July 2005

A group of 13 parents is requesting an investigation of "potential misappropriation of funds" during the last four years at Arbor Heights Elementary School.

They sent a letter to Superintendent Raj Manhas and the Seattle Public Schools board of directors asking that the investigation include "all relevant accounts, including private funds and grants," the letter stated.

Parents asked that a report be completed in the next two months, before the 2005-2006 school year begins.

As a young boy growing up in the Roxbury neighborhood, Mike Fann had the typical childhood adventures. But they don't compare to the adventures he's experienced during his 35 years with the Seattle Police Department.

And now that he's comfortably in charge of the department's Southwest Precinct, one gets the sense he has come full circle. With one difference.

He now answers to the title of "Captain."

Capt. Mike Fann is back on his home turf, eager to build on the "solid foundation" provided by departing Capt.

City Councilmember Nick Licata says he is focusing his reelection campaign on public safety strategies to reduce crime on city streets by ramping up police visibility and increasing communications between law enforcement and citizens.

He also suggests that one way to alleviate pending traffic problems for West Seattle might be building the monorail from downtown to West Seattle, saving the Ballard route for another project, another time.

In roughly nine months, 25 new Seattle Police officers are to be trained and ready for duty and Licata said he would like to have more o

As part of the Seattle Pro Parks Project, Westcrest Park has been chosen to receive $75,000 for an art project. The budget includes artist design fees and the fabrication of the artwork.

Local artist Milenko Matanovic was selected by the Pro Parks community center art planners for the project.

On July 31, the West Seattle Farmers' Market may be the only place in town you can get a 'poopsicle,' toss a diaper, and help a needy child all in the same place.

Local charitable nonprofit group, Westside Baby, will hold its fifth annual Stuff the Baby Bus With Diapers fund-raising campaign at the market this year. The organization hopes to raise twice the amount of diapers brought in by last year's event, said Lisa Perry, resource coordinator.

"We are asking everyone we know to contribute a pack of diapers," said Perry.

If you live, work, visit or pass through the South Delridge area, the reason it looks so good is because so many people have picked have picked up litter, weeded overgrown traffic diverters, collected stray shopping carts and painted out graffiti in the neighborhood.

We went to publicly acknowledge the many volunteers who brought lots of energy early Saturday morning, June 25, to "spruce up" the neighborhood from Southwest Roxbury to Southwest Henderson and 16th Southwest to Delridge Way.

We appreciate the efforts if the city employees who did much of the pre-e

West Seattle is a very unique, wonderful community.

The outpouring of appreciation and good will in response to my resignation as director of the West Seattle Junction Association has been overwhelming. You've made me realize how many friends and supporters I've made during the years I worked to achieve a stronger business community in the heart of West Seattle.

Your generous support not only made it possible to carry out numerous improvement projects but made it a pleasure to come to work each day.

So, thank you, West Seattle!

Kay Knapton

The monorail agency has a debt of $100 million and it is costing $4 million a month n stop the monorail project now before more dollars are spent.

The Seattle Monorail Project supposedly did their best (that's what we paid them to do) n negotiated the cheapest contract for the system (less of a system than originally planned) n put a tax on motor vehicles (which is 30 percent less than expected) n and created a financial package (that is not acceptable to the voters).

If they did their job to the best of their ability, then there is nowhere

Looking through the Sunday paper I was pleased to see an ad for the West Seattle Junction Festival, thinking for once I could enjoy this fair since the Junction Merchants had promised me they would not be exploiting animals by having pony rides and petting zoos this year. Then I saw that they would have "Valentines Performing Pigs"

In their letter to me, the Merchants Association alerted me to the "new and fun" additions this year. Fun for whom?

Not the pigs.

One of the options I've been hearing for getting the monorail project back on track, is to scale the project back, in order "to meet the promise made to voters."

It would be ridiculous to build a monorail that served fewer people, with fewer stations and a shorter run. This would only turn the monorail into a novelty ride, like the one we already have.