June 2006

There are an estimated 4,000 skateboarders in West Seattle yet there are no skate parks here.

The paucity of skate parks isn't confined to West Seattle. There are only two public skate parks in all of Seattle. That's the same number of lawn bowling courts the city provides.

Realizing there are an estimated 20,000 skateboard enthusiasts throughout the city, Seattle city officials assembled a task force to come up with a plan to provide skate parks in every geographical region of town.

Skate parks are a Northwest thing anyway.

People in the Seaview neighborhood are wondering why signs have been installed in front of their houses instructing them not to park at the curb on certain Tuesdays this summer.

It's all part of a yearlong experiment scheduled to begin June 20. Seattle Public Utilities is trying to SEE if regularly scheduled street sweeping can reduce the amount of "nonpoint" pollution entering Puget Sound.

Sometimes it's easy to find the source of pollution. It can be as obvious as a pipe coming out of a factory. But the sources of generalized pollution are more difficult to determine.

Students from West Seattle Christian School said goodbye for the last time to their teachers and classmates last Friday. The K-8 private school is closing because of declining enrollment and hundreds of thousands in budget shortfalls.

"We've been struggling with this decision for most of the school year," said Dan Jacobs, a member of the West Seattle Christian church and School Board.

The West Seattle Senior Center is inviting clientele over for lunch at its newly renovated digs on Southwest Oregon Street. The center's lunch program provides nutritious meals for people over 60 at a suggested confidential donation of $3 a meal.

A walk down the main hall at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center surrounds you with creativity. Art lines the walls while open doors provide a glimpse into workshops, studios and the cluttered offices of community organizations. At the end of the hall double doors open up to a small theater. With its retractable bank of theater seats and simple stage, it gives the impression that this too is a place where presentation isn't far removed from creation.

Air Force Airman Jasmine D.

Saying he was going to make her life a _living hell_ until he moved out, an estranged husband brought a pit bull to the family home, poured a beer on his wife, and broke down a door. In front of the children, he held her down by the neck, spat in her face, and called her a variety of names. A family friend arrived and separated the two just as officers appeared on the scene.

It was the day before Father's Day and Elsbeth decided to buy me a new short sleeve pullover sweater as a gift. She says she is tired of looking at the ratty ones I have because they have a thousand little nubby wart size lumps she has to shave off. Now the wool is so thin you can see through It.

So we went to Marshalls and they didn't have any. Sadly we don't have Penney's in the Junction like in olden days so she insisted we try Target. That was fruitless so we went down to Macy's at Southcenter.

For a company flying Scandinavian flags outside its store front, Safeway isn't being very neighborly.

The Crown Hill grocery store on NW 85th Street and 15th Avenue NW is planning on building a five or six pump gas station in the southwest corner of its expansive parking lot.

I didn't want to go to Chinatown. I'd drive around and not find parking and give up the precious parking spot I found just five blocks from the office on Market Street. I spend a couple of dollars in gas just starting the truck's engine. Besides, there is so much to do. My Macintosh is beeping.

But the Wing Luke Museum has an exhibit that includes some of Dean Wong's photography. The Ballard News-Tribune's staff photographer for years, Wong delivers a steady stream of content for the paper and I've seen plenty of his photos but exhibition photography is something else.