April 2006

I was saddened to see that Richard Benjamin, Gary Petersen, Maggie Steenrod, and Don Wasson were awarded $90,000 in legal fees by the city of Des Moines, but I realize that in order to put the last disastrous four years behind us, it had to be done.

Our city has been negatively impacted in so many ways by these former council members, not to mention the costs they incurred in firing former City Manager Bob Olander.

It is time to move forward and seize all opportunities to make Des Moines the truly dynamic city it can be.

The current Des Moines City Council finally paid the former council members money that has been due them.

This was conveniently done after the election last fall where some of the former lawmakers lost their positions. It takes money to run an effective campaign.

Since the former lawmakers were being sued for their activities as city council members, the city should have paid their defense fees up front.

SForsythia, magnolia, plums, Japanese rose (Kerria japonica) and many other shrubs and trees have joined the trillium, bulbs and ferns in celebrating spring. Bees are buzzing and Anna’s hummerbirds are fattening up after a cold, wet winter.

Observant gardeners notice the march of spring and the various plants and critters that follow increasing sunlight and warming temperatures.

Of course, not-so-welcome plants and critters are part of the scene, too.

“I absolutely and entirely renounce ... all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen....”

Naturalization Oath of Allegiance

to the United States of America

A band of Highline students displayed their national allegiance during a march last week protesting U.S.

Dear Sister Norma,

Last week I was fixing breakfast and I took the little plastic jar full of your strawberry jam you sent out of the fridge and it slipped from my hand. I tried to stop it but knocked the lid off and the jar landed on the floor upside down.

This left a big glob on the floor and I didn't want to waste all of it so I took two of Elsbeth's spatulas and managed to get the top half of the sticky pile back into the empty container.

This still left a big smear on the floor and under the lip of the fridge.

In North Admiral,/b>, a man ordered some _company_ from an advertisement in The Stranger newspaper. The woman arrived, but before any festivities got underway, she sprayed him in the faced with pepper spray, grabbed his wallet, and left, taking $600 cash.

When the Coast Guard stopped a runabout boat that was operating recklessly near a Washington State Ferry, they found that the skipper, a Beach Drive resident, was intoxicated. They detained the man under several charges and asked Seattle Police officers to meet them at the Don Armeni boat ramp to take the inebriated man home.

Being glomped as Yuna

By Kyra-lin Hom

I'm sure that at least some people found themselves wandering around downtown Seattle the weekend of March 25th without any knowledge of the massive pilgrimage of anime fans to the Seattle Convention Center occurring then.

Run the Admiral hill

For those of you who are pretty fit and very fit (you know who you are) you need to try this Admiral/California hill work out. Start on Alki, by Spuds Fish and Chips. Run to and then up the Admiral hill. Then, go over and down the California hill. Next, run up the California hill, back down the Admiral hill, and back to your car. Enjoy the view and feel thankful for your health.

When doing this work out, remember that the up-hills are the main component and most of your energy should go toward getting up.

But inevitable does not have to mean our Junction must become a concrete canyon that is inhospitable to pedestrians and shoppers.

It is the time for the property owners, the people who lease their stores and the residents nearby and from the wider West Seattle community to be vigilant and guide the developers.

(Bruce) Bulloch's review of Brokeback Mountain in the April 5 edition of the Herald is the best-written piece I've ever read in that paper. I regularly read movie reviews, and yours could hold its own against those written by most reviewers in national publications. Well done.

Carl Spears

Alki