The Magnolia community was well represented at the 2005 Seattle All-City Swim Meet on Aug. 6 at Madison Pool, as members from the Penguins swim team of "Pop" Mounger Pool competed in both individual and team events.The Magnolia Penguins, with swimmers ranging in age from 7 to 18, scored 585 league points for their efforts.
Veteran Seattle police Sgt. Lou Eagle looks like a walking billboard for the department. He is tall, fit and tanned, and his clear blue eyes and friendly face belie the fact that he is 42 years old. Eagle, born and raised in Seattle, has been a cop for 17 years. But he gets as enthusiastic as a rookie patrolman when he talks about the assignment he has had since January of this year: supervisor of the new Seattle Center-Queen Anne bicycle patrol, which, counting Eagle, is four officers strong.
Well, it is that time of year again. The kids, at least the ones over 5, are going back to school. But there are still the little ones to entertain. And there is the weekend for those tired older scholars who need entertaining. ut have no fear. You live in a major city that features lots of things to do for parents and kids who want to, or must, hang out together. And not everything costs money.
The first evidence of medical use of cannabis can be traced back to 2737 B.C., when Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung prescribed the drug for beri-beri, constipation, gout, malaria, rheumatism, "female weakness" and absentmindedness. Cannabis was used in Egypt in 2000 B.C. to treat sore eyes. The U.S. Dispensary of 1854 lists cannabis compounds as suggested remedies for, among other medical problems, neuralgia, depression, hemorrhage, pain relief and muscle spasms.Marijuana is officially removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia in 1941.
While I'm glad to see Magnolia resident (and King County Prosecutor) Norm Maleng trying to do something about sentences for car prowls ('Cracking down on car theft,' Aug. 17), a big part of the problem is our own police farce. I personally witnessed two separate car prowls on our street this year. The police response time was one hour the first time and 45 minutes the second. (I guess the second time they must have decided to get their butts in gear.) That was for hot leads on crimes that were in progress. One of the officers who responded to one of the car prowls told me that car prowls have increased significantly in Magnolia over the past couple of months, which your newspaper confirms - prowling being step one to stealing. He then said that the police had not been able to get a handle on the problem. Is that any wonder, when it takes them an hour to respond to a crime in progress when they're given a hot lead?
Owning dogs that are bred to fight and chomp on the innocent isn't against the law in our area. What is illegal is the ownership of a wild - read not-white - duck. Ask Diane Erdmann, who found out the hard way that those brave and true boys and girls who work for state Fish and Wildlife are all about enforcing the no-duck rules. Erdmann, who works in Auburn, owned a tiny duck that fit in the palm of her hand. She called the animal Gooey. She got him after the little fella was almost killed by a crow. She took Gooey to work most days, and her co-workers spoiled the harmless little quacker as much as Erdmann did.Didn't matter, though. Fish and Wildlife showed up and took the duck. Erdmann told The Seattle Times the other day that one of the brave wildlife officers actually struck her when she didn't immediately surrender Gooey. Fish and Wildlife officials said they aren't done. They are investigating Erdmann for unlawful possession of wildlife, according to the Times. I think somebody should investigate Fish and Wildlife for insanity in the line of duty.
Driving through the city's neighborhoods, it's not difficult to notice a specimen or two of the new status symbol. We're not talking about the latest bit of swoopy, imported rolling sculpture parked in the driveway, or even the planting of a couple of expensive big trees in the yard. No - the latest urban sign of affluence is to have a fiberglass water closet, a portable lavatory, a Rent-a-Can, perched at the curb in front of your home.
here was a beautiful moment on television a couple of weeks back. It happened on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," on the Comedy Central cable channel, and it was a reaction to another recent TV moment. Several days earlier, on the CNN public affairs program "Inside Politics," veteran right-tilting columnist Robert Novak had broken off from the badinage typical of such shows, snarled "I hate this bull--," removed his neck mic and stalked off the set. Maybe he'd had his fill of his fellow guest, Democratic-activist adversary James Carville. Or maybe he knew where the discussion was about to turn: toward his own increasingly embattled situation as simultaneously shadowy and glaringly public participant in "Plamegate," the ongoing scandal born of the outing of a CIA agent by friends and operatives of the Bush administration.
Rising gas prices haven't made much of an impact on what kind of car or truck people are buying, according to a random survey of car dealers in Kirkland."I haven't noticed any (difference) yet," said Scott Thompson, general sales manager at Lee Johnson Chevrolet-Mazda. That applies to people trading in their old gas guzzlers for smaller vehicles, and to sales of both cars and SUVs, he said.>Shawn Rahimzadeh, general sales manager at Toyota of Kirkland, hasn't noticed much change in buying patterns, either. "The majority of my deals are for small trucks and SUVs," he said.
The Protector, the 300-foot former National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration research vessel which doubled as a breakwater and, according to many, an eyesore, since 1997, departed from Kirkland Marina on the morning of August 2. It will be temporarily moored in Barnacle Point Shipyard in Ballard. It is unknown what lies ahead for the ship.
In what has become a Kirkland summer tradition, the Junior Softball World Series came to Everest Park from August 14-20. Nine teams of 13- and 14-year-old girls from five countries took part. Following a week of play, the championship game saw two United States teams slug it out for the title, with Lake Wales, Florida topping La Grange, Texas, 4-0. Winning pitcher Hanah Rogers struck out eight batters and allowed only four hits.
Well summer's almost over and soon it will be time for all of us to put away our...summer footwear. You've done it, haven't you? If you're like me, you've called your sandals thongs. The other day I was having a conversation with a friend when suddenly my 16-year-old daughter looked at me aghast and shrieked, "MOM!" "What?!" I answered, alarmed. She had a shocked and overly embarrassed look on her face. "They're FLIP-FLOPS!" she crooned. I stared at her blankly, clearly not understanding.
n September, Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery will be hosting two artists with distinctly different yet complementary styles.Gallery owner Gunnar Nordstrom describes Maryland artist Susan Webster's paintings as "very playful and whimsical canvases that combine brush work, printmaking technique and 3-D collage. Most are interiors with interesting human interaction." Webster uses oils. Issaquah resident Holly Martz, on the other hand, creates acrylic pieces that are "thoughtful and iconographic with crows, numbers, words and phrases with shelters," says Nordstrom.
The International Ballet Theatre (IBT), under the direction of Kirov Ballet dancer, master teacher and world-renowned choreographer, Vera Altunina, will present "Dracula" at Meydenbauer Theater October 28-30. Back by popular demand, this year's production promises to deliver even more heart-stopping performances as IBT's 2005 season opener.
Housing prices are high in Kirkland, and they've been getting higher, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service figures. But local Realtors insist that doesn't mean the Eastside city is experiencing a housing bubble that's going to burst anytime soon.It all comes down to supply, which is low, and demand, which is skyrocketing because of job growth in the Puget Sound region, they say. Factor in relatively low interest rates for loans, and potential buyers are facing stiff competition from other buyers in a marketplace where some prices are astronomical.