September 2007

Boy, that was the best editorial page in a long time (August 22).

Loved the cartoon (parents need to sit on those kids). Our parents would have really put the stick to our end. If they would make the parents go to school for a week with the kids, the parents would see how they act.

The schools should have a dress code like we had.

The Op-Ed on the viaduct (was) wonderful. Not that's a real eye opener. I loved it.

And the rent is so high and the houses our kids can't afford. I could not afford to rent a house.

Under the United States Constitution, everyone who is accused of a crime is entitled to legal representation.

Government bears the costs of defending the accused who are too poor to pay for a lawyer. This practice is a vital part of ensuring equal justice under the law for Americans regardless of their income. Seattle appears to be failing in this effort and unfortunately the Mayor is not recognizing that in his administration of public defense services in Seattle Municipal Court. One third of public defenders in Muni Court have too many clients-more than 380 per year.

For one skateboarding advocate here, creating a system of skate parks in West Seattle isn't just about building places to do aerials and flip tricks.

So far it's just a blueprint with no funding, but the citywide skate park plan is gaining momentum in West Seattle, fueled by passionate skaters like West Seattle resident Matt Johnston.

Johnston, who served on the skate park advisory task force that helped develop the plan last year with Seattle Parks and Recreation, is also determined to change some minds along the way.

The Cambodian Cultural Museum in White Center may be opening in a new and improved locale in downtown Seattle.

The museum is temporarily closed due to damage from flooding that occurred last January. The museum will reopen in a new location by next year.

Museum founder Dara Duong said the Cambodian Cultural Museum is in the early stages of working with the Wing Luke Asian Museum in downtown Seattle.

It was a big payday for the ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery recently when executive director, Alan Harrison, accepted a $6,500 check from the West Seattle Garden Tour at a reception.

Incoming Garden Tour president, Clay Swidler, presented the gift, 50 percent of the net proceeds raised by the 13th annual "Art of Gardening" event held July 22.

The tour featured a variety of spectacular gardens adorning eight West Seattle residences. The garden tour guidebook reads like a 5-star restaurant menu.

Two bills passed by the Seattle City Council last month to reduce overcrowding and violence around nightclubs did not earn Mayor Greg Nickels approval and the legislation was returned unsigned.

The council is currently working on a proposal that would require nightclubs to obtain a nightlife license in order to operate. A vote is expected toward the middle of the month.

The two bills support funding a nightlife enforcement team that could issue fines and respond to resident complaints and allows the city to penalize businesses that continually exceed occupancy limits.

After the big Interstate 5 construction project, King County Metro Transit reported record ridership on buses, vanpools, and the Elliott Bay water taxi during August.

"Over (those) two weeks, ridership on all of the services Metro provides increased by about 1,000 passengers each morning," said King County Executive Ron Sims.

Confronted by her employer about missing funds from her grocery till (nearly $10,000 in the last eight months), a local woman confessed that she had, indeed, taken several hundred dollars a week. She was booked into King County Jail for investigation of theft.

A man was moving his elderly mom from one residence to another and offered a stranger on 16th SW $100 to help. When they got to the new residence with the items, the man and his mom decided to take a nap while the helper and his girlfriend were supposed to unload the truck.