Dave Meyer

2012 will be a big year for TV, voice recognition and Amazon.com.

Strategic News Service publisher Mark Anderson has issued his list of top 10 technology predictions for 2012.  He shares some of the highlights on The Digital Future with KPLU's Dave Meyer. 

Greg Heberlein and Dave Meyer usually talk about ways to save and invest money. But on this week's Money Matters, they concentrate on how to give it away!

Charitable giving is more important than ever this year. Thanks to the ailing economy, federal, state and local governments have less money to help the needy. More and more people are turning to nonprofit organizations for help.

Air quality is worsening in Pierce County. 

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has raised the burn ban in Pierce County to Stage 2. No burning is allowed in ANY wood-burning fireplaces, wood stoves, fireplace inserts (certified or uncertified) or pellet stoves. The only exception is if a wood stove is a home's only adequate source of heat.

The end of the year is a great time to review your finances. Are you saving enough for retirement?

According to U.S. News & World Report, about a third of all Americans have nothing saved for retirement. Fortunately, it's never too late to start building your nest egg.

On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein and KPLU's Dave Meyer look at ways to prepare for "the golden years".

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is lifting the burn bans for Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has signed a resolution designating a Downtown Historic Theatre District.

The resolution, unanimously approved by the Seattle City Council, supports the preservation, promotion and maintenance of five historic venues: The 5th Avenue Theatre, The Paramount Theatre, The Moore Theatre, ACT – A Contemporary Theatre and Town Hall Seattle.

As of Tuesday, nearly all of Joint Base Lewis McChord's soldiers will have left Iraq. 

A group of 170 soldiers is returning to JBLM on Tuesday. It includes members of the 17th Fires Brigade and 62nd Medical Brigade. Their charter flight arrives at McChord Field at 4 p.m.

Vancouver, B.C. comes in 5th on Mercer's 2011 Quality of Living survey, while Seattle is ranked at 48 (just below New York City).

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has issued its first burn ban of the season.

A large ridge of high pressure off the Pacific coast is bringing stagnant air conditions to the region.

A Stage 1 burn ban goes into effect at 5 p.m. today for Pierce and Snohomish counties and will stay in effect until further notice.

Sophia and Jacob top the list of most popular Washington baby names in 2010. Jacob was also the most popular name for boys nationwide, while Isabella topped the national list for girls (Sophia was #2).

According to the Washington Department of Health, 42,233 girls and 44,247 boys were born in the state in 2010. There were 474 Sophias and 416 Jacobs.

It's official: China and Russia are the two biggest sources of cyber espionage attacks against the United States.

The Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive singled out those two nations in a recent report to Congress (coincidentally, it's been difficult to reach the counterintelligence website since the report came out and those links may not work).

Should you spend more this holiday season and give the economy a boost? Or cut back on shopping and save your money for possibly tougher times ahead?

That's quite a conundrum.

The West Nile virus season is over, and the state Department of Health reports there were no human cases of the disease in Washington this year, nor were any birds or horses found to be infected.

Back in 1971, the surreal-humor group, The Firesign Theatre, released one of its most popular albums: I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus. Three members of the quartet ... Phil Austin, Peter Bergman and David Ossman ... now live in the Puget Sound region. The fourth member, Phil Proctor, resides in Southern California.

All four will be marking the 40th anniversary of “Bozos” in shows this Friday and Saturday at the Kirkland Performance Center. 

McCormick and Schick's Seafood Restaurants are a popular dining choice in the Seattle area. The Portland-based company is being sold to Houston-based Landry's Restaurants.

On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein says the sale demonstrates why you should be skeptical about the recommendations of securities analysts.