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Western Today for Wednesday, Aug. 19

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More sunshine is on the way

Weather forecasts show sunny days for at least the next week, with temperatures in the 70s and lower 80s. On Tuesday, the sun shone brightly on the trees outside Wilson Library near High Street.

Photo by Matthew Anderson | WWU

Sun through the trees

Today: Lunch discussion on cleaning reductions

At noon on Wednesday, Aug. 19, a brown bag lunch discussion will be held in SMATE Room 110 to allow the WWU community to comment on upcoming reductions in custodial services. For more information on the reductions, click here. A second discussion will be held at noon Aug. 26.

For more information, see FAST Online.


Notice regarding PEBB dependent verification

The Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) Program provides health benefits to WWU employees and their eligible dependents. Under PEBB rules, they must also ensure that people who do not qualify for PEBB benefits are not receiving them. This fall, PEBB will verify eligibility for all family members (except extended dependents and dependents with disabilities) enrolled on an employee’s account. For more details on this, please see FAST Online.


Did you know?

WWU Board of Trustees meetings are streamed live via audio online. Meetings also are archived for later listening.

Audio from the most recent meetings on Aug. 13 and 14, as well as from the rest of 2009, are available online here.


Avoid traffic and noise during summer commencement

Commencement activities begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, in Carver Gym, Red Square and the SMATE Building. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and is followed by the Memory Walk to Old Main, which concludes at approximately noon. All academic and administrative units are asked to avoid activity that would conflict with commencement.


Reminder: Annual electrical shutdowns to begin next week

The annual electrical system shutdowns begin next week on campus. These shutdowns allow for preventative maintenance of high voltage switches and other equipment.

The first buildings to be affected will be the AIC and AIC-West, which will be shut down from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, for inspection and cleaning of main switchgear. The Engineering Technology Building will be shut down from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, for operation of disconnects and cleaning of secondary switchgear. Systems on generator backup will not be affected. Please address any questions or concerns to Scott Stilts at ext. 3208.

For the full schedule of shutdowns, click here.

The Bellingham Herald

  • All American Marine gets stimulus money to improve shipyard
    All American Marine was among 10 Washington boatyards to receive funding for infrastructure improvements from the federal stimulus package.

    According to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who made the announcement Tuesday, Aug. 18, the boat builder will get $297,827 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. ...

    The company has been busy in recent months landing projects and in the coming weeks will be expanding to 45 employees. In April it was awarded a $5.3 million contract to build a high-speed, low-wake passenger ferry for Kitsap Transit. Mullett said the hull for that project is nearly completed, and they continue to work on hydrofoil technology design with Western Washington University.

  • Washington lawmakers seek NOAA review; Bellingham port may appeal
    Seven Washington members of Congress are asking the Government Accountability Office to review a decision by NOAA to move a fleet of research ships from Seattle to Newport, Ore.

    The lawmakers – six Democrats and a Republican – asked the GAO to examine the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s lease acquisition process to see if it assured the best value for taxpayers and whether officials changed criteria during the process. ...

    Port of Bellingham officials had submitted a bid for NOAA to come to the Bellingham waterfront. They had hoped NOAA’s facility would be part of waterfront redevelopment.

The (Everett) Herald

  • Racer takes to the water naturally
    Alumnus John Peeters wins national hydroplane championships

    It’s only in the winter, when most people don’t want to play on Lake Goodwin, that John Peeters can freely run his 12-foot-long, open-cockpit hydroplane.

    In the summer, he’s limited to driving on certain lakes where hydro boat races are planned.

    Good thing Peeters, 27, likes to compete. In fact, he’s so good at racing he recently brought home two national titles: one in D-stock hydro, the largest and fastest of the American Power Boat Association’s stock category; and the second in outboard stock hydro 400, an international racing class. ...

    A graduate of Western Washington University with degrees in economics, accounting, marketing, business administration and photography, he’s an expert in Web design. He’d rather be racing.

Issaquah Press

  • Western Washington University rowing champ maps her future
    “Once a rower, always a rower,” NCAA Division II champion Hilary Gastwirth says when asked about her future.

    At 22, Gastwirth possesses more experience than most of her peers, taking pride and ownership in winning three individual NCAA titles and was a member of the four-time NCAA II championship team.

    It all began when she was 15. One day, she accompanied her mom to watch her cousin Casey Clingan compete on Lake Washington with the University of Washington crew team. During the competition, her uncle, Wes Clingan, a member of the 1972 and 1973 championship UW row teams, turned to her and said that she had the right build for the sport and should consider looking into it.

Fox Business

  • Deployment of Research Buoys in the Arctic by Around the Americas Project Aids Collection of Data on Changing Oceans and Consequences of Global Warming
    Western Washington University is a participant in the project

    Now traversing the Northwest Passage, the Ocean Watch crew - four professional sailors, a scientist and an educator - recently completed the deployment of three NOAA Global Drifter Program buoys. Dr. Ignatius Rigor, research scientist at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (UW-APL) Polar Science Center and Coordinator of the International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP) is directing these activities. This project, one of 8 scientific projects planned throughout the 13-month Around the Americas expedition, focuses specifically on the polar regions of the 25,000-mile circumnavigation of North and South America and will further support the expedition's mission of highlighting the changing conditions of our oceans.
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