Bird lovers looking for a fun way to spend a weekend will now have the option to spend an afternoon at "the junction of two creeks," otherwise known as Woodland Park Zoo's Willawong Station. The 1,200-square-foot exhibit filled with colorful Australian parrots has become a permanent fixture at the zoo.An Australian experienceOpening last Saturday, May 28, the exhibit is the zoo's latest interactive venture, allowing visitors to feed more than 150 free-flying birds right out of their hands, according to a press release.
We're off and running into that outdoor-sporting time of the year, especially with the Shore Run coming up on June 26. I've been talking with athletes, researching the nutrition books and reading Runner's World on-line magazine to get a handle on the foods that will prolong endurance and help serious and semi-serious runners and bikers make good choices.
It's here! Fremont month has arrived! Yeah! A whole month to celebrate all that is Fremont. Granted, it counts out more like Fremont Week and a Half, if you must be precise. However, being exact really isn't very Fremont.The celebration leaps to a brisk start with the 5K Fremont Fun Run/Walk which turns 21 this year. Organized by Pro-Motion Events (www.promotionevents.com or 729-9972), the race takes place on the night of Friday, June 10, with a portion of proceeds raised going to the Fremont Public Association (FPA).Before the big race, the Dex Media Briefcase Relay staggers off. The Fremont Chamber of Commerce invented this colorful spectacle after they erroneously decided to participate in the 1985 Fun Run. Big mistake. Running a business is different than running a 5K.
(This is the second part of a two-part guest column focusing on the recent legislative session. The first part appeared in last week's issue.)Protecting children, the vulnerableSeveral significant measures I sponsored to provide enhanced protections for children and other vulnerable members of our society were approved during this legislative session.To address the problem of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy, we broadened the list of mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse to include supervisors in nonprofit and for-profit organizations and supervisors of members of the clergy.
Mary Smith is hopping mad and complaining to everybody from the Better Business Bureau to the state's Attorney General's office about what she said was a botched job on May 16 of re-paving her driveway with asphalt on N.E. 97th St. The Kirkland resident said, the contracto dug out about half of the newly laid asphalt when she refused to pay them until they'd finished the job to her satisfaction.
Sixty residents at Tent City 4 pulled up stakes at the Congregational Church of Christ on May 19 and moved to a new location at the Lake Washington United Methodist Church on 132nd Ave. N.E. "It was an all-church welcome," said Stephanie Miller, a United Methodist staffer on a Tent City taskforce.As usual, there were objections from some neighbors and from members of the TentCitySolutions.com group about the move, Miller said.
Kirkland chiropractor elected to board, Dr. Bourree named volunteer of the year, Kirkland firms earn environmental awards, South Rose Hill Speed Watch program, Kirkland resident recognized by BCC
Teams of cancer survivors and their supporters will run and walk at Green Lake this weekend to celebrate those who have survived, remember those who haven't and support those who are currently fighting cancer.And they will do it in shifts for 24 hours.It's the Relay for Life at Green Lake, an event where teams of people camp out and take turns making their way around the Lower Woodland Park track to raise money for the American Cancer Society and cancer research.
ike many of you out there, I am aging. When I say many of you, I mean me. It's all about me. OK, it's not really all about me, but I like to pretend that it is because it makes me feel like I'm important. And as we all know, with age comes wisdom, Social Security (we hope) and fun with medical procedures.
With respect to Jennifer Holder's letter about Tent City in the May 2005 Kirkland Courier.Let us assume for the moment that the Nixon/O'Brien bill is not a thinly veiled attempt to make it economically impossible for churches to host a homeless encampment, and that those behind the bill genuinely have the best interest of the homeless at heart. Even with that assumption, the claims behind the bill simply do not stand up to scrutiny.
FilmMaker Magazine has called "Police Beat" one of the best films about a city of all time, but don't expect it to offer a conventional view of Seattle."We definitely show the city in a different way," said producer Alexis Ferris. "We don't show the standard Seattle scenes. Somebody asked me if we even had the Space Needle in the film." Seattle's most famous landmark is shown in the film, but in a subtle way, she added.Based on The Stranger columns of Charles Mudede (who also wrote the script), the movie tells the story of an African immigrant turned Seattle bike cop as he pedals through town and his turbulent love life.
On Thursday June 2, the Seattle City Council will be waiting in the Council Chambers to hear your reactions to the Neighborhood Business District Strategy, a proposal of Mayor Greg Nickels' to "revitalize neighborhood business districts." The proposal rewrites the building code for the commercial cores of our neighborhoods, many of which were identified as "Urban Villages" during the neighborhood planning process that many of us participated in during the late '90s.There is much in the proposals that is of merit (see last week's letter to the editor from Rob Johnson) but there is also much that raises concerns in neighborhoods around the city. The problem is that Seattle, as cities do, is trying to impose "a one size fits all" solution to our very geographically, ethnically and economically diverse city.
So the Seattle School District won't close 10 buildings after all, thanks to some noisy parents out in the neighborhoods.Somewhere among the district's bean counters and PR consultants, somebody must have realized they're in a war of attrition.Seattle's housing hyperinflation has decimated the town's supply of striving middle-class families with minor children.If the district's gonna maintain any acceptable level of popular support, for taxation and other reasons, it can't allow itself to become known as the last resort for parents too poor to ship their kids to private schools (or to move to Bainbridge).
Is taller better?A good question. And one the Seattle City Council is considering as it prepares to vote on zoning changes that could affect redevelopment efforts on Broadway. The upzoning is part of a city initiative aimed at improving the economic and development climate on Broadway. Such efforts included reducing the parking requirements for new construction. Also being considered is removing the split-zoning that occurs on many Broadway lots, wherein one portion of a site is zoned differently from the other, an obvious complication for any developer. But height is the issue that gets most of the attention. The change being considered is between the current 40 feet, four story limit, to 65 feet (six stories). The intent is to spur redevelopment by making the option more economically feasible to property owners, many of whom have said the current zoning is too restrictive.
Sole is a much misunderstood fish. For starters, what we call "sole" on the West Coast - the fish that we buy fresh at the market and order at restaurants - isn't really sole at all. The only authentic sole is found in the Atlantic Ocean on the European side. Our sole - whether Dover or Petrale, both of which may be found at most fish markets - are actually different varieties of flounder. No kidding. In fact, true Dover sole, which I've heard is wonderful although I'm fairly certain I've never tried it, is harvested only in the English Channel ... and should not be confused with English sole, another type of flounder found in the Pacific Ocean.