It was an exciting night filled with youthful charm and talent at Catharine Blaine School on March 15, as students put on their annual variety show. The school cafeteria was packed with kids, families and fans who came to cheer on these budding stars. To start off the night, a group of eighth-grade girls choreographed a rendition of *NSYNC's "Here We Go." Even their appearance mirrored the former boy band from the '80s, as the girls wore long basketball shorts, T-shirts and baseball hats.
Magnolia native Lita Hoke says she and a couple of girlfriends started taking hula lessons when she was 15. It became a lifelong passion, and now-more than three decades later-she owns and runs the Sunshine From Polynesia dance school out of her home near Discovery Park.Hoke started performing as a hula dancer when she was 16, and she later married her high school sweetheart, a Hawaiian man named Richard Hoke. There's a certain irony in that. "His family wasn't really into hula dancing," she said.
The Seattle Police Department is seeking the public's assistance to identify the suspect who entered a commercial building in Fremont in the early morning hours of March 13 and stole items from several businesses inside the building.The suspect is considered to be a 35- to 40-year-old Caucasian male, with brown hair and a medium-thin build. He is about 6 feet, 1 inch tall and about 180 pounds.The suspect's vehicle is described as a dark, late-model Dodge Ram pickup, with a ladder rack on the roof.Anyone with information about the suspect's identity is encouraged to call the North Precinct's Burglary Unit, at 684-5735.
Miniature flags from various nations around the world welcome guests at The Continental Greek Restaurant and Cafe, at North 45th Street and University Way Northeast. On a Thursday evening, many Spanish speakers enjoyed dinner and conversation, including Christopher Meehan (in back, fourth from left), who grew up in Central America and speaks fluent Spanish. Attending his first Spanish-group meeting at The Continental, Meehan said he doesn't use his native language much in his daily life, so the meeting gave him an opportunity to speak it. Bienvenido! Willkommen! Dobro pozhalovat'! Each week, a number of foreign-language groups meet in the University District to improve their speaking and listening skills.Hosted by the Continental Greek Restaurant and Café, a different language group meets almost every night of the week.
Randy W. West, age 23, was outside the Columbia Plaza, south of Rainier Avenue South and South Alaska Street, around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, when he found himself in an argument with another man. The situation elevated and the stranger drew a gun, firing it several times into West while he stood close to the front entrance of the Columbia City mini mall.Three witnesses were nearby, and at least one of them reported the shooting at 3:17 p.m.By the time officers arrived on the scene, West was lying on the ground just in front of a yellow car. Seattle Fire Department medical personnel responded to the scene and administered aid to West. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center where the staff pronounced West dead at 4:24 p.m. Seattle Police Department crime scene investigators took over the crime scene after West was taken to the hospital. According to the King County Medical Examiner's Office, multiple gunshot wounds to the torso caused his death
For Wyjuana and Frederick Montgomery, basketball is a big part of their lives in their family. It's almost as if its part of a daily routine of eating, sleeping and going to work. More importantly, the Montgomerys carry the principles and ethics found in basketball - determination, hard work, discipline - into the lives of young women and the community through an annual event known as Queens of the Hardwood.The Queens of the Hardwood event will be held in the gymnasium at Rainer Beach High School starting at 2 p.m. on March 31. The all-star game will feature 19 girls from across Washington state and will be coached by Kate Ridnour, wife of Sonic guard Luke Ridnour, and Marvena Kemp, wife of former Sonics Shawn Kemp. In addition, the silent auction and raffle will feature sports memorabilia such as a signed Seahawks jersey from Shawn Alexander and signed basketball shoes from Sonics forward Chris Wilcox. Tickets are $8 for ages 18 and up, $5 for ages 5-17, and free for children under the age of 5.
Captain Landy Black is moving on. Literally. The commander of the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct on Capitol Hill has chosen to accept an offer to become the chief of police of the Davis, Calif., force. His upcoming move accomplishes a long-held career goal to lead a municipal police department. In addition to leaving the East Precinct, Black's departure ends a 24-year career with the Seattle Police Department. He worked as a patrol officer for 11 years, as a training supervisor after becoming sergeant, in the internal investigations and in the sexual assault and child abuse unit, among many positions within the department. Black's last day at the East Precinct will be Friday, March 30. On April 9, he begins his new job in California.Black's 21-month tenure as East Precinct commander is actually the longest one person has stayed in the position since Assistant Chief John Diaz, then a captain, filled that role for several years in the mid-'90s. What has become a kind of musical chairs has raised eyebrows among those who feel the continuity and stability of having someone occupy the position longer would serve the community better.
After 17 years at the helm, Pacific Publishing Company Inc. president Tom Haley is retiring.Haley's last day at work will be Friday, March 30. Pacific Publishing owns and operates the Capitol Hill Times and six other local community newspapers: Queen Anne News, Magnolia News, Beacon Hill News & South District Journal, North Seattle Herald-Outlook, Madison Park Times and the Kirkland Courier. The company also performs web-printing services for some 250 clients
Last week Seattle's Office of Housing released its long awaited inventory of low-income housing. There were some startling findings including a dramatic and continuing loss of low-income housing in our city. In just the past two years we lost 800 units to demolition and more than 3,200 units to condominium conversions, helping to drive vacancy rates down and rents up. More homelessness and even longer waiting lists for our city's limited supply of subsidized housing are the consequence. For all the lip service to "affordable housing" and "ending homelessness" we hear from city government, one might have expected the Office of Housing to sound the alarm and issue a call for immediate action to stem this loss.But not this administration
This August, northbound I-5 from Spokane Street into downtown will be reduced to as little as one lane during daylight hours as construction crews repair the freeway's bridge deck. How do the powers-that-be suggest that commuters cope?On the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Web page describing the project, under "What Can Drivers Do?," the first bulleted item is: "Take a vacation between Aug. 10 and 29."et's set aside the fact that many people don't even have three weeks of vacation in a year. Let's even ignore the bureaucratic arrogance in assuming that we can plan our precious vacation time to suit highway construction schedules.WSDOT also suggests ("use alternate routes") that drivers flood neighborhood streets in Georgetown, Beacon Hill and the Rainier Valley.
Every morning I knowingly send my four offspring to seething petri dishes full of bacteria, otherwise known as school, where they exchange, trade and have recess with deadly strains of the cold and flu viruses. It was only a matter of time until they engaged in biological warfare with my aged and compromised immune system.I never stood a chance.
This August, northbound I-5 from Spokane Street into downtown will be reduced to as little as one lane during daylight hours as construction crews repair the freeway's bridge deck. How do the powers-that-be suggest that commuters cope?On the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Web page describing the project, under "What Can Drivers Do?," the first bulleted item is: "Take a vacation between Aug. 10 and 29."et's set aside the fact that many people don't even have three weeks of vacation in a year. Let's even ignore the bureaucratic arrogance in assuming that we can plan our precious vacation time to suit highway construction schedules.WSDOT also suggests ("use alternate routes") that drivers flood neighborhood streets in Georgetown, Beacon Hill and the Rainier Valley.
A few weeks ago I went on my first nonworking vacation in living memory and discovered in the process that some things have changed.Over the years we've used a well-known van service to carry us to and from Sea-Tac. I needn't name the company, though in the past it's given good shuttle and I express appreciation for that.Our drivers on these latest runs were personable, even chatty. But each also seemed virtually bonded with, and certainly reliant upon, a new gadget on the dashboard of his van: a little GPS screen on which his itinerary was displayed, while a computerized voice - HAL-like, albeit female-sounding - issued instructions at key points in the journey.
A Drawn Perspective
This August, northbound I-5 from Spokane Street into downtown will be reduced to as little as one lane during daylight hours as construction crews repair the freeway's bridge deck. How do the powers that be suggest that commuters cope? On the WSDOT Web page describing the project, under "What Can Drivers Do?," the first bulleted item is: "Take a vacation between Aug. 10 and 29." Let's set aside the fact that many people don't even have three weeks of vacation in a year. Let's even ignore the bureaucratic arrogance in assuming that we can plan our precious vacation time to suit highway construction schedules. WSDOT also suggests ("use alternate routes") that drivers flood neighborhood streets in Georgetown, Beacon Hill and the Rainier Valley. Presumably by this last bit they're suggesting Martin Luther King Jr. Way South should be an alternate route. Have they even driven it in the last three years?