Seattle is a city with a rich tradition of strong neighborhoods. Residents take pride in their community and work toward preserving its character and livability. On Capitol Hill, my home since 1987, I've enjoyed the opportunity to live in a walker's paradise, a neighborhood of single-family homes, apartments, condos and townhouses, where one can stand on 15th Avenue and catch glimpses of the sun setting behind the Olympics.While I love my neighborhood, the profusion of transient homeless people, many of whom are often inebriate and aggressive panhandlers, weighs on my mind and conscience. I've noticed a worsening of the homeless problem, coinciding with the economic downturn Seattle experienced over the past four years. Many say the toughening of liquor laws in Pioneer Square also pushed the problem onto Capitol Hill.
The public's right to know what government officials are up to is under attack - again. This time in the state Legislature. Last spring, a 5-4 vote in the state Supreme Court made it acceptable to withhold records from public scrutiny, as long as the records had anything to do with communications between a lawyer and a government agency or official.Prior to that case, Hangartner v. City of Seattle, attorney-client privilege applied only if the sought-after records concerned "completed, existing or reasonably anticipated litigation." The Supreme Court also ruled in the same case that public information was exempt from disclosure if the requests for it were over-broad.The ill-conceived ruling flies in the face of the Public Disclosure Act and related court cases that say the best government is a transparent government.
Three years ago, KBSG FM midday deejay Mark Christopher received a complimentary Christmas album from the Ventures, the seminal '60s instrumental rock band whose twangy surf classics include "Walk, Don't Run" and the theme to "Hawaii 5-O."Christopher, 35, decided to send a Christmas card to The Ventures, little suspecting that he was opening the door on an adventure that would include truckloads of beach sand, an ongoing petition to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an appearance before the Washington State Legislature and a crowning show by the Ventures on Saturday, March 12, at the Premiere Club Showroom in Downtown Seattle.It was, as they say, the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
The grand unveiling and dedication of the Meany Middle School Book Wall takes place at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, in the school's main hall with all the music, fun and folderol you would expect from a five-month project involving 250 students and 50 adult volunteers.The public is invited. That is, if repairs go well. Workers hanging the mural last weekend included volunteer parents who pounded with hammers and shook things loose. Crashing sounds and muttered apologies were the sounds of the day, but Princess Shareef, the school principal, and Chris Cocklin-Ray, the artist in residence who oversaw the project, beamed. Cocklin-Ray encouraged them, saying that the repairs would be easy.
Maybe it's the weather, but new development projects seem to be popping up just about everywhere. Turn a corner and you might see a white city permit application sign sprouting like dandelions.For better or worse, such projects by their nature portend change for the neighborhood. One such project planned for 15th Avenue East fits this bill. A four-story, mixed-use building with underground parking is slated to be built on the corner of East John Court and 15th Avenue East. This places it one block south of the Safeway and across the street from Group Health.The project is still in its very early stages - an early design guidance meeting was held in mid-February, meaning permits are far from being granted and construction equipment won't be on the scene for quite awhile. But as proposed, there will be street level retail on the ground floor and three floors of apartments above.
It began as a class project. Seven University of Washington business majors needed to develop a company for their entrepreneur class. What they came up with was greeting cards for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) community.The cards - some with historic photographs and some with art by a graphic designer - are tasteful, dignified and unlike anything you would find in a Hallmark store. Or a sex shop."The majority of cards are kind of tacky, and it made me kind of angry," Martha Reyes said of the other cards targeting the LGBT community. "And I'm not gay."In fact, six of the seven members of the group behind Happy Greetings are heterosexual. The idea for the cards came from a desire to start a business that was inexpensive to get into (greeting cards) and then find an underserved niche. The rest, as they say, is history - or will be history.
Hockey player-psychotherapist-Buddhist-flutist Brena Lever has many interests. This Saturday, March 12, she will perform as a featured soloist with the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra at Town Hall."The thing is that I'm not busy enough," Lever said. "I have the potential to be really busy."'Falling into place'Lever has played the flute since she was 12 years old. She started out wanting to play the trumpet, drums or clarinet, but her mother convinced her to take up the flute. When she played with a band for the first time, in seventh grade, she knew that was what she wanted to do in life.
On the cover of author Pamela Sackett's perfectly square book "Saving the World Solo" is a photograph of her at age 3. The photo has been modified so that she is stepping out of its confinement into a star-filled background and landing on top of the Earth. "We want the book to be approachable, secure, stable and fun - all of the things that it addresses and attempts to teach," said Sackett's husband, Daniel.In a way Sackett has stepped out of her square comfort zone in publishing her 2004 memoir and allowing readers to wander in a nonlinear way through her life. As a writer, actor, teacher and founder of a nonprofit organization that uses art as an educational tool, she hopes to bring public awareness to the power that emotions can carry.
Fremont is a state of mind. Ask me about the boundaries - where Fremont lets off and Wallingford begins - and that's the answer I give automatically. I don't do it just to irritate; I can give clear lines of demarcation.The east side of Fremont runs south along Stone Way from North 50th Street. South of 40th Street the line takes a small jog east for one or two blocks (it zigzags) before ditching into Lake Union. That is our border. Wallingford's border, however, runs crisply south about five blocks west of Stone, on Highway 99 (Aurora for those of you who live here), which neatly bisects our community. On maps, Wallingford appears smartly boxed between Aurora and I-5, except for the strong black line of Fremont's border slicing out a sizeable chunk.The City of Seattle Department of Planning & Development calls this gray area of overlap the Joint Planning Area (JPA). Gregory Hill, a resident who lives in the shaded space, more concisely refers to it as "the disputed area."
The public's right to know what government officials are up to is under attack - again. This time in our state Legislature. Last spring, a 5-4 vote in the state Supreme Court made it perfectly acceptable to withhold records from public scrutiny, as long as the records had anything to do with communications between a lawyer and a government agency or official.Prior to that case, Hangartner v. City of Seattle, attorney-client privilege applied only if the sought-after records concerned "completed, existing or reasonably anticipated litigation." The Supreme Court also ruled in the same case that public information was exempt from disclosure if the requests for it were over-broad.The ill-conceived ruling flies in the face of the Public Disclosure Act and related court cases that say the best government is a transparent government.
Did you wake up today feeling like something the dog dragged in? Achy, sweating, drippy-nosed, feeling just-plain-rotten? If so, you've got lots of company. The flu is an equal-opportunity pestilence, and it's making thousands of people of all ages and colors absolutely miserable lately. You know you've got a genuine case of the flu and not just another bad cold if you have a fever of 102 or higher. Along with it, your muscles ache and you feel tired - exhausted. Some unfortunates also have sudden, intense headaches or gastrointestinal symptoms. Do not go to work if you think you have the flu (you probably do) - you'll only spread the misery to others and prolong your own. Trying to power through it will just get you sicker, longer. There are, however, some things you can do to ease symptoms and shorten the course of the illness.
Behind Teresa Lord Hugel's desk hangs a watercolor she painted of a University District street scene. It's a whimsical, slightly abstract view, as if to say: This may be familiar ground, but here's another way of looking at things.That creative tack comes in handy as Lord Hugel goes about her job as executive director for the Greater University Chamber of Commerce. Besides a creative outlook, Lord Hugel's position calls for a strong grounding in reality. Whatever else, Lord Hugel is real.She's bright, direct, funny and impatient with talk that leads nowhere. In Seattle, the City of Nice in love with process, Lord Hugel is regarded in some quarters as refreshing.She doesn't lack for self-confidence.
The two Queen Anne water towers will be replaced with one, 2-million-gallon steel tank, according to Seattle Public Utilities, though SPU engineer William Heubach said the design of the new water tower is still evolving. "It's not written in stone."Speaking at a meeting of the Queen Anne Community Council last week, he also stressed that Queen Anne residents made it clear at a Jan. 18 public meeting they want to be involved in the design of the tank. Having the public involved is something the utility would prefer anyway, Heubach added.There are currently two water towers at the top of Queen Anne Hill, and the concrete-clad one has been designated as a historic landmark. The tanks - which were built early last century - hold 1.2 million gallons, but an SPU study in the early 1990s determined that the amount wasn't enough to serve a growing neighborhood population, Heubach said.There was another reason they needed to be replaced, he explained. "Back in 1900, there were no seismic standards for water tanks." That puts neighborhood residents and a firehouse on the site at an unacceptable risk these days, according to Heubach.
The third-grader gripped one of the wheelchair's wheels, and then the other, pushing and pulling. He was trying to pivot."One hand pushes forward, the other hand pushes backwards - that's how you play basketball," the white-hatted, mustachioed man in a wheel chair joked. After getting the hang of it, the third-grader stood up and moved on while another student took his place. Last Thursday and Friday Coe Elementary School played host to YADA (Youth Awareness Disability Assembly), a nonprofit group that educates students on how life is lived by the disabled.
"God for Harry! England and St. George!"Ah, not this time, mate. March 1 was St. David's Day - in honor of the patron saint of Wales - and a day when Captain Llewellyn, the Welshman of Shakespeare's "Henry V," recommended that every Welshman wear a leek in his cap.Although the lowly leek is an ancient vegetable and greatly prized in soup and other culinary delights, it hardly compares with the shamrock. So, while thousands of Seattleites of Irish origin (and thousands more would-be Irish) celebrate the shamrock and St. Patrick on March 17, the Welsh celebration of St. David's on March 1 went largely overlooked.So, what about St. David?Unlike England's St. George, Wales' patron saint was born, bred and educated in the country where he is honored. He was the son of Sant, Prince of Ceredigan (Cardigan), and presumably he was born in Dyfed (now Pembrokeshire) in the sixth century.