Secret

I think most of the people I interview are full of shit. And I think people who ask me if they can be "anonymous sources" are cowards.

It is really difficult to make people pay for online content, therefore it should be free to users.

No.

The copy editor and editor did not know about the letter to the judge.

Also, she was in the public eye for five years, making her a public figure. Even though she is a limited public figure, she put herself into fame and wanted to be famous by going onto American Idol.

Her husband was also on a reality TV show, which adds more fame to their job.

Her drug abuse and alcoholism was a very public issue when she was in the public eye.

Feature story

Frozen pipes, mold, mice, and floods were all problems junior communication major Jacob Kenna and his six roommates faced this year while living in their rental house.

When they moved in, the house was dirty, and there was trash left behind by the previous tenants.

They also had mice in their kitchen.

These types of problems are common complaints of students who rent and live in the older buildings and houses on College Hill.

Many students when considering where to live make their priority the location of the house instead of the quality and condition of it, WSU’s Director of Student Assistance Programs, Karen Fischer said.

A lot of the houses closer to campus are older and create many problems for students, she said.

During the sudden cold snap in February, the pipes in Kenna’s house froze and then later burst, flooding the basement of the house.

It took two weeks until the all of the water was cleaned up by their rental agency.
Kenna said he and his roommates called their agency, DRA Real Estate, regarding the stagnant water numerous times.

The owner and manager of the DRA, Kathy Wilson said there was flooding and frozen pipes at Kenna’s residence, however she feels the agency responded appropriately.

She said when she sent people to clean up the water, the basement was so full of the tenant’s stuff it was impossible to clean up all of it.

“When I sent people to clean it up no (tenants) would get out of bed to move the stuff in the basement,” Wilson said. “They have so much stuff down there that they couldn’t clean up the water. You can’t clean up water if you can’t get to it.”

Wilson said she never allows her tenants to live in these types of conditions; unless they chose to do so.

“They weren’t ignored when there was water all over their floor,” Wilson said. “But they declined to get up and help us move anything. I simply can’t hire people to go move their stuff.”

When the weather gets cold and pipes begin to freeze, Wilson said she keeps plumbers on-call because frozen pipes are sometimes unavoidable.

She doesn’t consider frozen pipes to be the tenant’s fault as long as they have taken all the precautionary measures to avoid it, such as leaving the heat on to at least 60 degrees.

This year, she did not charge any of her tenants including Kenna, for the cost and damage of frozen pipes.

These types of problems, as well as other issues students have when living off-campus is a serious concern for the dean of students’ office, Fischer said.

Some of these issues she hoped could be avoided by informing students and new tenants about their legal rights and giving them advice during WSU’s housing fair.

Another tenant of the DRA and a junior mechanical engineering major Aaron Martz, said in the past he has been involved in legal disputes with rental agencies and he believes the university should do something to help protect students from bad rental situations.

“I don’t know why someone with more power doesn’t do something,” Martz said. “It’s hard for college students to go to court and spend the time and the money.”

Fischer said a few years ago there was an idea for the creation of a program affiliated with WSU that would keep rental properties and agencies who rented to students accountable for the quality of housing they provide.

However the idea never moved forward because the university does not have the legal right to inspect private residences or properties.

“There are codes for the city to regulate,” she said. “If you don’t have a safe premise, and it doesn’t meet code, then you can contact the city and request an inspection.”

Dan Harlander, a Pullman building inspector said college students seldom file a complaint or a request for an inspection.

“Their mothers come in after the students have already rented the place,” he said. “That’s when problems happen.”

The health and safety of DRA’s tenants are Wilson’s main priority in her business. She said she believes every property managed by the DRA meets Pullman’s building and fire codes.

“Every one of my tenants deserves to have a house that is safe and healthy,” Wilson said. “And I believe we provide that.”

Sources
Kathy Wilson
DRA Real Estate
Phone:(509) 334-7700

Karen Fischer
Dean of Students’ Office
509-335-6665

Jacob Kenna
Communication Major
503-984-1576

Dan Harlander
Pullman building inspector
509-338-3230

Aaron Martz
Mechanical engineering major
509-387-1538

1. “Megan Fox is a man!” Headline on Weekly World News Web site
- Not if it is parody.


2. “Up until the day he died, he was a brilliant writer. But the drugs made him a thief, a pimp and a liar,” said friend Karen Smith, who was with Johnson at the time of his death.
- No because he is dead.

3. “In my opinion, Kevin is a murdering rapist,” the prosecutor told the jury.
- no because it is in court (?)

4. "In my opinion, he's a murdering rapist," the man said at the rally.
- yes.. if he is found not guilty. (even though it's opinion it can still be found to be true or false, therefore it can still be libelous and sometimes opinion can be as damaging as presenting it as 'fact')

Murrow Symposium Ledes

The key to a successful media career is forming an identity that cuts through the clutter, Eric Johnson from KOMO TV.

One constant of journalism is change, the assistant managing editor of the Seattle Times Eric Ulken said during the Murrow Symposium Tuesday.