You can lose your gloves. You can lose your keys. But you'd never lose track of your investments, would you? You might be surprised at just how many people do forget about investments, or leave them behind when they move. Every state maintains unclaimed-property offices to deal with millions of dollars worth of stocks, bonds, bank accounts, un-cashed checks, pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs.To avoid losing track of your financial assets, follow these suggestions: Keep records of all bank accounts and investments.It would probably take just a few minutes for you to write up a list of all your bank accounts and investments. And you don't have to go into great detail, either - just include the type of account and where it's currently held. Make sure you share this list with a family member. * Inform banks and brokers when you move or change names.Notify your bank, broker, 401(k) administrator, insurance company and any other financial service agency you work with when you move or if you change your name due to marriage or divorce.
The first indicators were forecasts from the National Weather Service on Dec. 12, followed by warnings that increased in urgency as the storm of the century approached the Pacific Northwest. By the time winds clocked at 69 miles per hour slammed Sea-Tac International Airport on Dec. 15, we all knew this was a weather event of gigantic proportions. In advance of the potential threat, we had begun assembling our largest workforce ever. Now, one month later, Kirkland and other communities are getting back to normal and taking the extra steps to prepare for the future. As the last of the storm debris is being cleaned up and our electric system is being examined, repaired and strengthened, we at Puget Sound Energy (PSE) - who worked with first responders, the city of Kirkland and its public works department and with our repair crews - are evaluating how we did. We're also asking what we could have done better, and what we need to do to be prepared for future emergencies.
The recent windstorm served as a sobering reminder to us all of just how vulnerable we are when faced with the powerful forces of Mother Nature. And yet, as one who has experienced several Southern California earthquakes, I am looking at this storm as a pointed wake-up call for what we all need to do to both prepare for major emergencies and respond when they do happen.In the wake of this storm, we at the city are currently conducting a thorough after-action review process. We will be reporting out the results of this review to the Kirkland City Council and the community in the latter part of February.In advance of this report, I thought I would share with you some initial, personal observations including the recognition that some actions were well done, other areas need improvement and that there were valuable lessons to be learned.At least we were warnedAs devastating as this storm was, it did provide a distinct advantage - namely a certain amount of warning. (Earthquakes don't do that.) As a result, we were able to do some preparation, including setting up our Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which was then in operation for the first 36 hours of the storm. This proved to be a key in our ability to coordinate the efforts of our "first-responders" (police, fire, public works and parks crews). As part of the EOC, city hall staff responded to requests for information through a phone bank and the city's Web page.To say that they were busy would be quite the understatement. I was very proud of the dedication and can-do attitude of city employees.
Did you notice anything different over your Monday morning coffee on January 22? There was no snow to be found. And no Seahawks loss to lament. And also, sadly, there wasn't an Eastside daily paper to comment on either topic. The last edition of the King County Journal came out on January 21. So ended more than 100 years of daily community journalism on the Eastside. The King County Journal's many forebears include The Slaughter Sun, launched in Auburn in 1889, and the Bellevue American, which began in 1930 and became the Eastside Journal in 1996. The paper's electronic presence disappeared almost immediately. The day after, the King County Journal Web site ceased to be as well. One might have hoped that the website, with something like 11 years of archived articles available online, would have stuck around as a community resource. No such luck. While it is possible, though by no means certain, that the King County Journal's demise could prove economically beneficial to the Kirkland Courier, we consider the Journal's closing to be a major loss.But not a surprising one. The writing was on the wall in bright letters and a very large font. When the former Eastside Journal combined with the South County Journal in 2003 to become a single daily paper stretching from Auburn to Woodinville, the move smelled of desperation. No one was surprised when the paper was put up for sale last summer. Following the paper's purchase by Black Press Ltd. in November, there was similarly no surprise when the new owners announced a month later that they would shut it down.
The Fremont Arts Council will bring New Orleans to the eclectic Fremont community on Feb. 17 with the debut of Carnivale Voudoo Mardi Gras. All proceeds of the community event will go toward the annual Fremont Solstice Parade, which celebrates its 19th year this summer."We fully expect this to be a signature event that we'll continue in the future," said Ricky Gene Powell, the Mardi Gras event's director and co-producer.Much 'packed into one evening'Attendees are encouraged to dress up for the event, which will feature zydeco dance lessons by Gator Boy and music by Captain Leroy and the Zydeco Locals, a high-energy band that plays authentic zydeco music from southwestern Louisiana.There will also be a Haute Trash fashion show, with recycled art and Mardi Gras as a theme.
Visualize Wallingford,'" joked one Wallingford resident. "I want to make a bumper sticker for Wallingford!"That was just one of the many ideas suggested this weekend during Sustainable Seattle's open workshop with business owners and residents at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. A handful of people gathered on Saturday, Feb. 3, as the nonprofit organization presented its plan to improve the quality of business and life in Wallingford. The plan, Sustainable Urban Neighborhood Initiative (SUNI), launched in 2003 and involves 10 different Seattle neighborhoods. Three of those neighborhoods -Wallingford, North Beacon Hill and Lake City - were selected for the Healthy Neighborhood Business District workshop, with Wallingford being the first of the three."We tend to act as a neutral broker between businesses, the community and the local government," said Deborah Kuznitz, SUNI project manager.
In 2000, Jason Hughes and Nabil Ayers moved their fledgling music store from a converted house in West Fremont to the location where GlamOrama once ruled our striving downtown business district and made Fremont hip.The young men hadn't planned to move to the center of the Center of the Universe, but when GlamOrama owner and goddess of kitsch Charlotte Buchanan called them to let them know she intended to close her landmark business, Nabil and Jason grabbed the opportunity. Heirs to the location where Glam-Orama built a reputation on stratospheric outrageousness, they didn't attempt imitation. Instead, they let their store, Sonic Boom, create its own following.
The sound of laughter rings out between the child-decorated walls of the Roaring Mouse Creative Arts Studio. No one, however, tells any jokes. It's the monthly meeting of the Laughter Club. Participants meet for an hour of Laughter Yoga, a combination of yoga and laughing exercises. "Laughter yoga is a body-mind practice which combines simple and playful laughter exercises with gentle yoga breathing to enhance health and happiness," said Teresa Verde, the certified laughter leader for the club.Method to the laughterThe Ravenna-based club, which started last November, is an organized space where people can come together and laugh for no reason, according to Verde. Laughter clubs such as this one have spread worldwide, with more than 5,000 clubs in 53 countries, according to Verde, five of which are located in Western Washington.
Need to start exercising, but not sure where to start? Walking is one of the safest, simplest forms of exercise and Capitol Hill is one of the best places to do it. And here's a good statistic: On average, every minute spent exercising can extend your life by 1.5 to 2 minutes!For most outdoor walks you need no special equipment apart from a good pair of comfortable supportive shoes. They can be the difference between a fun, rejuvenating walk and an uncomfortable, painful one. Walking benefitsThe health benefits of walking include the increase of aerobic endurance; it's easier on the joints, burns almost as many calories as jogging and reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Fit walkers are less likely to fall and suffer injuries because their bones are strengthened and they have better range of movement around their joints.
When Pacific Northwest Ballet first moved into McCaw Hall, they premièred a gorgeous new production of "Swan Lake." A few minor technical glitches, such as lights not exactly lighting when they should, and the surging adrenaline of the dancers created by the excitement caused some uncharacteristic wobbles in that opening night in 2003.Now, the company returns to the lake edge with superb confidence. Like last season's remount of "Sleeping Beauty," this four-act story ballet revealed a company not only secure but also comfortable with the complex choreography, huge numbers of dancers on the stage and long marathons of high-energy dancing. And those sets and costumes have lost none of their "wow" factor in the interim. This "Swan Lake" shimmered with silver moonlight and mysterious mists. The color-drenched costumes of the royal court beautifully contrasted with the white and crystal decorations of the "swans" filling Acts II and IV.On opening night of "Swan Lake," principal dancer Louise Nadeau proved once again her genius at translating a ballet icon into believable character.Her dual characterization of Odette/Odile (white swan/black swan) created two very different women, both strong, both beautiful and both the draw of all eyes in the house.
We live in a time of medical miracles. Antibiotics, dialysis, neonatology, robotic surgery, organ transplants: they're life-saving technologies that give humans an almost godlike power. The question is, have we developed the moral structure needed to know when and to whom we should apply those technologies? That is the issue at the center of "The God Committee" currently playing at Taproot Theatre.The play is set in a hospital board room on a rowdy St. Patrick's Day in New York. Though the streets are filled with boisterous revelers, and the hospital's own public address system periodically breaks forth with rollicking Irish music, the matter before the seven professionals in the conference room is solemn indeed.A human heart is being rushed to the hospital where a handful of dying patients are waiting for a transplant. Their fate rests on the decision made in that room. Which one of them will be chosen to receive the life-saving organ?
Intrigue in Rome, politics versus passion, servants gossiping, all of it underscored by a "continuo ensemble" with such instruments as a lute, theorbo, harp, viola da gamba and guitars. Welcome to Monteverdi's dramma per musica (musical drama) "L'incoronazione di Poppea," one of the earliest baroque operas and a forerunner of the modern opera.To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Seattle's Early Music Guild is producing a fully staged production of "Poppea" at the Intiman Theatre. The show should appeal to a wide audience, said musical director Stephen Stubbs. "It's closer to a Shakespeare play set to music than Verdi opera. Monteverdi had a whole range of dynamics in his plot; it runs the gamut of human emotions."Monteverdi (1567-1643) began pioneering his form of musical drama with "L'Orfeo." That work really is just a play with music, said Stubbs, in that the dialogue and action make as much sense without the music as with it. But in his two later works, "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria" ("The Return of Ulysses," 1641) and "L'incoronazione di Poppea" ("The Coronation of Poppea," 1642), the emotions of the characters and twists in the plot began to be revealed through the music as much as the dialogue. That innovation puts Monteverdi closer to later composers, like Verdi, than his immediate successors such as Gluck or Handel.
The rising price of gas over the past couple of years hasn't bothered 51-year-old Lyle Rudensey one bit.Rudensey - who taught a Biodiesel Home Brew workshop last Saturday at the Greenwood Senior Center - is an expert at making his own biodiesel fuel in his detached garage.He uses the fuel to keep his Volkswagen Jetta wagon running. And Rudensey gets between 40 and 48 miles to the gallon. He estimates the cost of his fuel at 65 cents per gallon.That's right. In this day of $2.50 per gallon of gas, Rudensey makes his own for a quarter of the cost."I use restaurant vegetable oil," Rudensey explained. He said his fuel comes primarily from Thai, Italian and Chinese restaurants. "My car smells like chop suey."
Lea Denmark was in a panic on Jan. 27. Her 7-year-old pug, Minnie Pearl, had run off from her home in the 1900 block of 11th Ave. W., and Denmark couldn't find the dog, which wasn't wearing a collar. "She's been through a lot with me," Denmark said. "So when she disappeared, it was pretty bad."Making matters worse, Minnie recently had undergone surgery for a hernia, was still in stitches and was in a lot of pain, Denmark said. It also turned out the dog had a painful sinus infection that Denmark didn't find out about until later at the vet's, she added.So when Denmark tried to brush away some shedding fur around the dog's nose, the dog reacted unexpectedly. "She screamed like a person, and she ran," Denmark remembered. "I think she was trying to run away from the pain."Denmark said she chased her pet, but the dog got away. "I was just beside myself," said the woman, who added that she called all her friends in the neighborhood and told area kids she was offering a $50 reward for the dog's return. "All the kids in the neighborhood were out (looking for the dog)."
An old Irish proverbs says, "Many a sudden change takes place on a spring day." While spring is yet a few months away, change nevertheless is coming to Mulleady's Irish Pub & Restaurant, with new owners taking over the Magnolia digs.Established in February 2001 by partners Dave Mulleady and Carl Rogers, the tavern-originally located a half-block east of the current pub at 21st Avenue West and West Dravus-was a modest, wood-floored affair the likes of which you might find in the Irish countryside. The pub was famous for its oversized urinal, salvaged from the old Seattle Orpheum Theatre of the early 1920s.In August of 2005, the pub moved to the new location-a more upscale, family-friendly modern Irish pub, sporting a varied and well-executed menu. The celebrated urinal made the move as well.