The Bellingham Herald

• WWU geologists delve in Racehorse Creek slide
  Barry Hutchinson was home on the rainy afternoon of Jan. 7 when he heard a roar that grew louder and louder, until he thought Mount Baker was blowing its top.
  "It sounded like a 747 tethered to the bridge," he said, referring to the span over Racehorse Creek that is about a half-mile from his home near North Fork Road.
  The roar, which started about 3:15 p.m. and lasted for as long as 20 minutes, was neither volcanic activity nor airplane noise. Hutchinson heard what may have been the largest landslide in Washington state unleashed during rainstorms in early January that also caused widespread flooding.
  What is known as the Racehorse Creek Landslide has caught the attention of Western Washington University geologists, who have been studying the event. They will present their findings, including why they believe it happened, during the Geological Society of America's annual meeting in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-21.
  The goal is to help anticipate when other landslides like this might happen, said Juliet Crider, associate professor in the WWU Geology Department.
  

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• Meltdown helps county focus on economic strategy
  Complex economic factors led to the financial market meltdown one year ago, but there is a common word to sum up what people were feeling: Fear.
  "If I'd said a year ago that in 12 months we would be talking about the end of the recession, you would have called me criminally optimistic," said Hart Hodges, director of the Center for Economics and Business Research at Western Washington University. "At the time everyone was talking about the upcoming Great Depression, but it turned out to be milder. I think we still have a bumpy road ahead, but hopefully we can take this time to focus on the bigger issues that are looming."
  

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• WWU residents march, rally for health-care reform
  Rebekah Snodgrass knows the flaws of current health care all too well. The Bellingham resident feels blessed to have insurance now, but she hasn't always been so lucky. She has multiple sclerosis, and when a divorce left her without insurance, that pre-existing condition kept health care out of her reach.
  Snodgrass was one of nearly 200 participants in a rally and march for health-care reform Saturday, Sept. 12 at Maritime Heritage Park. She works part time at Western Washington University, where her daughter will be starting college soon. She knows her daughter is at a higher risk for developing multiple sclerosis, and she hopes health-care reform will help save her from the stress of being uninsured.
  

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• CEV adds Joens to staff
  Western Washington University's Center for Economic Vitality has added Claus Joens to its staff of research analysts.
  Joens brings 20 years experience working with Ford Motor Co. with specialties in financial analysis, financial reporting systems and relationship management. He has worked at both the corporate headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., and at the dealer level in the Pacific Northwest.
  

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• Artist profile: Jerry Swann
  Jerry Swann, 51, grew up in Chicago and moved to Bellingham in 1977 to go to Western Washington University and never left.
  

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• Viking men, women win CWU Invitational
  Despite holding out a number of its top runners, nationally ranked Western Washington University swept the team and individual titles in both the men's and women's divisions Saturday at the Central Washington University Cross Country Invitational held at the Apple Ridge Course at Yakima.
  

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• Volleyball falls in tourney finale
  Erika Dupree and Laura Prinsen each had 11 kills as West Texas A&M University defeated Western Washington University 25-14, 25-17, 25-21, in the final match Saturday of the three-day, eight-team Viking Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
  The Vikings, ranked No. 24 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, fell to 7-4 with the loss. Outside hitter Marlayna Geary led Western with nine kills.
  

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• WOMEN'S SOCCER: Vikings open GNAC play with win
  Three second-half goals lifted Western Washington University to its second consecutive victory, a 3-0 triumph over Western Oregon University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contest Friday at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus.

KUOW radio

• The changing cafeteria
  WWU Sophomore Alyson Simeone, the Sustainability Coordinator for Food and Dining Services, appeared this morning on a KUOW's "Weekday" program about sustainability in K-12 and college cafeterias. She works with dining services to bring more local and sustainable food into WWU's dining halls.