I read this paper from cover to cover. One, because I write here every week. Two, because I think it's the best weekly in the city. And that's not favoritism, since I write for more than one paper. One of the features I like a lot is Street Talk, where the populace is polled for their thoughts. The only time I was an editor, at the Bremerton Patriot in 1999-2000, I always ran a Street Talk, despite complaints from young, eager-beaver reporters who thought the space taken up by readers' photos could host another of their epic prose pieces about whatever hobbyhorse they were riding that week.I thought the May 25 Street Talk, about rising anti-American sentiment in the world, was especially interesting. Surprisingly, only three of the six local folks polled thought we sort of earned it. Since Bush Jr. assumed the helm and began declaring war wherever he felt like it - not exactly what Americans did previously - I've figured we're hated the way bullies usually are hated.
Horrific news from London, and the cable channels stayed on it for hours. With the film clips constantly being replayed, and the talking heads scrambling for "news" bits, the scenario sucked the life out of any critical thinking or compassionate feelings. And now, Sunday, the reporters are standing in gales waiting to bring minute-by-minute coverage of Hurricane Dennis. With the instant graphics and sound effects, these disasters become intense short stories. For 24 or 36 hours, all is focused on the narrow band of the story. I watch out of fascination, trying to make sense out of this aspect of our culture. Obviously it must make sense to the cable channel executives, for they would not be making these short stories if they were not vastly improving their financial bottom lines.
It's become known, informally, as Queen Anne Day.This Saturday, July 16, a series of outdoor events will once again unfold across the Hill, starting with the Crown of Queen Anne Fun Run and Walk. A parade, a sidewalk sale and community picnic will follow.The weather gods, as the weekend nears, appear to be smiling.This is the 20th year for the Queen Anne Helpline's Fun Run and Walk. Participants and race-day registrants will assemble at Queen Anne Lutheran Church, Eighth West and West McGraw Street as early as 7 a.m. The schedule calls for walkers to leave the starting line at Fifth Avenue West and West Halladay at 8 a.m. with the runners taking off 20 minutes later.
JULIE BRINES"I think that it has something to do with the G8 Summit. I think that it was planned to draw attention to the political situation in the Middle East and the concerns of people living in Muslim countries."VASILI ARVANITIDIS"I think that the United States is dirty and that we play a dirty game of chess."
Some of the glitz and glamour in Las Vegas gets its start in a complex of buildings on Elliott Avenue West, where Greg Thompson Productions mounts a staggering number of music-revue shows and takes them on the road each year."Right now we have 11 shows out playing anywhere from four to 12 to 18 weeks, depending on their size," Thompson said of a schedule that typical includes roughly two dozen productions a year. Thompson Productions operates domestically, but it also has mounted shows in Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Branson, Mo., and on Caribbean cruiseships, he said.
Judging from the frequent applause, occasional boos, random groans and intermittent hisses that greeted the first batch of speakers, the large crowd at a July 5 public hearing over the monorail was fairly evenly divided between supporters and critics of the proposed transportation system.However, critics far outnumbered supporters among the initial 21 of 100 people who signed up to speak that Tuesday night at Bal-lard High School.Ironically, one of the critics was Dick Falkenbury, the former cab driver who came up with the monorail idea in the first place. Falkenbury has his own proposals to save the monorail (see sidebar), but others want to kill the project entirely.
Subhankar Banerjee's collection of large-format, color photographs marks the reopening of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture's newly expanded temporary exhibits gallery.The exhibit, which runs through Dec. 31, features the first complete Northwest display of Banerjee's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, which documents four seasons of ecological diversity and Native cultures in Alaska's 19.5 million-acre refuge. Banerjee, who makes his home in both Seattle and New York City, worked as a scientist for six years before switching careers to become an artist. Beginning in March 2001, he traveled for about 4,000 miles on foot, raft, kayak, snowmobile and bush plane, capturing images for two years.
The shifting sands of time have stirred up several spots in our streetscape here in Fremont. "Good, bad or indifferent," as my mom would say, these small changes can cause major ripples in daily life.
One small step for The Seattle Times, one big kick in the craw for metropolitan Seattle.Regardless of the legal validity of the state Supreme Court's June 30 ruling stating the Times can include financial losses from 2000 and 2001 in exercising an escape clause in the Times/Seattle Post-Intelligencer Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), the real story is that Seattle has just inched closer to becoming a one-daily-newspaper city.
With summer - or at least Seattle's version of it - in full bloom, many parents opt not to put their kids in front of the television or in day care. Instead, they choose something much healthier.Many dance studios, swimming pools, gymnasiums and yoga centers not only offer classes for mom and dad, but for the kids, as well."There was a big demand out there" for kids' dance classes, said Elizabeth Chayer, owner and director of American Dance Institute, 8001 Greenwood Ave. N. Her studios have been around for about 15 years.But it's not only a matter of public demand; children's fitness classes are a matter of necessity.
This summer, Bitter Lake Community Center is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the opening of Playland, a 12-acre amusement park that operated for three decades where the community center now stands.After surviving several fires, the Great Depression, World War II and the growing popularity of television, Playland closed in 1960. Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N., is marking the park's anniversary with a temporary exhibit, a lecture next Tuesday, July 19, and a concert and picnic on Aug. 13.
Obtaining a good education is one of the tickets to the great American dream. For parents, it's especially crucial to get the best possible education for one's children, given the present focus on testing and accountability.A huge area of concern is keeping kids academically strong over the summer months when school is not in session. It is the lament of many area teachers that the first months of the school year is spent getting kids back up to speed in order to do grade level work. The key is to make it not seem like schoolwork. Here is a range of suggestions to boost kids' academic skills while still ensuring they have fun in the process:
A decade ago lifelong Georgetown resident John Dove helped muster a group of his fellow garden and art enthusiasts together for a community open house. On July 10 the Georgetown Tour of Gardens celebrated its 10th anniversary with dozens of gardens and artist studios around the neighborhood open to the public.
A farmer plants seeds in the spring in anticipation of a harvest in the fall. You reap what you sow. In a community, individuals make children, but it takes the entire village to bring that child to maturation. Just like the farmer, if the job is done right there is a harvest in the fall. You reap what you sow.I am talking about all of the young African American men and women who are professional athletes already and those on the verge of doing the same thing. These are seeds planted in our community, and how we work with them will determine the kind of harvest we enjoy as a community.Whether they know it or not, it takes an entire community to protect these young men from petty jealousies, disgruntled police officers, and sometimes themselves. It takes an entire village to let them know that they are appreciated and that they are the keys to their family's future as well as the overall African American community.
Think about the last time you described the Emerald City to a friend of family member unfamiliar with Seattle's green, rolling residential hills, its fresh and saltwater shores, and the rich building history of the area's Native American and European settlers from cedar long houses to steel skyscrapers. My guess is that you guided your listener's mind's eye around our city's landscape by using neighborhood names anchored in descriptions of their distinct characteristics. I find the technique imparts a sense of Seattle's ethnic and economic diversity while conveying the impression of neighborhood unity. Granted, we have dozens of neighborhoods, and prattling on about each one runs the real risk of making your listener's eyes glaze over with information overload. You have to treat the telling of our city's history like potent spices in a favorite dish: give your guests a dash of information for flavor to avoid overpowering the senses and they'll be hungry to hear more.For the next month, one of the best places in the Emerald City to get a high-grade dose of Southeast Seattle history happens to be in the North End at the History House of Greater Seattle. For the past month and a half this Fremont-based non-profit has featured a display of more than 45 exhibits put together by various individuals, neighborhood groups, public organizations, and private companies that, combined, unfolds the ongoing metropolitan saga of the South End in a fascinating, and often very personal, manner.