The Port of Seattle bought the 3.4-acre South Tsubota Steel site off 15th Avenue West just north of the Magnolia Bridge for $6.1 million on Jan. 27, said Port spokesman Mick Shultz. The price includes $600,000 for due diligence, assignment and closing costs.But the Port doesn't plan on doing anything with the Tsubota property until plans are firmed up for future development of the 57-acre, Port-owned North Bay land north of terminals 90 and 91, Shultz said. The National Guard Armory just to the northwest of the Tsubota property also could become part of the North Bay plans if a suitable location elsewhere is found, according to the Port.
The dynamics of replacing the Magnolia Bridge have changed with a new cost estimate that makes the earlier 2002 figure of $100 million to $135 million look a bit like a bargain-basement price.The new figure for all three alternatives is plus or minus $200 million, said Grace Crunican, director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. The jump in the cost estimate, in turn, has led the city agency to consider rehabilitating the bridge rather than replacing it with a new structure, she said.The change in the price tag is based in part on geotechnical information that has come out only in the previous couple of months.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner - next Monday, Feb. 14 to be exact; the busiest day of the year for the local florists.While you are dashing around looking for that last-minute Valentine gift, or busily selecting just the right card for that special person in your life, let me remind you that you are perpetuating an age-old tradition going all the way back to ancient Rome.
Closely following one of the most destructive natural disasters in modern history, Pacific Science Center has opened an exhibit and film focusing on the forces of nature.Aptly named, the exhibit "Powers of Nature" and the IMAX film "Forces of Nature" are timely by virtue not only of the tragic tsunami in South Asia but also, nearer to hand, the building lava dome at Mount St. Helens.Our planet is an active, living and changing system, and those forces of nature are an ongoing fact of life on Earth.This exhibit-and-film combination is of particular interest as stories of the tsunami devastation continue to be on our minds, and countless national and local organizations continue to work feverishly sending aid to tsunami victims.
Editor's note: The following email messages were sent by Don Gaffney, a longtime Magnolia resident currently stationed in Iraq with the Washington National Guard's First Cavalry Division. Gaffney attended both Lawton Elementary and Catharine Blaine schools, and was a delivery boy for the Magnolia News when his family was stationed at Fort Lawton. On Sunday, Jan. 30, Gaffney was assigned security in the "Green Zone" during Iraq's historic elections. This email was generously shared with the Magnolia News by Don's mother, Carol Jean Gaffney.
"I don't guarantee that you are going to find the One," says Alma Avery Rubenstein, the vivacious sparkplug behind The Professional Dater, Seattle's newest and most personal dating service. "But I do promise people a more satisfying single life."It is a drizzly Thursday night, and sexy city lights replace the Northwest gray. Valentine's Day is less than a week away, and anything feels possible. Under the dim lights of a hip bar, Alma, togged out in turquoise suede skirt and sassy black-leather boots, surveys the singles scene before her."I have always been fascinated with the art of dating and courtship," said Alma. "People get comfortable with just having their life be OK."
The first question that Craig Trolli had to answer about "Exorcist: the Musical" is what were you thinking?And, like any true artist, he knew just what to answer: "I've been in love with the movie since I was 12. And there's a lot of camp value in it."It was also Trolli's dream to play the "bad Reagan" in the movie, so he's created a show that allows him to do just that.Trolli is the self-admitted founder of Bad Actor Productions, a group that has not even celebrated its first anniversary but has already given the local theater scene such productions as the drag queen, live theater take on the 1985 movie "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and a parody of "Dangerous Liaisons" set on a cruise ship called "Dangerous Lee Press-Ons."
The plan the President outlined tonight for Social Security is no different than a television commercial for a casino that proclaims "everybody's a winner." Social security is not going bankrupt. Saying so only instills fear, not hope, in the American people. Social Security is a safety net under every American, but the President's plan will make it a high wire act without a net. It's a prescription for social pain, not society's gain.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, hundreds of Washington residents will descend upon the state capitol for Arts Day 2005, to meet our legislative representatives and highlight the contributions the arts make in our state and region. Arts, culture and historic preservation represent a key building block in the quality of life we cherish in Washington state. Statewide, the arts and heritage activities are a boon to our economy as well as to our quality of life. According to a recently released economic impact study commissioned by ArtsFund, the activities of arts and heritage organizations and their patrons in King and Pierce counties alone generate more than $1 billion in economic impact in the state of Washington. The activities also bring $40 million in tax impacts at the state and local levels
The walls were lined with illustrations set upon easels. A large and interested crowd ambled between them. A small refreshment table was located near the entrance.But the event was not a gallery opening. Last Wednesday, in a Seattle Central Community College classroom, Sound Transit held another open house. The occasion this time was to present general views of the light-rail stations that are to be placed on First Hill and on Broadway. While only a rough plan was shown - detailed architectural designs are to come in the future - being able to see something tangible if not actually physical regarding Capitol Hill and the North Link line, which is to run from Downtown to Northgate, felt like a giant leap forward.
Tent City 3, a homeless encampment of roughly 100 men and women, has been at Seattle University since Jan. 29. Located on the university's outdoor tennis courts, Tent City 3 will remain on university property through February. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Seattle University is the first university in the country to host a homeless community.In coming to its decision to host Tent City 3, the university consulted at length with previous hosts, city officials, advocates for the homeless and residents of the Squire Park neighborhood near the campus, said Seattle University President Father Stephen Sundborg.
A slight bump in the waves and a jostling of boats made Seattle resident Casey Green look to land. But after days of sailing in the Indian Ocean, he was accustomed to the roll of the waves and wasn't too worried. Pulling up anchor and pointing the boat towards deeper waters, Green and his family left Nai Harn, on the southwest corner of Phuket Thailand, and sailed towards Patong.Two hours later, as they sailed into shore, a resident of Seattle, began to notice the water was littered with debris. Broken Pringles cans and packages of life vests floated by while the smell of fuel permeated the air."At first we thought a boat had exploded," Green said. "But when we saw the cars piled on top of each other on shore and the complete devastation, we knew it was something bigger than a single boat."
The sound of kids singing "One and one is two, two and six is eight," filled the auditorium of St. George Parish School in South Seattle. However, this was not a musical math lesson. The children sang the blues classic "Sweet Home Chicago" during a lesson for their Blues in the Schools class. During the five-week after-school program, students learned how to play a variety of blues songs on several instruments in preparation for a final community performance on Feb. 10.
Seattle, conservative pundits like to observe, is an island surrounded by reality.For which solid, Seattle liberal Jim Diers has a ready reply: "There's a lot of reality here," he says with a characteristic burst of laughter.Diers, at 52, should know. He's been around the civic block a time or two.Diers was the first director of the Department of Neighborhoods, serving in that capacity from 1988 to 2002. He immersed himself in grassroots activism, endless meetings and the often numbingly glacial speed of the famous Seattle process. But he got things done, including the development of the Neighborhood Matching Fund and the P-Patch Program.Diers was booted from his post by Greg Nickels - he had supported Paul Schell in the mayoral primary. It was Nickels' way of saying there was a new gun in town.
Most people know that a good diet means eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer curly fries and doughnuts. But the healthy choice isn't always so clear when buying packaged foods. Just what does "light" mean anyway? The key is in the food label those little boxes of numbers, nutrients and ingredients that tell you what's in the box.