Growing up in the prejudiced precincts of Cincinnati, Ohio - the Gateway to the South according to the Chamber of Commerce types, the Gateway to the North for my black friends - the civil rights issue that compelled me was the unequal treatment afforded African Americans.After a two-year stint as a draftee during the Vietnam War, I returned to America as a little pink Martin Luther King and Malcolm devotee. I began running black. I was a daycare teacher at a Black Panther facility, the only white male on the premises except when the cops came by to harass the folks trying to feed and inform the little preschool tykes. I also haunted some of the inner-city playgrounds hooping it up, often the only white boy in the game. Working with blacks and running with blacks led to dating black girls until I eventually married a "sister" and had the only three kids I ever intend to have.Gay rights were not on my radar.You couldn't have made me say the N-word, except when I was running with my partners, who liked to mess with me via the H-word and seemed to expect a ribald comeback.But only if no other Caucasoids were around.It all seems quaint to me now.Here in Seattle, mixed couples of every hue seem to predominate on many occasions.And when I try to talk race with younger folks, they look at me like some dinosaur from prehistory.Except in Seattle's outer precincts, race - at least on the social, bar and dating level - is a non-issue.Here, when I hear something negative about a minority, from blacks or whites, the minority slandered is the group that calls itself queer.
I've come across a great discovery in the past year or so: breathing is a magical process for moving swiftly through life! I've also come to realize that life repeatedly throws each of us into breathing patterns that are stifling. As you read on, ponder how you may benefit from greater awareness of this seemingly simple act.First, take a snapshot of your breath this very moment. Shut your eyes, and continue breathing for the next minute as you've been doing the past few mo-ments. Note the character of your breath. Fast or slow, shallow or deep? What pattern does the air travel as it flows in and out? What parts of your body seem to be moving in cadence with your breath? Can you feel your spine flex as you breathe? Overall, focus on your breathing for a moment and compare what you notice to the information below.
I've come across a great discovery in the past year or so: breathing is a magical process for moving swiftly through life! I've also come to realize that life repeatedly throws each of us into breathing patterns that are stifling. As you read on, ponder how you may benefit from greater awareness of this seemingly simple act.First, take a snapshot of your breath this very moment. Shut your eyes, and continue breathing for the next minute as you've been doing the past few mo-ments. Note the character of your breath. Fast or slow, shallow or deep? What pattern does the air travel as it flows in and out? What parts of your body seem to be moving in cadence with your breath? Can you feel your spine flex as you breathe? Overall, focus on your breathing for a moment and compare what you notice to the information below.
It wasn't until May 2006 that Lower Smith Cove Park opened to the public. The opening of the park, located on 23rd Avenue West, across the street from the Port of Seattle's West Yard and just south of the Magnolia Bridge, constituted the realization of a vision that dated back to the early '90s. "I've been working on getting this park in place for the past 15 years," says King County Council chair Larry Phillips. "It's so gratifying to see a new public space open up that will serve the communities of both Queen Anne and Magnolia."The land that is now home to Ursula Judkins Viewpoint and Lower Smith Cove Park was used as a train yard until World War II. To the south and west, it offers a wonderful view of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Peninsula. In 2003, the Seattle Parks Department, in cooperation with the King County Council, successfully acquired these 7.3 acres from the U.S. Navy.
The Fort Lawton Army Reserve Center in Discovery Park will be closed down by 2009, and the city wants to take the lead in identifying new uses for the buildings and more than 30 acres of property at the site.Mayor Greg Nickels announced last week that he intends to submit legislation to the Seattle City Council authorizing the city to develop a reuse plan for the property, which will become surplus when operations are moved to Fort Lewis.The city would become a "local reuse authority" under the Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act of 1994, according to a June 12 press release issued by the mayor's office.
It's a neighborhood pulled from dreams.Encircling the shores of a small lake, modern houses, apartments and live/work studios share space with hobbit holes, tree houses, tepees and traditional Native longhouses. The paths around the lake are lined with communal gardens and small play fields. All electrical power is generated by solar panels and windmills, and next to the lake sits a greenhouse/bioreactor water-treatment plant. There are no fences, no keep out signs. Traffic lights and driveways are entirely un-necessary. You won't find a single car, but each and every neighbor is equipped with a bicycle.This neighborhood - or Eco Village - which currently exists only as a beautifully rendered architectural scale model, is still too small for human habitation, but the fourth- and fifth-grade students of Lawton Elementary School are working on getting that changed. They've spent the past year working on every detail of the model, a year of planning, designing, researching, creating and dreaming.
Fischer Plumbing's Golden Plungers entered the final round of the Magnolia Little League Majors Tournament needing to beat Goodman Racing twice in two days to take home the trophy.A loss on Wednesday or Thursday, June 14 or 15, would have handed the tournament to Goodman, which won the regular season title with a 16-1 record and beat Fischer three out their four previous meetings-the Plungers' only losses in their 20-3 season. In the first game, on Wednesday, the Plungers exacted revenge on Goodman for the previous Sunday's shutout, pounding out 12 runs on 11 hits to win by the score of 12-7. Fischer jumped to an early 5-0 lead on doubles by Jason Books (4 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) and Will Schmidt, who had two hits and six RBIs in the game.But Goodman tied the game in the top of the third after Oliver Guarino (2 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) hit a two-run homer over the left field wall, and Brad Baker (2 for 3, 1 run 1 RBI), Gordon Krippaehne (1 for 2, 1 run) and Demetri Skepataris (1 for 1, 1 run) scored three more.In the bottom of the inning, the Plungers took the lead back for good when Michael Land doubled to left field to drive in Jack MacLaugh-lin. Harrison Linsey would also score for Fischer.
A Seattle City Council decision over a proposal to tear down three homes and rebuild a larger Fire Station 20 on Queen Anne Hill has been postponed.The problem, according to council member Jan Drago, is that the plan has no chance of getting the OK from the Public Safety, Government Relations and Arts Committee, where approval is needed before a vote of the full council."The majority of committee members have not and will not support the plan," Drago said. Mayor Greg Nickels has asked the council to hold off on making a decision until July because council members want more information about alternative sites, she added.But the mayor's office is sticking to its guns and still insists the current location is the best one, according to spokeswoman Marianne Bichsel. "Our analysis has been there really isn't another feasible site," she said of the mayor's office, the Fire Department and Fleets and Facilities.
Celebrating its 14th season, students of the ballet program at Magnolia Community Center performed in a recital June 16 at the Catharine Blaine School auditorium.Ballet III students pictured are: (front row, from left) Claire Spragins, Anika Grevstad, Alexi Lewis; (middle row) Diana Furukawa, Alina Kido-Matzner, Emma Franklin; (back row) Elizabeth Swanberg, Kathleen McIntosh, Elisa Rosenthal, Georgia Gray.Ballet II students pictured are: (from left) Grace Mackie, Maeve Anesini, Gracie Raebourn, Kara Kroontje, Eleanor Bergerson, Julie Furukawa, Hannah Schubert (not pictured is Alexandra Sheldrup).The program director is Marilyn Johnston.
Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles launched her campaign last week for a fourth term as a state senator from the 36th District, an area that includes Magnolia, Queen Anne, Ballard and the Denny Regrade. A staunch Democrat, the Queen Anne resident began her political career as a state representative, and so far she has no opponents in the senate race. If history is any judge, she may not face one. "I haven't had an opponent since 1994," Kohl-Welles said. "But I don't take things for granted." Indeed, she noted that the filing deadline for candidates, Republican or Democrat, is the last week in July. Kohl-Welles still thinks it's important to be engaged in a campaign, even if she's not squaring off against an opponent. "I'm a progressive Democrat," the incumbent said, "but I serve constituents no matter what party they're from."Still, the 36th District is heavily Democratic, and contributors to her campaign include Ballard Oil Company owner Warren Aakervick, historian Walt Crowley, Magnolia Community Club President Vic Barry, El Centro de la Raza director Roberto Maestas, NARAL ProChoice Washington political consultant Cathy Allen, Queen Anne activist John Coney and TV broadcaster and motivational speaker Tony Ventrella.A non-tenured faculty member at the University of Washington, Kohl-Welles said she doesn't have much time for teaching anymore because the legislature is becoming more and more of a full-time job.
It's a neighborhood pulled from dreams.Encircling the shores of a small lake, modern houses, apartments and live/work studios share space with hobbit holes, tree houses, tepees and traditional Native longhouses.The paths around the lake are lined with communal gardens and small play fields.All electrical power is generated by solar panels and windmills, and next to the lake sits a greenhouse/bioreactor water-treatment plant.There are no fences, no "keep out" signs. Traffic lights and driveways are entirely unnecessary. You won't find a single car, but each and every neighbor is equipped with a bicycle.This neighborhood-or Eco Village-which currently exists only as a beautifully rendered architectural scale model, is still too small for human habitation, but the 4th- and 5th-grade students of Lawton Elementary School are working on getting that changed. They've spent the past year working on every detail of the model-a year of planning, designing, researching, creating and dreaming.
A busy weekend getting the families together to celebrate grads and dads. Saturday showed off the great beauties of the Northwest summer season. Warm and sunny afternoon weather followed by pleasantly warm temperatures extending into the late evening hours. The barbecue scents wafted over the landscape.It was a weekend of celebration and gatherings. It felt like a blessed time-out from the cultural and economic upheavals shaking us all at our core. However, try as one might to ignore the anger-producing process of getting to the celebrations and reunions, once again the desperate and inane traffic problems of the region were in your face, along with the delicious remains from that special barbecue sauce.I jest, for I am loath to return from the flights of fancy that this weekend produced for so many families.
Greg Nickels did something amazing recently: The man who would be pothole king asked the public what it thinks about our crummy roads and decrepit bridges.Sure, he's using a public survey of the so-called "dirty dozen" worst streets to promote a 20-year, $1.8 billion tax measure. I mean, the guy is seriously into pricey legacies. Take the Seattle Big Dig (sorry, Viaduct tunnel), for example.But the fact that hizzoner wants to get advice from the citizenry means a lot, especially since he seems supremely disinclined to do the same thing for the city council. I suspect Seattleites will have plenty of ideas on their own. After all, complaining about the city is such an integral part of "The Process" here. The survey (sorry, complaint) results will be released in July, and the top 12 get on someone's priority fix-it list, pending approval of the hard-sell funding package. There are bound to be some obvious favorites, such as pretty much any bridge in town. But I worry that tackling some of the other problems could change the character of the city for the worse.Take a streetscape issue dear to a lot of people's hearts: buckled sidewalks. They're literally everywhere, thanks to all those wonderful street trees the city has promoted with such ecological zeal.
Genealogy is a fascinating field of study. I think we all have a universal, innate desire to learn from whence our ancestors came.I don't mean folks should begin to investigate the controversy over Darwin vs. intelligent design, but only to seek, correctly, the names of one's grandparents and maybe their great-grandparents.Many pragmatic reasons almost force us to know who our recent ancestors are, e.g., even a visit to one's personal physician elicits questions of genetics and possible heredity diseases, all necessary information to properly treat many medical maladies.The first stories I wrote for this column told of efforts to locate my Polish ancestors (March 16, 2005). Recently I've received some exciting new information which I'd like to share. It illustrates the time-honored maxim: Never give up.A bit of background history is necessary to set this story.
School is almost out and summer is quickly approaching. With summer comes more time during the day and potentially more freedom and little supervision (for teens).For many youth, summer offers opportunities for jobs, summer camps, more time to hang out with friends and more time for fun activities. There are all kinds of activities planned for youth, especially here in Seattle.There are great places to go and explore and new activities to try. Youth workers (such as myself) plan different activities for teens to offer them fun things to do during the summer (and during the school year as well).Sometimes, though, in a teen's mind, summer offers few activities and youth find themselves constantly bored.Despite numerous activities and opportunities, teens choose to be bored.I've asked myself: why do so many kids resist fun activities? It is as if nothing is good enough to create excitement for them. There seem to be few activities that pull them in and keep them interested.I have, however, noticed an exception: for many youth, extreme activities and deviant behavior are what entertains them.