Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "wii"

The Big Lebowski Comes to Marilyn's on K

2010-10-04T01:40:48Z

The Dude abides. Twelve years after cult classic "The Big Lebowski" starring Jeff Bridges and John Goodman hit theaters, fans are still celebrating the film’s unpredictable and sometimes confusing plot, startling brute violence and hysterical, expletive-riddled dialogue, prime for quoting. Marilyn’s on K Street hosted The Big Lebowski Fiesta Friday night for these fans, and the White Russians and robes were suitably flowing.

Marilyn’s deserves some party-throwing props. The costume contest brought all the favorite Big L characters to life: the White Russian won for best female costume, and The Jesus won the male competition. The cute female in the short furry white dress and high-heeled boots won the best-of title, but not without a dispute. Jesus supporters chanted his name as the skin-tight purple sweat-suited character raised his bowling ball in triumph and pumped his pelvis in time.

One of the major factors in the longevity of the film’s popularity is its distinctly eclectic, “Dude-like” soundtrack. After the 8 o’clock showing, local bands The Nuance and Walking Spanish (almost unrecognizably disguised as the movie band The Autobahns) entertained the audience with covers from the soundtrack, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan and The Eagles. Walking Spanish didn’t disappoint with their rendition of Kenny Rogers' psychedelic gem, “Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Just a short sound test immediately following the movie was all that was needed, and the Autobahns had the joint jumping.

I wasn’t able to stay for all of The Nuance’s set, but it was nice to see our friend Larry from Old Ironsides’ open mic in a new light, playing bass and singing backup. Musically, both groups were tight. Nuance had a wider variety of songs, but Walking Spanish had the verve and energy of a younger band, despite performing a style of music not normally on their set list. Front man Alex Nelson bookended his smooth, reedy vocals with quotes from the movie as if he had auditioned for every part. However, the drummer looked a little bored with his duties, while keyboardist Chris Haislet was having so much fun his head was whipping around like a sprung jack-in-the-box. Overall they’re fresh, imposing young performers that I definitely want to see again, sans the shirt-and-tie outfits and slicked back hair.

Real White Russians were a steal at $5.50 for a generous single, and $10 for a double. Wii bowling was set up for free play, and anyone who wasn’t sashaying around in a dirty robe and flip-flops was dancing or nailing virtual strikes. Tickets were $10 at the door.

Marilyn’s threw a party worthy of The Big Lebowski. But that’s, just, like, my opinion, man.

Entercom $16 Million award covered by Insurance; License Challenges Pending

2009-11-12T00:21:48Z

Radio industry websites are reporting that the $16 million judgment in the wrongful death trial involving Jennifer Strange, the Sacramento mother of three who died as a result of a water drinking contest at Entercom Sacramento's radio station KDND, will be paid in full by the company's insurer, and no appeal will be filed in the case.

In related news, Entercom Communications 2008 Annual Report states that petitions to deny the licenses of all of six Entercom Sacramento radio stations are pending at the FCC, and that licenses of other stations are under challenge due to listener complaints.

Entercom's Report notes that should the FCC conclude that programming broadcast by their stations was obscene, indecent or profane, they could face loss of licenses or fines up to $325,000 for a single incident, with a maximum fine of up to $3.0 million for continuing violations.

From the 2008 Annual Report: "In the past, the FCC has issued Notices of Apparent Liability and a Forfeiture Order with respect to several of our stations proposing fines for certain programming which the FCC deemed to have been indecent. These cases are the subject of pending administrative appeals. The FCC has also commenced several other investigations based on allegations received from the public that some of our stations broadcast indecent programming. We have cooperated in these investigations which remain pending."

Several calls over two weeks placed to the FCC by this reporter on this matter have been ignored. Should anyone have more information about these complaints, please contact this reporter at suewilsonreports@gmail.com .

For full trial coverage, please go to www.suewilsonreports.com. To view the Jennifer Strange story on Broadcast Blues, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial: Entercom Sacramento Negligent

2009-10-29T22:50:04Z

After nine days of intense deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women today rendered a verdict against a local Sacramento radio station in the civil trial of William A. Strange et al v. Entercom Sacramento LLC and Entercom Communications Inc. et al. The trial was to determine accountability for the death of Jennifer Strange, who died as a result of a water drinking contest sponsored by Entercom Sacramento's radio station KDND.

By unanimous vote, the jury decided that Entercom Sacramento was negligent in Strange's death; by unanimous vote, they also decided that the parent company, Entercom Communications of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania was not responsible. By a vote of ten to two, the jury decided that Jennifer Strange did not contribute to her own death.

Economic damages were assessed at $1,477,118. Non-economic damages were assessed at $15,100,000.

Jurors said finding Entercom Sacramento negligent was a relatively simple decision, mostly because Entercom on-air employees ignored phone calls warning them of the dangers of the contest. They said they believed it was the responsibility of Entercom Sacramento to vet the contest with the parent company's legal department, which employees failed to do.

However, jurors reported that they were sharply divided over other issues in the case. They said no one thought Jennifer was 100 percent responsible for her death, but that two jurors thought she shared some responsibility. As only nine jurors had to agree to render a verdict, that issue was quickly decided. Deciding non-economic damages proved much more difficult, and took days of deliberations. According to juror LaTeshia Paggett, some jurors thought that criteria they'd been instructed to consider for compensation like love, companionship, and moral guidance were invaluable, and as such, the family should receive zero compensation for those areas. She said other jurors disagreed sharply and felt the compensation should have been as high as $48 million dollars. In the end, according to juror Tammy Elliott, the jury agreed to averaging the dollar amount each juror felt appropriate. "Each juror's number was weighted equally," Elliott said.

According to Entercom's annual report, Entercom Communications reports a 2008 revenue of $439 million; Sacramento is one of their more profitable markets.

The FCC is still investigating the incident.

See the Jennifer Strange story and hear actual contest audio in Public Interest Picture's Broadcast Blues. For complete trial coverage and analysis of the trial, visit SueWilsonReports.com .

Jennifer Strange Trial: Determining Damages

2009-10-18T21:32:06Z

The closing arguments in the case of William Strange et al vs Entercom not only summed up the case for the jury, but presented them with guidelines for determining compensation should they find Entercom liable for the water drinking death stemming from KDND's January 2007 "Hold Your Wii to Win a Nintendo Wii" radio contest.

Sacramento Bee reporter Andy Furillo and KOVR CBS 13 reporter David Begnaud reported that plaintiiff attorney Roger Dreyer is seeking more than $24 million, and plaintiff attorney Harvey Levine is seeking an additional $12 million. They report that Defense attorney Don Carlson told the jury $4.5 million would be more appropriate compensation.

But those broad numbers downplay the detailed instructions given to the jury by the court on how to determine the proper level of compensation. Attorneys are not asking for punitive damages in this case, but rather for economic and non-economic damages for the 2.75 years since Jennifer died and the 51.75 years she would be expected to live.in the future.

First, should the jury find Entercom liable, they must determine the direct economic impact of Jennifer's death on the family. Jennifer was the bigger wage earner in her family, and the jury was given some rather straightforward instructions on determining how much money Jennifer would have contributed to her family's finances had she lived.

Second, the jury was given a much more complicated set of standards established by the court (not the attorneys) by which to determine non-economic compensation. For each of the Plaintiffs, (husband Billy, daughter Jorie, 3, son Ryland, 6, and son Keegan, 13,) the jury must consider compensation for each of the following factors individually: Love, Companionship, Comfort, Care, Assistance, Society, Moral Stewardship, Training, Guidance, and in the case of her husband, Physical Intimacy.

It is pretty simple to calculate how much money Jennifer would have earned had she lived. But how do you put a number on the damage done to a little girl who will never know her mother's love? How do you put a number on the damage done to a little boy who will never have his mother's moral stewardship? Or to a teenager who will never again have his mother's guidance? Or to a husband who will never again know his wife? There are no easy answers to those questions, but those are the questions this jury will likely have to decide.

Dreyer suggested that each of those areas should be compensated between $100,000 to $150,000; Carlson suggested far less compensation for each area.

How much would each one be worth to you?

For full coverage of the trial, please go to www.suewilsonreports.com . To see the Broadcast Blues story and to hear actual audio of the contest, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv .

Jennifer Strange Trial: Who was Jennifer?

2009-10-13T20:00:27Z

Roger Dreyer began the morning by reminding the jury what this trial is all about: Jennifer Strange.

While I have focused heavily on the corporate aspects of the trial, I think it a good time to reflect on the woman at the core of this trial, Jennifer.

By all accounts, she was much loved and respected. Here was a single mother, who gave birth to her elder son Keegan when she was just seventeen, who focused her life on that little boy. She exhibited remarkable maturity for a girl her age, and she sheparded her son into the GATE program for gifted children. She attended every parents teacher conference, she spearheaded activities at her son's school, and dhe became good friends with her son's teacher, who said that Keegan worshipped Jennifer.

At the same time, Jennifer worked her way up in the radiological lab where she worked up the ranks into a supervisory position. At age 28, she was earning in excess of $60,000 a year, and her co-workers loved her. They found her style of management uplifting and encouraging, and said she always would find a way to allow people learn in their own way.

Jennifer was a stalwart friend. She was someone who would always be there to help, be it with a wedding, a new baby, or help getting a new job. And she was the kind of person who would help her friends without ever being asked.

Her children were the focus of her life; her husband Billy even admitted so, but it didn't bother him. Birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas, coloring Easter eggs, she would make a big deal of them all.

She was loving, in an overt way. She would tell her children and husband and friends she loved them, she wasn't shy about it.

And they say that when Jennifer Strange entered the room, her smile preceded her.

A lot of people really miss Jennifer Strange.

Jennifer Strange Trial Coverage: The Defense Begins, Then Rests

2009-10-06T23:14:22Z

Defense attorney Don Carlson, who represents Entercom Sacramento and Entercom Communications Inc., called his first witness to the stand this morning. Stephany Fiore, Forensic Pathologist for the Sacramento County Coroner's office had conducted the autopsy on Jennifer Strange.

Fiore testified that while she had done a couple of autopsies with cases of hyponatremia, she had never done a case of acute water intoxication.

She testified that in her research, she discovered 18 cases of people who died from water intoxication, and that 15 of those cases involved people who were severe psychotics; the other three were either marathon runners or military trainees.

Under questioning from Plaintiff attorney Roger Dreyer, Fiore said it would be "pretty easy to find information on water intoxication, you can google it." When asked if water intoxication can produce euphoria, she said she had not read that, but that it could cause confusion, coma, seizure, and death. She also said that more than one and a half liters of water could be very bad. Dreyer established that 6 eight ounce bottles of water were about equivalent to 1 1/2 liters, and that 6 16 ounce bottles would have equaled 3 liters per hour.

In his questioning, Dreyer referenced the criminal investigation which had been launched, but then dropped, in the matter. Defense attorney Carlson, outside the jury's presence, told the judge that motions had been made and approved that no mention be made of "criminal investigation, and that saying that in the presence of the jury was very prejudicial. Carlson made a motion for mistrial. Judge Phillips denied that motion, but agreed to give an admonition to the jury to disregard that statement.

Carlson next called Entercom Director of Engineering and IT manager Rick Rapalee. Rapalee was instructed by Entercom immediately after the water drinking death to save all archives of the contest, including the Morning Rave shows the week before which promoted the Wii contest.

Carlson played several clips of the promotion:
1-08-07, 6:44 AM "All of you will be drinking the same amount of water every fifteen minutes; the last person standing wins the Wii."
1-08-07 7:45 AM "We're going to give them water every fifteen minutes."
1-09-07 7:33 AM "If you qualify, every fifteen minutes, contestants
will have to drink 8 ounce or 16 ounce glass of water, and keep drinking until the last person standing."
1-09-07 7:47 AM Jennifer Strange calls the station to try to qualify
for the contest.
1-10-07 7:10 AM "Going to be drinking water every fifteen minutes, the last person standing without going wee wins."

Dreyer asked Rapalee whether he had listened to the entire broadcasts, he said no, he had been directed by the defense team to find out at what times those clips had played during the broadcasts. He had not listened to what was said before or after each clip, nor had he been asked to go through the entire broadcasts to find every reference to the Wii contest.

Carlson next called Wii contestant Ronald Mendoza. Mendoza was a regular listener of the Morning Rave, and had been in Entercom contests before.

Carlson asked Mendoza what he'd heard about the contest on the radio. He said that the Wii would be the prize, that they'd be outside in light clothing, they'd be drinking water, and that the last person stadning would win. Carlson: Quantities of water? Mendoza : Yes.

He told Carlson that when he'd been qualified for the contest, a woman who he thought was Liz Diaz told him the rules over the phone: they'd be standing in the cold weather, wearing something thin, if you vomited, something like that, you're put of the contest. Carlson: So you knew before you got to the radio station if you urinated yourself or vomited you're out? Mendoza: Correct.

Carlson asked whether before this contest, Mendoza was aware of the Chico incident; Mendoza said yes, but that he did not draw any similarites, because in Chico it was against his will, it was not voluntary. Carlson asked whether he understood he could leave the Wii contest at any time; Mendoza said he did.

Carlson asked whether he's heard the radio playing during the contest; Mendoza said he had, but he had not heard any calls warning of problems with the contest.

Mendoza also said that there was a general consensus amongst the
contestants to move to larger bottles to get the contest over quicker.

He also said he'd dropped out because other contestants seemed more determined to win the Wii, and he took movie tickets instead.

Plantiff attorney Dreyer asked him about the Chico incident; Mendoza said he had heard of that death, but didn;t know the details.

Dreyer: You trusted Entercom? You never thought this radio station
would ever run a contest that could have results like Chico? Mendoza: True. Dreyer: You trusted they would never expose you to danger? Mendoza: Yes. Dreyer: You believed they would research this? Mendoza: True.

Carlson called one more contestant, then rested his case. More on that testimony tomorrow.

For video of the Jennifer Strange story, and actual audio of the Wii contest, please go to www.broadcastblues.tv . For full trial coverage, go to www.SueWilsonReports.com .