Tag Archives: Seattle in 2011

Seattle Convention Center Goes Green

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The Seattle in 2011 bid is pleased to announce that their proposed facility, the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle has gone green.

Bobbie DuFault explained to readers of the Smofs list this is a plus for the convention center, not the general philosophy of the Seattle bid: “The Worldcon bid should we win will not dictate just how green you go with your own individual endeavors. The hotels are not green either to my knowledge.”

The bid’s full press release appears after the jump.

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Roberta “Bert” Carlson Killed in Highway Fatality

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Roberta “Bert” Carlson, a Washington state fan, died the morning of July 2 after a Saturn SUV she was driving overturned. Carlson and her four passengers were on their way to the Las Vegas Westercon. The rollover occurred between Ely and Wells on U.S. 93 in east-central Nevada, closing the highway for about three hours.

“Bert” Carlson, 43, of Bothell, WA was killed at around 5:45 a.m. after her SUV started to leave the roadway and she overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll onto its roof. Three other occupants — Jon Foster, 37, from New Westminster, BC, William M. Boyde, 42, from Lynnwood, WA, and Heather M. Newman, 19, from Tacoma, WA — were transported to the Ely hospital with minor injuries. The fourth, Nick Navota, 28, from Port Orchard, Wash., suffered severe injuries to his left side and was flown to a Las Vegas hospital.

Everyone in the vehicle was wearing their seatbelt, said the Nevada Highway Patrol.

“Bert” Carlson was treasurer of the Seattle 2011 Worldcon bid, a Rustycon 26 Board Member, and a popular volunteer at Northwest science fiction conventions including OryCon.

Reno Wants the 2011 Worldcon, Too

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Patty Wells has declared a bid to hold the 2011 Worldcon in Reno, Nevada.

Other committee members listed on the newly-unveiled website are: Aaron Curtis, Vincent Docherty, Don Glover, Mark Herrup, Rick Lindsley, Tammy Lindsley, John Lorentz, Jim Mann, Laurie Mann, Ruth Sachter, Larry Sanderson, Heidi Schaub, Joe Siclari, Edie Stern, Ian Stockdale, Geri Sullivan, Marc Wells and Ben Yalow. Proposed dates are August 17-21, 2011.

Patty and several other members of the bid have hosted regional conventions in their hometown, Portland, however, running a Worldcon there isn’t an option. “Portland doesn’t have the bedrooms, but I found a place that had such good, friendly facilities and is so pretty that I almost feel disloyal to Portland for liking Reno so much,” she wrote on the Smofs list. “For those of you who’ve worked with me on worldcons before, I hope you remember the experience as a positive one, and consider the experience of me and my committee, as well as the advantages of Reno as a site, when you vote next year.”

With site selection voting for 2011 a little over a year away, this would be what Ben Yalow calls a “sprint bid,” against a Seattle in 2011 committee that announced in 2006 and began actively campaigning at Nippon 2007. Seattle’s meeting facility would be the Washington State Convention and Trade Center located in Downtown Seattle. They would hold the con in August, too, according to a bid flyer, but I have never seen a specific date proposed.

Reno in 2011’s complete press release is behind the cut.

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