April 2008

The good news is that housing prices in the city will not plummet as low as those in the far-reaching suburbs. The bad news is there will continue to be a rush to provide housing for the huge number of people who will chose to live near their work and no longer drive until they can get a home loan approved.

We all know people who travel daily from Bainbridge Island or Vashon - when the ferries are not broken down - and even from Bonney Lake or Mount Vernon.

On Saturday, April 19, the Junior class of West Seattle High School held its 2nd annual "Pet Rodeo & Snooty Walk" at Hiawatha Park from 2-4 pm. Events included "Cutest Couple," comprised of either a pair of dogs, or a dog and owner, "Fastest Pet," and "Obstacle Course." About 50 pooches joined the fun, as did two goats and two chickens.

Snow came down hard at about 3pm, and the rodeo yielded to the "Snootiest Walk" awards that were moved inside.

Celebrity judges for the snooty-walkers included NBA star and motivational speaker Derek Sparks, and Sharon Nickels, wife of Mayor Greg Nickels. They Nickels' were towed into the park at 2pm by Edgar, their large furry grey pound puppy they adopted last year.

"We were told he might be a border collie/terrier mix and a medium-sized dog which we don't think is right. He's too big," said the mayor. The Nickels' said Edgar was at the fair "strictly as an observer" to avoid a bias in judging.

High school co-president for the class of '09, Sumeet Chadha, was in charge of the other student volunteers. Armed with a walkie-talkie and enthusiastic smile he said, "Students put this whole event together.

Corn snow fell briefly on Friday evening on Gatewood Hill in West Seattle, with no accumulation. Other parts of Seattle, and north of Seattle did see some accumulation though the unusual cold weather for April was not expected to last.

Cesar Chavez Park opened grandly April 17 with an architectural and musical dedication honoring its namesake, the famous civil rights activist and labor organizer for the farm worker. The site is on a fifth acre lot on 7th Avenue South and South Cloverdale Street in South Park.

Mariachi music trumped the drizzle as band members played to the performance of Concord Elementary School dancers and young members from El Centro de la Raza holding photos of Chavez chanting "Si se puede" or "Yes we can." The Beacon Hill organization promotes self-esteem and connectedness to family and culture recognition and social justice in all communities.

Hispanic granite sculptor Jesus Moroles came in from his hometown, aptly named Rockport, Texas, to demonstrate his three monoliths that stand in the park. Named "Musical Steles," these works contain thin slices for air to pass. When caressed with a stone these "slices" make music evocative of a xylophone.

Moroles has had a write-up in the New York Times, and a traveling exhibit originating in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art.

A christian themed play whose parts came to a local playwright as pure inspiration will debut April 24tth at Grace Baptist Church. Written by local teacher and playwright Lori Simmons, "Even Unto Death" is based on the true account of St. Perpetua and her slave Felcitas, who were martyred along with Revocatus, the slave and their pastor, Saturus in the year 203 A.D All the main characters actually lived.

It's tough at times to not succumb to cynicism when issues of bicycling and the way in which governmental agencies respond to them are considered. No sooner do I take hope from advances like Seattle's Bicycle Master Plan than I ride around and find that not much has changed, at least not where I ride.

There are the sharrow markings on the ruined roadway that is Beach Drive Southwest. Painting over potholes isn't much of an advancement in my view. Then there are the temporary sharrow markings on Admiral Way that were painted after the street was resurfaced.

Riding a polar bear bareback has always struck me as the kind of activity best left to drunken zoologists.

I am through reading lists of MVPs who make millions endorsing tennis shoes, golf balls and baseball mitts.

They aren't my heroes in the first place. You never heard of my heroes, but they mean more to me than Magic Johnson, A-Rod and Sonny Sixkiller put together!

My first hero was a little known sandlot mud bowl football player, Russ (Little Spud Turkey Neck) Robinson my 13 year old big brother, Russell.

Longfellow Creek is a tributary of the Duwamish River, and Camp Long's Pollywog Pond drains into Longfellow Creek. In the early 1850s, when Euro-American settlers arrived in Seattle, they found about 300 Duwamish Indians camped at the mouth of the river. Arthur Denny and a few pioneers (10 adults and 12 children) that he had led from the Midwest via the Oregon Trail to Portland, arrived on the schooner Exact in 1851. At Alki, where they landed, they met up with David Denny, John Low and Lee Terry.

The Highline Pirates handled the W.R. Meyers Rebels with very little problem, springing for five runs in the first inning on hitting and "good eyes" - and getting hit -- en route to a 15-1 win over the up-North and East Canadian visitor in a five-inning, 10-run rule shortened game at Mosier Field Monday April 7.

The Pirates are having a good season, being with only one loss to their rival, Mount Rainier, 6-4, about three weeks ago now. So, even if W.R. Meyers may have been at their best it still may have been no contest.