Rushing out of the cafeteria, waves of kids filled the hallways of Meany Middle School, 301 21st Ave. The lunch bell signaled the beginning of the second half of their day, and students, some with half-finished soft drinks in their hands, went in different directions toward their next classes. In their rush, however, some slowed their pace to peer at the large, ceramic banner that occupies a notable portion of the outer gymnasium wall. These kids are more than just onlookers: They are the creators of this masterpiece.
The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct. They represent the officers' accounts of the events described.
Remember turning 21? What a relief to finally be legal and throw away that wrinkled, nearly indefinable, fake ID. Looking old enough was pretty much the rule then, but it was still a little embarrassing to walk into the neighborhood pubs and celebrate turning 21 after being a customer for a year or so.
I had a near-death experience this week. My cane and I were out for a stroll in Madison Park, planning to meander up and down the streets, seeing what flowers have burst forth, what type of fence is in vogue, who's remodeling what - when all at once I was rapidly heading toward the pavement Fortunately, I managed to avoid broken bones, but black-and-blue marks tattoo almost my entire body.
Rising high above its neighbors, Park Shore offers an unobstructed view of Lake Washington and the surrounding mountains. Residents of this Madison Park retirement community can take full advantage of the premium location by visiting a promenade deck on the 15th floor. Here, a stunning, panoramic view is available with Mount Rainier and Mount Baker looming on the horizon. Given this idyllic setting, it's not surprising that Park Shore always operates near full capacity.
When it comes to child-rearing, maybe, just maybe, the parameters of protracted preparation have reached their limit.While the thought of a pregnant mother reading a bedtime story to her swollen belly seems ever so endearing, the flipside - images of frenzied parents scrawling calculus equations on their toddler's Etch A Sketch - is somehow slightly less romantic.
Basil was called the "herb of kings" by the ancient Greeks, though 4,000 years earlier it had been used in other parts of the world, namely in Africa and Egypt. The natives of West Africa used mashed basil leaves as an antidote to mosquito and snake bites. Basil tea is good for digestion and soothes the intestines. It's also good for migraines, headaches, motion sickness and pregnancy nausea.
The trees in Leschi are beautiful. Just don't tell them how valuable their soil is. Were you to do so, the groves of stately maples and madronas that line the graded ravines here might ask the closest real estate agent with an ax to fell them where they stand, treat their timber and build a Tudor cottage with a lake and mountain view worth millions.
For all the people who accused Capitol Hill Arts Center of being a bit "moody and broody" in their play selections, artistic director Matthew Kwatinetz invites them to check out "Archangels Don't Play Pinball" by Dario Fo. The play is the final production in the CHAC's 2004-05 season."It proves that we can do sappy and happy," he said. Getting more serious, Kwatinetz revealed that he picked Fo's piece because it stayed in his head for more than a decade after seeing a performance in Pittsburgh."I didn't know who Dario Fo was then," Kwatinetz recalled, "but in the last two or three years, I've been involved in several Fo productions here and abroad. When we were choosing the season last year, I remembered the play but had never connected that it was by Dario Fo. It's an incredible piece of theater. It deals with two issues that are dear to everyone's heart: true love and creating your own destiny. And it's written by one of the most brilliant playwrights alive."
This and other local news outlets have already covered the Pride Festival's potential move from Capitol Hill to Seattle Center, and a few of its potential ramifications.But there's still more left to say and ponder.For one thing, the move would make the "freedom rally" the most publicly visible part of Pride Weekend. Up to now, thousands of citizens have viewed the parade, but only the true believers in queer power have stuck around afterwards for the speeches and stationary performers tucked away in Volunteer Park. Even the festival's beer gardens are away from the park, in the Pike/Pine bar district.But at the Seattle Center, the rally would be in full view from straight-world passersby, for the whole afternoon and evening. This would alter the festival's mainstream public face. Straight citizens who might now think of Pride as a cute, photogenic gathering of drag queens, leather boys and "Dykes on Bikes" might become more deeply exposed to some of the GLBT movement's more serious, political sides.
One small step for The Seattle Times, one big kick in the craw for metropolitan Seattle.Regardless of the legal validity of the state Supreme Court's June 30 ruling stating, yes, the Times can include financial losses from 2000 and 2001 in exercising an escape clause in the Times/Post-Intelligencer Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), the real story is that Seattle has just inched closer to becoming a one-daily-newspaper city.
When the Safeway at the north end of Broadway closed last fall, the street was hit with something of a double whammy. Along with the old QFC, which relocated into the redesigned Broadway Market a few weeks prior to Safeway's closing, the vacancy took many by surprise and helped contribute to something of a retail no-man's land. North Broadway business ended up being cut off from the rest of the district by the blank walls created by two large former supermarkets.While it's not as if bulldozers are waiting for a traffic light to turn green, efforts are underway at the former Safeway site that could lead to its development sooner rather than later. And the Seattle City Council's recent decision to raise the allowable building height along Broadway from 40 to 65 feet has greatly influenced what kind of project the property's owners will pursue.
Haller Lake resident Don Hudgins, former executive director of Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), recently started Sedrat Arts, a nonprofit charitable organization that will put new resources and funding directly into the hands of artists and small arts organizations."One of my passions of the organizations is fund-raising events for good social causes," Hudgins said. "That's a situation where everyone wins."
(Editor's note: Because of a printing problem with last week's issue, this book review is being rerun in its entirety.) "BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING"By Malcolm GladwellIn a psychological study conducted in the 1990s, groups of black college students were given 20 questions from the Graduate Record Examination, the standardized test used for gauging how well students will perform in graduate school. When randomly selected students were asked to identify their race on a pretest questionnaire, this seemingly simple act was sufficient to "prime" them with the negative stereotypes that American culture often associates with African Americans and academic achievement, thereby affecting the student's performance.
The morning light that floods Layne Cook's studio is the best light for her to paint by, but her initial inspiration came from late-afternoon shadows. On a road trip with her husband, Cook noticed that the scenery was especially dramatic late in the day. Day after day, the "4 o'clock effect" infused ordinary landscapes with a special quality that begged to be captured on canvas. The 2001 road trip was pivotal for Cook's painting career. "I had just finished working as a kitchen designer," she said, "and was on the trip to start something new. I have always lived an artistic life, whether designing or painting, but I was looking for more balance in my life - less work and more travel, the time to entertain, volunteer and create. The trip was a new chapter."