After months of speculation, it's official: Martin Luther King (MLK) Elementary School is targeted for closure after the 2005-06 school year. MLK joined nine other Seattle public schools on a list of recommended closures as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring plan proposed by Superintendent Raj Manhas.School principal Barry Dorsey, however, wants everyone to know that there's still time to save the school.
Doug Jones is a tenor of many faces - an appropriate match for Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann," an opera of many versions set to open in Seattle this Saturday, May 7.The Queen Anne resident will sing four roles in Seattle Opera's edition of "The Tales of Hoffmann." The opera itself has undergone at least as many transmutations before reaching Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Offenbach died of tuberculosis while rewriting the score for the world première by the Opéra-Comique.
There are few rites of passage in teenage-dom as monumental as passing your driver's test and taking your first solo drive. Ah, the unbridled freedom! Playing your music so loud that your ears bleed; windows open, hair blowing in the wind. It's a heady feeling. There are few rites of passage in parenthood as monumental as The Taking Away Of The Teenager's License For Blatant Infraction. Sadly, not a week had passed from the first passage to the second. I think she set a new land speed record for the loss of a driver's license.
The cure to our country's insatiable oil-addiction is being administered in Seattle, and its application could not have come at a better time considering recent developments in Washington D.C.On March 17, with a 51 to 49 vote, Senate Republicans managed to marshal their forces and kill a Democratic and moderate Republican effort to take out a provision on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the 2006 congressional budget resolution. The vote gives credence to the GOP-controlled House and the Bush administration, both favor drilling the oil out of ANWR. Here's the rub, drilling ANWR, considered by many to be the Serengeti of North America due to its pristine landscape and abundant wildlife, will not free Americans from their dependence on imported oil. Says who? Well, good old Uncle Sam.
It seems like you can't get out of bed these days without being bombarded by references to your "core."Have you ever wondered what this core is and where it resides? Is it a distant cousin to the liquid molten magma of our earth's core? While you may have questions about this core of yours, the answers are probably none of the above. In actuality, the "core" is really just a term for the muscles of your torso. Marketing executives have done a good job of convincing the population that the core is just the rectus abdominis muscle, perhaps more commonly known as "washboard abs."
The fern fronds have unfurled, the new rhododendron leaves are pushing out, the rose bushes are clothed with new leaves and vigorous canes are forming. The tender rush of spring is settling into the potential fullness of the summer season. All the excitement of this first rush of growth can be tempered somewhat when we realize that despite our careful planning and planting, bare gaps appear where we were sure that we had created a full and harmonious tapestry of plants. So it must be time to go to the nursery again!Most of the nurseries that I have visited have chosen an eclectic mix this year. There is more experimentation with foliage forms, flower colors, and scale. There are sweet miniatures with soft hues that seem just ripe to tuck into pots while other small 4-inch treasures will grow on vigorously during their short season.
And the winner is...The Neighborhood Connections ballots have been counted, and the winner is (drum roll please): "Contribute to the Burlington Northern Railroad/City of Kirkland project to create a pedestrian walkway across the railroad tracks at 112th Ave. N.E. and N.E. 87th St. Funds will go toward extending the sidewalk as far as possible." The railroad crossing improvements are a joint project with Kirkland. City funds will pay for the sidewalk over the track itself, and the Neighborhood Connections money will pay to extend the sidewalk as far as possible.
I met Michael Kaz in 1994, when he opened Sarducci's Pizza Pasta and Sub deli in Houghton and joined the Chamber of Commerce. The cold cases hid most of him, so his sardonic smile stands out most in my mind. I caught up with Michael recently to chat with him about the last few years since he left Sarducci's. I also wanted to find out how he came to own Choices Realty Northwest, a real estate brokerage, on Market Street. Some may remember Preview Video three doors north of Sarducci's; that was his, too. After Preview Video and Sarducci's, Kaz opened a restaurant, Bela Vino, in Bellevue.
I think it must be true that April showers bring May flowers. My garden is bursting with lilacs, rhododendrons, azaleas and a host of perennials that I had almost given up on. My close friends, all of whom are much more experienced gardeners than I, assured me that indeed my hostas and trillium really would come back, if I just waited a few more weeks. Sure enough, two weeks ago, when the sun finally decided to peek through once again, there they were. I was so relieved! I am enjoying this late spring into early summer as I sit on my deck smelling the lilacs, however there is so much more in the community to report this month.
Woodlands Park play structureEnthusiasm continues to build with neighbors in North Rose Hill for a new, multi-age, neighborhood built play structure located in the soon-to-be-developed play meadow in Woodlands Park. The plan is to use the same approach that was used to build the park at St. Edwards in King County. The concept is all about a community built project that encourages and requires citizen participation throughout the entire life cycle of the project. The planning committee has grown to seven residents and has raised $1,350 of a $2,000 goal to begin the process.
May PerformancesTaming of the Shrew - Seattle Shakespeare CompanyPerformed by an all-male cast, Seattle Shakespeare Company takes on one of the bard's most bawdy coming-of-age works. The comedy follows the volatile courtship between the shrewish Katharina and the canny Petruchio, who is determined to subdue Katharina's legendary temper and win her dowry, while also opening doors for his friend Hortensio to marry Bianca who has sworn not to wed until her sister Katharina has found a husband.
The Howard/Mandville Gallery is participating in the Kirkland Centennial by hosting its "Love of the Land, Invitational Landscape Show." The show, which will debut May 6 at 5:30 p.m. and run through June 5, will feature more than 100 contemporary landscape paintings.The styles of the painters vary widely, from the photo-realism of Denis Milhomme, to the light infused tonalist paintings of Tricia Berg, and the colorful impressionism of Michael Ferguson. Painting media will include oil, watercolor, gouache and acrylic.
For Joel Hussey, there is no looking back. There is only one direction he will drive his organization, and that's ahead. "We have an energized group of volunteers making great strides into taking our association to the next level. We're on firmer financial footing now and hope to be in even a better position.
Spring is wonderfully deafening. All you have to do is head over to almost any area playing field and the baritone incantations of "batter up!" will resonate in your ears to the days of yore.In operation since 1984, Kirkland Baseball Commission (part of the PONY League) is perpetuating those glory days of spring and summer baseball. In existence since 1984, the league plays at four Kirkland fields and operates the concession at Lee Johnson Field. Commissioner Martin Morgan encourages everyone to come out and "have the best hamburgers in Kirkland."
Our student council took a trip to Olympia on March 11. When we got there we first went to see the Korean War Memorial. Our tour guide, Pat, talked about how many people died in the war and that the statue cost more than $400,000 to make! Thousands of people from Washington died in the war.Then we went to the Vietnam War Memorial.