March 2009

Consenting adults should be allowed to marry their partner of choice. It should make no difference if they are straight or gay. While a license from the state is required, there is no such license requirement from a church.

A couple marries for a variety of reasons including economics, companionship, love, and sometimes – but not always - to have and raise children. Outside of actually having children, gay couples would be marrying for the same reasons. What’s not to think this is a good thing?

It turns out that marriage between men and women has not been the norm for all of human history, but a fairly recent legal structure. Even today, men are allowed to have multiple wives in several countries. And until recently (late 1960's), interracial marriage was banned in several states in the US.

Marriage, one might say has evolved over time and has a different meaning today than it did even 100 years ago.

This letter is in response to the letter entitled “Homosexuality is destructive."

I’d just like to ask Pastor Randy Leskovar and others who think like him: what are you afraid of?

Do you truly believe “the future of our state and the lives of many are at stake”? I just don’t understand where your fear comes from. How does my love for a woman, or being given the right to file taxes jointly or be on the same insurance policy as my partner or having unquestionable visitation in the event of a medical emergency affect you in any way?

How does it put our state and the lives of many at stake? I am a homeowner, a taxpayer, a mother, a volunteer for community projects, a member of the local gym, a subscriber to the local organic vegetable delivery service, so again I ask, how does that adversely affect the state and lives of others?

My children were raised in a loving home that taught them respect for others, manners, tolerance, responsibility and independence. Both are grown now and heterosexual, so the argument that gays beget gays has no merit. If that were the case my heterosexual parents (who have been married for 56 years) would not have a gay daughter.

It must be Monday, garbage day, and the weather blustery. How can I tell? There’s a sprinkling of white, Styrofoam peanuts littering the street and lawn in front of my house, that’s how.

As an added blessing, there’s an oil slick where the garbage truck stopped to make each pick up. The people who pick up garbage have nothing but praise from me, so this isn’t about them. They work very hard, a lot harder than I had to work during my career.

But I do have a problem with those who continue to put Styrofoam peanuts in the garbage and expect them to stay there when transferred to the garbage truck when the wind is blowing. How much effort would be required to put them into a bag before putting them in a garbage can?

For that matter, why does the city allow the use of Styrofoam peanuts for packing material? We no longer permit Styrofoam containers by restaurants. That prohibition results in two very positive results: less Styrofoam in landfills and less Styrofoam litter. The same can be said of a prohibition of those pesky peanuts.

(This letter is addressed to Mayor Greg Nickels. A copy was sent to Tom Rasmussen, Stella Chao, Tim Gallagher, The Seattle Times, and to our office.)

We the people who live in the North Admiral District are outraged with how we are treated with our issue regarding our beautiful stamp sized park located on California Avenue and Hill Street. We do not want to change our park.

We signed petitions that our park should not be changed. We went to meetings voicing our opposition to what the Parks Department wants to do. We were told to keep quiet and listen. The venue of meetings was changed to where we have to drive instead of walk, an outrage. But we senior citizens still come. Then our voices are stifled. We are told to keep quiet.

In these times of hardship, when big parks are closed and jogs lost, the city pays for an architect to design changes to this park. You, the government, abuse your power. You use our tax money for this frivolous project that we, the community, do not want. What do you not understand? The Parks Department wastes our time and our energy to call these “community meetings,” then the community is not listened to.

I do not wish to get into a never-ending battle of proof texts with Pastor Leskovar whereby we beat each other’s theological brains out with dueling Bible verses (though when was the last time he ate shellfish or pork, wore mixed fabrics, allowed leadership to a person with a disability - all condemned in Leviticus, encouraged slaves to obey their masters - Ephesians, or sent a run away slave back to his master - Philemon).

I wish I could say that his views and actions are unchristian, but the Christian church has been killing, oppressing, hating people in God’s name for centuries - the persecution of so-called heretics, the crusades, hanging and burning people because of their religious views and convictions - the inquisition, reformation, and our beloved Puritans, the killing of Jews under the misreading of scripture that they are Christ killers, arguing for slavery in the 19th Century, arguing that it is against God’s law that people of different races be married or even use the same washrooms or have the same civil rights as whites. I unfortunately could go on.

I refuse to believe reports that the Seattle Department of Transportation cleared snow from the streets around the mayor's home last December.

That would've required them to be able to find his house -- something I'm not sure they're capable of doing.

The city transportation department's ineptitude in responding to the snow would be laughable if it was limited to that. But it's not. Take a look around at the appalling condition of our streets, no matter the season. What does it say for a city when its motorists know every pot hole?

I travel Delridge Way on my way to work and return home on 16th Southwest by South Seattle Community College.

Over the past decade, I've seen maybe six new traffic signals go up on pot hole-challenged Delridge between Southwest Orchard Street and the West Seattle Bridge. Glad to see they have the money for new signals.

To the Editor:

I recently happened to discover some old copies of the Nov. 19  and Dec. 10 editions of the Ballard News-Tribune.

The Nov. 19 issue talked about how the parking rates for  Ballard were going to be increased 50 cents an hour to $2 an hour.  The Dec. 10 edition mentioned how Fremont would be getting  pay parking stations over the objections of the Fremont Chamber of  Commerce. Suzie Burke and I had co-founded the business group in 1982 when I was a VISTA volunteer with the Fremont Public Association.

One of the concerns was that increasing parking rates or installing  the kiosks would have a negative impact on small businesses. I can report that they do.

First, as an individual, I rarely go to Ballard now as a result of these increases. According to my VISA card annual statement, in  2007, I spent more than $1,000 at Ballard and Fremont businesses. In 2008, it was about $120.

Instead, I am spending my money in  neighborhoods that make parking easily available.

Bertha Davis claims she “closed” Webster Elementary School when she and the secretary were the last school staff to leave the building in 1980. She had taught there for 50 years.

Nearly 30 years later she’s presiding over a grand opening instead, as one of the first patients at Ballard Care and Rehabilitation’s new short term unit - Recovery Suites.

Bertha summoned me because she felt Ballard needed to know how well she was being treated and that “such a facility was available within the community.” Adamant would be an understatement.

“People have to know,” she lectured from her bedside. To say that her clearly commanding presence as a longtime teacher had diminished with her 95 years would be a lie. I sat up straight, didn’t fidget and promised to spell everyone’s name correctly.

Mrs. Davis, as she was called by her 4th and 6th grade classes, taught thousands of students in her five decades at Webster. Although in all her years she never did have a student named Bertha.

Those former students visit her to speak of their own children and grandchildren.

On the cobble stone streets of old Ballard Avenue is a boutique by the name of Dolce Vita (Italian for “sweet life”). There’s no signage, only a brightly lit shop with stylish mannequins in the display windows.

It is the perfect addition to the growing shopping scene in Ballard.

Dolce Vita, a trendy brand known for its shoes, opened its Seattle outpost more than a year ago, with boutiques already existing in New York, Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

But the brand hits close to home by way of the brains behind Dolce Vita, Nick Lucio. He is co-owner of the label and Ballard resident of 15 years.

Meet store manager Georgia Pashalidis, also a Ballard resident, who formerly managed beloved but departed Ballard boutique Olivine.

“This is a great place for Seattle because of our simple aesthetic and basic staples, such as cashmere, cardigans, and Dolce Vita shoes,” says Pashalidis.

The boutique carries not only the Dolce Vita label, but other names that fall under the category of a modern, contemporary style aesthetic.

Your Web site says, “send us your…ideas of how we can better cover your neighborhood”, so here’s one:

Stop publishing the anti-gay crap.  Although there are some people in this community who are not supportive, the fact that we’ve elected gay men to the state legislature should tell you that the majority of the community is very much in support of equal rights for gays.  Pastor Randy Leskovar is a nutcase who thinks evolution is a myth.
 
I for one am really tired of papers that continually print gay-negative commentary.  Leskovar’s commentary is over the top and you owe this community an apology for running it.

Dwight Gaut
West Seattle