Crash in Cle Elum

On Tuesday, February 27th 2018 a semi-truck crashed Westbound on I-90 near Cle Elum blocking the road. This accident caused all lanes of the road to be blocked between Cle Elum and Ellensburg. The state troopers and ambulances responded to the scene at about 5:45 a.m. They had received reports of a semi-truck crashing just past the rest area east of Cle Elum. When they arrived they found that the semi rig was crashed across the westbound lanes of the freeway. Many sections of the guardrail had been destroyed by the semi, they had been mangled by the force of the crash. 

The driver of the semi-truck had sustained some minor injuries and they had took him to the hospital. They are not too sure about how this accident happened, but the circumstances leading up to the crash are still under investigation. The state troopers said that clearing the crash could take up to many hours, long backups had began to form. State patrol also informed that it is working to clear traffic between closure points. The state patrol advised that you avoid the area and to take a detour, via U.S. Highway 97 to state Route 970. That is all of the currents news about the semi-truck that has crashed on Westbound I-90 near Cle Elum but there is an ongoing investigation about it. 

I don't really have an idea as to why the semi-truck crashed but it may have been because of the weather conditions. In the pictures that were shown it appears to have snowed and that could mean the road is icy. The cold weather can cause the roads to be icy so he may have crashed because the weather. There could be many reasons as to why the semi-truck has crashed but the weather could have made an impact on the driving conditions.

    

                              

-Kendel Guzman

#metoo in Medical Fields

Let me start by saying, if you don’t know already, in November of last year a famous hashtag started to go around called #metoo. What people meant by this is they were also sexually assaulted somehow, sometime and are sharing their stories to make it viral to show how many people have been sexually assaulted and are finally coming out about it. Of course there will always be people who don’t feel okay enough to share or scared too for whatever reason from being embarrassed or being threatened and will probably never have justice which is sad but true. This started because the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, a man in the Hollywood film realm, sexually assaulting both boys and girls of all ages in order for them  to ‘become a star’. This being, other victims of him or others started speaking out in all spectrum, which I will be covering a big one, the medical field.

It is more than likely you have watched medical TV shows like, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, house, and etc. They don’t cover the topic really ever which makes it so convincing to join like I feel like joining but to think about it, hospitals and doctors and anything medical is hard to escape going to and it’s a very popular place because you go get help. More people, more problems and you don’t the people well so they are so many unspoken possibilities. Just think the doctors are there for a great proportion of their stressful and nerve racking day. A study in 1995 found that 52% of all women in the academic medical field said they had been sexually harassed. We live in a world where most workplaces are male dominate and when power is established people get a little head crazy and over use it for bad things and acts. A colorectal surgeon spoke to say, “no one wanted to say anything, because nobody wanted to rock the boat. We were already stressed enough.” This I can’t stress enough is a hazard to any and everyone, if you don’t feel you have the time to speak up and change things for the better, chances are you really need to, not just for yourself but for others being affected too.

I’d like to say that sexual assault in the medical field does not just stand for the workers but the patients too. For example, think of the people who can’t stand up for themselves, cases of people in comatose are really at risk or patients missing a or some senses like hearing or seeing. Or the disabled whom can’t walk or are mentally handicapped. They are big targets, one reason being they can’t fight back and another for a gross subject of fetish. It breaks my heart that patients are just trying to get help to get better and have to worry about being harmed, even worse the workers try to do everything they can but are harassed themselves and have to deal with the emotional and/or physically pain of sexual assaults. This is not okay and we need to stand up for a better tomorrow starting with sharing our story to get justice. It is 2018, we can be the better in the world, helping ourselves and others.

-Samantha Mason

Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is a renowned Japanese animation studios that sometimes works with Disney as a distributor. Studio Ghibli’s worst film in history has to be “Tales from Earthsea”. This film was made by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, and it won Japan’s bunshun raspberry award for worst movie of 2006. It had been distributed by Disney and was the first Disney- distributed film to be rated PG-13 for having “violent images. Despite being the studios worst movie, in the movie’s first five weeks of release, “Tales from Earthsea” surpassed “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”. All because of the studios reputation for making quality movies, it had passed “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”.

Even though Studio Ghibli is a big studio, they like to keep their word and ways strict. They have a special “no cuts” policy. It’s so strict that when they sent the movie to the states, they also sent a katana with a message “no cuts” to Miramax when they were trying to make the movie more suitable to the states. To me that is something special. That means that they send the movies just as they want it and we get a nice motion picture with originality.

The start of Studio Ghibli is named after a World War II Italian plane named sirocco. Sirocco is pronounced “Ji-bu-ri” in Japanese. Doesn't make sense to me, but it’s originally pronounced with a hard G. Even though the pronunciation doesn’t make sense, the studio's name means “Mediterranean wind” because the studio wanted “Blow a new wind through the Japanese industry”. They have achieved their new wind as these movies have been loved for over 30 years since they started the studio up in 1985.

In my personal experience, I have no met a single person who did not like their movies. I show them to my girlfriend and she loves each one more than the last one. Their emotional connection to the viewer is big and I think that is big for multiple movies to do. In conclusion I have to say to watch some of their movies and live with that experience.

-Terran Freeman

Seattle's New Sugar Tax

Seattle recently got a new law that now adds tax to sweetened beverages, and you could say that the majority of the population it affects, or might possibly affect in the future, is not happy. Although the law is just for Seattle at the moment, many other people living in the areas around Seattle are starting to worry about having to start paying so much extra, just for a sweet carbonated drink. Despite multiple store owners and consumers being opposed to the new tax, the City Council approved it in June.

One of the main and important reasons for this new tax to be implemented is because of the concern for the health of the citizens. It is proven that those who drink sugary drinks more often are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and dental decay. If you put a higher tax on something popular and also harmful while raising its price a decent amount, then the chances are and the hopes are that people will stop drinking soda or at least slowly come to a stop. Hopefully people will start to realize that the money they waste on it could be put towards something healthier and less harmful.

Another opinion of the law is that it is essentially “punishing the poor.” I personally disagree, because I don’t think that the poor would be personally attacked because they might not be able to afford soda anymore. Soda isn’t something you necessarily need, so the added on dollars shouldn’t be the end of the world for anyone it affects. In the first year, Seattle Officials expect to earn $15 million from this, and a good amount of it is going to the Fresh Bucks program. This is a program provides families with low-incomes with vouchers so families with less money can still get fresh fruits and vegetables.

Racism in the World

Racism is still a big problem with this world. I see it every day. I see it in almost everyone. They will always have accusations towards another person's skin color. Name calling is the biggest one. You may already know them, but for the safety of my own education, I shall not say them.

I am usually hearing conversations talking about simple things and all of sudden race comes into it. I know everyone knows this because it´s talked about everywhere. I hear racism in media, where most people are influenced. I just hate to hear certain words and accusations said and people let it off the hook.

I am tired of racism in this world. Many riots and killings happen because of it and I don't think that Racism should be promoted through media. It's like it’s a joke though some people. One person in particular I think who uses it too much as a joke is Kevin Hart. He always is talking about his race and using it as a joke. I don't know how that's funny, but I don't think that should be accepted by others.

Many people get picked on for their skin color because they do certain things that aren't accepted by their skin color. Such as walking and talking with a group of another race. That’s a big one. You might have so many things in common with them, yet it’s unacceptable for them to hang out because of their skin color.

Goldman Sachs made limited loaning to darker skinned because of racist views. It happened when a person started went into a meeting with the wealth manager of Goldman Sachs and he started saying racial slurs at her and had her removed because she was black and Jewish. This only happened two years ago (basically a year ago). Racism is still thriving in business matters. Why can’t we all just come together, but no we all have to be at each other's throats because of small differences. I can get it if you’re mentally insane, but come on. You guys must have a conscious.

-Terran Freeman

Pop/Rap vs. Rock/Metal

Pop/Rap: The top five songs today in these genres are “Strip That Down” by Liam Payne Featuring Quavo, “Slow Hands” by Niall Horan, “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift, “Attention” Charlie Puth, and “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man. Because these two genres are close to each other, today I decided to mix them in. Not surprising to anyone, most of these songs are either about sex or break-ups. Rarely will you find yourself listening to actual uplifting POP songs. If you do, it is typically the exception and not the rule. For the songs that are positive, they are usually influenced from disco and funk. Such as Nile Rodgers; he influences those POPPY songs today and sometimes actually works with them.

Photo Credit: Dennis Alvden

Rock/Metal: Rock and Metal don’t have billboard top 5 songs at all. It’s just simply popular. I’ve noticed that people prefer rock and metal over the pop and rap scene. You don’t hear many new rock songs today because they, along with metalhead, are all trying to get noticed in your local scene. With these artists arising, there will only be a few who go up in charts for getting online recognition instead of the bands performing. That’s what I have noticed through my music exploration. These songs can range from sad, mad, to up lifting. Rock usually focuses on more sad and happy tunes, whereas metal does more depressing topics.

Since we’re in a world of sadness, we feel comfortable with metal, yet uncomfortable by the way it sounds. No matter what, they will be out there to help others and portray sadness and anger so well that we feel connected to their music. Pop and rap music is really well made, but it often comes across sounding fake and robotic. It is difficult to feel sad through a poppy upbeat song. The emotions clash. There are occasions that I have heard some of that music is really well made, and I can appreciate how these musicians portray their feeling to others; sharing their emotions in order to connects to their audience. These two genres are very similar, but they are different in many ways through their output to others.

-Terran Freeman

"An Island Surrounded by water. Big Water"

                                                                                                               -Vail Bates

Las Vegas Shooting

     

Over-looking the Vegas strip in Nevada on October 1 st , 2017 A reign of terror has been let loose
on innocent victims who were attending a county festival while Jason Aldean was preforming. It has
been pronounced the deadliest mass shooting in united states history, the total death & injured count as of October 2, 2017 is 59 people killed and 527 injured. The shooter being a 64-year- old retired man by the name of Stephen paddock, Police say he was local man living just an hour and a half drive away living in a small retired community still with no evidence of motive for the mass murder.
   

 Friends and family described him as your typical average guy and had no reason to
suspect that he would ever be capable of doing something this horrific or of this
nature. Further reports show that when police investigated both property’s
they discovered and additional 18 Firearms in Mr. Paddocks home with
thousands of rounds of Ammunition with it not including the 17 guns that were
found in the 32 nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. As reports show Mr. Paddock has
had no criminal history but it was found that his father Benjamin H. Paddock was a notorious Bank
robber and was on the F.B.I most wanted list who was known to carry firearms with him.
As time goes on the president has made statements about the blood curling
situation as he tweeted his warmest condolences to the victims and
families who were affected by the shooting. Reports show that the
president will be in Nevada on Wednesday to further address the
and to be there to support those who lost loved ones.

   It has not been confirmed if the shooter committed suicide or if he has been
killed by S.W.A.T. but has been pronounced dead. He was located in the building
by smoke detectors from all of the gun fire. And his family has been under
investigation for any more clues as to what possibly was his motive to kill and
injure so many innocent people. As more reports show Stephen was a known
high stakes gambler and question has arisen of whether or not he was involved
with some sort of debt that he was unable to pay.

By: Kai Agee