With annexation, Kirkland is on the verge of a momentous decision that may change its character forever. We believe it will affirm what has existed unofficially for a long time - that those who have considered themselves living in Kirkland will become officially part of the family. But we have to ask: Are we willing to pay the price to bring the rest of the family into the fold?
SEWARD PARK - The free coffee and tea that was offered in the large open room that is the Lakewood/Seward Park Community Center wasn't the only thing that was served hot at the Seattle City Council Panel discussion. Over 100 members of the Rainier Valley community crowded the building Feb. 27 to voice their feelings to the four council members in attendance. And while most of the emotions of the night remained calm, there were a few boiling points that put the Earl Gray to shame.br>Seattle City Council members Richard Conlin, Nick Licata, Sally Clark and Tom Rasmussen sat for nearly three hours, listening and responding to a list of concerns that local residents and business owners presented them.
The South End's Quakers hit a wall of Saxons from Eastern Washington during an anxiously anticipated 4A state tournament semifinal game at the Tacoma Dome on March 2. The Franklin squad entered the tournament riding a wave of high expectations generated by their 14-0 streak that earned them a top ranking in the King County 4A Lake Division Conference coupled with their 2006 championship season.But the Quakers had their hardwood work unexpectedly cut out for them when they hit the court on Friday against an equally undefeated team from east of the Cascades
Two weeks ago, I saw the light and converted - to supporting a tunnel to replace to Alaskan Way viaduct.I am not insane, drunk, or criminally negligent. As a community organizer recently informed me, I am one of the least popular people on Beacon Hill. I assure you I belong to no inner circle. I'll not be invited to His Honor the Mayor's next celebrity ball, or offered a cushy gig on the public payroll, or asked to the ribbon cutting should "tunnel-lite" make it to the finish line, except to pick up the recycling.When I confessed my new perspective to activists I know, they pitied me, and pointed me to websites containing truth as they see fit.
Questions or comments about the following applications or actions should be directed to the Washington State Liquor Control Board, (360) 664-1600.LICENSE APPLICATIONS*CADENCE: a change of location, for a domestic winery selling less than 250,000 liters, at 9320 15th Ave. S., owned by Leaf Cellars L.L.C. (Gaye Lynn McNutt and Benjamin Leaf Smith). It was previously at 2920 Sixth Ave. S.ASSUMPTION APPLICATIONS*COUNTY LINE RESTAURANT: a restaurant lounge selling spirits, beer and wine, at 8436 Dallas Ave. S., owned by Maxjung Inc. (Jung San So). The current license is held by Cal Investment Inc., doing business as County Line.LICENSE APPROVALS*RIVERETZ'S AUTO CARE: a grocery store selling beer and wine, at 6185 Fourth Ave. S.
In the Beacon Hill News & South District Journal's Feb. 28 issue, Leah Stahlsmith's article "Don't let those piles get out of control" advocates readers to toss their paper into the trash. "The bigger the trash can, the better!" she says.Paper isn't garbage anymore! Per Seattle Municipal Code, recyclables, including paper, are prohibited from residential and commercial garbage.Homeowners' garbage cans filled with more than 10-percent recyclables will not have their garbage collected until the recyclable are removed.
I read with interest the article concerning the use of Airport Way during the repair of I-5 ("Unavoidable I-5 traffic quagmire to hit South End this summer," Feb. 28)r>A note: All of Airport Way South and associated bridgework is built on fill.Two points come to mind. First, the bridge over the railroad tracks from Lucile to Summerville may only take vehicles restricted in its use to vehicles over 10K (5 tons) in the curb lanes only. The proposed use during the work on I-5 would put Metro busses (over 10K) over this bridge along with heavy trucks. Who is going to supervise the one in each direction rule?
Michael J. Sheehan has spent the new year so far behind bars following three separate incidents outside Madison Park's Edgewater Apartments. Sheehan, a registered sex offender in King County, was spotted last October and November outside the windows of three different women's residences. He was arrested for voyeurism on Nov. 7, 2006. On Thursday, March 1, Sheehan pleaded guilty to all three counts of voyeurism, a Class C felony. His sentencing date is set for March 23
What do martial arts, yoga and the traditional Japanese tea ceremony have in common? They all involve ritual aimed at fostering self-discipline and tranquility. The Seattle Japanese Garden, located in the Washington Park Arboretum at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. E., will increase the number of its traditional tea (Chado) gatherings starting in late March.Bonnie Mitchell, Seattle branch director of the Urasenke Foundation, and a Japanese advisory group have both discovered a growing interest in Seattle not only in Japanese culture but in the traditional tea ceremony.
Park Postal, a retail mail and parcel center in the heart of Madison Park, has seen a streamline of new, friendly faces since its opening on Nov. 29.Since then, the business has been booming. Park Postal, 4111 E. Madison St., was extremely busy in December and busier in January and February than its co-owners expected. "With the limited amount of advertising that we've done, the business is doing very well," Doran said. "Now that the community is starting to understand what we offer, it is growing by the day."
By Vera M. Chan-PoolThe following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct. They represent the officers' accounts of the events described.ARBORETUM■ Armed robbery: Police respond-ed to an armed robbery in the 3100 block of East Madison Street around 12:25 a.m. Feb. 1.According to the police report, a man was cleaning his windows while he was filling up his car with gas when a car pulled in opposite him. The man didn't pay attention to the other vehicle until a man got of the car with a black ski mask over his face. The suspect approached him with a gun and demanded all of the victim's money.The victim, who hails from Ren-ton, gave the suspect his wallet, containing $80, and the suspect got back into his car, whose driver also wore a black ski mask.The suspect headed northbound on Lake Washington Boulevard before turning around to head westbound on East Madison Street. The responding officers couldn't locate the suspects.■ Property destruction: An employee at the Seattle Japanese Garden reported that four ropes used to border trails and ponds have been cut on different days, and a large hole was cut into a chain-link fence.The damage to the ropes and the fence was first noticed Jan. 9; the ropes, however, were cut on different days since then. The most recent incident was reported Feb. 15.No theft was noted in the police report.MADISON PARK■ Attempted suicide: A man shot himself in the upper-left chest area around 1 p.m. Feb. 6 in a park in the 1700 block of 41st Avenue East. According to witnesses, the man had been in the park for about an hour before they realized he was injured.Police had found the man sitting on a bench, conscience and alert. He told them the location of the gun and said that he had shot himself while sitting on another bench in the park.The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.MADRONA■ Suspicious man: A man in his mid- to late 60s was seen wandering through the back yards of several homes in the 2900 block of East Pike Street around 10:40 a.m. Feb. 17.Officers found the man walking out from between two homes and stopped him. The man admitted he didn't live in the area and didn't know anyone who did. The man then identified himself with different spellings of a name and gave a birth year of 1971. The officers searched the man for weapons or tools since they had just received a call of a break-in near 33rd Avenue and East Pine Street, but none were found.They advised him that they were looking for a man who matched his description who was seen looking through people's windows days earlier.The police ultimately took him to Harborview Medical Center for a mental-health evaluation. They left him there since they couldn't confirm his identity nor could they arrest him.Leschi■ Illegal dumping: Two men were seen dumping trash in Frink Park, at South Frink Place and Lake Washington Boulevard South, at 4:40 a.m. Feb. 2. The suspects had backed a vehicle into the park and unloaded trash onto a pile of branches. A neighbor who witnessed the incident called police.The police couldn't locate the suspects' vehicle, which was registered to a Central Area address, but they did find a truckload of trash thrown on top of the pile of branches. The trash included building materials, a chair, a closet door, several bags of trash and cardboard boxes.■ Stolen car, eluding police: A woman called police around 8:45 p.m. Feb. 13 after seeing her friend's stolen car being driven in the Mount Baker neighborhood. Police located the car on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, heading into Rainier Valley.The officers tried to stop the car at Rainier Avenue South and South McClellan Street, but the driver continued on and headed northbound before turning back onto Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.Because of traffic, the original responding officers stopped following the suspect, but other officers were monitoring the situation.The stolen car eventually stopped in the 2800 block of South King Street, where the driver ran from the car, and the unsecured car rolled backward into a parked car. Officers caught the suspect shortly thereafter.The suspect later told police that he had purchased the car for $30 and that he ran from police because he was 14 years old and didn't have driver license.■ Teen burglars: A man called police around 2:45 p.m. Feb. 15 after three teenage girls tried to break into his home in the 300 block of 29th Avenue.He told police he saw the three girls approach his front door and ring the doorbell; the man didn't answer the door because he thought they were solicitors. Then he heard the doorknob rattle and something hit the door. The man looked out to see the girls kicking at the door and a window, so he yelled at them and they ran away. He called police and saw them board a bus.The bus driver confirmed with police that the three suspects has been aboard his bus, which was now at 34th Avenue and East Union Street, where they disembarked.Responding officers searched the area and parked in front of the Madrona-Sally Goldmark Library, where one officer saw two girls look out the window and then run to the back of the library. The police detained the two girls, while the third ran out the door into another officer.All three suspects were taken to the East Precinct, where one girl admitted to kicking the window but denied kicking the door: "I don't kick the doors. I'm the one that goes in," she said. A second girl admitted to committing another burglary early that day in the 500 block of 30th Avenue South.In that incident, a man later returned home at 5:30 p.m. to discover his laptop computer and other items were missing, his refrigerator door was open and a window had been broken. Also, a portable radio in a closet was found in the living room. All stolen items were returned to this man, while all three girls were arrested and booked into the Youth Service Center.■ Observant neighbor: A man in the 3400 block of East Huron Street called police at 6 p.m. Feb. 25 after seeing three teenage boys looking into vehicles. One of them placed a laptop bag into some bushes. The man confronted the boys and told them he had called police; they fled.A half-hour later, the man saw two of the boys on Lake Dell Avenue, where one of them looked over a fence as if he were about to break into a house. The man approached them, and one of the two boys walked away; the other held the laptop bag that had previously been in the bushes.The man again confronted the teen and told him the computer belonged to a neighbor and he wanted it returned. The suspect complied and left.Not really knowing who the computer belonged to, the man booted up the computer and found the owner's name, but not the address.■ Park damage: A construction crane operator on a site in the 300 block of Lakeside Avenue South damaged about 100 feet of grass and destroyed a water-value cover in nearby Leschi Park. The incident occurred between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Feb. 23, but it wasn't reported until Feb. 26.Responding officers arrived to find a construction worker reseeding the grass and replacing the damaged water-valve cover.The construction supervisor said he had already resolved the issue with the parks department, and that any damage would be "insignificant" since the crew will build a staircase there soon.
With family members away at war or working evenings, social engagements were kept at a minimum. And young folks would quite often eat with other families. In the days of World War II, my mother worked at Riley's Café, now the Villa Marina apartments at 43rd Avenue East and East Madison Street. She worked the evening shift so I sometimes ate dinner at the cafe. These experiences left me with many memories of dining rituals.
Global warming's all the rage.Everywhere you go, you hear about it. Whether it's in the classroom where an environmental-science course is being taught or the latest screening of Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" or the ridiculous "Day After Tomorrow," the impending doom of climate change has apparently become public enemy No. 1.Whenever there's this sort of panic, however, we seem to lose our healthy skepticism. We forget that, for years, the environmentalists have talked of impending apocalypse due to this or that human behavior, only to see humanity (and the world) move on to another day.
After more than 20 years in operation, the Magnolia Helpline is closing shop, having helped hundreds of people with emergency money for such necessities as housing expenses, food, medicines, gasoline and transportation for disabled and senior citizens.Greg Carnese, manager at Leroux Fine Apparel in the Village and a member of the Magnolia Helpline board, said that at the end of March the organization would no longer be taking donations.Carnese explained that the poverty level in Seattle was low, and a check with Seattle's Population and Demographics Web site shows an estimated poverty level of 11 percent in 2004, with 64,068 people living under the poverty line out of a population of 572,600
Lawton Elementary held their third annual World Cultures Night last Thursday. As in past years, the theme at the March 1 event revolved around one continent, with each grade focusing on a country within that continent.The idea is that over a six-year period, students will have studied all six (some say seven) continents, focusing more specifically on certain countries.This year staff, parents and students put in hundreds of hours of work to transform the school into the continent of Europe.