Porter Spencer

INDY GOES FILIPINO: Copies of The Independent are showing up in far-flung corners of the world, but this shot from Porter Spencer—who manages hydraulic lift equipment for Bardex Corporation in Goleta—was the first we’ve seen from Asia, specifically Batangas in the Philippines. That’s where Spencer was surveying a ship lift his company installed in 1978. The trip requires a 30-hour plane flight that he uses to catch up on his reading. That includes our paper, which Spencer’s been reading since he moved to town in 1989. “I have enjoyed watching The Indy mature recently,” he said. “With the advent of the Internet and the hole left by the News-Press, The Indy has really developed. The quality of the stories and thought that goes into them is commendable.”