June 2009

Of the 21 Seattle School District staff let go in the Ballard area in mid-May, six will have their positions restored, according to the district. This includes, one position at West Woodland, one at Salmon Bay, one at Adams, one at Broadview-Thomson, and two at Ballard High School.

Seven positions had been cut from Ballard High.

Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson announced June 17 that Seattle Public Schools will recall 57 of the certificated teachers who received reduction-in-force, or layoff notices in mid-May.

In most cases, teachers will be able to return to the position they held at the time they were let go, according to the district.

The district said it is able to hire these teachers back because of "recent clarity received from the state about stimulus funding; increased enrollment; and savings from the 2008-09 budget (e.g. funds saved as a result of the hiring freeze). These factors combined provide $5 million that we are directing toward recalling 57 teachers."

Of the 20 West Seattle Seattle School District staff let go in mid-May, six will be hired back due to the latest staff recall.

Of the 10 teachers cut from West Seattle High, three language arts instructors were hired back to their original positions and another reading specialist has been guaranteed a contract position in the district.

"I am relieved and excited knowing that we are not going to have to reestablish working relationships,” said West Seattle High School principal Bruce Bivins. “The language arts department in our school is a model of best practice, so when you have a disruption you're losing that model to a certain extent."

One teacher from Cooper and one from Lafayette were also recalled.

Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson announced June 17 that Seattle Public Schools will recall 57 of the certificated teachers who received reduction-in-force, or layoff, notices in mid-May.

In most cases, teachers will be able to return to the position they held at the time they were let go, according to the district.

(Editor's note: This letter of resignation from the King County Assessor Scott Noble was presented to King County Council Chair Dow Constantine Thursday, June 18.)

Dear Council member Constantine:

With this letter, I am informing you and the council that effective close of business, June 18,2009, I resign as Assessor of Martin Luther King County.

It has been my honor to serve the citizens of King County for over 16 years, and my privilege to lead an offce staffed by dedicated, hard working men and women who have a nationally recognized commitment to fairness and equity.

The Assessor is a separately elected offcial with ministerial duties and responsibilities to all of the 160 different taxing jurisdictions of King County and is under the general supervision and control of the State of Washington Departent of Revenue. Therefore, I submitted a succession designation in accordance with procedures established by the King County Charter.

The designation is consistent with the qualifications, experience, and knowledge necessary to adhere to the legal requirements and considerations of RCW 84.08.010, RCW 84.41.041, and RCW 84.41.050.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association is giving residents a chance to vote on a new mural that will be painted in the upper parking lot of the Phinney Neighborhood Center later this summer.

Volunteer artist Priscilla Neilson has designed three concepts for the mural.

The first uses silhouettes against a multicolored background to depict the activities of the Phinney Neighborhood Center and the surrounding areas.

The second design depicts the changing landscape of Washington, including tulip fields, the Puget Sound, mountains, and Seattle landmarks and neighborhoods.

The final design shows sketches of the events and programs of the Phinney Neighborhood Association, such as the Home and Garden Tour and the Halloween Carnival.

The designs that residents can vote on represent only about one-sixteenth of the final mural.

Visit the Phinney Neighborhood Center Web site to vote on the design. Voting ends June 24.

Some change – but not too much – is coming to one of Ballard's oldest and most popular hangouts. In the coming months, three new owners will try Hattie's Hat on for size.

Dan Cowan and Kyla and Ron Fairchild, current owners of the restaurant and lounge at 5231 Ballard Ave. N.W., are selling the business to Hattie's manager Erin West, Sunset Tavern owner Man Genereaux and musician Jeff Taylor.

West, who started working at Hattie's in 2005, said she sees the sale as a chance for the owners, who all have major projects demanding their attention, to bring in some fresh faces who have the time to make changes.

"There's been a lot of stuff I've been wanting to do in the last couple of years that I couldn't," West said.

The major change coming to Hattie's is actually somewhat of a return to form. The new owners are planning on bring back live music to the restaurant.

Hattie's Hoot, performances in Hattie's back room by acoustic musicians and singer-songwriters, was done away with three years ago when the room was remodeled and a towering fish tank was installed in the center of the room, West said.

Due to construction of the bored tunnel on First Avenue, the RapidRide line C, which will service West Seattle, has been delayed one year and is now planning to begin in September of 2012.

Line C was originally supposed to begin service in 2011, but since the Washington State Department of Transportation announced it would replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep bored tunnel , Metro has had to coordinate the implementation of RapidRide with that project.

As the construction schedule for the tunnel was released, it turned out that during much of 2011 First Avenue South will be restricted or completely closed.

Jack Lattemann, transportation planner for King County Metro, said that 2011 would be a good time to introduce a new service that is supposed to increase transit convenience.

But in the meantime, the state transportation department has agreed to provide Metro with 30 new articulated, air conditioned, hybrid buses to mitigate travel constrictions caused by tunnel construction beginning February 2010 and lasting through June 2013.

West Seattle's Summer Fest is coming to the Alaska Junction from July 10, 11 and 12.

Now in its 27th year, West Seattle Summer Fest is host to dozens of bands, hundreds of merchants and artists, and more than 30,000 attendees. Complete with food courts, beer gardens, and family activities, it is a true community celebration in the heart of West Seattle.

Each day Junction merchants will open their doors and spill out onto their sidewalks to display the products and services that they offer year-round, while artists and artisans display in the streets.

Junction restaurants and a delectable selection of cross-cultural food vendors will be serving salmon burgers, and much more. The festival also includes a beer and wine garden.

The festival will feature live music on two stages, a skateboard exhibition, and a full block of family activities make each day special. The annual Saturday Night Street Dance and of course West Seattle’s own Sunday Farmer’s Market will also be part of the festivities.

Hours:
July 10 and July 11, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday Night Street Dance, July 11, 8 p.m.

July 12, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Starting June 20, members of Capitol Hill's Balagan Theatre will be performing a classic of theater under the watchful eye of one of Seattle's most unique landmarks.

The actors will perform Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" on and around the Fremont Troll for theater fans, tourists and miscellaneous gawkers.

"Taming of the Shrew" director Elizabeth Eller directed "Romeo and Juliet" on the troll three years ago for Paper Trail Productions.

With that company in flux in the years since, there was no scheduled performance on the concrete giant this year.

Eller said she wanted to keep Shakespeare on the Troll going because it forges connections with people who don't normally attend theater. Balagan gave her the opportunity to do it.

Eller said she enjoys the way performing on a popular landmark opens up the process to the public.

"There's definitely tons of exhibitionism in it," she said. "We rehearse on the troll, and that's a public space. We have an audience from day one."

Productions usually close themselves off during the rehearsal period, but the cast and crew of "Taming of the Shrew" have to make their mistakes in front of people, Eller said.

Dear Editor,

As a veterinarian and former American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) member, I’m disgusted to learn that the AVMA—an organization which should be dedicated to helping animals and preventing their suffering—plans to have veterinarians toss around dead fish on stage at its upcoming convention in Seattle.

This disrespectful stunt reveals the AVMA’s true colors: It is no friend to animals, and apparently, it is so behind-the-times that it has ignored extensive scientific evidence showing that fish are intelligent, complex animals who feel pain in ways similar to mammals like cats and dogs.

The fish they are using to get cheap laughs were living, thinking, feeling animals who were likely yanked from the ocean by painful hooks in their mouths, hauled up in giant nets and crushed under the weight of their comrades, or raised in putrid fish farms where they spent their lives bumping into each other before being left to slowly suffocate to death.

Using dead fish as stage props is as inappropriate and cruel as tossing around dead hamsters or kittens. All animals deserve compassion and respect—whether they live above water or below it.

The Seattle School Board, in a 6-1 vote on June 17, has approved the final recommendations for a new student assignment plan that it says is predictable, equitable, and easy for families to understand, however one board member said it's still incomplete.

The lone dissenter, board member Mary Bass, said the plan still needs work and does not address the needs of each individual school.

“Difficulties with the plan are around tiebreakers, the artificial sense of enrollment and closures, which were not a part of our environment to make this decision,” said Bass. “The plan has become a catch-all for all other issues, programs, staffing and transportation."

Under the new plan, each student will have a school assignment based on his or her address. Families will still have the option to apply to another school, and open choice seats will be available at all high schools.

The district hopes the new plan will reduce transportation and administration costs, putting those dollars back into the classroom.