The little known Lake People's Park, located at 3070 S. Bradford Street, received a much-needed invasive plant eradication sprucing up on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 28, when several students from Seattle's Center School descended on the site. Here, Tom Rader hauls out a load of invasive English ivy after he and his fellow students wacked it away from native plants.
A break in the rain and a few hours of sun drew me out for a walk in Jefferson Park. Pausing at the high point near the lawn bowling clubhouse, I watched a couple kids throwing rocks into pond-sized puddles next to the dirt road below as a muddy dog splashed after them. Directly beyond rose the fences surrounding the long-unused water reservoir. The broken concrete basin is filled with weeds and rainwater, making it a temporary wetland for city birds. Crows and a few gulls take full advantage of the opportunity. In the distance, the Olympic Mountains crown the neglected landscape of Jefferson Park.How will a sunny break from the rain look like from this view point a decade from now? In June 2006, bulldozers and trucks will start to change this landscape. The empty south reservoir will be rebuilt with a hard lid and sports field over it. The north reservoir will be emptied and the land re-graded to a gentle slope. Jefferson Park will have grassy fields, paths and benches like the other great Olmsted parks in Seattle.
There was something surreal about the meeting of the Sound Transit Board on Thursday, Jan. 26. How could they pretend to be surprised after all this time? This was not the first time I had attended one of these meetings and every time I have been there I carried a protest sign.This protest, like others, was about how much of the contracting was going to African Americans. Even though millions of dollars of contracts were initially promised, less than 1 percent of the money spent has found its way into our hands.The process was a simple one. The contractors would take the bid information from African American contractors and factor them into their initial bid. With this point, they appear to be following the intent of the agreements they revealed to be discriminatory concerning the route going through Rainier Valley.However, after the contracts have been let, the African American contractor is hired on an hourly rate: hired and quickly fired or not contacted at all. Yet when protests are lodged with Sound Transit administrators, they talk about how they have to stay out of conflicts between contractors and their subcontractors.
About 300 community members gathered on the Rainier Beach Community Center campus to watch student performances, eat catered Chinese food, and learn more about their neighborhood at the Jan. 26 Community Action Meeting hosted by the New School and co-sponsored by the Rainier Beach Community Empowerment Coalition (RBCEC).Attendees munched on egg rolls and watched elaborately costumed children dance to ring in the Chinese Lunar New Year. Earlier, elementary students drummed and sang a lively rendition of Bob Marley's classic "Three Little Birds." Many audience members came for the student performances and stayed for the chance to network with community organizations at the third annual town hall event.
When Rainier Valley leader and imam Abu Abrahim Sheik Mohamed was picked up by federal agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and arrested last November, the South Seattle Somali community was rocked to its core. The arrest also raised an alarm with a much greater circle of concerned citizens who feel our fundamental civil liberties are being chipped away since 9/11.For many, Mohamed's case first came to light through a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on Nov. 18. The words "while being held only on the immigration violations, the Joint Terrorism Task Force is continuing its investigation" leapt off the page. The P.I.'s follow-up article on Jan. 23 did little to further illuminate the situation when it stated that "agents had not found any information demonstrating that Mohamed participated in terrorist activities and that it is unlikely he would face any terrorism-related charges." In the meantime, Mohamed has remained in custody and is denied bail. Why is a man known for his community service and vigorous work to keep troubled youth in school and out of mischief considered such a liability?Where was the outrage? Where were the questions concerning the charges, which smack of technicalities and the implied connections to terrorism? Unfortunately, this is a situation that South Seattle has seen several times since Sept. 11, 2001 with the raid on Maka Mini Mart store and later, the alleged food-stamp fraud in five Somali grocery stores. In each of these cases, as with Mohamed's, the government has charged some terrorist connection with the organizations and individuals only to renege later. In the meantime, people's lives and reputations are in tatters and fear abounds in the community.
Longtime Magnolia resident Sue Patneaude is set to retire from Nordstrom.Effective March 1, Patneaude-who has served as Nordstrom's executive vice president of women's designer apparel-will call it quits after almost four decades of service for the retail giant. She joined the company in 1968 as a saleswoman.Patneaude, 59, had a hand in developing the designer apparel business at Nordstrom. She also launched the Via C departments in 2000, and she played a prominent part in creating the concept for the new designer category that Nordstrom is launching online next month."This is a very addictive business," Patneaude said. "It's almost impossible to leave it when you love it. I decided at some point that I wanted to do something else. The business is strong and the team is experienced. If not now, then when?"
Connectivity is a recurring theme in today's society. As technologies like cell phones and the Internet have effectively shrunk the world, people have been brought into closer contact.It's nice to see, though, that an old-fashioned grass roots effort can have an equally apparent impact.Three and a half years ago, parents of students at the seven public schools in Magnolia and Queen Anne decided they needed to come together.The result was a nonprofit coalition comprised of parents, teachers and school administration called Successful Schools in Action (SSIA).
It seems I get enough rain slogging through the streets of Seattle. This explains, in part, why I've never been to a Seahawks game at Qwest Field.Don't get me wrong, there are also a host of other reasons, including the high ticket prices, my preference for the college game and the heretofore-mediocre Seahawk squads. But rain is the main deterrent.I know, I know, there wasn't a drop of rain during the first 28 games at Qwest. However, if I purchased tickets, whether it be preseason tickets in August or postseason tickets in January, there would surely be a torrential downpour. A couple of years ago I carefully analyzed the University of Washington football schedule to pinpoint a date when the skies might be dry. Unfortunately, the date in early October was a disastrous pick. It rained on the way to the stadium. It poured during the game. And the rising tides nearly swept me away en route to the Ram following the game.At least I stayed for the whole affair. The Husky faithful departed in droves during halftime of a lopsided loss, and there appeared to be more people at the popular University District watering hole than at the stadium.
The news show 20/20 on Jan. 13 aired a commentary on schools titled "Stupid in America." I didn't see the program, but John Stossel has a page at the ABC News Web site that discusses the piece. Among the revelations by Stossel: "Kids at New York's Abraham Lincoln High School told me their teachers are so dull students fall asleep in class. One student said, 'You see kids all the time walking in the school smoking weed, you know. It's a normal thing here.'"The show tried to take cameras into the school to document what was going on, but officials refused. Now there's a circus for you. Gee, I can't imagine why the school didn't want John Stossel along with the whole blasted television crew roaming the halls during school hours.The story goes on to talk about the schools in Belgium where, according to Stossel, they have a "kind of voucher system" where the government funds various types of school. If they can't attract students, they're out of business.This policy sounds okay on the surface, but it opens the door for all sorts of skullduggery in the attempt to garner government money. We have only to look at the current scandals in national government to see how the promise of money can corrupt any system.They tested both Belgian and American students, and the Belgians did better. Stossel's conclusion? "The Belgian students didn't perform better because they're smarter than American students. They performed better because their schools are better."Let me first say that I have no doubt there is room for improvement in our school system-probably a lot of improvement. However, every time we test some kids and they don't do as well as another group of kids, it's pile-on-the-teachers time, or accuse the system, or trash the government.
Once upon a time, possession of $1 million earned you the unique and enviable title of "millionaire."And if one happened to live in Flint, Mich., as I once did, everyone in town would have known by heart that one Charles Stewart Mott was the only local millionaire. Everyone knew where he lived and worked. The Mott name was ubiquitous. His moniker hung prominently inscribed on many bronze memorials-the one for Mott Community College, for example.I grew up assuming that all millionaires would emulate the C.S. Mott model. It seemed logical to me.The week I graduated college, circa 1961, a fraternity brother of mine gave me a tour of homes in Detroit, Mich. I remember it vividly. We slowly drove along a strip of Grosse Pointe-a section roughly analogous to our Magnolia Boulevard. All the homes were amply set back from the street; they resembled Mississippi antebellum mansions.Richard, my fraternity brother, said: "See all those $100,000 homes, Bernie? Do you think we poor, newly graduated school teachers will ever own one of those?"I was speechless. I had a minor in mathematics under my belt, so knew how many zeros there were in that number; I also knew how to compute in my head using scientific notation. "Gadzooks," I said. "Those homes cost 25-times my annual teaching salary!"
Last week, after a generation of delay, the Washington State Legislature finally approved the gay civil rights bill.The bill prohibits discrimination against members of the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender community in housing, employment and insurance in the same way such religious or racial discrimination is prohibited. Gov. Christine Gregoire is expected to sign the legislation this week. Without question this is good news.But such news is not the whole story. It is discouraging that such basic protections took nearly 30 years to achieve. However, it is yet a testament to the persistence of legislators such as the late Cal Anderson and his successor, Ed Murray, as well as others who consistently championed for the cause. The bill's passage is also a reflection of our current political climate. The margin of victory in the senate was 25-23, meaning it came down to one senator's vote. In this case that vote belonged Bill Finkbeiner of Kirkland, who broke ranks with his fellow Republicans-the only one to do so-and by so doing turned the tide on an issue that should have been decided long ago. This bill passed by a slender thread.
The 76 gas station at the corner of Queen Anne Avenue North and West Crockett Street will be replaced with a mixed-used development that includes 36 one- and two-bedroom apartments on three floors over a first floor of retail space, according to Magnolia developer Joe Geivett.Speaking at the same Queen Anne Community Council Land Use Review Committee meeting that heard plans for a new QFC across the street from the development, Geivett said the original idea was to include a drugstore in the project to be called Eden Heights.
It was a balmy 80 degrees Fahrenheit when the Magnolia Monkeys landed in Orlando, Fla., for the World Championship Kick-It 3-On-3 Soccer Shoot-Out hosted by Sports Illustrated for Kids.The team, made up of Magnolia residents Sam Kopf, Ryan Orr, Wyatt Paul, Johnny Ochsner, Daniel Merz and Alex Larsen-all 9 years old-arrived with their families a few days before the tournament began. The team's coaches, Paul Merz and Daniel Larsen, wanted to give their players some time to acclimate to the exotic environment, as well as the opportunity to monkey around at Disney World.But the fickle Florida climate had other plans. The night before the tournament began, a storm front moved in. The temperature dropped to 50 degrees, accompanied by wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour."We were prepared for the cold," coach Merz said, "but not the wind. Talk about one of those hard-learned lessons. No matter how prepared you are for a game, there are certain things that are just out of your hands.
Seattle Fire Department Chief Gregory Dean announced last week that he is recommending to the Seattle City Council that Fire Station 20 at 3205 13th Ave. W. be torn down and expanded at its current location. The station serves Queen Anne, Interbay, Magnolia and parts of Ballard.The plan involves tearing down three homes near the existing station on the west side of Queen Anne. That news was less than welcome for a large group of neighborhood residents who showed up at Coe Elementary School for what was supposed to be an open-house presentation designed to answer individual questions from the public.But Chris Grekoff-who has lived for 30 years with her partner Garriel Keeble in one of the homes slated for demolition-suggested that it would be better to answer everyone's questions in a town-hall-style forum.That's what happened, but few- if any -of those at the meeting appeared to like the answers they got.
With so much of our community focused on major changes that will affect our sense of place, we must take time and learn more about the many long threads, the people and their histories, that weave this community together into an exciting and vibrant whole. Twenty-five years ago, Carole Lexa Schaefer started The Little Friend's Pre-School (www.LFPS.org) here on Queen Anne. She has a master's degree in early childhood education from the University of Washington. Before starting the school, she taught in Taiwan, Switzerland, Micronesia, Missouri and Washington. Now she has been settled for more than 25 years in the Queen Anne community where, as she says, "I live here, I work here, I write here." I must add that she also gardens here!