Sometimes, when we do something that seems to suit us, we also find out in the process those things that do not.In the course of working on Magnolia History Book II (it will be one year this month), I have enjoyed the research, loved working with other writers as a team, got absolutely woozy when a 1916 picture of a soldier and his horse on the beach by the West Point Lighthouse turned up in my archive search.And I love seeing others create: designing the posters in Magnolia Village, and on Queen Anne announcing the beginning of pre-sales for the book. ( I like the steam train best, it looks like it could roll you down.)I love seeing beautiful things, nice touches like the gift certificate envelope with three fragile golden snowflakes drifting down enclosing a nicely designed gift voucher-or reading the story of a fellow writer that tells a rich historical tale with wit and wisdom, family secrets now shared neighborhood history.What I do not do well is fund raise.
For many years I've been sharing British Christmas customs and traditions, both on my radio programs and in print. Fortunately, the traditions are long and the customs varied, starting as far back as the Druids and the Romans and including many conquerors and invaders who brought their customs and traditions to the British Isles.In the process they have supplied me with plenty of interesting material to share with you.So in this electronic Year of our Lord 2006, let me offer you a mince pie-not a slice, but a miniature, 3-inch, covered pie which, like Christmas pudding, is a truly British tradition.If you accepted and were living in Cromwell's England of the mid-1600s, you would have been breaking the law. When the Puritans gained a majority in Parliament, they seized the chance to enforce their strict views on the British people. Many innocent traditions enjoyed by ordinary men and women were denounced as forms of paganism or falling short of a proper observance of Christianity.
The Thanksgiving turkey is but a memory now, and visions of sugarplums are beginning to coalesce in our dreams.But for some of Magnolia's residents, the holidays mean struggle and heartache.Most of us in Magnolia are fortunate to enjoy a great standard of living as well as the opportunity to indulge ourselves in life's pleasures, but there are people in our midst who are on fixed incomes or have suffered financial setbacks that have crippled their ability to enjoy even the smallest of pleasures.These neighbors include the elderly, single parents and people who have temporarily lost their source of income.We Magnolians need to open our hearts and our wallets to help those among us who won't be able enjoy the holidays-or many other days-if they don't get some help.
The Final Environmental Impact Study has been completed over plans to shift cruise ships from Terminal 30 to Terminal 91, and the next step is adoption of the study by the Board of Port Commissioners, said project manager Catherine Chu."We're anticipating that will happen this month," Chu told a small crowd at a Feb. 8 meeting of the Magnolia Community Club. The move is necessary because container traffic has recently ramped up, and the Port needs the space at T-30 to handle the growth. Cruise-ship traffic has also grown exponentially, increasing from 6 ships in 1999 to 200 today, according to the FEIS.The T-91 project includes a two-story, 162,000-square-foot cruise terminal on the south end of the pier, which has been home to fishing vessels and barge traffic, Chu said.
The Washington state House and Senate have condemned a move by the federal government that will, in effect, establish a national ID system by 2008. The federal law (HR418), titled the "Real ID Act," supersedes state laws protecting individual rights of privacy and places driver licensing and birth certificate regulation under control of the Department of Homeland Security.Scheduled to go into effect by May 2008, Real ID requires each of us to establish that we are who we say we are when we go to obtain or renew our state drivers license or ID card. Each of us will be required to provide-and the state will be required to verify-a photo ID, proof of date of birth, proof of Social Security number (or proof of lack of eligibility), proof of address and proof of citizenship or lawful immigration status.Once our identity has been established, that information (and perhaps more), along with verification of our documents, will be entered into a national database network, accessible at literally hundreds of thousands of locations, including Canada and Mexico, with no restrictions on the type of data accumulated, or how that information is used and by whom.
Here's a radically unpopular idea: I think the Seattle School District is doing a pretty good job.At least 70,000 or so of you seem to agree with me, based on the results of last week's special election for extension of the district's operations and capital levies. Both passed with about 70 percent of the vote. Even then, local media seemed to play up the negative, noting a record-low voter turnout and spinning it as disenchantment with the district.A series of challengesThere certainly is a lot of disenchantment afoot - which the dailies and elected officials like Mayor Greg Nickels and state Sen. Ed Murray have done more than their part to encourage. But viewed objectively, the district has done quite a bit to right its ship over the last three or so years, especially financially. That's not to say there aren't still major problems facing Seattle schools. There are. But the same problems - declining enrollment, old physical plants, poor tests scores (especially among non-white students), overtaxed special-needs programs - face nearly every other major urban school district in the country. Seattle is not unique and, in many ways, is doing relatively well.The district has gone from a $30 million budget deficit in 2003 to $20 million in reserves, aging high schools are being rebuilt and test scores are going up.
To what ends will we go to let love take root in our hearts? With the parade of Valentine's Day roses and chocolates upon us, such a question may seem sappy and trite. But strip from your mind the sensory overload of the holiday's marketing machine for a moment to contemplate the query's core. For me, the answer to this question comes in the form of a personal anecdote that transformed into a powerful touchstone.The second week of February in 1993 saw winter holding a mild grip on Missoula, and my two-mile walks to class at the University of Montana became pleasant. Even if the weather had turned icy, as was common at that time of year in the Northern Rockies, I wouldn't have been bothered much, for an energizing emotional high had engulfed me after meeting Jennifer.A group of mutual friends introduced us after a Suzanne Vega concert while we walked to a birthday party. Finishing their slices of chocolate-chip cheesecake, Jennifer and our birthday-girl friend took off with some others to a nearby bar, inviting me and a friend to come along. They left, and we hesitated, briefly. A half-hour later, I found myself sitting at a pub table, chatting with Jen. After two hours of talk, we parted, with the notion of going out for coffee soon. We had coffee on the eve of Valentine's Day. As the evening wound down, I promised to come by her dorm, where she was a resident assistant, during her office shift the next day to pay a visit with my burly malamute-shepherd.Soon after dawn, the worst blizzard of the year roared into the Missoula valley. The temperature plummeted, and thick flakes of snow fell slanting from the sky. Deep drifts began collecting throughout town, with visibility dropping to 10 feet at times when the wind really howled. I pulled on my heavy winter clothes, including a wool coat layered over a fleece jacket, clicked the leash on Meadow and stepped into the whiteout. The promised visit solidified the resolve in my smitten heart to see Jennifer.
Magnolian John Rayburn is worried that the ground may have been poisoned on a Seattle Department of Transportation planting strip near the corner of Thorndyke Avenue West and Thorndyke Place West.The steeply sloping planting strip was cleared last summer with the help of an herbicide, he said. "And nothing has grown here since." That surprises Rayburn, who figured something should have sprouted on the land by now. "I thought, 'Hell, is it going to be like this forever?'"SDOT spokesman Gregg Hirakawa said the slope isn't slide-prone. "But nevertheless, we didn't want it cleared," he said, adding, "They never got a permit for the clearing."They, in this case, is Amor Youngs, who lives near the planting strip, and she said she used a company recommended by SDOT arborist Liz Ellis to clear the land.Youngs added that the "ugly" planting strip was overgrown with Japanese knotweed and blackberry bushes, and that the ground was littered with trash. "What we have done, I have it cut, the bushes," she said. The city helped haul away the cut-down plants last summer, Youngs added.But has the herbicide treatment made the land unplantable?
Carsten Hansen, 17, of Lake Washington High School, has been honored for his exemplary volunteer service with a president's volunteer service award.The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was presented by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program on behalf of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
Juanita High School's drama department presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical, "Cinderella," April 12, 13 at 7:30 p.m., and April 14 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.Director Elizabeth McMurray-Hauk brings the enchantment alive with 78 costumes, multiple set changes, charming magical effects and just the right blend of humor and romance.Student Directors Paulina Przystupa, Kaitlyn Hylands, Teysha Potter and Eric Fields work special effects, sound and lights throughout the show, while Amanda Hauk, Juanita 2003 grad and vocal coach, operates the background tracks for the production.
A team of staff, parents and neighbors has met 10 times since the first of the school year to give planners advice regarding the school floor plans and siting. The team has met twice with the neighbors, with an additional meeting planned for the near future. The project includes the design of an approximately 59,900 square foot elementary school on the site of the existing Robert Frost Elementary School. The new school will be built behind the existing school in the area of the current playfields. The existing school will be utilized during the construction of the new facility and demolished after its completion
Fifteen teachers in the Lake Washington School District achieved national board certification. These teachers were honored by the district's board of directors at its March 5 meeting. There are now 46 national board certified teachers working full-time in 27 of the district's 48 schools.Teachers earn this prestigious credential through a rigorous assessment that generally takes a year or more to complete. It requires these teachers to demonstrate how their work improves student achievement. It is considered the highest professional certification a teacher can obtain
President John F. Kennedy once observed about government that "when things are non-controversial and beautifully coordinated, there is not much going on." Northstar Junior High School student Tasha Kacoroski puts a sharper point on it: "It's a mind-boggling process!"Fresh from spending a week in Olympia as a page for the state House of Representatives, she speaks from experience: The eighth-grader and fellow Northstar ninth-grader Kendra Sjogren recently had a unique opportunity to take part in a live civics lesson by observing state lawmaking in action
Ninety students trekked through Discovery Park on a Thursday in March, armed with handheld GPS (global positioning system) units, pocket PCs and cameras in search of small two-inch caches (treasures).The day was gifted to Stella Schola Middle School through a grant from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation and a generous donation from Playtime Inc.A GPS unit is an electronic device that can determine a person's approximate location (within around 6 to 20 feet) anywhere on the planet
BEST High School in Kirkland provides daycare for the children of the moms who have come back to school to finish their education. At this time, the daycare has 10 children, ranging from the four months to four years. We take them as young as six weeks.Carolyn Friedli started the daycare more than 20 years ago to help teen parents finish their high school education. Most of the teen parents are receiving help from a program called Working Connections through DSHS and have a majority of their child care paid f