Kudos to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) for making it right.The SDOT had recently hired Surface Cleaning Technologies to remove the gray paint the city agency ordered to cover a beloved, but defaced mural on an underpass at North 57th Street and Phinney Avenue North, near the Woodland Park Zoo. While it cost the city $5,000 to rectify the situation, the low-pressure wash not only removed the dreary gray and the graffiti from the colorful mural but it reminded Seattle residents that it can't take such community treasures for granted.
BLANKET DONATION: During July, the Group Health Credit Union (GHCU) is collecting new blankets for children receiving treatment at Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center.Soft blankets in infant to twin sizes can be dropped off at the Northgate GHCU branch, 11023 Eighth Ave. N.E.
AUCTION: Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St., is auctioning eight full-color autographed lithographs by artist Norman Rockwell through Aug. 9 to benefit its production program. The prints are on display in the theater's upper lobby and are auctioned on-line (www.taproottheatre.org/Rockwell.html).Taproot board chairperson Dennis McCurley donated the "Huck Finn Folio" prints for display and auction during the company's run of the musical "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."PERFORMANCE: Four North End residents will appear in Seattle Children's Theater's upcoming performances of "Cam Jansen" and "Beauty Idol."Jane Kelly and Alexa Taylor will perform in "Cam Jansen," while Sasha Conley and Emily Trabolsi will be in "Beauty Idol."Both shows run Thursday, July 24, through July 26. For show times and ticket information, call 441-3322 or go on-line to www.sct.org.
Tango is not a word that one would associate with Seattle, but that might be changing. Seattle will host the the fifth Tango Festival at the University of Washington this year. Event organizer Arturo Newman expects 500 people to attend this year. "Argentine tango is quite popular in Seattle," Newman said. "It's been here for 15 years."Seattle TangoMagic is sponsoring the festival, which will run Thursday, July 24, through 28 at the HUB Ballroom on the UW campus. It will include seminars and a live orchestra, Conjunto Berretin. Tango classes will be offered at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, and the event will also feature eight "milongas," or tango parties.
There is no turning back now - summer, 2008 - in Seattle - has finally arrived. And not a moment too soon, I might add.
INGRAHAMROCKET SCIENCE: Ten students from Ingraham High School finished 29th in the Team America Rocketry Challenge finals on May 17. Ingraham's team - Sarah Crane, Catherine Hennig, Alex Kon, Vincent Liu, Katy Loubet-Senear, Patrick Ma, Nat Mote, Nelly Nicklason, Julian Picard and Kim Smith - was the only team from Washington state to qualify.They designed, built and tested a model rocket that could fly for as close to 45 seconds and 750-feet maximum altitude while carrying two raw eggs, which would then parachute to the ground unbroken.
think it's safe to say that crime always increases during the summer months. This is because, I assume, most criminals curl up under their quilts and watch "Dancing With The Desperate American Idol Gladiators" seven nights a week during the other months of the year.
The grand opening of the Alcatraz restaurant in Othello gave Sunday, July 11, the atmosphere of a Latino fiesta. Colorful banners and miniature red, white and green Mexican flags were strung over the parking area and across the ceiling.
Police are searching for Brian Keith Brown, 28, in connection with the brutal assault that resulted in the death of a 60-year-old South Seattle man.
If you are a resident of Seattle, are available the first Wednesday of each month from 6-8 p.m. and have an interest in bicycle matters, you could serve on the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board.
Night Out, the national crime prevention event, is the first Tuesday in August, and the Columbia Citizens' planning is in full swing.
Because of their service to community and maintaining good academic standing, six middle school students who live in Beacon Hill have been awarded $500 by the mayor's office that they can give to either their school or a charity of their choice.
More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was fine by the nine to have the Environmental Protection Agency take steps to regulate global warming (Republicans spin masters, by the way, have deftly inserted "climate change" as the new softer, friendlier way to describe the warming planet, but we're not buying it), EPA chief Stephen Johnson last week, no doubt under extreme pressure from the Bush administration, declined to do anything of the sort.
We live in the age of the factoid. The Internet, full of "news" blogs with three-paragraph items. Harper's index is even reprinted now in our daily newspapers. Filler has moved front and center. I'd say it's a puzzle, but the truth is, the right type of filler is both food for thought and the bearer of an ironic smile.
The following information was provided by the city's Department of Planning and Development.