July 2008

Last year at Des Moines Beach Park, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed legislation creating the Puget Sound Partnership tasked with the job of cleaning up Puget Sound.

On July 24, Gregoire returned to the park, as part of a two-day, seven-stop tour to reiterate the importance of a clean Puget Sound to Washington's economy and culture. The visit was sponsored by Gregoire's re-election committee.

The goal of the partnership is to clean Puget Sound by 2020, Gregoire said.

"She was David in a Goliath story" is how Kathryn Fairchild described Elda Behm, a friend and a stand-in-grandmother to her, during a memorial service for Behm on July 19.

Behm, "Paradise Garden" creator, died July 13. Behm created the garden at her SeaTac home.

Family sues over arson fire

Jamie Cisneros and Martha Velazquez are suing the owners of the Tara Apartments after their eight-year-old son, Edgar Cisneros Velazquez and Cisneros' father, Ramon Cisneros Sanchez were killed in an arson fire at the building on June 29.

In King County Superior Court, they claim the building owners, Eric and Ruth Johnson, did not provide adequate fire escape routes and did not keep up safety equipment.

Lindy Kunimoto also died in the fire.

Des Moines

Trial of Whitehead's stepson underway

Back-and-forth baseball, great baseball, but in the end it was Steel Lake being the killer of the local PacWest boys of summer’s dreams.

Pac West of Burien lost, 10-9, with an extra inning of play needed to decide fates of the 2008 Senior All Stars Little League State Tournament at Moshier Field July 19.

“Fun game,” said Pacwest’s manager John Ramirez. “These guys (did great). It was the toughest we played all year.”

Maybe all the more tougher to accept the loss. But, really, there is no need to be down about anything.

Fall signups begin

Fall 2008 youth soccer registration is now open. The West Highline Soccer Club serves 900-plus youth (boys and girls) from ages 5-18. Register on-line at www.westhighlinesoccer.com and click on the registration link. Volunteers for coaching positions can also register.

With a grand reopening on July 25, Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila celebrated a $240 million expansion that makes it the largest indoor mall in Washington and Oregon.

Gov. Chris Gregoire and Tukwila Mayor Jim Haggerton were among the speakers at the morning ceremony.

Gregoire noted, "The expansion will create 1,600 additional jobs, on top of the 3,700 Washingtonians who already work here. That's a lot of jobs for this area.

Doors Tribute band "The American Night" played before a sizable audience Thursday, July 24th outside the Alki Community Center. The band prides itself on using vintage instruments to create the "Energy and rock theater that was a live Doors performance."

The duplex of Dr. Paula Azoulay, at 2508 56th Avenue SW, caught on fire Thursday night shortly after 8 pm. She was out of town. However a tenant, who asked not to be identified, rented a basement apartment in the building. She appeared unharmed.

"She secured the house and left for California for six months to help her daughter with the birth of her new granddaughter," said Hudson Burke, who lives three doors down.

GreenStage is bringing their 20th anniversary of FREE Shakespeare performances to the green stage of Camp Long! Bring a blanket and a picnic. (Sorry, no food service is provided.) Don't miss the evening performances on the parade ground near Schurman Rock! Camp Long started hosting Shakespeare in the Park in 2005. It has been a special place to enjoy the bard since then.

Last Wednesday night more than 50 Hotwire Coffee customers and employees crowded into a shallow room at the Ginomai arts center to watch one of their own compete on Bravo's popular television show "Project Runway."

Richard "Blayne" Walsh, a 23-year-old Yakima native has worked at West Seattle's Hotwire Coffee for two and a half years. He took a break this spring after he was selected among thousands of applicants to participate in the fashion design competition.

"I was at the point where I was in the same routine," Blayne said.