September 2007

On our city streets, bicycles pedaled by human power and weighing a few pounds for each skinny frame, must maneuver among speeding cars, trucks and buses. With growing numbers of cyclists, the city of Seattle has introduced lane markings called sharrows, reminding drivers to share the streets with bikes.

Sharrows (shared lane pavement arrows) are a bike symbol and two directional arrows (or chevrons) on the streets.

"Sharrows do not change the rules of the road for cyclists or drivers.

West Seattle author and educator Judy Bentley recently led a two-hour walking tour through the Northern Delridge neighborhood, once known as Youngstown. Most were area residents wanting to know more about the lower dell and the surrounding ridges that gave Delridge its name.

The people of West Seattle ArtWalk and ArtsWest are working together to create a combined art walk in the Alaska Junction.

Currently, the two groups appeal to different crowds. The West Seattle ArtWalk targets younger community members. On the second Thursday of every month, local businesses open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

One of the most well-known diagnosticians at Providence Mount St. Vincent never went to medical school. The West Seattle nursing home is the residence of Buckwheat, a cat that apparently has the ability to predict patients' deaths.

The Mount adopted the 10-year-old tabby cat three years ago, after his original owner died.

It is my turn to fly. I prime the engine with a squirt of gas and engage the propeller spring. One crank winds the spring tight, and then I release the prop. Like someone with a really bad cold, the engine sputters, spits, coughs...and dies. On the third try it spins to life with a buzzing sound that drowns out the world. Along with that buzz comes the oily smell of exhaust. A smell that means one thing: it's time to fly!

My friend Larry holds the plane in place as I run to the center of the field.

Ideas With Attitude - Song, dance on Alaska getaway

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Here I was in my doctor's office, the first time with the aid of a walker. I was feeling sorry for myself as I had planned a week's vacation on a cruise ship to Alaska and wondered if I would have to use my cancellation insurance and then I heard my doctor say, "Georgie, you might as well pack your pain medication and go. You and your friend can request wheelchair boarding with no waiting in long lines."

Two weeks later my friend and I were taking part in the lifeboat drill.

My mother-in-law is fond of saying that if she can teach her kids one thing, it is how to think for themselves. Her philosophy always spoke to me. But as I continue along this crazy parenting road, I am finally figuring out what the one thing is for me.

If I can teach my kids one thing, it is how to bounce back.

Really, what skill is going to matter more in life? How many of us reach high and grab the first thing we really want? After all, didn't Thomas Edison say, when asked about inventing the light bulb, "I have not failed 1,000 times.

Thank you for your article exposing former Washingtonian Tom Stewart's efforts to sell his $125 million Vashon Island ranch.

Ostensibly, Stewart's decision to move to Arizona the company he owns and of which he is CEO - Services Group of America - was based on his distaste for Washington State's estate tax.

Stewart's legal counsel is likely skilled in circumventing tax law; as such, basing his company's move on the estate tax was a ruse - his decision was made for rational reasons.

Stewart's 1998 violation of campaign laws - of which he was convicted - undersco

As fire chief of North Highline Fire District, I want to thank all the citizens of the fire district for your vote of confidence with your overwhelming "yes" vote on our Proposition 1, which was on the Aug. 21 ballot.

I was grateful for Dow Constantine's explanation of why night, midday and weekend runs on Alki Avenue were eliminated. I was also interested to learn of his successes. Good job - he cares.

Understandable the big funding is being spent on the water taxi, the Vashon ferry, ramps, overpasses and the (light rail) corridor. I envy these passengers who are being services. They can drive themselves or take a bus or ride the water taxi. Commuters have a choice. Those on the Alki run may not be to drive, have no direct bus and find it hazardous to balance on a slippery water-tossed pier.