Here's a bucket of Puget Sound water right in the kisser: gasoline is not going to get cheaper. In classic cause-and-effect style, Hurricane Katrina's swirling, destructive dance along the Gulf Coast region triggered our recent rate hike at the pump. I say triggered because the high-price bullet that has come blasting at us has been loaded in the oil-war gun for a long time. What's the gunpowder propelling this lump of economic lead at our pocketbooks? It's the unavoidable fact that the worldwide oil supply is reaching its peak - shorthand for the maximum sustainable daily oil output. Global oil production is tracked on a bell curve. Right now we're either at the curve's apex or a few years away from it. Hurricane Katrina walloped the crude out of Gulf Coast refinery operations. According to the United States Department of Energy, this region holds about 10 percent of the nation's oil-refining capacity. With the Aug. 29 onslaught of extreme weather, our country lost one-fifth of its domestic petroleum output, and the closed and damaged Gulf Coast ports have put a kink in our foreign oil supply. (By the way, the United States imported 58 percent of its total petroleum supply last year.)
Older adults are more likely to get sick from that hamburger that was left out too long, or the egg cooked sunny side up. Weaker immune systems, a decrease in stomach acid and other age-related factors put older adults at greater risk for foodborne illnesses, notes the Healthy Aging Partnership (HAP), a coalition of 40 Puget Sound-area not-for-profit and public organizations dedicated to the health and well-being of older adults.What's more, older adults are more likely to get seriously ill or even die from bacteria and other contaminants in the food they eat, according to HAP.
The news of late has been full of stories about athletes, and particularly baseball players, who use performance-enhancing drugs. It's even hit close to home with Mariner pitcher Ryan Franklin being suspended for failing the drug test.But is anyone really surprised that in a culture where the average medicine cabinet looks like a mini-pharmacy, professional athletes with millions of dollars on the line might consider using something that promises to boost their performance?In defense of professional baseball players Ryan Franklin, a Seattle Mariner, and Rafael Palmeiro, at least until we know all the details, I think it's possible that they might have innocently taken some over-the-counter concoction, or a supplement pushed on them by a trainer, that contained a substance banned by baseball. The pharmaceutical industry's record for honesty has a few blemishes, and folks who are drawing huge salaries to help these athletes reach the pinnacle of success are motivated to give their guy, or gal, what they need to reach the top step on the award's podium.
Queen Anne Avenue North between Galer and McGraw streets could use some TLC, according to a new neighborhood group calling themselves Picture Perfect Queen Anne.The 11-member organization complains that trees along the business corridor are in bad shape, as are the sidewalks, said member Daniel Lowery. "So those are really two of our main concerns."There are others. The urban streetscape in general needs to be better organized and simplified to make it "more enjoyable to be around and look at," he said.
Queen Anne resident Ken Cavallon did something on Sept. 13 that makes police nervous; he caught and held an alleged car prowler in front of his home in the 1900 block of 11th Ave. W.Cavallon, the president and founder of the Interbay Football Club, e-mailed the News about nabbing the suspect, West Seattle resident Che Manuel Melendez. According to his e-mail, Cavallon's wife spotted Melendez and two other men trying to steal his Land Rover's battery around 7:30 that Tuesday morning. She alerted her husband, who "shot out of the house and after a scramble broke the passenger side window and yanked this guy (Melendez) by the shirt collar out of the passenger side of the getaway car as one of his thug buddy's (sic) ran off and the other drove off at top speed...." Cavallon then held Melendez until police arrived and arrested him.
On the Sept. 11 episode of the television program "Meet the Press," Tim Russert had as a guest John Barry, author of "Rising Tide," his definitive study of the great 1927 flood of the Mississippi River.Russert's topic, of course, was the destruction of New Orleans by hurricane Katrina, the resultant breakdown of the levee system which kept, under normal circumstances, the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico from flooding the city, as well as the subsequent breakdown of governmental help.But this was not the first disastrous occurrence of inundation. Barry points out in his book that New Orleans was flooded in 1927 by the muddy, rain-swollen waters of the Mississippi - again in the poorer sections - resulting from a combination of physical necessity, politics and levee failure.In Louisiana, as the water rose inside houses, thousands of people had to chop their way through rooftops or cling to trees, waiting for rescue. In contrast to the 2005 flood, these 1927 flood victims experienced constant rain and unseasonably cold temperatures. Many lives were lost and property destroyed.Barry points out that this flood became the turning point, after which the government realized its responsibility to help its people in catastrophic circumstances.
Older adults are more likely to get sick from that hamburger that was left out too long, or the egg cooked sunny side up. Weaker immune systems, a decrease in stomach acid and other age-related factors put older adults at greater risk for foodborne illnesses, notes the Healthy Aging Partnership (HAP), a coalition of 40 Puget Sound-area not-for-profit and public organizations dedicated to the health and well-being of older adults.What's more, older adults are more likely to get seriously ill or even die from bacteria and other contaminants in the food they eat, according to HAP.
The news of late has been full of stories about athletes, and particular-ly baseball players, who use per-formance-enhancing drugs. It 's even hit close to home with Mariner pitcher Ryan Franklin being suspended for failing the drug test.But is anyone really surprised that in a culture where the average medicine cabinet looks like a mini-pharmacy, professional athletesw ith millions of dollars on the line might consider using something that promises to boost their performance?In defense of Ryan Franklin and Rafael Palmeiro, - at least until we know all the details - I think it's possible that they might have innocently taken some over-the-counter concoction, or a supplement pushed on them by a trainer, that contained a substance banned by baseball. The pharmaceutical industry's record for honesty has a few blemishes, and folks who are drawing huge salaries to help these athletes reach the pinnacle of success are motivated to give their guy, or gal, what they need to reach the top step on the awards podium.
Going, going, gone....Those words will be echoing through the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers on Sunday, Sept. 25, as residents of Queen Anne and their families and friends attend the Festival of Food and Auction benefit for the Queen Anne Helpline.This year's attendees will be able to sample such delicacies as savory little prawn cakes with wasabi sauce from Queen of the Kitchen; wild mushroom tarts from Cascadia restaurant; chicken wings from the 5 Spot and other appetizers from Metropolitan Market and Ponti's. Stimson Lane, Southcorp and Vincorp will be offering their stellar wines, along with beer from Redhook Brewery and beverages from Talking Rain. Silent-auction items this year are sure to entice even the most devoted foodies away from the groaning board. Participants can bid on an array of gift baskets for every interest - martinis, tea and coffee, spa. There are toys for kids - for instance, the Little Red Rooster Radio Flyer donated by Ace Hardware on McGraw - and toys for adults, too, like the DVD/VCR combo donated by Video Isle.
Queen Anne resident Ken Cavallon did something on Sept. 13 that makes police nervous: he caught and held an alleged car prowler in front of his home in the 1900 block of 11th Ave. W.Cavallon, the president and founder of the Interbay Football Club, e-mailed the News about nabbing the suspect, West Seattle resident Che Manuel Melendez. According to Cavallon's e-mail, his wife spotted Melendez and two other men trying to steal his Land Rover's battery around 7:30 that Tuesday morning. She alerted her husband, who "shot out of the house and after a scramble broke the passenger side window and yanked this guy [Melen-dez] by the shirt collar out of the passenger side of the getaway car as one of his thug buddy's [sic] ran off and the other drove off at top speed...." Cavallon then held Melendez until police arrived and arrested the alleged perp.
On the Sept. 11 edition of "Meet the Press," Tim Russert had as a guest John Barry, whose book "Rising Tide" is the definitive study of the great 1927 flood of the Mississippi River.Russert's topic, of course, was the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, the resultant breakdown of the levee system that had kept the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico from flooding the city, and the subsequent breakdown of governmental help.But this was not the first disastrous occurrence of inundation. Barry points out in his book that New Orleans was flooded in 1927 by the muddy, rain-swollen waters of the Mississippi - again in the poorer sections - resulting from a combination of physical necessity, politics and levee failure.In Louisiana, as the water rose inside houses, thousands of people had to chop their way through rooftops or cling to trees, waiting for rescue. In contrast to the 2005 flood, these 1927 flood victims experienced constant rain and unseasonably cold temperatures. Many lives were lost and much property destroyed.Barry points out that this flood became the turning point, after which the government realized its responsibility to help its people in catastrophic circumstances.
Walk into the artistic director's office at Pacific Northwest Ballet and the first thing that you notice is that the furniture has moved and the place has a whole new look. According to the new occupant, it is a look that is not quite finished yet. Things, said Peter Boal, got very busy, very fast as he moved into his new space at PNB, and so the unpacking and setting-up of his office is still not done. This self-described "New York son" just retired in June from his own dance career and is now running one of Seattle's largest and most prestigious arts organizations.
Seattle Children's Theatre productions have long earned the respect of their audiences by respecting in turn the emotional and intellectual range of a child's imagination. The tradition continues in the current production of "Seussical," a musical based on the works of the iconic children's author Theodor "Dr." Seuss Geisel.Instead of creating a concrete world to be passively observed, it puts the imagination of each and every audience member in the driver's seat. The action is built around an amalgam of many beloved Seuss classics, but the narrative doesn't rely on our familiarity with the base material. Written for the stage by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, "Seussical" could easily have become an episodic affair, the story of "Yertle the Turtle" segueing into "The Cat in the Hat," etc. Instead, the story is framed within the "thinks" of a single child, a boy named Jojo who brings a world to life on a wild flight of spontaneous fancy. The Cat in the Hat is his guide, spurring him on and narrating the action through rhymes alternately taken from and inspired by Seuss' work.
Ping Chong's newest play, 'Cathay: Three Tales of China,' mixes Tang-dynasty folklore with wicked observations of modern life in the world's most capitalistic communist country. It's a tough work to define: a puppet play with very adult sensibilities, created by a Chinese-American with limited spoken Chinese and performed by a Chinese troupe with equally limited English skills.But being hard to define is Chong's stock-in-trade and one of the reasons this playwright, director, choreographer, visual artist and explorer of Asian culture always attracts a devoted audience when he visits Seattle.