June 2008

Metro now using six new hybrid coaches

Metro already has put six new articulated hybrids buses into service and the remaining new hybrid coaches are in the process of being serviced and will be deployed within the next few weeks.

Other hybrid buses already in the fleet will be reassigned so that the larger coaches are spread across Metro's system to help ease overcrowding on some of the busiest routes.

At least 40 weekday trips that are currently overcrowded and operating with standard 40-foot buses will be assigned larger coaches.

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Five vie for Hy-Yu queen

Last year a sole young woman was seeking to be Miss West Seattle.

This year there are five senior court candidates for the 2008 Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Scholarship Pageant.

Makes one wonder, "What's the big change and who are these girls?"

"The increase in girls may have been a result of us increasing the scholarship the queen receives from $1,200 to $2,000 and the two princesses from $750 to $1,000," said Carol Winston, co-candidate coordinator of Ms. West Seattle Hi-Yu.

Ms.

Neighborhood
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Yemeni student about to return after year here

"Yemen? Where's that? Somewhere in the Middle East? Do they have camels there? Do you need a license to drive one?"

These are the kinds of questions 17-year-old Yemeni exchange student Nazek Mohammed gets when she tells people where she's from. (Yes, Yemen has camels and no, you don't need a license to drive one. But why would you ride a camel when there are so many cars around?)

Nazek doesn't live in the desert anyway - though in Yemen the desert is never far away.

Neighborhood
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Should Nigel be Nigelle?

Nigel is a Hahn's Macaw, the smallest of that family of birds that are native to Brazil, and there is a story about Nigel that you might find hard to believe. Nigel was given to Lauren at 7 years of age (Nigel not Lauren). Perhaps Nigel took some inspiration from a certain bunny because on Easter Lauren noticed that Nigel looked sick...but that was not the case.

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Ideas With Attitude

What might have been

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

At a time of being despondent there are always thoughts of the one that got away or what could have happened if something hadn't gone wrong. My husband can always remember the marlin that he played for hours leaving him with aching arms for days after one fishing trip. I get seasick so didn't accompany my husband on the fishing boat off the shores of Kauai. I waited in the motel for him to return and when several hours had passed I called the tour office.

Neighborhood
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Bookshelf

Summer reading listed for teens

By Wally Bubelis

Summer is almost here, and with this year's recession, that may mean that the annual family road trip will be shortened or put on hold entirely. We can expect a lot more inexpensive activities for everyone, and teens will likely find themselves either working for some spending money or having a lot of time on their hands.

One cost-effective activity that delivers a huge bang for the buck is, of course, reading.

Neighborhood
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Creative letters

A big thank you to writer Carol Smith for her editorial poetry that has appeared in the last three issues. We hope she will continue to use this creative way to express her viewpoints (which we happen to agree with, so far). It's refreshing and entertaining.

Tom and Charl Jensen

Gatewood

Rattle the WSHS cage

The staff at West Seattle High School has voted to reduce classroom time from 55 to 50 minutes. They have shortened the school day by 15 minutes, lengthened lunch, lengthened morning break, added in 30 minutes of completely unsupervised free time on Mondays (for all but freshmen) and 30 minutes of free time for all students (staff office hours) on Fridays.

They posted the new bell schedule on the Web site and hardly anyone is complaining, so they think you agree, "less is more." Less is more? Now that's using your thinking cap!

Neighborhood

Op-Ed

Public safety cuts are necessary

By Dow Constantine

How would cutting 100 Sheriff's deputies affect police response times? How would a reduction of 30 deputy prosecutors impact our ability to put criminal suspects on trial?

These are examples of the grim decisions facing King County citizens and lawmakers as we confront a $68 million budget deficit for 2009 and a possible $80 million deficit in 2010.

How did this problem come to be?

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