Drivers Tune Radios To Music And Mirth
Listening to the radio on my way to work, I can tell exactly how late I’m running by which landmark I’m passing when KPBX’s Verne Windham and Lakshmi Singh come on with their 8:50 a.m. chatter about the day’s programming.
If I’m going under the pedestrian bridge at Altamont, I’m on schedule. If I’m looking at car carcasses in the Spalding yard, I’d better hustle.
For many commuters, radio listening is as much a part of the driving habit as buckling the seatbelt.
We wrap ourselves in the audio blanket of our choice and let the music, the DJs, the news or the talk guys help us devour the miles.
When it comes to morning drive-time, people can be very loyal to the radio comfort zone they’ve adopted.
Several Valley drivers interviewed recently expressed great enthusiasm about their listening preferences.
Glenn Clapper, for instance, keeps his tuner locked onto 98.9, KKZX, a classic rock station. A blues musician himself (with the band Border Run), Clapper likes the occasional blues tune the Radiomen slip into their morning music menu.
“They’ll play bluesy stuff. Allman Brothers, Santana. It’s the only station around here where you can hear blues during the day,” he says.
And the morning DJs, Jim Arnold and C. Foster Kane?
“The Radiomen are nuts and I love them for it. They take the stress out of the daily drive. It calms you down.”
For her humor hit in the morning, Shannon Hansen listens to KZZU.
“The Breakfast Boys are fun to listen to,” she says of Dave Sposito and Ken Hopkins. The station, at 93-FM, plays top 40 music.
Roger Ware does a lot of driving and listens to the radio much of the time. Preferring a little intellectual stimulation, he tunes in one of two talk radio stations, KXLY 920-AM or KGA 1510-AM.
“Music gets boring after awhile. I like to hear some intelligent conversation - it’s not always very intelligent though. I can pick up on local issues.”
Debbie McClendon has eclectic tastes that are influenced by the young listeners in her car. “I listen to several stations, but mostly Aahs 107.1 (KAZZ). It’s great for kids - Disney music and that kind of stuff. It comes in good some places, not in others. If you use your automatic station finder it skips over it. I also like 790 (KJRB) and 920 (KXLY), the talk shows. And 103.1 (KCDA) and 98.9 (KKZX).
The bumper stickers on Debbie Buckley’s car say KZZU and KEZE, but they don’t say a thing about her taste in music.
“I don’t listen to that,” Debbie flatly states. “Those stickers came with the car. I listen to KDRK (93.7-FM). I like the DJs. … their humor is funny and not just mean. I used to listen to Frog (KNFR 96.1-FM), but they just got too mean. Too many annoying little characters, so I quit listening. “
Dwight Spotts will take KMBI (1330-AM) or another other Christian station, 104.7 (KEEH-FM). “I just like the music and talk. The relgious programming.”
Kathy Burrowes, a Reba McEntire
fan, takes it straight from The Frog, KNFR.
R.B. Dick, tries “to avoid all that chatter,” by sticking to KDRK. “The morning show has a little more talk, news on the half hour. If something important happens, they’ll have it.” He doesn’t need any more news than that, he says.
Marc Moland (whose Monte Carlo, with a dead battery and grumbling muffler, stays running while he pumps gas) likes the Breakfast Boy humor and mellow music of KZZU.
And Ed Nystrom would like to clue people into KMBI, a Christian station “just a needle width from the right end of dial.”
“It has the best Christmas music you’d ever want to listen to. And the best news. I don’t know where they get it from, but they have a good intelligence system. News from all over the world. It’s an excellent station.”
Committee weighs traffic impact
After recently chastising the Hearing Examiner Committee for the shortsighted decision to allow a huge housing project near the Pines and I-90 intersection, I should comment on a subsequent, encouraging decision.
The committee voted down a 62-unit apartment complex near Nora and Wilbur roads, which would put more stress on the same Pines intersection.
The committee cited the impact on that pinch point as well as the increased burden on Mission, which is heavily traveled by school buses.
The applicant, John Stone Development Inc., has appealed the decision and will have a hearing scheduled before the Board of County Commissioners sometime in the near future.
Let the commissioners know if you’re frustrated by the trend of development outpacing road improvements.
, DataTimes MEMO: On Your Way is a Valley Voice column focusing on commuter lifestyles and issues. Your views on any of the topics discussed are invited. Please write: On Your Way, The Valley Voice, 13208 E. Sprague, Spokane, WA 99216. Or call Jim Springer at 459-5441.