For most people, riding a bike for three and a half hours is considered a long ride. For new Madrona resident and local business owner Urs Koenig, it is more of a short ride - especially when you compare it to the 3,047-mile one he will do later this month. Koenig is preparing for what is arguably the most challenging endurance event in the world.
This summer when you fork over $3 a pound for organic plums, pears and other juicy tree-fruit, keep in mind that the city of Seattle is home to thousands of trees that could be bearing fruit but aren't.With a sharp splicing knife and a touch of Old World wisdom, this doesn't have to be true."We have been trained to work and buy things," says Jenny Pell, a permanent-agriculture consultant and founder of the Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to disseminating permaculture principles around the world."People have lost the concept of harvesting their food. Everything has to be controlled."
Anyone driving through the Madison Valley who'd been away from Seattle for two decades could be excused for feeling a little like Rip Van Winkle. The once-depressed area is a different place. On the approach from the downtown side the new Safeway at 20th Avenue, and Trader Joe's just before that, herald the transition
The annual Seattle International Film Festival is upon us once again. SIFF, which kicked off May 19, is now in full swing, bringing with it bouts of torrential downpours as well as sickeningly hot and sweaty days - neither of which are very enticing standing-in-line-for-a-film weather. This year's festival, the 31st, promises to be the best ever, but isn't that what they always claim? I can't really comment comparatively, this being the first year I've been involved with SIFF, but I've definitely highlighted my share of movies in the Seattle Times festival guide (oops, did I say movies? Surely I meant films). The first thing I learned working for SIFF was that anyone who knows anything about cinema uses the word film. The word "movie" is for people like me, who go to multiplexes and see "The Longest Yard" and "Are We There Yet?" Not that these movies are of a lesser quality, but they don't seem to evoke the same emotional response that depressing, subtitled independent films induce (don't get me wrong, not all SIFF films are depressing).
Who was Frantz H. Coe, anyway? How about John Hay? Anyone know who Mr. or Ms. McClure was? Here's the scoop.
Come July 1, Humanities Washington, a state-wide, non-profit organization, will bid farewell to its longtime president and CEO.Margaret Ann Bollmeier, a Magnolia resident, has announced she will be leaving the organization next month. After 10 years of service with Humanities Washington, she will be moving to Manitowoc, Wis., to be closer to family, she said.After Bollmeier's departure, former associate director of Humanities Washington Amanda Swain will step in as interim president while the organization commits up to a year-long search for a permanent replacement.
Seattle Opera closed its latest season with a magical, lyrical and altogether wonderful production of "The Tales of Hoffmann."Amid the standing ovations and bravos on opening night, Opera general director Speight Jenkins appeared onstage followed by a trolley containing a large cake ablaze with a multitude of candles. The cake was in honor of Archie Drake's 80th birthday.The actual date had fallen in March, but that mere technicality didn't spoil the occasion. Jenkins said, "Archie has been the heart of the Seattle Opera for 38 seasons. With the amazing longevity of his voice and his enormous stage presence, the variety of his accomplishments cannot be equaled by anyone else in his voice category."
I'll never see 50 again.I don't say this proudly.I say it ruefully.Sadly even. And yet, I'm happy to be alive and semi-vigorous.But 30 was better than 50, as was 40.The truth shall set you free if you can stand the pain.Those middle-aged and elderly folks who take pride in their own and their relatives' mere survival ("Grandma's 90 and she gummed a whole cookie yesterday!") always remind me of the folks who proudly display bumper stickers applauding their grandchildren's grade-school accomplishments.Now don't get me wrong. My mother is a hale and hearty 86 years old.
It was interesting in your article on vandalism in the last issue ('Graffiti: Taggers hitting alleys, frustrating homeowners, police,' May 25) that "tagging" was perceived to be worse that "egging." The former leaves a mark on property, but the latter leaves a mark on people.There are reports coming from all over Magnolia of violent, late-night egg attacks that are meant to terrorize homeowners in their sleep. Apparently, teams of driving-age teens work together to target bedroom and living room windows with a barrage of eggs that is designed to even break windows whenever possible.
Why would you put yourself at risk? For the sheer fun of it, of course!Risk is an unavoidable part of life. We work very hard to make our lives as safe as possible: locks, safety belts, helmets, traffic signals, life jackets, security guards... What makes us go on with our daily lives is our confidence that everything will go right and that we can manage the risks we take."RISK!," a new traveling exhibit accompanied by "Adrenaline Rush," a new IMAX film, has just opened at the Pacific Science Center.
Seattle Public School superintendent Raj Manhas' decision to scrap his high-profile school closure and consolidation plan is only the latest bombshell dropped on this city.Since Manhas presented his plan for shoring up the $20 million 2006-2007 SPS budget deficit to the school board on April 20, a grassroots movement against the preliminary proposal flowered in the city. Folks were urged to "save successful schools," and the political heat took the issue from a simmer to a boil in a matter of days.Manhas is not an ignorant man, and I'm sure he expected tempers to flair, which is why he and his staff scheduled 14 public hearings throughout the city's neighborhoods between May 23 and May 31 to gather input on the proposal. However, Manhas dumped both the plan and then, one business day before they were scheduled to start, the public hearings.
June 12 is going to be a busy day in Maui for Magnolia resident Patrick Oishi.But forget aerobic lounging on an idyllic beach. The Deputy Pierce Country Prosecutor is going to swim one mile, bike 25 and run 6 in the King's Trail Triathlon on the Hawaiian island as part of a fundraising effort for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT) program.More than 30,000 TNT athletes will raise money nationally for cancer research by taking part in marathons, triathlons and 100-mile bike races all over the world this year, according to the organization's Web site (www.teamintraining.org).
Ask Tom Douglas who makes the best bacon in town and he'll likely refer you to Bavarian Meats, a local company responsible for the wonderful, slightly smoky pork featured at Douglas' restaurants Palace Kitchen and Etta's Seafood.Stop into the popular downtown bistro Le Pichet and you can order a dish featuring Bavarian Meats' landjaegger, sautéed and served with chutney.Order a ham sandwich from the Virginia Inn and you'll get a couple slices of bread stuffed with Bavarian Meats' genuine Westphalian ham.Grab a dog from the busy Hotdog Joe's cart outside Safeco Field on game day and you'll be eating - you guessed it - Bavarian Meats, a local company that turns out some of the most authentic German sausages, salamis and other cured and smoked meats this side of Munich.
Police and agents from the FBI and Homeland Security descended on the Mecca Café and Bar on Lower Queen Anne Hill Friday afternoon in search of a potential terrorist, according to numerous sources and the FBI.The subject of the search is a longtime regular at the bar on Queen Anne Avenue North half a block south from Mercer Street, but the man still isn't sure why the war on terrorism took such a personal turn for him around 1 p.m. that day.He knows it had something to do several cellphone conversations he made while sitting in a booth on the restaurant side, said the man, who prefers to remain anonymous.
When Shaun Collins strapped on his gear to go into battle for the Nathan Hale Raiders lacrosse team seven years ago, he was living the life of most high-school seniors. He was about to graduate. He had goals and dreams, and his was to one day open his own restaurant. He had no idea that he would one day find himself in the battlefields of Iraq, putting on gear of a different kind, and stepping into a battle that was all too real. Today, it seems as if his experiences have come full circle, and he's back with the lacrosse program at his alma mater as an assistant coach.