Lawton's Cheryl Parks focuses on individual achievement, lifelong healthPhysical education is a regular part of most school curriculums. For adults, P.E. might conjure up images of running endless laps around a field, or perhaps the infamous kickball games.For kids in Cheryl Parks' class at Lawton Elementary School, however, P.E. is more about activities like rock climbing, bowling and archery.When I first walked into the P.E. area with the lights turned off, there were lanes set up for bowling with icicle-shaped lights strung between them, providing the atmosphere of a bowling alley. A rock climbing wall and stacks of all kinds of equipment encircled the small gymnasium.
The City of Seattle is seeking candidates to serve two-year terms with the Seattle Human Rights Commission. This 16-member commission advises the City Council on issues that affect human rights working directly with the director of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to end discrimination. The city is looking to fill three chairs. This unpaid opportunity is open only to candidates residing in Seattle. The committee meets the first Thursday of each month in a meeting open to the public.
Seattle City Light is alerting customers to be cautious when receiving phone calls from utility bill collectors. In recent weeks, con artists have been posing as utility collectors asking for credit card information from several customers. The con artists appear to be targeting elderly and non-native English speaking customers. "We do not make outbound calls to customers asking for money to pay their bill or to ask for credit card payments or personal account information as part of our daily work," said Carol Dickenson, director of customer relations and account services.
FREMONTMore bridge closures scheduledThe Fremont Bridge will close yet again to all users from 2 to 6 a.m. each morning through Friday, April 13, for more bridge work.Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crews will need to have the bascule bridge leaves positioned in the air to perform more work associated with the upcoming mechanical and electrical improvements.SDOT will open the sidewalk on the west side of the bridge by 6 a.m. Friday. Sidewalks on both sides of the bridge will then open until the east side is closed at a later date to finish the sidewalk work.WALLINGFORDPaving continues on 45th streetSDOT has begun asphalt base repair on North and Northeast 45th streets between Interstate 5 and Burke Avenue North earlier than initially anticipated.The work will require that Metro buses move outside the range of the overhead trolley lines so many activities, including grinding and paving, will occur on weekends when Metro can use motorized buses.Traffic is restricted generally 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with only one lane in each direction from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Parking is prohibited as needed.Also, the I-5 northbound on-ramp will close 8 p.m. Friday, April 13, to 9 a.m. Saturday, April 14.
I neither recommend nor condemn a singles lifestyle, but for the unhappily married amongst us, I never want to be seen encouraging them to become unhappily single. That said, once in a while, I draw great pleasure from a review of the best parts of being unengaged. If nothing else, it distracts me from the complaints of my mother, the Woman-Who-Would-Be-Grandma.
2006 Pie Joust champion Banana Von Crema (right) takes on the fierce Steak Daddy in a sudden-death duel during the seventh-annual April Fool's Day Pie Joust at Sully's Snowgoose Saloon, 6119 Phinney Ave. N. Local merchants and residents celebrate the April 1 holiday by creaming one another for the heck of it.
SODO - Some major movers and shakers joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a press conference last week to promote alternative fuel sources in an effort to make America independent of foreign oil for its energy needs. The April 13 press conference was held at Seattle Biodiesel's manufacturing plant in South Seattle. "It's a small company trying to make a big difference," said John Plaza, CEO of Imperium Renewables, the parent company of Seattle Biodiesel.
The Seattle School Board voted 6-0 in favor of having Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson become the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. The school board held a meeting on April 12 to select Dr. Goodloe-Johnson, who most recently served as the superintendent to the Charleston County School District in North Carolina. "Maria is a teacher's teacher whose own educational experience will complement the extraordinary strengths of the teachers and staff in our district," said board president Cheryl Chow
- For Jo-Nathan Thomas, head coach of the Rainier Beach girls track team, the bittersweet taste of placing second in the 3A state championship last year still lingers. The girls of Rainier Beach lost to North Central, a school in Eastern Washington, by a score of 69 to 42. At state last year, Rainier Beach's track program was dominant in the running events. Charnay Combs placed first in the 200-meter event, Dyneeca Adams placed first in the 400-meter event, and with Marquita Brown and Deborah Spencer-Kirby joining Combs and Adams in the 800-meter relay, Rainier Beach also took home first place. However, according to Coach Thomas, the team lacked depth in the field events.This year, there are three dominant athletes on the Rainier Beach girls track team that competitors better prepare for.
By Erik HansenThe following are based on incident reports from the Seattle Police Department's South Precinct. They represent the officers' accounts of the events described. COMMERCIAL BURGLARYWednesday 4/4, 8:50 a.m. For the second time in the past few months, a construction company located along Second Avenue South reported the theft of an aluminum pump jack. The piece of equipment looks like scaffolding and is valued at $4,000. After the first theft, a representative of the company told officers they replaced it. However, she was unsure how the suspect(s) managed to get into the yard the second time with barbed wire running along the top of the fence. The investigating officer advised she call the Seattle Police Department's pawn shop detail so the equipment description could be faxed to scrap yards in the area.BURGLARYThursday 4/5, 9:46 a.m.Away from their home for the day, a couple living on Island Drive South came returned to find a burglar had made his way inside their house. The couple showed the investigating officer video footage from a security system monitoring the residence. On the tape, a man in his 30s with a hooked nose, mustache and goatee wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and a blue baseball cap is seen moving up the walkway toward the home.Off camera, the suspect pried open a locked bedroom window located off the backyard. A half an hour later, the burglar is again captured on video with a purple duffle bag filled with stolen items and a black suitcase. The suspect decided to drop the black suitcase, and the footage shows him going back to the home and leaving again rolling a blue suitcase while still carrying the purple duffel bag. The footage shows the suspect casually walking toward South Cloverdale Street holding the duffel and rolling the suitcase.The couple reported $20,000 worth of goods stolen from their home, including a two jewelry boxes filled with Guatemalan and other jewelry, a Nikon digital D2H camera, a Nikon 35 mm SLR, and two Apple laptop computers. The officer took the black suitcase, which the suspect filled with wine bottles, into custody for fingerprint analysis.ASSAULT/SHOOTINGThursday 4/5, 7:42 p.m. A caller dialed 911 to report a shooting in the parking lot of Saar's grocery store in the 9000 block of Rainier Avenue South. The caller reported hearing six shots, and other 911 callers said they heard them coming from the area. On the scene, officers found the victim, a 22-year-old man, at the corner of Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street with a friend, another 22-year-old man. The friend told officers that the victim was recently released from prison after serving 16 months for illegal-drug related charges. Apparently the friends had left a nearby Rite Aid store and saw three men standing nearby, whispering to each other. As the friends walked across the parking lot toward the Bank of America, they heard one of the whispering men suddenly yell, "South End." The shout was followed by five gunshots. One of the bullets struck the victim in the left knee, pitching him to the ground. He managed to get up and make his way to the Bank of America parking lot, where police officers and emergency medical personnel found him. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment. Several witnesses reported to officers, on the street and through 911, seeing the suspects run into the nearby Lake Washington Apartments complex. While officers were responding to the scene, two 911 callers from the 4800 block of South Director Street reported seeing a shirtless man go into a nearby apartment with a shotgun. They then saw the man come out of his apartment and fire a round from the gun at someone in the parking lot of the apartment complex. Officers went to the apartment, contacted the suspected shooter who admitted owning the gun, and took the weapon from him.NARCOTICS<Saturday 4/7, 2:50 p.m. While on routine patrol, an officer stopped at the intersection of 14th Avenue South and East Marginal Way South witnessed a car zip through the intersection traveling at more than 55 miles per hour. The officer followed with emergency lights signaling. When the driver pulled over, the officer smelled the odor of burning marijuana coming from inside the car. The officer collected the IDs of the driver and his passenger and waited for backup officers. A data check showed the driver and passenger both had a suspended license. When the officer's backup arrived, he contacted the driver, informed him about his suspended license, and asked him if there was anything in the car he should be concerned about. The driver said no, and the officer asked about the odor of burnt marijuana.The driver said the odor was there because he and his friend were "smoking the best $#@% around."The officer had the driver and passenger exit the car in order for a search to be conducted. Along with a few bits of marijuana leaf in the center console, the officer found a small, blue plastic bag of pills. The driver denied it was his, saying a woman he met the night before at a club had left the ecstasy in his car. The driver said he only smoked weed, and admitted to some being in the car. He handed the officer his keys and instructed him to look for his personal use stash in the glove compartment. The officer did just that, discovering 1-gram of marijuana. The pot was confiscated, and the officers wrote the driver tickets for his traffic citations. The driver and passenger were released from the scene. The officer also requested that a misdemeanor charge be brought against the driver for possession of less than 40 grams of marijuana.ASSAULT/SHOOTINGSunday 4/8, 4:55 a.m. Officers responded to the report of a shooting at Airport Way South and Doris Street. On the scene, four men ages 24, 26, 27 and 75 along with a 39-year-old woman were standing around the 25-year-old victim lying on the ground, unresponsive in a pool of his own blood.The victim suffered gunshot wounds to his lower back. Seattle Fire Department emergency medical personnel transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center. Hospital staff said the man's injuries included damage to his spleen, liver and kidney.One of the witnesses said he had dropped the victim off for the Magic Wheels Motorcycle Club's after hours event. When he returned looking for his friend he heard the gunshots. The witness ran away from the shots and tried calling 911, but dropped his cell phone. A friend of his found his phone and dialed 911, and a second witness told officers the shooter was a man who fled the scene with a female passenger in a gold Monte Carlo.
RAINIER VALLEY - What do road signs, WSDOT traffic cameras and telephone wire have in common? Combine them with 7 months of intensive investigative work and you get a criminal case resulting in the closure of a major metal recycling operation in South Seattle.
Some major movers and shakers joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a press conference last week to promote alternative fuel sources in an effort to make America independent of foreign oil for its energy needs. The April 13 press conference was held at Seattle Biodiesel's manufacturing plant in Seattle. "It's a small company trying to make a big difference," said John Plaza, CEO of Imperium Renewables, the parent company of Seattle Biodiesel. Pelosi noted that Democrats now hold a majority in both houses of Congress, and that's changed the equation over the country's approach to energy. "Now we intend to get something done," she stressed.
If nothing else, the one thing that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community agrees on about the state's new domestic partnership bill is that it is significant, it is needed and it is not enough. There will be another bill offered to the Legislature next year."The domestic partners bill provides emergency family protection," said Josh Friedes, a spokesman for Equal Rights Washington. "It is a continuing step for full marriage equality.The bill, which Governor Christine Gregoire has said she will sign, allows same-sex partners at least 18 years old, and heterosexual partners where one is at least 62-years old, to sign a civil register. Registered couples will then have rights, not now available, in the matters of health care and inheritance.
Tara Joy Jones (Titania) foreground and Lara Lihiya (Hippolyta) rehearse for this weekend's performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Volunteer Park. The free shows run Friday through Sunday this weekend and next and start at 3:30 p.m.
Hundreds of visitors lined up outside the Adaptations Building at Woodland Park Zoo on April 9 to get their first look at Hadiah (HA-dee-yah), a female Sumatran tiger cub. She was raised by zookeepers after her aging mother, JoJo, stopped providing maternal care for her two weeks after birth.Hadiah, which means "gift," was the winner among five Malay/Indonesian names selected by zoo staff in a public naming poll that drew more than 6,700 votes. The event featured performances by a traditional Indonesian musical ensemble and tiger-themed cupcakes from Cupcake Royale.