July 2008

I just wanted to put my two cents in on the "new Ercolini Park." I think the park should be renamed "Playground," as all you hear all day long is one extended recess.

The parents of these kids let them run/shout wild in this new playground and the neighbors are getting a little fed up, as we all don't sleep at midnight to 6 in the a.m.

I believe that they don't let this screaming take place at home, so the parents get into their van and escort the kids to this playground to let off excess energy, with the outcome being felt around the neighborhood.

There is a p

Mayor Nickels just saved his big, fat bacon by sending the Sonics packing for $45 million plus $30 million potentially.

Who's watchin,' but Greg Nickels and Gregoire's Ministry of Transportation are engineering a Seattle traffic nightmare equivalent to a combined massive stroke and massive heart attack. Yes, they intend to destroy the 110,000 vehicles per day Alaskan Way Viaduct.

"It only takes a minute or two to rob a bank," said Robbie Burroughs, special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Seattle.

Last week a suspected robber used a Colt .45-style pellet gun at the Admiral Wells-Fargo Bank to get immediate attention. He jumped the gate into the teller's area, aimed the gun and demanded money.

Burroughs said the investigation is ongoing. The suspected robber is Douglas Michael Cox, 50, of Burien. His accused getaway driver is Seattle native Kevin V. Palmer, 47.

Last year Kelly Garces noticed that of the 24 houses on her block only two had trees in front of them.

She had recently found out about Seattle's Tree Fund - a grant program where neighborhoods could get free trees to plant in front of their houses so she decided to take action.

"I just thought it would make the street so much more lovely," said Garces.

The Tree Fund is part of the city's Neighborhood Matching Fund, a grant program that funds a variety of grassroots neighborhood projects.

More people using Steve Cox Memorial Park-Mel Olson Stadium has created a demand for food and drinks to keep baseball fans happy so they return often.

The demand has spurred King County Parks to seek a local business to provide food and refreshment services.

The facility was recently renovated and dedicated to Deputy Sheriff Steve Cox, who was killed in the line of duty in 2006.

"It's a great opportunity to get a lot more people in the park and is a great place to watch baseball on a summer evening," said Jessie Israel, business development manager of King Coun

Construction on Hiawatha Playfield will be delayed for several months as the city parks people and Seattle Public Schools finalize the an agreement that establishes the terms of a $1 million contribution from Seattle Public Schools.

Approval is needed from the Seattle School Board, who will vote on the issue in August.

The White Center residents recently were invited to Mount View Presbyterian Church to hear a presentation by Jeretha McKinley of the Chicago Health Connection to hear about the Doula Outreach Program through Open Arms Perinatal Services.

Sheila Capistany, spokesperson for Open Arms and herself a doula (from the ancient Greek word meaning "woman's servant") for 17 years, says Open Arms Perinatal Services, through their doula support program, has been providing doula support to families in the area since 1997.

The impetus for this presentation was the result of Open Arms al

The city is seeking possible new requirements for the city's un-reinforced masonry buildings estimated to number up to 1,000, most of which have not been seismically retrofitted.

A study summarizes the experience of several California cities that instituted a similar requirement over the past two decades.

For 13 years, a woman living above Beach Drive has treated the birds and squirrels in the nearby greenbelt with birdseed and peanuts. A new neighbor just moved in, and several times within the first week he has come to the woman's apartment in a rage, yelling and telling her to stop the feeding.

Making summer magical, part 2

By Lauri Hennessey

You can always tell the English. You can always tell the Dutch. You can always tell Lubahn's class, but you can't tell much. Thank Goodness it's Friday!

At Hilltop Elementary in Puyallup in the 1970s, John Lubahn's sixth grade class gathered every Friday to yell that cheer at exactly 3 o'clock. Then, just as the cheers and whistles and claps were started to fade, the class of kids burst out of the room and ran towards the buses.