The One Reel concert series Summer Nights proposed for Gas Works Park was cancelled last spring due to objections by nearby residents. Yet, so much anger was caused by the proposal that a group of citizens have pursued legal action.Outstanding issuesMartin Powers, the president of the Wallingford Community Council, represents the views of residents who were displeased with the city for deciding to move the concerts to Gas Works Park. Those residents raised issues on parking, noise and park access. "The city did not plan for bringing in the concert series into the Wallingford area," Powers said. "Many residents were not even notified of the city's decision, which has caused much distress."The group Friends of Gas Works Park sued the city on the basis that their concerns on parking, noise and access were not heard when the city decided to move the concerts to the park.Another environmental issue was also brought to the forefront in the lawsuit.
Azizeh Farajallah gives visitors a tour of the Idriss Mosque, 1420 N.E. Northgate Way, during the mosque's interfaith barbecue on Sunday, Aug. 13.
The construction crew removed his driveway in the middle of the night and turned it into a sidewalk. The next morning David Barnes, the owner of Bus Stop Espresso, found half of his business' access eliminated on the most heavily traveled road he gets business on, Northeast 65th Street."I was really alarmed," said Barnes, also the president of the Roosevelt Chamber of Commerce. "There was no indication that this was going to happen. There was no discussion about it."Furthermore, another of Barnes' driveways was reduced to gravel, and the sidewalks around his store were torn up. Barnes, who also serves as a city planner in Kirkland, noticed a corresponding drop in sales and feared that the construction made his customers feel like "they weren't supposed to be there.""They put signs up that said, 'Businesses are open,'" Barnes said. "But with all the streets and sidewalks torn up, you're still going to think twice about going there, even though you know it's open. I really noticed that, in July, there was a noticeable decrease in sales."
As is only proper for the owner of the Century Ballroom, Hallie Kuperman loves to dance and her favorite form of dance is the Lindy Hop. But almost as much fun as dancing has been the opportunities to meet the "old masters" of Lindy Hop, tap and other forms of dance taught at the Ballroom, said Kuperman."The spirit of the people who pioneered this dance is amazing," she said. "It's such a thrill when I meet these people, a way to connect with the history of the dance."So, for this week at the Ballroom and its sister space, HaLo (short for Hallie's Loft), Kuperman has invited as many masters as she could for events for both dancers and the general public."It really started as a small thing, but then the whole event blossomed," she said. Currently expected for the four day "The Masters of Lindy Hop & Tap" are Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Chazz Young, Jeni Legon, Kip Cunningham, Dawn Hampton, Sugar Sullivan, Chester Whitmore, Mark Medonca and the Nicholas Sisters. If you're not an avid tap or Lindy Hop fan, you might not recognize the names. But a quick perusal of the dancers' biographies shows personal histories engrained in 20th-century cultural highlights.
That the two-story building on East Pike Street looks welcoming is not an accident. Home to the Seattle Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Community Center is meant to be an accepting and safe place for sexual minorities. Since the center opened four years ago, many thousands of people have made use of the facility.The center was established to be a safe meeting place for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community and a kind of unifying organization for the many groups that serve it. Among its many goals are providing resources for those people newly out of the closet as well as LGBT members who are new to Seattle. Beyond a wealth of health and social resources, the center offers numerous events, classes and social events aimed at creating a visible, public identity for the LGBT community.Now a well-established organization, the center has made a significant change with a recent merger with the Ingersoll Gender Center. The Ingersoll center, founded in 1977, by noted activist Marcia Botzer, supports transgendered people, providing education, advocacy and a wide variety of resources for those with gender identity issues. But Ingersoll was under many of the same financial pressures faced by virtually all nonprofit organizations, decreased funding and limited organizational capacity chief among them. In January, the Ingersoll board approached Shannon Thomas, the LGBT center's executive director, and brought up the subject of a merger. It took six months of due diligence to work out the details, and the merger became official last month. Joining forcers, Thomas said, probably allowed Ingersoll to continue operations. It might have folded otherwise, in which case a nearly 30-year organization and its institutional history would have been lost.
On August 3, I announced my intent to introduce a resolution to the Seattle City Council calling for a public vote on a tunnel replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The proposal calls for a public vote on the following "Yes" or "No" question: "Should Seattle construct a tunnel to replace the existing Alaskan Way Viaduct?"I proposed this because we don't have enough funding to pay for a tunnel. I believe we need to consult the public before moving ahead. A tunnel likely costs at least $1 billion more than a rebuild.After studying this issue in depth, I believe it is likely that if the city pursues a tunnel, city residents will have to make up the $1 billion cost difference between a tunnel and a rebuild. In essence, the question is: do you want to pay the cost difference?Other, less expensive, options could be explored if the public decides against a tunnel.
Boswell: "Sir, what is the chief Virtue?"Johnson: "Courage, Sir. Without it, opportunity to exercise the others will be found wanting."Now more than ever this nation must find the courage to ask hard questions, and demand clear answers, about the Iraq War.Did the Bush Administration deceive the American public in the run-up to war? Is deceiving our country into war an impeachable offense?We believe, on both counts, the answer is yes.There is considerable, credible information on record to support such a conclusion. We believe President Bush, in a well-orchestrated campaign, sold this country into an unnecessary, incompetently conducted war based not on sound policy but personal pathology. This administration was not the hapless victim of faulty intelligence - this is an administration of hyper-intentionality. As former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill stated: "From the very beginning there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go...It was all about finding a way to do it." The integrity of our democracy demands that we not ignore evidence of pre-war deception.
What if you gave a party and nobody came? Many Broadway businesses share that mindset regarding Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' recent announcement of $345,000 meant to improve Broadway's fortunes. But in an unscientific survey of small Broadway businesses between East Roy and East Pike streets, only four of nine business owners/managers had any idea what the plan was about. Of the four, most of them were a bit vague about the specifics. The plan, developed earlier this year, was created by area stakeholders called the Action Agenda Team.The most common call for improvement on Broadway is an increased police presence, which is not part of the mayor's plan. Beautification and graffiti eradication were both embraced and rejected. Establishing a chamber of commerce was largely greeted with non-committal interest."It's like Sysiphus pushing the rock up the hill to keep those poles clean," said Jamie Lutton of the beautification effort. She owns Twice Sold Tales, a used book store a half-block off Broadway at 905 E. John St. "It's cosmetic and laughable." She would rather see the money spent on police."That's not as much an eyesore [posters on power poles] as the addicts - not the street kids, but the addicts," she said, adding that a gun-wielding drug addict was recently shot and killed within 20 feet of Lutton's business."All the people in these apartment buildings need to know that they can walk down the street and be safe," Lutton said, gesturing to several nearby multi-story apartment buildings. She said police response is slow. What is needed, she said, is cops who walk the beat, chat with people and know the people in the neighborhood.She also thinks more facilities are needed for drug rehabilitation and homeless people."This town has gone to hell since the $25 hotel room disappeared from Skid Road," she declared.
People have great expectations when they visit a dietitian for the first time. They are motivated and ready to make real changes in their lives. I have seen many clients with serious health problems-often caused by reckless, addictive or otherwise dysfunctional lifestyles.Naturally, I talk about the importance of sound nutrition, the need to exercise and the dangers of alcohol and nicotine. That is what gets discussed on the surface. In most cases, it doesn't address the real issues. It's only the tip of the iceberg. Unhealthy lifestyles are typically symptomatic for ailments that lie much deeper. People who have otherwise happy and fulfilling lives don't normally exhibit self-destructive behavior. Consequently, I don't believe in treatments that deal only with the symptoms and don't to go to the root of the problem at hand. Prescribing a weight loss and exercise program may be a good and even necessary first step, but it can only go so far-like kicking tires when buying a used car: you don't learn much about the other parts that may need fixing. The picture has to be much larger.
As Catherine Ryan neared the top of Mount Kilimanjaro last month, she began to experience the altitude sickness that affected many in her climbing team. Considering her struggles with breast cancer in 2002, that was something she could handle.Ryan, along with her brother and sister-in-law, was part of a group that reached the summit of the African peak as part of the Climb To Fight Breast Cancer."It was really interesting," said the Queen Anne resident. "I really wanted to do Kilimanjaro because it's got like five different climate zones. So you're not only doing your major climb, but you're also learning a lot."Born near Mount Vernon, Wash., Ryan attended the University of Washington and stayed near Seattle after graduating. But in May 2002 her life was turned upside down after she was diagnosed with breast cancer."My mother had breast cancer, which is why I got tested initially," Ryan said. "I would never have gotten diagnosed in time if my mother hadn't gotten cancer actually."Ryan had cancer on both breasts; one was a non-invasive ductal cancer, while the other side contained invasive stage-one cancer that was discovered when she went for a second opinion. The treatment consisted of a double-sided lumpectomy, radiation for both sides and chemotherapy."I did chemotherapy and radiation simultaneously, which I don't think people normally do," Ryan said. "But [I did it] because I was so young, and I was pretty fit because I had mountain-climbed and was very outdoors-oriented before I got sick."The hardest part was actually the chemotherapy, because your mind is strong but your body has another opinion about the chemicals that are coming in." As both her mother and father were in treatment or recovery for cancer, Ryan felt as if she needed to put up a strong front for the rest of the family. "I had to be strong for my family," she said. "So I was pretty upbeat about it."While Ryan was in undergoing the radiation process, her father passed away from his own bout with pancreatic cancer at the age of 94.But the treatment for Ryan did work, and she was able to make a strong recovery."It was a great relief," she said. "It was amazing, I felt really vibrant-I wanted to pursue a lot of things."One of those things, it turns out, was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in late July.
Linda Terry lives with 90 other residents at Center West on Third West and Mercer.Center West is a Seattle Housing Authority project, and most of the folks living there are seniors and/or disabled.But whatever age-related difficulties some of the residents may have, their love of natural beauty has not been affected.Terry noted there is a small space for a garden just outside the building in a patio area; and that she and some other residents are trying to beautify the space."They never really did anything with it [the small area] at all. There were trees there, and they have been [recently] cut down. They left the stumps. Before we started [the fledgling garden] there was just heather there."But all of that is changing.Terry and two other residents, Susan Irwin and Jack Griffith, planted some flowers. And Terry and her friends don't want to stop there.
Another Seafair weekend has passed. The weather was stellar, there were few notable incidents of injury or drunken disturbances, and the traffic inconveniences will soon be forgotten. Yet, this year, the scream of the fighter jets overhead conjured up so many negative feelings.War is raging in the Middle East. The sound of the jets instantly connected me to the villagers in southern Lebanon, the city dwellers in Beirut, farmers in Bekka Valley, Palestinians, the people of Afghanistan and many other residents of the world.Here in Seattle, we are relatively safe in our daily lives, and yet we bring in this show of force and noise as an integral part of our summer festivities?This disconnect has bothered me in past years, but I had always found it hard to step on the toes of those who find the tradition inspiring. But this year the incongruity is just too much. Our utility fees have expanded greatly, every thinking person is struggling with the new reality of filling their gas tanks and, finally, the issues of global warming are showing up in public debate.And yet, for four days, vast amounts of fuel are expended-and for what? Does a local tradition need to be discontinued?
I went to an estate sale today. Tattered and burnt by age, sepia-toned photos were strewn from room to room. The ruffled-edge pictures of a bare-bottomed babe on the bear rug, the proud mama with apron and bun and bouncing baby on lap, the stiff and the formal portrait of the stern young man with suit and the removable bone-stiffened collar beginning his career in earnest, they were from the past-but had no relevance to the future anymore.These pictures were not worth a thousand words; their stories had died with the owner, no one to carry on the tales. No tales to bring the past alive. They lay in piles voiceless and dead.There were letters to West Barrett Street from 1920, Christmas cards authentic art deco, more letters to West Roy Street, strewn from room to room. I found parish directories-one dated 1908 and two from several years later-for the Downtown Plymouth Congregational Church. I picked them up and put them on a table in the front of the doorway where the women who were working the sale could see them; they could donate them to the church's archives.
The Shakespeare Committee of the Seattle branch of the English Speaking Union met recently at the Queen Anne home of Sara Reed-Plumb. Several Queen Anne and Magnolia residents gathered to mail out invitations to high school English and drama teachers to attend a six-hour workshop on teaching Shakespeare creatively. The event will take place Sept. 30 at Cornish College of Arts.The ESU's Shakespeare Committee has been sponsoring the Shakespeare competition for local high school students for the past 17 years. The local winner of the 2007 competition, scheduled in early March at the Frye Art Museum, receives a prize of $400 plus a fully paid trip to New York to compete in the national Shakespeare competition. In addition, the winner's teacher receives a $500 prize. The National Shakespeare Competition continues to be the ESU's premier educational program, the one that reaches the largest number of students and teachers around the country. The 2004 competition involved more than 16,000 high school students and about 2,000 teachers from 60 branch communities, an incredible testament to the ongoing seductive power of Shakespeare's words.A recent report from the National Alumni forum noted that many Ivy League schools are dropping Shakespeare from their curriculum, and English majors are no longer required to study Shakespeare in order to graduate.
Boswell: "Sir, what is the chief Virtue?"Johnson: "Courage, Sir. Without it, opportunity to exercise the others will be found wanting."Now more than ever this nation must find the courage to ask hard questions, and demand clear answers, about the Iraq war.Did the Bush administration deceive the American public in the run-up to war? Is deceiving our country into war an impeachable offense?We believe, on both counts, the answer is yes.There is considerable, credible information on record to support such a conclusion. We believe President Bush, in a well-orchestrated campaign, sold this country into an unnecessary, incompetently conducted war based not on sound policy but personal pathology. This administration was not the hapless victim of faulty intelligence-this is an administration of hyper-intentionality. As former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill stated: "From the very beginning there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go... It was all about finding a way to do it." The integrity of our democracy demands that we not ignore evidence of pre-war deception.