<h1>SIDEWALK SERIES: His focus is on the community</h1>
<h3>Moscow man's Web site dedicated to happenings around town</h3><p id="byline">By Tara Roberts, Daily News staff writer</p> <p id="storydate">Posted on: Tuesday, June 17, 2008</p>
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<p class="storybody">Tom Hansen first fell in love with Idaho many years ago.</p>
<p class="storybody">He
and his wife, Rodna, drove through the Silver Valley on a cross-country
trip in the late 1980s. He knew he'd found something special when he
looked out and saw the mountains and pine trees.</p>
<p class="storybody">"The first thing I said was I was gonna die of old age in Idaho," said Hansen, 57.</p>
<p class="storybody">He moved to Moscow to study information systems at the University of Idaho in 1992, and has lived here ever since.</p>
<p class="storybody">He
decided to celebrate his love of the town and its people by founding a
Web site dedicated to happenings around Moscow. The site,
<a href="http://www.moscowcares.com">www.moscowcares.com</a>, was launched a year ago.</p>
<p class="storybody">Moscow
Cares mainly features information about local government and arts and
culture events. Hansen posts videos about Moscow City Council
discussions each week. </p>
<p class="storybody">"What
primarily I'm interested in there is getting local citizens involved in
local government, especially local politics," Hansen said.</p>
<p class="storybody">As an avid photographer, Hansen also enjoys taking pictures and videos of local bands and artists for Moscow Cares.</p>
<p class="storybody">He
is a fixture at the Moscow Farmers Market, where he snaps photos of
marketgoers and tapes the weekly musical performance. His site also
features events like Renaissance Fair, Rendezvous in the Park and the
city's Fourth of July celebration.</p>
<p class="storybody">Hansen
had his camera ready when several feet of snow dumped on Moscow this
winter, closing local schools, businesses and the University of Idaho.</p>
<p class="storybody">"If any special activities happen, I try to be there," he said.</p>
<p class="storybody">Hansen said he'll include anything on his site "that just kind of emphasizes Moscow."</p>
<p class="storybody">He
grew up in Los Angeles, where "you've got 7 million people with 10
million attitudes," he said. Conversely, people in Moscow have
different opinions but share a laid-back and friendly attitude. </p>
<p class="storybody">"If you can put it on the Web where people from out of the area can see it, it's easier to explain," he said.</p>
<p class="storybody">Hansen
said the response to Moscow Cares has been overwhelmingly positive. He
is working on making the site reflect Moscow's past, present and
future. </p>
<p class="storybody">He has gathered
many old photographs of the area and UI, mostly bought on eBay, and
posted them. He also collects old UI and Moscow High School yearbooks,
and is trying to create electronic copies of as many MHS yearbooks as
he can.</p>
<p class="storybody">His oldest yearbook
dates back to 1907. Some of his favorites include one when Larry Craig
was UI student body president, and a 1928 yearbook that has
advertisements for Creighton's department store, which only recently
went out of business.</p>
<p class="storybody">Hansen said he'll soon add a section to Moscow Cares where people can share their ideas for the future of Moscow.</p>
<p class="storybody">He
also plans to continue adding footage of as many local bands and
performances as he can. The self-proclaimed "music nut" said he loves
pretty much any band and type of music, but favors classic R&B and
rock.</p>
<p class="storybody">"I'm 57, but I still rock," he said.</p>