May 2009

A man in his late 50s called 911 to report that his girlfriend was dead—that she had leaned over to insert a video into the player and collapsed. When officers and medics arrived, the clearly distraught man said, “She's on the bed.” As he led the responders to the bedroom he explained that she had dropped dead in the middle of an intimate moment. Officers entered the room, but no one was there. “She must have left when I called 911,” the man said. He then asked if officers would help look for her while he tried making contact on her cell phone. The man's elderly parents said that a few weeks earlier he had fallen down the basement stairs and treated for a head injury at Harborview. Concerned for his well being, officers called an ambulance to return the man there for a mental evaluation. He resisted and had to be restrained by the crew. He denied having a head injury, said he had never been to Harborview, and then claimed that he had formerly worked in law enforcement.

Jeb is a 7 year old miniature horse that does in fact live in West Seattle. He's the pet of the Miles family and their two daughters Celeste and Hope are in charge of his care.

Owning a horse is a dream for many girls and in this case they were able to make it come true. The Miles have a very large back yard that happens to be adjacent to a large green belt in West Seattle. Jeb is not a true miniature horse, but he's a combination of Welsh and Icelandic bloodlines. But he is small, standing only 36 inches tall at the "withers" (shoulders). Jeb enjoys routine so the girls take him for a walk every day either near their home or in the greenbelts in Schmitz Park or above Alki.

Jeb is very smart and is something of an escape artist. Recently, the family went on vacation and took Jeb to stay with Manny Ventoza, long time White Center horse owner who has a large corralled area next to his home. Jeb somehow got out through the gate, and wandered four miles east on his own, winding up at a horse ranch four miles away. To get there he had to cross four major roads with a lot of traffic but he made his way without incident.

Best Regards, a cards and stationary store at 2242 N.W. Market St., will be closing its doors in the near future.

The slumping economy is playing a large part in her decision to close the store, owner Mary Hurley said in an email.

Hurley, a past president of the Ballard District Council, said a pending hike in her lease due to the sale of the building has also impacted her decision.

"Since last fall, it's been really tough to keep it together," she said.

She is sending out flyers to downtown Ballard businesses to let them know today, May 11.

There will be a store-wide clearance sale for the public May 14.

Hurley said she will miss the store and her customers, though, as a Ballard resident, she will still see them around the neighborhood.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed being here," she said.

Best Regards has been in business for the past 16 years in Ballard.

Best Regards joins a growing list of Ballard businesses that have had to shutter due to the economy. This includes Austin Cantina, All the King's Flags, Annabelle's Consignment and Antiques, Bella's Best, Mandrakes, Hollywood Video, Gordo's, Energy Espresso and others.

It appears the seagle, a sea serpent described in Scandinavian folk tales that popped up in a vacant Ballard lot April 1, is about to be a mother.

According to its creator, Bob Jones, a nest of eggs will be installed with the seagle on Mother's Day and will hatch on Father's Day.

Jones said in an email that he will leave the seagle in the water-filled pit at the corner of Market Street and 28th Avenue Northwest for a while longer then repair the damage to the sculpture and auction it on eBay.

Jones said he had originally planned to give the proceeds to the Nordic Heritage Museum, but that has changed.

"The Nordic Heritage Museum has shied away from such an odd source of funds," Jones said in the email. "The contribution will be going to the Ballard Food Bank."

Karen Hansen, marketing at the Nordic Heritage Museum, said the museum is a nonprofit and always happy to take any donations, including money from the seagle.

"There is nothing to shy away from," she said. "We all went down there and took pictures and laughed."

(Editor's note: This letter was sent to Seattle City Council members with a copy to this newspaper.)

Dear Council members:

We are writing as an ad hoc coalition of housing and homeless advocates to strongly urge you to support the renewal of our long-running and essential housing levy and it's placement on the 2009 ballot. In these tough economic times, the need in our community has risen precipitously with even longer waiting lists for subsidized units and a greatly overtaxed homeless shelter system.

We are prepared to work with you to bring the best proposal forward to the voters - one that maintains our ability to meet the increased need especially among the poorest of the poor and most vulnerable in our community and one that can secure the broadest support from voters. Toward those ends, upon close review of the mayor's recommendations, we believe the council should make the following changes in his proposal:

Directed by Greg Mottola
Rated R
(Three stars)
Showtimes: 9 p.m. through May 14

Sisyphus, in addition to his other unhappy duties, is the patron saint of lovesick boys.

I say this because there seems to be a specific demographic of exceptionally bright yet socially awkward young men whose journey to the cusp of manhood is littered with the exhausting labors of unsuccessful courtships. For them, the film “Adventureland” offers hope. Just as “Twilight,” I suppose, offers hope to teenage girls weary of being pursued by bright yet awkward young men.

“Adventureland” opens with our hero, James (Jesse Eisenberg), being dumped by a girl who probably just wanted to hook up without having to discuss it. We soon get the impression that this wasn’t the first time. But James has a plan.

His parents have promised to fund a trip to Europe as a college graduation present. On a continent where English is a second language, James’ tendency to treat social anxiety as an invitation for lengthy confessions might not prove so self-destructive.

Have you ever considered how a minor shift in the emphasis on words in a sentence changes the meaning of the sentence? You may well consider such an exercise a little too pedantic – teacher like – for your taste, but my reason for even mentioning it, I hope, will become clear.

Let’s look at the well known and over used sentence, “Life is good,” as an example. I use this sentence as an example because it’s one that I take to heart. One of my favorite caps has this logo stitched on it.

Let’s first place emphasis on the word “life.” “Life is good” has a different meaning than does “Life is good.” While this isn’t a huge shift in meaning, it does tell us something about your focus.

“Life is good” signifies that the mere presence of life is good, that just living is somehow adequate and that the alternative should be avoided. I can’t argue with that view. Then I place emphasis on “good” and things change.

Dear Editor.

Many of us have seen the value of our house purchases recently decline due to the economy.

I was wondering who else might consider re-zoning the first lots along Southwest Roxbury to a town home type zone. This would allow approximately three town home lots per each single-family lot facing Southwest Roxbury Street. Allowing town homes along this street would also buffer the noise to the single-family homes in the lots behind Southwest Roxbury Street.

I am currently own a home on the 32nd block of Southwest Roxbury Street only to see the noise increase and the speeds of the vehicles increase. Either the street needs better vehicle management or density should be allowed to increase as well. Southwest 35th is a similar situation and town homes have been built along this street in some areas with no detriment to the neighborhood.

I am sending this e-mail to find out other people’s comments in the neighborhood on increasing the zoning density here on Southwest Roxbury Street from 35th down to 17th.

Dear Editor,

The Friends of Lincoln Park (FLiP) would like to thank the citizen-soldiers of the United States Army Reserve 380th Replacement Battalion, Bothell, WA. On May 2, 23 reservists joined us, in spite of the drizzly weather, to make a significant dent in the invasive plant population of the park.

They were hard working, effective and fun. And they did a great service for the Park by removing a considerable volume of holly, laurel and other invasives. Lincoln Park is a real West Seattle treasure with perhaps the greatest native plant diversity of any park in the city. FLiP is a group of volunteers working to restore the wooded areas in the park, removing blackberry, ivy, holly, etc and planting natives.

We are part of the Green Seattle Partnership (www.greenseattle.org). We welcome the involvement of volunteers of all ages at our monthly work parties (first Saturday of each month). The reservists of 380th Replacement Battalion have served our country with honor and are a vital part of our community.

Sharon Baker
Volunteer Forest Steward
Friends of Lincoln Park

For many, Sunday mornings are the perfect time for sleeping in and relaxing, but for a group of West Seattle women, they are a time to sweat.

The Running Divas are a group of women, most from West Seattle, who run long-distance together. The women train every Sunday morning, at 5:30 a.m.—running an average of 20 miles.

“We’re all going for different goals and we challenge each other in different ways,” said Lane Keough, one of the runners.

Besides the exercise, each Sunday is a social opportunity for the women as well. After they train, the group goes to Bakery Nouvea in the Alaska Junction where they chat and enjoy almond croissants.

“It’s unique to have a group like this that actually enjoys each others’ company,” said Kim Lengle, another member of the group.

“It’s the group that you can talk with about the whole week and everything going,” said Lane Keough, another runner. “Just a time to catch up with the girls.”

Cathleen Knutson, a 27-year-old who has run 35 marathons, started the group with a couple friends in 2005. The group has since grown and found new routes around West Seattle.