The bright, sunny days of summer have once again caused the lawns of Magnolia to erupt with garden sprinklers.One of my neighbors doesn't feel quite right unless there's water falling on his yard in some way. If it's not raining, he's out sprinkling. Another seems to water by consulting charts of the moon's phases.This year I took a good look at our old sprinkler and decided that it just wasn't up to another season. A quick pass through the garden supply section of the local discount store revealed to me that this once simple job would now best be handled with the latest in hi-tech implements.The array of selections before me was truly mind-boggling. There were 27 different models of rain simulators spread out over two aisles, and they ranged in complexity from $10 twist-on hose nozzles and $15 soak-n-spray hoses punched full of holes to the Deluxe Rain Train for "only $95.95!"The Rain Train, which looks like a little cast-iron tractor with cleated wheels, follows its own hose up grades and around curves along a preselected path until it ends up back against the house at the faucet. Of course, if you have forgotten to go out and shut the thing off before then and it gets that far, there's no way to turn it off without getting wet. Also, if it manages to jump off its preset hose track, you might just find your sprinkler two houses down the block doing its best to crawl along toward Ballard. This is indeed a lawn sprinkler to be reckoned with.
As I was preparing to write this column a week before you read it, I picked up a daily newspaper and saw that good old Howie Schultz, he of the Starbucks expansion, he of the great love of Seattle, had sold the Sonics to some rich farmer-bankers from Oklahoma.I'm not surprised.Howie could see that we the people, the boobs who had been conned and cheated into paying for stadiums for other billionaires, had reached our collective citizenry limit and weren't going to fix KeyArena. Evidently, despite all the tough talk, Howie didn't wanna move to Renton.Now all the whining will start about how we should have caved into Howie's demands before he sold his ball and moved on. But I don't agree. I think losing the Sonics will be good for Lower Queen Anne.
When I look at high school students, I see a majority of them endlessly rushing around trying to accomplish all the requirements they need to be accepted into college. On top of this, they are doing schoolwork and normal extracurricular activities.Yet, it isn't just high school seniors that are in a mad rush to create an elaborate college application resume; this burden has now passed down to juniors and sophomores, and even freshmen are now trying to do as much as they can to meet the stiff standards that many colleges now have. While they may be doing wonderful things in the community, be involved in extracurricular activities and handling their normal school load, I wonder just how many adults are paying close attention to how the teen is really doing.Many universities and colleges are requiring hours of community service, all kinds of extracurricular involvement and good grades-and now they are also looking to AP or college courses students have taken, along with anything else that may elevate them from the "regular" crowd of applicants. Students literally spend all day doing "stuff," and normally sacrifice sleep in order to keep up with it all. Homework, soccer practice, debate team, yearbook and a part-time job, they wake up early in the morning for school and often don't return home until late at night, perhaps 9 p.m. or later.There is a lot of pressure on teens to prepare themselves for the "real world" and at the same time create the largest resume they can to get into their first-choice school.
The press conference announcing the sale of the Sonics and Storm last week was incongruous on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start.To being with, the press conference was held, ironically enough, on the teams' practice court near the Seattle Center. But there were also basketball sneakers, tied with floating balloons, that were placed on top of standup tables-as if the bombshell news was something to celebrate. There were a couple of coffee urns, too, which were notable because they didn't feature Starbucks logos. There were tubs full of lukewarm bottles of pop and water as well, which was fitting because lukewarm was about the best way to describe the general reaction to Howard Schultz's attempt to paint a happy face on the whole situation. To point out what a swell hometown guy he is, for instance, Schultz claimed he even turned down other offers for more money because, he said, the unnamed buyers would have moved the two basketball teams out of town.Unlike Oklahoma City's Clayton Bennett and his Professional Basketball Club investment group, which likely will wait at least a year before bailing. And hey, it's just a coincidence that Oklahoma City's Ford Arena will be vacant right around then as the Hornets move back to New Orleans.
The 45th Street corridor was named as the top vote-getter July 12 in Mayor Greg Nickels search for the "dirty dozen" worst transportation problems in Seattle.Speaking at a press conference in Wallingford, the mayor promised to repave the street later this summer, and he took the opportunity to promote his $1.8 billion, 20-year plan to fix a decades-long backlog of deferred maintenance for the city's roads, bridges and sidewalks.But the Seattle City Council Committee of the Whole discussed on Monday this week a funding package that is roughly 75 percent of the mayor's.
The Public Safety, Governmental Relations and Arts Committee voted 4 to 4 last week to condemn three homes on 13th Avenue West north of West Dravus Street to make room for an expanded Fire Station 20.All nine council members were on hand for much of the meeting, but councilman Tom Rasmussen had to leave before the vote, and it was unclear from his comments which way the former Queen Anne resident was leaning. Rasmussen's absence for the committee vote means the full city council will have to make the call at its July 31 meeting. There was a clear division among the other eight members over the complex issue, something Fire Chief Gregory Dean acknowledged at the meeting. "One of the things we know is, there's no perfect location for a fire station," he said.Indeed, Concerned Neighbors of Fire Station 20 have said they think just about anyplace else would be preferable to the current location.
"This brings back a lot of memories for the parents," notes Mark Latz, the Pacific Science Center's vice president for exhibits, and my tour guide through the Center's "Game On!" exhibit, running through Aug. 31. I am no parent, that I know of. My own video-game reminiscences, roughly 1980-1986, revolve around a younger brother too precocious for his own good, and me, big brother, stuck "minding" him wherever arcade games might stand in file, hungry for dropped quarters. But I marvel as a stand of machines, evenly spaced in the Center's muted, temperature-controlled space, brings a whiff of the long-defunct Arnold's On The Ave, electronics warming plastic from within as the eagerly anticipated summer sun warms it from without, plus the sizzle and scintillating fatty undercurrent of beef, bacon and potatoes sharing space on a grill."Game On!" originated at London's Barbican Museum, and in certain places does demonstrate a scholarly approach to its subject. Positioned at the exhibit's entrance you'll find a game crucial to both history and nostalgia: the magisterial bips of Atari's "Pong," designed by Al Alcorn for Nolan Bushnell's Atari company in 1972 and playtested at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, Calif. Soon after "Pong"'s installation, Andy Capp's owner called Alcorn to report a malfunction. The designer found the milk carton inside the machine's console - a jerry-rigged quarter receptacle - stuffed so full of quarters that a new one dropped would not trip the activation switch. Alcorn called Bushnell in Chicago to advise him that if he'd agree to manufacture "Pong," rather than merely develop it as originally planned, he'd soon be an unspeakably wealthy man. An unjammed quarter dropped jingling into a new era.
A new board game designed to expand the minds of children was launched on June 28 by Queen Anne resident Stacy George. Called "Around the World: The Ultimate Global Board Game," it introduces concepts around diversity issues.George's inspiration for inventing the game was her own childhood experiences. In preschool, she dreaded the moment when her teacher asked the class, "What did you have for breakfast?" Stacy usually had café conleche and shunkleesh (transliterated), a Middle Eastern, cheese-like ball that is crumbled, drizzled with olive oil and eaten on bread. "It tastes so good that my siblings and I used to fight over it," says George. But her pre-school classmates thought it was weird - most of them had Cheerios or Kix for breakfast.You can't tell by her name, but Stacy George's heritage is Middle Eastern. Her father immigrated from Lebanon, and her mother, of Syrian descent, from Argentina. Her father's surname was Labaad until he arrived in the United States, where her parents were introduced and married.George, 30, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where many immigrants have settled because of the manufacturing jobs there. Her father owned a heating and air-conditioning business. She grew up speaking English, Arabic (the informal dialect) and Spanish. She has since become fluent in French as well.She attended the University of Oregon, where she majored in international relations and minored in French. After graduation she followed her own course of independent study in the Middle East, then lived and worked in Washington, D.C., on a race-relations initiative during the Clinton administration."But I lost interest in politics," George says. "I wanted to influence kids and families in a more direct way."
CANDACE CLEMENTS"I live in New York City, and I come here for the cool summers, so I am hating it. In New York I have an air conditioner - here I don't."FATHER TRAVIS SMITH"I wear a turtleneck on a regular basis and it is very hot. The collar makes it difficult. I sweated during my sermon yesterday - it was gross. I am hoping that it doesn't have anything to do with global warming and that Al Gore is wrong, but he is probably right."
The Magnolia Theater recently wrapped up its production of E.B. White's classic children's story, Charlotte's Web, which ran through July 22 at the United Church of Christ. The show, directed by founder Jeannie O'Meara-Polich, featured a cast of 13 local actors age 10 through 12.
The grand entrance on Friday signaled the beginning of three days of traditional singing, dancing and drumming contests, arts and crafts, food booths and a salmon bake. The annual celebration was founded by Bernie Whitebear in order to honor and bless the richness of Native American culture.
They came from throughout the United States and Canada to celebrate the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation 21st annual Seafair Powwow, July 21-23. And in the spirit of unity-one of this year's themes-following the grand entrance processional on Friday, any one in attendance was invited to join in with the dancing.
The Magnolia Little League 12-Year Old All-Star team's undefeated run in the District 8 tournament didn't end until the two-game championship playoff against Woodinville, when they lost their final two games on July 14-15-the second match in a closely contested nail-biter till the last inning-to bring home the 2006 second-place trophy.In the first game, the strong Woodinville squad showed off their power, connecting for three home runs, including a three run blast in the fifth inning that put the game away, 7-2.Magnolia put up two runs in the first inning after Ryan Books singled, his brother Jason doubled and Dylan Wade drove him in on a fielder's choice. Right fielder Matt Deehring kept Magnolia in the game with two spectacular defensive plays, including a rifle shot throw to Spencer Ramquist at third base to nab one runner and a diving catch on a hard-hit ball to right in the third inning.But the Woodinville pitching settled down after the first inning and quieted Magnolia's bats for the remainder of the game.In the second and final game to determine the championship, the two teams fittingly played the best game of the tournament.Magnolia hurler Dylan Wade pitched flawlessly, holding the dangerous Woodinville offense scoreless for the first five innings while retiring 14 out of 15 Woodinville batters in a row.Although the Woodinville pitching was equally tough, Magnolia managed to score one run in the fourth inning when Spencer Ramquist (who went 12 for 20 with 4 doubles in the tournament) doubled in Ryan Books. They scored another run in the fifth inning when Nathan Guinasso hit a clutch two-out liner to left center to score Will Reed from second.But in the top of the sixth, with Magnolia needing only two outs to win, Woodinville broke through with a three-run homer to center field to take the lead, 3-2, and, after Magnolia failed to score in the bottom of the inning, the first place trophy.After the game, in his remarks to the team, manager Greg Books summed up the elements of the team's outsized tournament performance this year."We saw some errorless defense and disciplined at-bats," Books said. "And then you got better in each game, hustling on defense and on the bases, making incredible Sports Center plays and hitting the baseball hard. All of you contributed to the team."In addition to Books, the 12-year old all-stars were coached by Mike Wade and Jim Johnson.With the 12-year-olds taking the second place trophy, and both the 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds taking third place in their tournaments, the Magnolia Little League baseball program finished one of its best seasons ever.David Zapolsky is a Magnolia resident. The Magnolia News thanks Mr. Zapolsky for his volunteer efforts in covering the Magnolia Little League season run of the Golden Plungers. If you'd like to try your hand at sports reporting, email mageditor@nwlink.com.
The Public Safety, Governmental Relations and Arts Committee voted 4 to 4 last week over separate motions to condemn each of three homes on 13th Avenue West north of West Dravus Street to make room for an expanded Fire Station 20.All nine council members were on hand for much of the meeting, but Tom Rasmussen had to leave before the vote, and it was unclear from his comments which way the former Queen Anne resident was leaning. Rasmussen's absence for the committee vote means the full city council will have to make the call at its July 31 meeting. But there was a clear division among the other eight members over the complex issue, something Fire Chief Gregory Dean acknowledged at the meeting. "One of the things we know is, there's no perfect location for a fire station," he said.Indeed, Concerned Neighbors of Fire Station 20 have said they think just about anywhere else would be preferable to the current location.
Around 80 people showed up at a July 13 meeting the Department of Planning and Development held to discuss the future growth of the Interbay area around West Dravus Street, according to Bob Derry from the Interbay Neighborhood Association (INA).The INA, which has roughly four dozen members, had originally called for the area to be turned into a Hub Urban Village, but the idea was dropped because it didn't meet the criteria for such a designation under the city's Comprehensive Plan, Derry said.But INA member David Bolin echoed a common belief prevalent within the association that a planned development is needed to revive an area he described as blighted when the issue first came up several months ago. "People recognize change is needed," he added in a recent interview.The Seattle City Council agrees that the area bound by 15th and 20th avenues West, the northern edge of the golf-course driving range and the Emerson Street overpass could handle more development, Derry said.The council has directed Planning and Development to come up with proposals for zoning changes, he said. "The city council also changed the Comprehensive Plan to allow this area to have higher density."