November 2005

Thanks to Ken Ahroni, everybody can rest easy when it comes to deciding who gets to crack the wishbone this holiday season.

In fact, the West Seattle native has made it possible to rest your wishes on these bird bones every day of the year, if that is your desire.

Ahroni is the inventor of the Lucky Break Wishbone.

He promotes his product as a 99.9 percent realistic, but synthetic, replica of the V-shaped bone found in turkeys and other birds, often cracked in two on Thanksgiving Day by hopeful wishers.

"Why at traditional Thanksgiving meals, when th

Since people voted overwhelmingly last week to derail the monorail, the only remnants of the project in West Seattle are the properties purchased to build stations.

The Seattle Monorail Project board of directors voted to liquidate the agency's assets and dispose of its property for maximum value.

Following last week's demise of the monorail, Mayor Greg Nickels ordered the Seattle Department of Transportation to conduct a transit study for West Seattle, Ballard and the rest of the western half of the city.

The study will compare buses, bus rapid transit, light rail and streetcars, said Patrice Gillespie Smith, Seattle Department of Transportation chief of staff. Neither subways nor monorail will be part of the new analysis, she said.

The study will consider transit that mingles with street traffic, such as buses.

Gchi Dang looked around the Junction and saw Japanese, Thai, Chinese and American restaurants, but no Vietnamese.

"I wanted to bring a new kind of food to the neighborhood," Dang said.

Than Brothers Restaurant opens in mid-November. Its specialty is pho (pronounced fah), rice noodle soup with varying ingredients such as chicken, beef, meatballs and other selections.

The Ballard Locks have probably dodged the budget axe, at least for the next 11 months. Once again, U.S. Senator Patty Murray played a key role.

Murray was the single Washington State representative on a 32-member U.S. Senate and House conference committee on November 6 that restored more than $2 million for the locks, or about 40% of its operational budget.

Parents at Adams Elementary School are now conducting the First Annual Direct Appeal Campaign to raise $20,000 for school programs not funded by the Seattle School District.

"Washington State is 42nd out of 50 states in funding education," said Principal Sara Liberty-Laylin.

The traditional small-scale fundraisers no longer meet the needs of today's schools during a time of budget constraints in the district.

"We can no longer manage with bake sales.

The Thanksgiving holiday is all about feeding people and that's what volunteers at the Calvary Lutheran Church intend to do on November 24 as they serve a turkey meal to the homeless.

Last year 120 people showed up at the Ballard church to eat and accept free sleeping bags.

That's why church members found sleeping bags on the pews in recent weeks. They and the general public are being asked to donate sleeping bags to hand out to people who need them.

The goal this year is to collect enough bags to hand out to everyone who shows up for the meal.

In girls swimming, the Ballard Beavers had a lot to be proud of as they swam to 13th at the State Meet, while earning several post season honors.

Last year the Beavers were in 42ndplace.

"To improve29 spots in one season is absolutely remarkable," said Head Coach Carlos Palacian who was named KingCo League Coach of the Year at Districts two weeks ago.

"It's a coaches vote. I'm proud to have been thought of. It's a reflection of the team and the rest of the coaching staff," said Palacian.

I should tell you right up front that I'm one of those soft-hearted gardeners who have trouble killing the legions of Love-in-a-Mist volunteers all over my garden. I also have to give myself a pep talk every time I should prune the roses: "Go ahead - Cut it back! It will grow stronger, be healthier!" Under performing plants should be tossed onto the compost pile without regret, but I typically give them another chance in the back corners of my yard. And then they limp along another season.

There's an old warehouse at the foot of the Magnolia Bridge on the empty west side of Terminal 91. It's easy to miss, sitting beneath a greenbelt, looking derelict. But on this cold Saturday morning, all the parking spots around it are full.

Bustle fills the warehouse. Seventy five people, maybe more, chip away and green bergs of frozen peas, or unload groceries in pallet-sized boxes, four feet high.