Laure Ashley Is Up, Up, And Away To Sacramento
KXLY-4 weathercaster Laura Ashley has accepted a new job at KXTV in Sacramento.
She will stay with KXLY until Nov. 28, and then she and her husband will be off to California.
“This is amazing,” said Ashley. “I can’t believe this fell into our laps.”
She said she wasn’t looking for a new job, but KXTV sought her out. Sacramento is a huge step up for Ashley - it’s the 20th largest TV market in the country compared to the 75th.
Paul Brandt, KXLY news director, said the station released Ashley from the last year of her contract so she could take advantage of this opportunity. But that doesn’t mean he’s happy to see her go: She is one of the most popular and recognizable TV personalities in Spokane.
Ashley has mixed feelings about the move. She said she and her husband, Bob White, will hold on to some of their property here “so if we ever want to move back, we can.”
She’ll have a three-year contract in Sacramento to do the main weathercast at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Ashley has been at KXLY since 1994. Before that, she was at KHQ from 1991 to 1993 and with KREM from 1988 to 1991.
Lake Wobegon coming here
Here’s the latest news from Lake Wobegon:
Garrison Keillor and “A Prairie Home Companion” are coming to the Spokane Opera House for a live broadcast on June 27, 1998.
Keillor goes on location a few times a year, but he doesn’t just go anywhere. According to his producers, the city must have something “unique and special” to capture Keillor’s interest.
What does Spokane have? Hoopfest ‘98.
Apparently, Keillor was intrigued by this event, according to the people at KPBX-FM, Spokane’s Public Radio station. Maybe the people in Lake Wobegon are big hoops fans.
In any case, ticket information will be announced sometime in the spring.
‘When Sleeping Giants Wake’
If you want to see the biggest and most far-reaching documentary ever produced by KSPS-7, make sure you catch “When Sleeping Giants Wake” Thursday at 7 p.m.
Reporter-producer Alison Kartevold took a crew to Unzen in Japan, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines and Popocatepetl in Mexico to film this story.
These sites have one thing in common. They are all active volcanoes. The documentary is about how communities deal with being in the shadow of an active volcano, an issue of urgent interest here in the Northwest.
The crew also visited Mount Shasta, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens.
This hour-long documentary was made with help from a grant from the Pacific Mountain Network, a consortium of PBS stations in 14 states.
I saw a rough cut of this show, and it’s definitely worth catching on Thursday.
Sweeney smash
Julia Sweeney’s benefit performance of “God Said, ‘Ha!”’ was a smash hit at The Met on Thursday.
This sold-out audience was even more wildly enthusiastic than her Broadway audience on opening night. The crowd was in hysterics most of the evening, yet during the serious parts, the silence was total.
This “abbreviated version” of the show was supposed to last only about an hour, but it lasted nearly 90 minutes because the laughter was so loud and long.
All proceeds went to the Spokane Unit of the American Cancer Society.
Sweeney, overcome with emotion at the curtain call, said it was an “honor” to be asked to do the show here in her hometown.
, DataTimes MEMO: Spotlight is weekly column of news and commentary on the arts and media. To leave a message on Jim Kershner’s voice-mail, call 459-5493. Or send e-mail to jimk@spokesman.com, or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.