April 2007

A 13-unit townhouse development under construction in the Gatewood neighborhood is raising hackles among neighbors who claim the developer flew under the city's regulatory radar by dividing the project into three seemingly separate projects.

The developer, a Queen Anne company called Soleil (pronounced "so-lay"), received separate permits from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development for each of the three buildings that will comprise its new project in the 7200 block of California Avenue Southwest.

Seattle Public Schools' next superintendent will come from as far away as South Carolina or Pennsylvania and be an experienced educator.

The top contenders are Maria Goodloe-Johnson, superintendent of the Charleston County (S.C.) Schools, and Gregory Thornton, chief academic officer of the School District of Philadelphia.

The candidates each have more than 25 years of experience in education and were chosen by the School Board out of a group of 39 applicants.

Much of the public believes the Seattle School District is in financial turmoil, though that's not the case, said the district's chief operating officer, Mark Green.

Green spoke with superintendent Raj Manhas and chief academic officer Carla Santorno at a community meeting last week at Roosevelt High School.

Friends and family members of Matthew "Tatsuo" Nakata are demanding justice as they learn that the driver who hit and killed the 29-year-old City Council aide last fall will not face a felony charge.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng decided March 7 that there was not enough evidence to convict Ephraim Schwartz of vehicular homicide. Schwartz, 35 at the time of the accident, was reportedly using his cellphone when he struck Nakata at a marked crosswalk at the 4700 block of Southwest Admiral Way on Nov.

HB 1024

Phasing out the use of polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

By a vote of 41 to 8 on April 3, the Senate approved HB 1024, which would prohibit the sale, manufacture or distribution of products that contain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), chemicals found in certain flame retardants, after Jan. 1, 2008. The bill makes several exemptions including, products containing Deca-BDEs (except for residential upholstered furniture, televisions, or computers), used vehicles containing PBDEs, and equipment used for military or federally funded space programs.

Thanks to witnesses, a quick response from officers and the nose of a police dog named Axel, a transient who robbed a credit union near 24th and Andover was quickly taken into custody on Wednesday. After demanding money from a teller, the man fled southbound, was seen trying to break into a house, and was ultimately routed from beneath some stairs at a residence on 25th SW, where officers reported seeing U.S. currency blowing in the breeze.

Snoose Junction

2305 NW Market Street

http://www.snoosejunctionpizzeria.com/

Hours:

Sunday- Monday: 11:30 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Tuesday - Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. - Midnight

Back in 1988 I got a speeding ticket at Leary Way and 41st NW. I'd stopped at the original Redhook Brewery on the way to work to return a keg and tap from the house-warming party. I made a southbound left onto Leary Way, underestimating the speed of traffic and had to shift fast on the Chevy Chevette. Moments later I was parked just off of Leary eating dry granola while a very pleasant motorcycle cop wrote me a speeding ticket.

Last week I called the Mayor of Goldendale, Wash., to discuss my speeding ticket, among other items.

We in Ballard tried to get an innovative monorail system only to have it shot down because of gross incompetence of the monorail leaders and rejection by the city's political leadership more beholden to downtown business interests and the light rail system being built by their baby, Sound Transit.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct rebuild or replacement issue then took center stage ending in a $1 million "election" that said what common sense already had: A tunnel costs too much and a badly (and politically) designed above-ground replacement was not what the citizens wanted.

S

Seattle Public School's next superintendent will come from as far away as South Carolina or Pennsylvania and be an experienced educator.

The top contenders are Maria Goodloe-Johnson, superintendent of the Charleston County (S.C.) Schools, and Gregory Thornton, chief academic officer of the School District of Philadelphia.

The candidates each have more than 25 years of experience in education and were chosen by the School Board out of a group of 39 applicants.