Seafair is over.Now we head into the dog days of summer.Before we find ourselves there, though, let us praise the volunteers who have made our summer festivals possible.Last Friday and Saturday arrived for Magnolia Summer Festival in classic August fashion: cool, cloudy mornings giving way to afternoon blue. The festival featured an imaginative range of music and entertainment, interesting artwork, baby races, parades, a sidewalk sale and outdoor movie, accompanied by the sound of the breeze playing in those majestic poplars in a row between the Village and Magnolia Playfield.
Congratulations to Geov Parrish for writing on the foolish nightclub ordinance before the Seattle City Council ("The mayor's obsession," Aug. 1). I have been speaking and discussing on this issue throughout my campaign. What people of this city don't see is that the mayor and the city council are pitting the residences against the nightclub owners, and thus doing their dirty work for them. The mayor and his posse think that nightclubs and residences don't mix. That's bunk.
Thanks to Canlis Restaurant for hosting a festive neighborhood celebration last Sunday. A happy throng mingled at "Little Howe" Park on Warren Avenue, enjoying picnic food cooked by Canlis staff, together with music and games.While neighbors munched and chatted, getting acquainted or reconnecting, their kids played fire-hose games organized by firefighters from the Queen Anne station
Thank you for your tremendous support and the understanding expressed for the house move from Boston and Second to 2506 Fourth Ave. N. and Smith Street this past weekend. Not only was it amazing to see the 100-year-old home make its way slowly down the street ... we were also encouraged to see our community come out and meet each other at 2 a.m.
During the 19 days of construction, freeway ramps will also close, including the Spokane Street and Columbian Way on-ramps to northbound I-5, and the northbound I-5 exit to Fourth Avenue South. The Spokane Street on-ramp to northbound I-5 will be closed for two weekends. The Columbian Way on-ramp to northbound I-5 will be closed throughout construction from Aug. 10 through 29. The northbound I-5 exit to Fourth Avenue South will be closed for three workdays. For one weekend drivers on northbound I-5 will be unable to access the northbound on-ramp to I-90 and exits to Dearborn, James and Madison streets. James and Madison streets exits will remain accessible from westbound I-90 or eastbound SR 519.
Some are frightened. Some have made plans, and some haven't. But, scared or not, with or without plans, the I-5 construction can't be stopped.Unless, of course, it rains. Assuming it won't rain though, the I-5 closure will not only test drivers' flexibility, but also the flexibility of businesses along the alternate routes.With an estimate of at least 50 percent of the cars taking alternate routes, the closure will most significantly cause backups through Georgetown, Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley. And for the businesses along streets like Airport Way, one of the main alternate routes during construction, losing their customers seems more likely than not.
I am writing in response to the negative opinion piece ["Message of unity muddled at All Nations Cup soccer tournament finale at Memorial Stadium"] that ran last week in the paper about the All Nations Cup. As the founder of the event, I feel I need to help explain why Sister Communities continues struggling against many odds to hold All Nations Cup each year. It is understandable that the random visitor to the All Nations Cup Championship Games Day last weekend may have left feeling disappointed at the poor sportsmanship displayed. Even as the founder and director of the event for the last five years, I felt very much out of sorts at the end of the game when I should have been celebrating the end of another successful event. This was a situation where one individual can ruin an event for everyone. The outstanding 4-1 win of Brazil against Russia was overshadowed for me by the unfortunate behavior of one player at the end of the game.
As the sun's soothing rays beamed down, I was perfectly content toiling away in my own Garden of Eden. It was not so long ago the thought of tilling soil becoming my new found sanctuary was as remote of a possibility as this once avowed carnivore going meatless. Now that I am inadvertently both a vegetarian and a gardener, I have come to appreciate that our life's circumstances are often a matter of timing. As a 47-year old empty nester responsible for a decomposing patch of ground, I found myself drawn to the simplicity and solitude of my own urban oasis. I vividly remember the rather contentious discussions I would have with my now-deceased wife over the merits of gardening.
CORRECTION: According to Susan Reams at the Washington State Liquor Control Board, the listing her office submitted last week claiming the Genesee Shell and Mini-Mart, at 3611 S. Genesee St., had its liquor license discontinued was incorrect. The convenience store's license is in good standing with the state.
Seattle Parks and Recreation is once again opening up the Helene Madison Pool, 13401 Meridian Ave. N., to dunking doggies before the pool closes for its regular every-18-month preventative maintenance. The heated pool will open to dogs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11. Admission is $10 per dog.
Despite rumors to the contrary, the proposed mixed-use QFC-and-residential project at Stone Way North and North 40th Street has not been canceled, and the property is not on the market - at least not yet."That's not our first choice," said Kristin Maas, a spokesperson for QFC, a division of Kroger. "We want to move forward and make it work."The project was put on hold "indefinitely" earlier this summer because of rising construction costs, but QFC is trying to work around that problem, according to Maas.<
Some are frightened. Some have made plans, and some haven't. But, scared or not, with or without plans, the Interstate 5 construction can't be stopped.Unless, of course, it rains. Assuming it won't rain, though, the I-5 lane closures will not only test drivers' flexibility, but also the flexibility of businesses and residents along the alternate routes.With an estimate of at least 50 percent of the cars taking alternate routes, the closure will most significantly cause backups through Georgetown, Beacon Hill and Rain-ier Valley.
After a fire that destroyed their business and their home, two men are finding the silver lining among the smoky debris.When they first heard the smoke alarm, Doug Stacy went downstairs and found flames taller than him.Upstairs, Don Stayner soon found himself trapped by smoke. Five more minutes, Stacy said, and it would have been too late.Now, 11 days after they escaped the fire, Stacy and Stayner have already made tremendous headway toward rebuilding their home and their business, ArtFx Gallery, 420 N. 35th St.
On July 28, the small Fremont art gallery and gift shop ArtFx caught fire. The building survived mostly, but flames, heat and smoke destroyed the entire stock of art and crafts. In a moment, business owners Doug Stacey and Don Stayner lost everything.Property manager DeeDee Footer is an admitted worrier. "Some people are worst-case scenario people - like me." At one time, she volunteered with the American Red Cross and taught CPR/First Aid. "You'd be surprised at the number of people who laugh at me when I take a first-aid kit along," she said. Camping, hiking and in her car, DeeDee likes to be prepared.
The last few months have seen noteworthy additions to the Pacific Northwest poetry canon. All three sources have North Seattle connectionsIn April, Poet's House Press in Anacortes published"Taos Mountain," a posthumous collection by Robert Sund. Sund, who died in 2001 at age 71, is a Northwest legend: poet, calligrapher, musician and personage who seemed to have stepped out of the mists of the Tang Dynasty. Upper Fremont's Paul Hunter's just-issued book of poems is "Ripening," from Silverfish Review Press. It follows on the heels of "Breaking Ground," which won the 2005 Washington Book Award for poetry.Limbs of the Pine, Peaks of the Range," an anthology of 26 poets, came out in June. Poets include Michael Spence, J. Andrew Rodriguez, Sharon Hashimoto, Derek Sheffield, Richard Wakefield, Joannie K. Strangeland and Victoria Ford.