July 2006

Mayor pushes street repair plan

West Seattleites nominated Fauntleroy Way, 16th Avenue and the Spokane Street Viaduct for Mayor Greg Nickels' "dirty dozen" list of city streets in greatest need of repair.

The mayor received 700 nominations for the list of Seattle's worst roads. The final 12 streets haven't been determined yet because the e-mail messages and letters are still being categorized.

The dirty dozen gimmick is part of Nickels' push for voters to approve a 20-year transportation investment program.

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Fairmount-High Point merger called positive

At one of the first site-specific public meetings to discuss the latest Seattle Public Schools closure recommendations, many spoke in favor of the school-generated proposal that would merge Fairmount Park students at High Point Elementary School.

Based on a community advisory committee's findings, schools Superintendent Raj Manhas has recommended closing nine school buildings, including Fairmount Park.

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Alki Homestead to keep ambience

After stirring worry in Alki and the Admiral District with their purchase of the Alki Homestead restaurant and Hainsworth House, along with announcing plans for various commercial ventures in Alki, business partners Tom Lin and Patrick Henley backed off.

They announced plans in the spring to refurbish Hainsworth House, one of West Seattle's oldest homes, into an event center for weddings and large parties. But many people living in the surrounding Belvidere area objected.

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Kids have projects included

First graders create cards for residents at Providence Mount St. Vincent, fourth graders spend their recess every Friday cleaning the church, while seventh graders prepare monthly lunches for homeless women at Angeline's Day Center. For students at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School, helping others isn't a matter of when or if, it is a matter of what and how.

What these students do to help depends on their age. Each grade has service learning projects built into the curriculum.

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Elections seek translators

King County Elections is hiring translation service providers to translate election materials including the local voters' pamphlets. A translation corps of 25 translators will be needed to work for 15-consecutive-day segments from July to October.

Applicants will be evaluated and qualified based on their ability to meet mandatory requirements which include: ownership and operation of hardware and software, education, the availability to work during the specified time period, and a thorough understanding of local government and the U.S. election processes.

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Street resurfacing to start soon

On July 11, depending on the weather, the Seattle Department of Transportation street maintenance crews will begin resealing approximately 38 miles of surface streets in the West Seattle, Northgate and Northeast Seattle neighborhoods with a process called chip sealing.

Renewing the chip seal surface preserves the condition of the streets and creates a highly skid-resistant surface preventing water penetration of the road's subsurface.

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Doris Conn

Doris Conn, age 77, born in S. River, New Jersey on February 6, 1929, passed away peacefully at home, while surrounded by family, on Sunday, June 18, 2006. She and Thomas A. Conn moved to Genesee Hill in West Seattle in 1969 where they raised six children. She worked as a seamstress in North Seattle and later in Modern Care, until retiring in 2002 at age 73. She is preceded in death by infant daughter, and by husband Thomas "Alvin" having cremation plots together in the Rose Garden at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Sharon Kalivoda

Sharon passed away peacefully at home on June 15, 2006 surrounded by family and friends.

Born July 25, 1941 to Fred and Adeline Dodd, Sharon was raised on a farm in Redmond through her grade school years. Growing up, Sharon attended many schools in the greater Seattle area and would graduate from Lake Washington High School in 1959. Influenced by her brother, Fred Jr. she developed an affinity for fast cars, which turned into a love of drag racing. She met and later married Dick Kalivoda and they would make West Seattle their home.