Where were those sirens going?
(4) Where is the nearest burglary or other serious crime?
= = = = =
I can get the rain/snow info online from Weather.com radar.
I can get the outage info from Avista's excellent outage maps.
Until recently there was no practical way to acquire the siren and crime info. Now there is! The Spokane News facebook page selects the more serious items from police and fire data, leaving out medical calls and 'welfare checks' and so on. Contributors who live near a problem, or who were involved in an accident, often add useful info beyond the police-blotter basics. Exactly what I need to know! The page seems to be run by volunteers, so I hope it can keep going.
Labels: Heimatkunde
¶ 5:36 AM
