What a difference a year makes. A year ago we were gearing up for the Presidential race and in our state a rematch of Gregoire versus Rossi. We were becoming familiar with the Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama and while we were concerned about the economy, I don’t think anyone expected the meltdown we’re now experiencing.

A year ago we called the show, The New KCTS 9 Connects, reflecting our revamped look and approach. We went from an hour to 30 minutes and placed an emphasis on strong lead stories. We wanted to bring our viewers important Northwest stories on topics that are often overlooked or underreported. We made an extra effort to bring you in-depth stories with angles and information you haven’t heard before. So this week’s year in review looks back on stories we reported and, most importantly, updates you about what has happened since we first broadcast those stories.

You’ve probably noticed that we dropped the ‘new’ from our title. We’re no longer new, but we are committed to bringing you strong storytelling and timely interviews. As we enter a new year, you can expect to see a series of stories on investor scams, a renewed focus on the environment with the return of Green Watch, and more fascinating profiles of People You Should Know. And while the election of 2008 is behind us, we know there will be more elections in 2009 for Seattle Mayor, King County Executive and King County Elections Chief. We’ll be following those stories.

And we’ll be hoping for better times ahead for all of us.

You can browse and watch any episode of Connnects here.

You've probably seen the alarming ads in magazines or on TV. They claim 1:166 children have Autism.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control report the number has jumped to 1:150.

There is speculation all around us that we have an Autism epidemic on our hands. We wondered, is it real? What would explain those numbers?

Right here in the Pacific Northwest we have great resources to help us try to understand Autism. The University of Washington has an 'autism Center' which studies and helps treat autism.

We found that UW researchers are on the forefront of studying Autism.

Researchers are conducting two studies on the siblings of Autism. Siblings are at a five to twenty percent higher risk of being autistic than the general population.

Our local researchers tell us they are studying a genetic component to Autism. But, before we interviewed those researchers, we wanted to visit with Autistic children to see how they are being helped with the newest teaching techniques.

We also decided to visit CHILD - Children's Institute for Learning Differences on Mercer Island whose been helping kids with a variety of challenges for decades.

But lately the school is seeing an increase in the number of Autistic children it helps. We learn that some of the increase in Autistic cases can be explained, some cannot.

Some scientists and educators say all the recent attention on Autism will improve services for these children... and hopefully a treatment or cure will someday follow.

I’m writing this blog on Veteran’s Day. But I didn’t need that official day to remind me how much soldiers sacrifice for our country. I’ve been working on a story that has kept that sacrifice top of mind.

What I’ve witnessed is that when a married soldier dies, so does a family. Photographer Dave Ko and I were invited into the inner sanctum of grief – a support group for the surviving spouses of soldiers killed in Iraq. It meets each week at Madigan Army Medical Center located in Tacoma.

Since this was a group founded by Madigan, I was expecting to be kept at a “military” distance. But both Dave and I were floored by the candor and bravery of the widows. I’m looking at my log sheet and I’ll share some examples:

“He was killed 14 months ago today. And people don’t understand that haven’t lost anybody that the 18th of every month for the rest of my life is not going to be a good day.”

-Katrina Rojas, whose husband Mike was killed by a homemade bomb

“Everybody is going to die eventually so people should just be more open to talk to the widows and not look at us like we are contagious.”

-Emily McFall, a war widow with three small children

“When people hear that your husband died in Iraq they’ll be like, ‘Oh, you know we shouldn’t even be there anyhow!’ Why would you say that to me? I mean, that makes it sound like my husband’s death was pointless. Yeah pointless. And no widow wants to believe that.”

-Hannah DeRoo, her husband Gabe was shot by a sniper when their son was 6 months old.

After the support group we went home with Hannah and saw how being a war widow imprints every corner of your life. There is a shrine to Gabe in the dining room and in the living room, a photo of Gabe Jr. on his father’s grave. In the bedroom, Hannah has framed the last flowers Gabe sent. They arrived a day after he died.

Powerful images, strong women. No wonder that long after this Veteran’s Day is over I’ll be thinking about Hannah and her “sisters”. Take a look at our story and you will too.

It’s over and I’m glad. I’m glad that I won’t have to see or hear another campaign commercial -- especially those nasty attack ads. I’m glad because I won’t have to hear the spin of the candidates and the campaign strategists. I’m glad because I had had enough of it all.

But as glad as I am that it’s over, I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling a great sense of optimism for the future of our country. This has been an historic week. In the years to come, people will talk about where they were when Barack Obama was elected President, the first African-American to get to that mountaintop.

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I cried as I watched his victory speech. I cried because I was proud of America. I never thought I would see a person of color elected to the nation’s highest office. I feel so appreciative that it happened in my lifetime.

It was uplifting to see so many people feel energized about participating in the political process especially young people. I think what happened this week is a generational shift and the large number of young people who voted found that they have an important stake in the country’s direction.

I was surprised that the Governor’s race was not as close as it was predicted to be. I was even more surprised to see Governor Gregoire declared the winner by the networks so early in the evening. I expected it to be very tight and that the outcome would not be known for days. I think the Governor benefited from the voter turnout for Obama.

I’m still amazed by the money spent in the Governor’s race, more than $40 million, and the ugly tone of the race became unbearable to watch. In the debates, the candidates spent most of their time criticizing each other and talking little about the issues. The attack ads from the independent groups were over the top. In the end, it was a stinging defeat for Dino Rossi and the Building Industry Association which spent heavily in support of his campaign. Republicans in our state and nationally have to figure out their direction and how to rebuild their party’s image.

For now, we get a breather from the craziness of our election system. I would like to see changes in how it’s done. The fact that candidates run for two years to become President is nuts. And the money that’s spent to run for office is even more nuts. There’s got to be a better way.

So what are your thoughts about election and the process? Let me know.

John McCain says racism exists in America, but he doesn’t think that race will play a role in the outcome of next week’s Presidential election.

McCain believes the nation’s economic problems will trump the issue of race in the election. I think he’s right, but having said that I still believe that race will be an issue for some people.

Talking about race isn’t easy. It makes people uncomfortable. And it’s not a just a black and white issue.

I know people of other races who feel uneasy about Obama because he’s black and because they think African-Americans will be treated more favorably if he’s elected President.

I found it interesting that we received e-mails about our coverage of this issue before it even aired.

Brie Daniel wrote:

“I absolutely think racism is playing a HUGE part in this election, but not in the way that you think. It is just as wrong TO vote for someone BECAUSE they are black as it is to NOT vote for them BECAUSE they are black. Race SHOULD play NO ROLE WHATSOEVER in deciding who to vote for, but it does. EVERY black person I know or am aware of is voting for Obama ONLY because of his skin color. Too many of them don't even know or care what his policies are. And too many other people I know of other races are only voting for him because of the novelty of voting for a black man. I'm tired of being called racist for saying you shouldn't vote for him FOR being black. Being black is not a reason to vote or not to vote. Policies, platform, politics. THESE are the reasons to vote.”

I hope that Brie and others who wrote us will watch our story which was produced and reported by Independent Producer George Howell. Watch George’s report and share with me your comments.

On October 1, we presented the Governor’s Debate from Yakima. This morning, October 10, we taped a debate between 8th district Republican Congressman Dave Reichert and his Democratic challenger Darcy Burner. Like Governor Gregoire and Dino Rossi, it’s the second time around for Reichert and Burner as they faced off two years ago in a close race. I think debates are important for voters. It’s a chance to gauge the candidates understanding of critical issues and a chance to see how well they handle themselves in an unscripted situation. But I have to admit that debates also drive me crazy.

It’s not so much the hassle of getting the candidates and their campaigns to agree to debate, or the negotiations on format, set (podiums versus chairs), date and time, as it is the responses to the questions posed, or should I say the lack of response to the actual question.

Have you noticed that most of the candidates don’t answer questions?

Q: “Will you pledge no new taxes?”

A: “Well talking about taxes right now when we’re facing an economic crisis would be wrong. Now let me to get back to the prior question and point out that my opponent misrepresented my position on crime.”

Please. Can you just answer the question? Today’s candidates seem to be programmed to deliver their talking points no matter what. Their talking points are usually attacks on their opponent. Now I don’t think it’s wrong to try to clear up any misrepresentation of a position, but please answer the question posed clearly and succinctly before you do. Please.

I have to admit that debate formats can be a problem. When you give a candidate 90 or 60 seconds to answer a question, it can be tough for them. I would much rather moderate a debate without time limits and rules that are overly restrictive. I don’t think we’re serving the voters well with most of the debates we’re seeing from the Presidential, Gubernatorial, and Congressional candidates.

What do you think? Do you think the debates make any difference?

I want to hear your opinion.

Here at KCTS 9, I’ve worked on health care stories before, including four years ago in the run up to the presidential election. Working on health care 2008, it struck me how different things are now.

In 2004, it was hard to find people who had health care coverage problems that they were willing to talk about on TV. In 2008, nearly everyone I met was willing to share his or her story.

There was the woman who was riding her bike to work when she was hit by a car. She heard someone say, “Call an ambulance.” As she lay bleeding in the gutter she screamed, “No ambulance! My insurance won’t pay.”

There was the woman who spends much of her time taking her very sick husband to doctors and hospitals. But she never gets treated even though she has had breast cancer and other health problems that need monitoring. Her husband has insurance. She does not.

Ironically, as soon as we started this story, I had an incident of my own. I jumped off a wall and fell on my face. I learned the hard way that Seattle emergency rooms don’t move in fast motion like in Grey’s Anatomy. With only one doctor on duty, the process is more like molasses. The lesson here: look before you leap and be prepared to do battle with the system even if you have health insurance.

But all the experiences paled in comparison to what happened to the Owens family. That’s the family you will meet in our story. A young mom with 3 children, Tiffany Owens had a good job and good insurance. It all unraveled when she got sick, lost her job, her insurance and eventually her life. That’s scary because it could happen to any of us. But you will be inspired when you see what Tiffany’s son Marcellas and mother Gina are doing to prevent what happened to them from happening to other families. They are activists for universal health care.

It’s interesting to see how this issue has gained traction in the past four years. I wonder what the story will be in 2012?

When I came to work at KCTS in January of 1995, I was assigned a documentary project about the juvenile justice system in our state. As a news reporter, I had covered numerous crimes involving youths, but I really didn’t know that much about the juvenile system.

What I learned and eventually reported in a documentary titled “Hard Times for Juvenile Justice” was that the juvenile system was overwhelmed by a growing number of young men committing serious violent crimes. Most of the kids committing the crimes were often referred to by authorities as “gang involved”.

More than a decade later, gangs and gang-related violence continues to be a difficult challenge. This year more than a dozen “gang involved” young men, many just teenagers, have been shot to death in the Seattle area.

Our Gang Special takes an in-depth look at gangs locally and in Central Washington where some communities have moved to adopt laws banning gangs. Gangs are not just an urban problem. They are prominent in rural areas as well.

I’d like to hear your comments about gangs in our communities. Are they a problem where you live? What should we do to curb gangs? Why should we care? Please leave your thoughts here.

As a former Police Beat Reporter, I've covered and investigated a wide range of gang-related issues, but I must admit, I've never seen a more direct set of anti-gang efforts than those attempted in the Yakima Valley.

As soon as the Sunnyside city council enacted an ordinance to crack down on gang violence, it drew as many supporters as it did critics. To some nearby towns, like the communities of Union Gap and Yakima, the proposal seemed to offer common-sense solutions to address problems plaguing their neighborhoods, like burglary, robbery, drive-by shootings, and murder, that can be symptomatic of gang violence. Both cities followed Sunnyside's lead, and adopted similar ordinances.

The Sunnyside strategy offered a three pronged approach to dealing with gangs. It gave police the legal authority to define street gangs as criminal organizations, enabled law enforcement the ability to hold a known gang members' parents responsible for his or her criminal actions, and the new law made it illegal for known gang member to meet in public places. A controversial ordinance, the American Civil Liberties Union quickly raised concerns that the anti-gang laws violated peoples' civil rights, and opened the door to racial profiling. The state's Attorney General eventually determined that Sunnyside ordinance was unconstitutional, but then state legislature stepped to pass a new law that kept one aspect of the Sunnyside ordinance alive: a legal definition for police to use, statewide, that labels street gangs as criminal organizations.

Many police agencies believe the new definition of street gangs is a start, but some feel that the laws need to be tougher. After the Sunnyside ordinance passed, for instance, Police Chief Edwin Radder says there was a dramatic decrease in gang violence. Yakima Police Chief, Sam Granato believes the solution must involve early education programs, to provide alternatives to kids who might otherwise consider joining a street gang.

Also, in the Yakima Valley, I noticed there's a real effort to actually 'talk' about the problem, as opposed to covering it up as if it doesn't exist. As one person put it, gang violence isn't just a Yakima Valley problem - it's a statewide problem. So, do you feel that your local law enforcement agencies do a good job of acknowledging the problem, or is it something you feel that they could talk about more? Feel free to leave your thoughts in this space.

George Howell produced the Gangs in Sunnyside portion of the KCTS 9 Connects episode: Gang Violence

The subject of America’s vacation deprivation has been something that’s interested me since I produced the PBS documentary, Running Out of Time, with Vivia Boe back in 1994. Since then, it seems that the problem of time pressure and overwork in America, which we examined in detail in that film, has only grown more serious and in past years, while Europeans have gotten more vacation time, Americans have been losing what little they have. In working on this piece for Connects, I had an opportunity to delve more deeply into the literature and research, and interview many leading experts in the field and it’s become clear to me that shortened vacation time in America threatens both our physical and mental health, undercuts an important source of family bonding, and actually weakens our economic productivity and competitiveness.

With my colleague, Laura Pacheco, I’ve been hoping for some time to produce a full-length documentary called The Great Vacation Squeeze, about why vacations matter for Americans and what we might do to change the current situation, highlighted by a recent poll which found that half of all Americans took less than a week of paid vacation last year, while 29% got none at all.

With helpful financial support from Sierra Club Productions, I was able to spend a week in Yosemite National Park this summer working on this project. I was joined by photographers David Fox and Diana Wilmar. We spent three days backpacking in the spectacular high country of the park, where David and Diana captured exquisite footage on videotape. David carried the 25 pound HD camera, and Diana, the 20 pound tripod, in addition to their backpacking gear. I got off easy, with a few batteries. Their son, a buddy of his, and my son helped carry some of the gear.

We were surprised to find that fewer people are backpacking today in this beautiful area; even those we met said it was hard getting the time off work to take a backpacking trip. A generation ago, 80% of visitors to Yosemite stayed overnight in the park; now only 20% do, and the average stay is five hours!

After the backpack, we spent two more days in world-famous Yosemite Valley, talking with visitors about their vacations, how hard it was getting time off and why their time camping or hiking in Yosemite meant so much to them. For some campers, it was a family tradition spanning several generations. We were joined by Adrienne Bramhall, the director of Sierra Club Productions, the media arm of the environmental organization.

Adrienne had introduced us to our guide in the Valley, Ranger Shelton Johnson, one of the “stars” in Ken Burns’ upcoming 2009 PBS series about our National Parks. Shelton is a true “Renaissance” man, author of a soon-to-be-published novel, talented musician, playwright, and actor, who performs a one-man show about Yosemite’s “buffalo soldiers,” African-American regiments who patrolled the park in the early 1900s. He is also a naturalist with an amazing knowledge of Yosemite’s flora and fauna.

Shelton told us how as a child in inner-city Detroit, he found a “window to the world” in PBS nature programs and the passion they brought forth in him led him to become a ranger naturalist as an adult. He also told us he worries that it’s harder and harder for city people to really “be in” a place like Yosemite. Many have so little time off they are always rushed while in the park, while others remain leashed to watches, Blackberries, email and cell phones.

Shelton let us follow him around as he talked with park visitors at Happy Isles, a popular destination in Yosemite Valley. One man said he gets a “phantom ring.” He always thinks his cell phone is ringing even though he doesn’t have it with him. “It’s kind sad,” he commented. A doctor from New Jersey told Shelton he was on vacation, “because that’s what I prescribe for my patients.” He said many of his patients suffer from lack of time off. They need a vacation far more than they need medication or therapy. The park was filled with European and Asian visitors, every gathering place a cacophony of foreign languages. The Europeans proudly explained that they got five weeks or more of vacation each year. Americans told us they were jealous.

As an independent producer of documentaries, I often get very interested and involved in the issues I cover and this one is no exception. Since making Running Out of Time, I’ve been active in trying to champion the value of more free time for Americans, for the past six years with the Take Back Your Time organization. More recently, I’ve been involved with some leaders of the travel industry and a number of university researchers in making plans for a national Vacation Matters Summit, to be held in Washington DC late next spring.

The work has led me to research by organizations like Bellevue travel company, Expedia.com. I was delighted to include Audrey Lincoff, an Expedia executive, in this Connects piece, as well as Troy Glennon, a local small businessman. Troy runs a travel service called Go South Adventures that leads tours to Patagonia, Macchu Pichu and the Galapagos Islands. He believes policy changes will be necessary to allow Americans more vacation time, pointing to the laws in European and other industrial countries that mandate paid holiday leave.

Additionally, KCTS 9 cameraman Greg Davis shot some wonderful footage of European vacationers when he traveled with his family to Austria, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom this summer. So I had a lot of footage to work with. Intrepid intern Maria Bruce helped keep it all under control and had great suggestions for cutting this immense mass of videotape into the nine-minute piece that my Connects supervisor, Ethan Morris, wanted. Josephine Cheng generously narrated the piece so you wouldn’t have to hear my nasal voice.

It was great fun working on this piece—though it was no vacation! And it was hard cutting so much great material down to size. I still hope to make that hour-long documentary about America’s vacation deprivation. I think the subject deserves it and it’s an issue we need to take more seriously as Americans.

And feel free to leave a comment about vacation deprivation or about the show segment in this space.

Bon voyage!