May 2 Continuity Update

Construction update: Tons of photos below!

Demolition continues in the old building! The old newsroom is stripped of carpeting and electrical fixtures, leaving the impression that it is very much just an attic again. The area where programming folks use to have desks has been denuded of all finished surfaces, and the area where music folks once sat is reaching that state soon.

In new construction, work continues on Studio One and it's really taking shape. Retractable seating has been installed in the back wall, and sound panels are up in the ceiling. Around the exterior of the building, you can see that topsoil has been brought in and landscaping is beginning. Spring!!

One disruption likely to come our way: construction noise in the corner voice booth that is just underneath the large mezzanine conference room.The sound panels will be installed by hand drills, and that means a pleasant lilting soundscape for the folks who work nearby. (Timing TBD.)

Performance Studio is out of commission! The CD library has been boxed up and will be stored there until its new home is ready to receive the CDs back on the shelves. There's enough space to duck in for a one-on-one chat or phone call, but it's not so good for a meeting.

Parking-palooza
Please use spaces marked in yellow. (Taking the bus and carpooling, always a good option.)

Answers to your questions:

How and from whom can we get mats for our standing desk? Our feet hurt!
Thank you for your patience! Laurie sent an email last week with a link to SurveyMonkey - this is your method of officially requesting your standing mat. They aren't cheap, and the more expensive ones are a nifty convertible sit/stand mat. Anecdotally, this is what we've heard: if you stand all the time, the lesser expensive super cushy mat is great for you; if you sit and stand, the convertible mat is better because it lets you go from sitting to standing without having to maneuver the mat and your chair under the desk, possibly hitting your head in the process, and prompting paperwork for a workplace injury. (Really, this is all about avoiding paperwork.) And, if you are not a stander, spare the expense and don't request a mat. We hope the mats will be ordered and here within two weeks.

It seems like it would be nice (on some occasions) that we could monitor the VPR broadcast network en masse in the newsroom. It may be possible that on some days we might even want it in the background?
House audio is planned for the cafe, lobby, restrooms and the outdoor patio. There is no house audio system built into the newsroom. The Studio One green room will likely have a regular radio, and the audio system in the Master Control green room hasn't changed.

What's with all the stuff in the Green Room? And all the stuff in the TOE Wing?
CD boxes were taking up some space last week in the Green Room, but they are gone now. We're making some effort to thin out the amount of stuff that's migrated into the Green Room. If you've had the inclination to think, 'I don't know where this thing goes, I'll leave it in the Green Room while no one's looking, maybe someone will want it or recognize where it should go and move it there....' the next thought should be, 'No, no, no.' (Speaking of which, a man's suit was left on a horse ring in the Green Room two weeks ago. It's now on the lobby coat rack.)

The boxes overflowing with cables, keyboards and connectors around the TOE area is a trickier problem. A lot of it will end up as e-waste, but the engineers want a chance to sort it and reclaim the useful items. The thing is, they're kind of busy building new studios and computer networks for us, so this is on the back burner for now.

Our question to you: How's the kitchen?
Laurie and Heather are meeting this afternoon to look at the long-term unpacking and details for the kitchen and pantry area. Meanwhile, we've been using the kitchen in it's 95% complete state. How's it working? Please use comments section below. Suggestions that are simple and cost-effective to implement are especially welcome (i.e., slide-out racks for the coffee mug cabinet; as opposed to, please reorient the fridge so that it faces north). Anything that relates to how people are using the space (i.e., are the dishes in the sink clean and drying, or dirty and waiting for elves?) will be thrown into the mix at Wednesday's etiquette workshop.

PHOTOS!!

The CD library is boxed safely and neatly in the Performance Studio, awaiting its future home.

Robin and Brian's former office, and just beyond is the escape hatch from the old newsroom,
approximately where the glass doors once opened into the Music Library.

Former home of programming staff.

The membership services windows, gone! (Presumably they'll be replaced.)

Studio One, the stage side of the room.
The construction guy asked me if we're planning to do cooking shows in here.

Studio One's retractable theater seating on the wall opposite the stage.

Control room for Studio One will double as a production studio.
For now it doubles as storage for sound panels.