Including housing in Port of Seattle plans for redeveloping the North Bay area is an idea that's taken a long time dying, or at least it looks that way for the moment. It was included as an option in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement but was shot down by the Seattle City Council. Then Port staff working on the plan revived the proposal, only to have it eliminated once again by Port Commissioners.
It's easy for a worthy book to fall through the cracks. Jerome Richard has written a worthy book, "The Kiss of the Prison Dancer," published in 2004. The author did public readings last year at Queen Anne Books and Elliott Bay Books, and that was pretty much it."Prison Dancer" fell through the cracks. Not even runner-up status for the 2005 Hemingway/Pen Award this past April will be enough to pull it back from the remainder tables.The 74-year-old Richard, a first-time novelist and resident of Queen Anne, set his story in the San Francisco of the 1970s. Max Friedman, a concentration-camp survivor, happens upon a young man spilling out of the bushes in Golden Gate Park and learns, the next day, that a young woman was raped and murdered in the park the night before.
Alex Welles, a longtime Mountaineers Club member, climbed to a base camp at Annapurna in late April. The Queen Anne resident said he expected it to be simply a strenuous Himalayan hike. But Welles was wrong, and ended up saving the life of a digital photographer on the hike who was sliding down an ice chute to certain doom.
Lawton Elementary School's Move-A-Thon fundraiser on May 22 drew a strong turnout this year despite some rainy weather, with nearly 75 parents, younger siblings and volunteers showing up to cheer on the kids.The annual event, which raised nearly $20,000 for Lawton's PTA, takes place in three different sessions lasting one hour each. This year, participating students logged a collective 8,781 laps, which translates to 878 miles.
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.However, with a sharp splicing knife and a touch of Old World wisdom, this doesn't have to be the case.
We often hear startling reports about the dirty air we breathe in our cities. But air pollution can be an even bigger threat in a place where you'd least expect it - your own home.Older adults, who are more likely to die from lung conditions, are particularly vulnerable, according to the Healthy Aging Partnership (HAP), a coalition of more than 30 Puget Sound not-for-profit and public organizations dedicated to the health and well-being of older adults.The amount of pollutants inside - where Americans spend 90 percent of their time - can actually exceed those outside. That's due in a large part to homes that are much better insulated than in the past, according to the American Lung Association of Washington.
Caring for children and helping to ensure they grow up cavity free has been my privilege and passion for more than 30 years.Increasing the number of children from low-income households who remain cavity free has recently been an important part of this work through the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) Program.ABCD helps local families with Medicaid-eligible children below the age of 6 find a dentist as well as get preventive and restorative dental care.Although the program has helped nearly 60,000 children across the state to have healthier teeth (for the rest of their lives, we may hope), it is not at full capacity in King County - where there are enough participating dentists to see hundreds more children each month.
The Seattle Public Library is inviting community members to share their "hopes and dreams" for the Magnolia library from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 28 at Catharine Blaine School, 2550 34th Ave. W.The meeting will give library users an opportunity to describe their vision for the improvements planned for the building and discuss preferences in services and programs, collections and artwork. Designers from Snyder Hartung Kane Strauss Architects will report on their study to assess the feasibility of expanding the 5,904-square-foot building.
Charlette Haugen, last year's Summer Festival poster artist and Magnolia resident, has been accepted into the Edmonds Arts Festival juried show. Her watercolor painting "At Rest" will be shown at the show on June 17, 18 and 19.Haugen is a native of Wisconsin and earned bachelor degrees in psychology and interior design from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She also completed her master's degree in social work at Case Western Reserve University.
Saturday, June 4, was this year's start for the Magnolia Farmers Market, and it was with great joy that I went to welcome them back to our communities.I expected great crowds, balloons bouncing about, some lively music and warm reunions with my favorite farmers from years past. And I was salivating just thinking about the fresh goat cheese and tender lettuce greens for my lunch.Regrettably, there were no balloons and no great crowds. The mood was subdued, much like the gray, cool June weather. There was a plethora of beets and piles of sugar snap and shelling peas.
In the early morning hours of June 3, five people were arrested for criminal trespass inside Magnolia Elementary School on 28th Avenue West, and all of it was captured live by KIRO-TV News.One male suspect obstructed officers and attempted to flee, and a police canine unit located him in some nearby bushes.Two females, both 22, were among the suspects. The other two males were ages 26 and 29.The confrontation featured a lot of shouting, sirens, flashing lights and drawn handguns.Meanwhile, a pair of males, both apparently well into their 20s, make use of the 38th Avenue West water tower site to smoke and drink malt liquor. As a neighbor who regularly picks up the detritus left behind at the scene, I have firsthand knowledge of what they do there. Neighbors regularly report that these folks come and go by foot on Dravus, walking toward Viewmont Way.Over the last five years, these water-tower sitters conceivably has caused thousands of dollars in damage at the water tower site, possibly destroying more than a dozen trees planted there. Notice something here? These are not "kids" committing pranks. The people doing damage to the peace and well-being of our community are well past 18 years of age. That is precisely the point.
I was talking recently to Mario Samorano, the lead sales associate at the Magnolia Post Office, when he made a suggestion. "We've got a client," Samorano told me, "who tells me that he was actually born in a post office. Why don't you talk to him?"That led me to the door of Belmont Forsythe's condominium, and the start of a fascinating story.As I entered the condo, the first thing I noticed were the many military medals framed and hanging on the wall, along with copies of pictures and articles detailing Forsythe's career.Moving farther into his living quarters, I saw the walls were actually decorated with quilts, over which hung framed pictures that I first mistook for painted artwork or perhaps some type of print. Closer examination revealed that they were needlepoint.
. . . Washington has a governor. Finally.And we should not be proud of that accomplishment.The Gregoire-Rossi fight to determine which one - which party - controlled the governor's office was not pretty; its negative effects will be long lasting.Judge John Bridges recently upheld the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire and trashed the Republican claims of wrongdoing. That ruling - thoughtful, comprehensive and shrouded with a blanket of sound legal opinions - ended Dino Rossi's legal fight. From Rossi's mouth came the words: "I am ending this election contest."
Including housing in Port of Seattle plans for redeveloping the North Bay area is an idea that's taken a long time dying, or at least it looks that way for the moment. It was included as an option in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement released April 15, but was shot down by the Seattle City Council. Then Port staff working on the plan revived the proposal, only to have it eliminated once again by Port Commissioners.
Alex Welles, a longtime Mountaineers Club member, climbed to a base camp at Annapurna in late April. The Queen Anne resident said he expected it simply to be a strenuous Himalayan hike. But Welles was wrong. He ended up saving the life of a digital photographer on the hike who was sliding down an ice chute to certain doom....