June 2008

When Anne Magyer and her husband, Justin Cline, first toured the old Dilettante caf

Two online companies that promised consumers "free" big-ticket items but required them to pay for trial offers and subscriptions must pay $55,000 in civil penalties under a settlement announced last week by the Washington Attorney General's Office.

Under the terms of the settlement, SubscriberBASE Holdings, Inc., of Columbia, S.C., and SubscriberBASE, Inc., can no longer offer such promotions to Washington residents.

The Seattle Department of Planning and Development has new land use recommendations for south downtown and it has included a supporting environmental impact statement.

The two documents are the result of a study on a livable downtown, a multi-year public initiative to explore ways to facilitate the additional jobs and housing called for in neighborhood plans.

The study area includes Pioneer Square, Chinatown/ International District including Little Saigon east of Interstate 5, the east side of Rainier Avenue South between South Dearborn Street and South Main Street, and t

When it comes to the Charlestown Cafe's grand reopening, restaurant loyalists are hungry for the latest on when that day will arrive. They call the Herald often each week.

"We're telling people July 1," said co-owner Larry Mellum. "That way, if we open a few days early, it's better than a few days late.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.