March 2009

(Editor's note: This following was distributed to the Ballard News-Tribune through an email to community members.)

Dear Neighbors,

This is the second email update sent to those people who have expressed an interest in providing interim housing for men in a SHARE shelter at Our Redeemer's Calvary building.

During the past few weeks we have heard from many neighbors. Thank you for asking questions and expressing your support and concerns. Since a community meeting on February 26, representatives from Our Redeemer's, the SHARE men's shelter, and neighbors of the Calvary building have met twice to more clearly understand how the shelter will operate, concerns, and expectations. These meetings have been informative and productive. Another meeting is planned.

Our Redeemer's is currently working on an agreement with SHARE, which will govern shelter operations. The Calvary building is expected to be a safe, dry place for up to 20 homeless men each evening for a year. The men are self-governed, with staff support from SHARE. They have an excellent recent accountability record. Each evening the shelter participants will arrive by bus between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Keep your kids from sitting in front of the television and surfing the Internet all day this spring break by celebrating Youth Appreciation Week.

In appreciation of Seattle’s youth and the important contributions they make to the community, Seattle Parks and Recreation will be offering activities for teens and kids throughout the city during the week of March 30 to April 4.

All events and activities are free or low cost and open to kids ages 11 to 18 years old.

In return of a fun filled week of activities, the Parks Department asks kids to bring a non-perishable food item to each activity, which will go to local food banks to help families in need.

The Parks Department will also be holding a recognition ceremony during the Block Party at Southwest Teen Life Center, 2801 S.W. Thistle St. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, April 3. All youth are encouraged to attend for free food, entertainment games and a health fair.

Activities around West Seattle:

Monday, March 30
Jillian’s Game Night
South Park Community Center
8319 Eighth Ave. S.
Time: 5 - 8 p.m.
Cost: Free for teens active in the South Park Teen Program (space is limited)

Kevin writes: My mother's health has been precarious. Her kidney function is extremely poor, and we are trying to decide what to do. As an instructor, a large part of my non-school day is spent with care giving responsibilities of one kind or another ... I'm glad to do it, but I do feel my life energy being sucked out of me sometimes.

I really see the value in living from day to day. I'm trying to create a "scorpion-free zone" around her so that my mother doesn't have to worry about anything. She and our "new" dog really get along ... the dog is truly a gift. He has changed the dynamic of the house and given my mother a reason to live.

Women talking
Q&A: I really have no other life. The bulk of care giving -- cleaning, cooking, financial management, medical/dental/vision transports and consultations, physical exercise, recreation, you name it -- I do it. When one looks at the big picture, it can be quite overwhelming. How can I shift this balance?

A: Congratulations Kevin! You've already started - first by adding a dog to your mother's life and your own, and secondly by writing to ask for help. Here are four ideas you can try:

The Southwest Design Review Board, and six others in the city, review projects at public meetings, at least twice per development, Early Design Guidance and a Recommendation phase, for mixd-use projects of a certain size.

Administered by the Department of Planning and Development, the board reviews private development projects in the city and make recommendations to the city regarding massing, scale and character of the projects.

Here are some upcoming major projects under review in West Seattle:

4706 California Ave. S.W.
Project Number: 3007764

On Thursday, April 2, the design review board will hold the second public meeting on a proposal for a six-story building with about 10,000 square feet of commercial space at ground level and 222 residential units above. Parking for 229 vehicles to be provided below grade.

The meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m., West Seattle Christian Church Social Hall, 4400 42nd Ave. S.W.

See design proposal here http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/AppDocs/GroupMeetings/DRProposal3007764&3007….

Applicant: Joseph Hines, 344-5700
City planner: Michael Dorcy, 615-1393

2988 S.W. Avalon Way
Project Number: 3008002

Keep your kids from sitting in front of the television and surfing the Internet all day this spring break by celebrating the city's Youth Appreciation Week.

In appreciation of Seattle’s youth and the important contributions they make to the community, Seattle Parks and Recreation will be offering activities for kids and teens throughout the city during the week of March 30 to April 4.

All events and activities are free or low cost and are open to kids ages 11 to 18 years old.

In return of a fun filled week of activities, the Parks Department asks kids to bring a non-perishable food item to each activity, which will go to local food banks to help families in need during this difficult economic time.

The Parks Department will also be holding a recognition ceremony during the Block Party at Southwest Teen Life Center, 2801 S.W. Thistle St. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, April 3. All youth are encouraged to attend for free food, entertainment games and a health fair.

North/Northeast/Northwest activities:

Monday, March 30

Floor Hockey
Queen Anne Community Center
1901 First Ave. W.
Time: 1:45 - 4 p.m.
Cost: Free
Contact: Dirk at 386-4240

Seattle Public Schools' initial recommendation for a new student assignment plan has been presented to the Seattle School Board.

The district says it has designed the plan so parents can easily know what schools their child will attend all the way through high school by simply knowing their address.

Each school would have a defined geographic boundary so that, without having to complete any application, students would be automatically assigned to their local attendance area school.

Families will still be able to apply for another school through the regular choice process.

Each middle school attendance area is also a service area for delivery of services not available at every elementary school, such as some bilingual, special education, and advanced learning services.

Services for more specialized needs will be located appropriately around the district.

Optional, or alternative school programs, which students must apply for, will need further definition regarding the program itself, student assignment and transportation. To do this the Council of Great City Schools has agreed to conduct an audit this spring.

The Ballard High School baseball team hung with Bellarmine Prep as long as they could but couldn't put the game away in extra innings.

The Beavers fell 9-6, their first loss of the season, and are now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

The two teams traded the lead all game until Ballard tied the score at four apiece in the bottom of the sixth.

The game was still tied at the end of the seven regulation innings and Bellarmine was up first in the extra period.

Bellarmine, from Tacoma, jumped all over Ballard's fourth pitcher of the afternoon, Dylan Murphy, and scored five, pushing the score to 9-4.

The Beavers didn't go away without a fight, thanks to Conor McClure's two-out, two-run homer to left field. Unforunately for Ballard, those were the only runs they could muster in the final inning.

After the game, coach John Lamm told the team, which had a number of costly errors, that little mistakes throughout the game can grow into something bigger, and that is what happened against Bellarmine.

"When it starts spinning like that, everyone take a breath and grasp what they need to do for the next play," he said.

Sky the color of flint
Glints in my eyes
I cock my head up

To the left
See the pink jet
Make the set against the slowly fading horizon

The moon winks at me
Like a knowing friend
No hearing with headphones

Cars whiz by unbeknownst
Pavement peeling from my feet
I like to think it likes mine best

But it, as inanimate as my soul
Rolls by
Once again

Burnt and bored
I follow my path down the hill
Ready once again

To give someone else their fill
I nod at the real change
On the sidewalk

Looking into the drug store
At people ending their days
As I start mine

A haste and vigilant feast had
With hardly a moments notice
And barely a minute to spare

I find myself there
In the dark
Surrounded by lights

With nothing to say
That I haven't said before
Pony up

Pirouette and pour
Drowning sadness
Spreading the butter for toasts

One more
Dashed, on the rocks
One more

The Gig is up
Muddled in the mettle
Bitter sweet and pristine

Looking for meaning
In this laughable thing
Breaking glasses

For the less than visionary cut-looses
Sliding dollars my way
Quicker than a Vegas dealer

Hoping for enough from some cur

At its meeting on March 18, the Seattle School Board voted to approve changes to transportation service standards for 2009-10, changing bus arrival and departure times this fall.

Some changes, especially for most K-8 schools, are significant.

The district hopes the changes will maximize operational efficiency, provide more consistency and reduce transportation costs by $2.2 million. Other changes will reduce rides times for many students.

The changes for fall 2009 are:

For middle schools, high schools and most K-8 schools (Alternative School #1, Catharine Blaine, Broadview-Thomson, Jane Addams, Madrona, Orca, Pathfinder and South Shore): Yellow buses will arrive at the schools at approximately 8:15 a.m. and depart at approximately 2:45 p.m. Principals will have the flexibility to adjust their specific school arrival and departure times within a narrow window of time in conjunction with the transportation service standards.



David Miller, business executive of 17 years, is running for Seattle City Council Position 8 to bring a voice to the city government for small businesses in urban villages who are being hit in these hard economic times, he said at a community meeting Wednesday morning.

At the Crown Hill Business Association meeting, Miller said he was not only a business man, but also has experience working with the community as past president of the Maple Leaf Neighborhood Council.

Miller also served on the council citizen’s advisory committee that helped put the most recently passed parks levy package together.

He said he sees these experiences as putting him above the three other candidates running for Position 8.

Robert Rosencrantz, Jordan Royer and Rusty Williams are also running for the seat.