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Government Inspected, produced by Greg Palmer
Shortly after the owners of KTW filed with the FCC to sell its 1250 AM frequency, Greg Palmer's run at KTW ended. There he had been hosting, what at the time was, an innovative variety of "talk radio": He interviewed, via telephone, an incredible variety of people all over the country about just about any topic imaginable. There he also wrote and produced "The Hit & Run Players", which won a George Foster Peabody award two months after KTW ceased to exist Jan 1975. Perhaps he had already been thinking about his next project, as he must have immediately submitted a proposal to the Washington Commission for the Humanities to produce a series of programs exploring the role and success of government, because the May 1975 program guide has this announcement:
KRAB has received a support grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities to produce a weekly series of programs under the general title MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS: THE STRENGTH OF FREE NATIONS?
The amount of funding approved will not be determined until after the May meeting of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The series will begin soon, with each program examining one or more official (City Council) or unofficial (supermarkets) municipal institutions. Among those already scheduled to appear –on one or more of the programs are: John Spellman, Randy Revelle, Giovanni Costigan, Herbert Kagi, Skip Brown, Charles Royer, Roger Sale, James Augerot, Wayne Cody, James Herrick, Dick Norton, Cleveland Amory, Melvin Belli, Byron Coney, and many others. On each program listeners will be invited to call in with questions or comments, and listener suggestions about topics for upcoming programs are always welcome. The series will be produced by Greg Palmer and Linda Gist.
Government inspected was planned as a weekly program running for 52 weeks. Topics included Public Transportation, the Zoo, Prisons, the Telephone Company, Animal Control, Unemployment, Schools, the Future of Education, "Redlining" and Disinvestment, Government and Sports, Sports and the Community, The Community, Health Care, Inside Harborview, the Police, Law Enforcement, Nuclear Power, and the City Council. Generally, the presentation included both recorded documentary and in-studio panel discussion.
These programs were made possible in part by a Grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In addition to Greg, other producers included Linda Gist, Aaron (Skip) Brown, Kathy Cain, and Nancy Keith.
Government Inspected: The First Program: Is the government that is closest to the people, the government that is best? - KRAB Jun 11, 1975
A look at the old cliche "the government that is closest to the people is the government that is best." Do we still believe this to be true, or did we ever? Is the relationship between the individual and his local government beneficial to both? Besides the program participants in the studio, listeners are encouraged to call in with their own questions and comments on this subject.
Live program participants will include: Dr. Herbert Kagi (Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Community Services, Seattle University); Randy Revelle (Seattle City Councilperson); Gene Peterson (Instructor, Department of Social Sciences, Seattle Community College); Karen Beach (President of the Montlake Community Club); and Greg Palmer, moderator. This program was produced by Linda Gist, and supported in part by the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The tape label puts a slightly different twist on this program: "An introduction to the series, and municipal institutions generally, as well as the humanist approach, with emphasis on beliefs of the public in local rather than federal government."
The introductory announcement at the start of the program, is delivered by Byron D Coney, long time KRAB supporter, Secretary of the Jack Straw Memorial Foundation, and KRAB's local legal counsel.
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0902.
Government Inspected: Control of the Land - KRAB Jun 24, 1975
It has been contended that there are more governmental land control organizations in Western Washington than in any other state in the union. This program will examine the control of public and privately owned land by local government, to determine what amount of control best serves the interests of the individual land owner, the people, and the land. Participants will include: Don Hopps (Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist for the Puget Sound Governmental Conference); Robert Burke (Professor of History, University of Washington); Nand Hart-Nibberk (Professor of Political Science, University of Washington); and Greg Palmer, moderator. Listeners are invited to call with questions and comments. This program was produced by Nancy Shannon and supported in part by the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
No audio yet
Government Inspected: Zoo Story - KRAB Jul 16, 1975
A program concerning the problems local government, in this case in the City of Seattle, has running a public zoo. Zoos are no longer stationary carnivals, but vital scientific centers in the struggle to save many species of animals from extinction. This has created gigantic financial and land problems for city administrators and the public. Participants will include: John Miller (Seattle City Councilperson); Jan Van Oosten (former director of the Woodland Park Zoo); James Mish'alani (professor of philosophy at the U.W.); and 47th dist. rep. Marian Sherman. As always, calls from listeners with questions and comments during the program are welcomed. This program is made possible in part by a grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
As in other programs in this series, the actual participants turned out to be a little different than announced in the guide (description above). The program was moderated by Mary Coney, English instructor at University of Washington and University of Puget Sound, and a member of the Seattle Zoo Task Force. Other participants were Dr James Foster, Acting Director, Woodland Park Zoo; David Hancocks, Consulting Architect, Woodland Park Zoo; John Miller, member, Seattle City Council; Marian Sherman, Washington State 47th District representative; Dr James Mish'alani, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Washington.
Listen now - Government Inspected: Inside Zoo Story - KRAB Jul 16, 1975 (63:01)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0786
Government Inspected: Public Transportation - KRAB Jul 23, 1975
In the past twenty years, local government has increasingly taken on the burden of moving people from one place to another. Public transportation has placed a huge financial and organizational strain on city governments, which have responded in ways ranging from incompetent to adequate. As more people take to the buses in the future, city administrators will find their problems only beginning. A live discussion of the problems of public transportation, and possible solutions to some of those problems, will include: Carl Sallye (Director of Seattle's Metro Transit); Ray Sandoval (Instructor in Political Science, University of Colorado); and Greg Palmer, moderator. (Other participants will be added prior to air-time.) Listeners are invited to call in with their questions and comments during the program. This program was produced by Kathy Cain and is supported in part by the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This was originally scheduled in the program guide for Jun 18, 1975, but appears to have been rescheduled for Jul 23, 1975. It is a live panel discussion, with called in comments and questions from the listening audience.
The discussion was moderated by Dr Ray Sandoval, Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado; and the participants were mostly as described above: Carle Salley, Director of Seattle Metro Transit (1973-1976); Paul Kraabel, Seattle City Council Member; Margaret Tunks, Citizen lobbyist for public transportation; and Larry Haines, Seattle bus driver.
Listen now - Government Inspected: Public Transportation - KRAB Jul 23, 1975 (60:57)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0787.
The Biggest Little Municipal Institution of Them All: The Prison
Part 1 - Inside Walla Walla - KRAB Jul 30, 1975
A look inside the major institution in Washington that contributes to our freedom by denying others theirs: the prison at Walla Walla. Aaron (Skip) Brown produced and hosts this documentary visit to the 
prison, accompanied by Dick Norton and Jim van Houten, philosophy instructors at Olympic College, and Frank J Eberharter, King County Superior Court Judge.
Listen now - Government Inspected: Inside Walla Walla - Part 1 - KRAB Jul 30, 1975 (85:37)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0788
Part 2 - The Prisons - KRAB Aug 6, 1975
The second part of a series on Washington State correctional facilities is a live panel discussion, with both reactions to Walla Walla from some of the people who went there, and a discussion of some of the other institutions in the state, particularly the Washington Corrections
Center at Shelton, the Main minimum security prison. Participants will be: Skip Brown, moderator, who will be joined
by two of his fellow Walla Walla tourists, Olympic College philosophy instructors Dick Norton and Jim van Houten; Richard Vernon, Superintendent of the Shelton prison, who will be accompanied by a Shelton inmate; Bruce Johnson, Chairman of the Washington State Parole Board; and by 
phone, Phillip Berrigan, one of the Catonsville Nine who has become very involved in prison reform since his release.
Listen now - Government Inspected: The Prisons - Part 2 - KRAB Aug 6, 1975 (75:46)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0789
Part 3 - The Future of Local Corrections - KRAB Aug 13, 1975
In the third program of this special series on correctional facilities in Washington, panelists will discuss where our methods of protecting society and rehabilitating criminals seem to be going, and where they should be going. Participants will include: Thomas Pinnock, Director of the State Bureau of Juvenile Rehabilitation; Harvey Chamberlain, an attorney who also teaches criminal law and penology at Seattle University;
Dr. Clarence Schrag, Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington; Skip Brown, co-producer and host of this series on Washington State corrections; and by phone, Melvin Belli, San Francisco attorney, founder of the American Trial Lawyers Association, and otherwise always described as flamboyant; Joseph Hickey, with the the Connecticut Department of Corrections, creator of a 'Just Community', a democratic prison where guards and inmates each have a vote in the decisions that effect their lives inside; Terry Brady; a Walla Walla inmate heard on the first program in this series.
Melvin Belli and Joseph Hickey were not available at the time of the live broadcast, so the participants were joined by Bob Kastma, Director of the Firlands Project.
Listen now - Government Inspected: The Prisons - Part 3 - KRAB Aug 13, 1975 (96:04)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0789
Inside Walla Walla won the 1976 OHIO STATE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
"The little known, yet highly significant subject of life inside a large, maximum security prison was skillfully and dramatically exposed through an actuality-based documentary style. Candid, personal statements by inmates, prison officials and law enforcement and court officers were woven into a compelling fabric of understanding. A sharp and often painful picture was drawn through careful editing and skillful narration. Seldom is it possible for the public at large to have the opportunity to hear the unrehearsed expressions of inmates. The result is a personal experience of impact and poignancy." -- The Ohio State Awards citation
Government Inspected: Seafair - KRAB Aug 20, 1975
Greg Palmer asks the musical question, if Seafair were never to happen again, would anyone notice?
Institutional parties like Seafair in Seattle require the teamwork and cooperation of three segments of our society that don't always see eye to eye: local business, local public interest groups (In this case Greater Seattle, Inc.) and local government. By looking at how Seafair came to be, this year and in years past, we might see how the same three groups could get together to solve some real problems of cities; in other words, if we can land 110 Sanicans on the beach, why can't we etc.
Participants in this live panel discussion will include: Arden Aegeter, Seafair Chairman for Greater Seattle; Gary Blumquist, Special Assistant to Mayor Uhlman; Robert Heilman, a Seafair Commodore and veteran columnist and reporter for the Seattle Times; and Larry Longfelder, attorney for the Mount Baker Community Club, an organization not overwhelmed by race plans this year. This program is made possible by a grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Seafair Commodore Robert Heilman and attorney Larry Longfelder couldn't make it, so Greg asked David Brewster, at that time editor of Argus and former Associate Professor of English, UW; Adam Kline, Seattle Attorney representing the Mount Baker Anti-Seafair Committee; and Dick Parker, Assistant Professor of 
Philosophy at California State University at Chico and former KRAB radio personality, to fill in. Greg Palmer moderates.
Listen now - Government Inspected: Seafair - KRAB Aug 20, 1975 (61:23)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0791
Government Inspected: The Unemployed Individual - KRAB Sep 10, 1975
The first of two programs about unemployment in the Northwest: On this live panel discussion, the social and psychological problems of the individual are discussed by some of those who deal with unemployed people, including Martin Tobin of Sea-vest and others. Moderated by former KING News service anchorperson Jim Herriot, produced by Phil Coqan and Greg Palmer, made possible in part by a grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
When the live panel happened the actual participants were: Al Bohles, Jr, Employment Orientation Instructor for Interaction; Barbara J Flint, Acting Assistant Professor of History, University of Washington (an urban historian); Shirley Morgan, professional employment counselor; Dr Jim McLernan, resident psychologist with Seavest; Bernadine Saulsberry, of the Operational Emergency Center.
The panel was moderated by Aaron "Skip" Brown, Unemployed Journalist.
Listen now - Government Inspected: The Unemployed Individual - KRAB Sep 10, 1975 (63:33)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0794
Government Inspected: Unemployment - KRAB Sep 17, 1975
Specifically, how unemployment in the Northwest can be ended and prevented from returning. Participants: Joe Davis, President of the Wash. State Labor Council; (probably) Norward Brooks, Commissioner of Wash. Employment Security Dept.; Doug Marshall, legal counsel for the Association of Washington Business: (by phone) Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith: and Councilwoman Jeanette Williams. Moderated by former KING News service anchorman Jim Herriot, produced by Greg Palmer and Phil Coqan. Made possible by a grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The actual participants: Joe Davis, Norward J Brooks, Doug Marshall, and Jeanette Williams were joined by Martha Schaeffer, Instructor of History at Olympic Community College, and Dr Walter Williams, Professor of Public Affairs, Evans School, University of Washington.
The panel was moderated by Aaron "Skip" Brown.
Listen now - Government Inspected: Unemployment - KRAB Sep 17, 1975 (82:03)
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0795
Government Inspected: A Day with the Seattle Police - Rec Mar 3, 1976; KRAB Mar 9, 1976
The program guide notes, written two weeks before the recording and production described it this way:
A 24 hour period in the institutional life of the Seattle Police, recorded within a week before the broadcast of the program. Included will be interviews with police officers and police administrators, such as Chief Robert Hanson, as well as the sounds of police officers doing their job in the community. Among those involved in the production of this documentary: Jesse Hiraoka, Dean of Ethnic Studies at Western Washington; Dick Norton, a former Seattle policeman now an Instructor in Philosophy at Olympic Community College; Dr. Herb Kagi from Seattle University; Barbara Peterson, from the U.W.; urban historian Barbara Flint; and professional broadcasters Dave Newton, Nancy Shannon, Kathy Cain, Jill Severn and Phil Cogan. Our thanks to Chief Hanson, and Tim Burgess and Gary Flynn of the Chief's office, for their assistance in the production of this program.
But the tape label, created after the production was complete, was more accurate, and tantalizing:
A documentary tour of the Seattle Police Department, recorded entirely on March 3, 1976, by: filmmaker Nancy Keith; broadcasters Dave Newton, Kathy Cain, Jill Severn and Greg Palmer; Philosophy instructor Dick Norton; Political Scientists Barbara Peterson and Lynn Iglitzen.
Among those interviewed (or heard in action) on this program: Chief Robert L Hanson; Assistant Chief Roy Skagan; Sex Crimes Unit Head Noreen Skagan; Officer David Orange; Sgt. Larry Ferrar; Officers Libby and Ellmore; Officers Parks and Bisson; Community Service Officer Paul Gustavson; Narcotics Detective Victor O Hines; attorney H. Joseph Coleman; 911 Operator Kathy Lynn; Dog trainer Larry Franklin; helicopter pilot Al Freidel; SPD psychologist Dr. John Berberich; Sgt. Ray Connery; Vice Squad detective and volunteer pseudo-prostitute Claudia; and many others.
This program was made possible by a grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, and that should be announced at its conclusion.
I asked Dave Newton about the experience and this is what he wrote:
Indeed, I was there with Greg and the others for that day with the Seattle PD.
I was the manager of Sterling Recreation Organization's KTW, for our short but eventful career on the air from fall of 1973 to January 1975. I hired Greg Palmer and many others, and departed with them all at the end, when SRO decided to shut the talk station off, literally. Later in 1976 Greg and I started a two-man radio commercial creative business, which was almost immediately merged into an ad agency, with a third partner. The agency, Jensen/Newton/Palmer, lasted until 1979, when Greg went to KING and I started my solo business.
There was one other "producer" not mentioned in the list -- Aaron Brown, also ex-KTW, who later joined KING-TV, then KIRO-TV, and ultimately ABC and CNN.
I spent a long day riding in patrol cars--maybe two days--once with a sergeant and once with a patrolman, and observed interesting calls, while recording our conversations and commentary. Greg and Aaron, who was then called Skip, edited at least one of these segments and included it in the final show.
Like other Government Inspected productions this had a second portion made up of a panel that discussed and fielded audience questions. There is a tape in the Jack Straw archives that is labeled "Government Inspected-
Law Enforcement" which may be the panel, but Jack Straw has not digitized it yet. Hopefully we will be able to share it here when they do.
Listen now - Government Inspected: A Day with the Seattle Police - Rec Mar 3, 1976; KRAB Mar 9, 1976 (62:15)
Recording courtesy Cathy Palmer
Government Inspected: The Atom on a Field of Green, Nuclear Power in the Skagit Valley - KRAB Apr 20, 1976
(Most of the programs in this series have examined a municipal institution, and how that institution is affected by public policy issues, public attitudes, and the governmental process. This program, however, reverses that format, with an examination first of the policy issue, and ultimately its effect on the municipal institutions (including the 'Community') in a particular area of this state.)
Puget Power wants to put two nuclear power plants in the Skagit Valley, one of the most productive farming areas in the U.S. Skagit County planning and government agencies have okayed the plant after years of hearings, but a strong anti-nuclear organization in the county continues bo fight the plant at state and federal levels.
The costs and technical problems of nuclear power are so complex that many citizens feel they cannot make a rational decision about its place in their community. Who should, and who does, make that decision? This documentary explores the feeling of Skagit County residents - farmers, business people, politicians - looking for the relation of community feeling to the decision making process. Humanists from Skagit County will be talking to their neighbors about the social and philosophic implications of the public policy issues surrounding nuclear power.
Among those involved in the production of the documentary, and the panel discussion that follows*, are George Alatrico, Instructor in Humanities at Skagit Valley College, and Patricia Chavez, an Instructor in Spanish at Skagit.This program was produced by Nancy Keith and Greg Palmer, and made possible in part by grant from the Washington Commission for the Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Recording courtesy of the Jack Straw Foundation, JSF inv PA0781
* The recording of the panel discussion has not yet been located
If you possess any souvenirs (program guides, tapes, or photos) or have a story about your experience with KRAB you are willing to share, please email archive@krabarchive.com