We’re proud to announce a news partnership with a Seattle-based media outlet you may have heard of – The Seattle Times – as The Waterland Blog and four of its sister sites (along with three other local blogs) are now part of The Times’ innovative local news site partnership!

What does this mean for us? Hopefully, more exposure for our stories (as well as for Southwest King County area news), as The Times will now be posting and linking to content originally created by us. Also, we will now be “official” partners with them, which means we’ll be posting more relevant stories from their outstanding staff, including such luminaries as Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter Susan Kelleher, who just happens to be the sister of one of our best friends (screenwriter Tim Kelleher).

We see it as a definite win-win for both parties, as well as for our Readers.

On a personal note, just seeing the iconic, classic old-school Seattle Times logo on this site gives me goosebumps. When I was a kid in sixth grade, I “published” my first “newspaper” called The Seattle Star (yes, I stole the name from a defunct old Seattle paper), and I remember spending hours hand-drawing its logo to look just like the font used by The Times. I think the logo was the best part of that publication, which consisted mostly of jokes stolen from Mad Magazine, and for which I charged 25-cents to any sucker family member who’d take pity on me.

Amazing how life comes back at you with surprises isn’t it?

Here’s what The Seattle Times has to say about our partnership (here’s a link to their announcement):

The Seattle Times is expanding its partnerships with local news Web sites with the addition of eight more sites today. That brings the total number of partner Web sites to 27. (See the complete list, along with their latest headlines.)

Partnering with The Times today are:

• Shoreline Area News and editor Diane Hettrick.
• My Edmonds News and editor Teresa Wippel.
• The B-Town Blog (Burien), as well as four other sites operated by Scott Schaefer: The Waterland Blog (Des Moines), Normandy Park Blog, Tukwila Blog and SeaTac Blog.
• Surrounded By Water (Mercer Island) and editor Ellie.
  

The Times’ effort to build community-news relationships began last August with the launch of the Networked Journalism project. Read about that project here.

The other partner sites are:

• Capitol Hill Seattle Blog
• Central District News
• Fremont Universe
• Magnolia Voice
• My Ballard
• PhinneyWood.com
• Queen Anne View
• Rainier Valley Post
• Seattle Local Health Guide
• West Seattle Blog
• White Center Now
• Aurora | Seattle
• Beacon Hill Blog
• Eastlake Ave. Blog
• Kirkland Views
• MLTnews.com
• Redmond Neighborhood Blog
• Seattle Beer News
• Three Sheets Northwest

The Seattle Times has a great photo gallery of pics taken during the recent filming of a science fiction film called “The Penitent Man,” which was shot at Des Moines’ Landmark on the Sound.

The film is a science fiction drama that stars actor Lance Henrikson, who played the android in “Alien,” as well as being featured in around 169 other movies. It is scheduled to premiere in Seattle sometime in 2010.

The production is a locally funded, directed and produced major independent film, and Mike Boydstun, the Director of Photography, is an old friend and co-worker of WLB Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer from KING-TV’s “Almost Live!”

The film is Directed by Nicholas Gyeney, who also c-wrote it along with Trevor Tillman, along with a crew of at least 20.

Here’s a direct link to The Seattle Times photos.