July 2009

Mandy is a 5.5 year old Airedale Terrier and is the constant companion of native West Seatttleite Mary Jo Rossmann.

"She loves children and puppies," said Rossmann, "She's a typical Airedale, she's constantly on the lookout for varmints."

Rossmann acquired Mandy from the Broken Gate Farm in Yelm, which, at the time, raised a number of different animals. The duo "walk every day, rain or shine," and her favorite place to walk is either Alki or Westcrest off leash park.

Rossmann noted that she has to be careful with her because Mandy will "fight with raccoons if given the opportunity."

Mandy likes squeaky toys and stuffed animals, is a good guard dog and very protective of her territory.

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:

Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Veterinary Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

July 18: Theatresports

Seattle Theatresports is the city's longest running improve show, having turned 25 years old last year.

Theatresports includes comedy, improv, theatre, and sports. Teams of improvisers create scenes based entirely on audience suggestions and are scored by a panel of judges or the audience themselves.

July 24: Twisted Flick - "The Phantom Planet"

The talented cast from Jet City Improv redubs the cheesy B movie with funny new dialog and sound effects. All the suggestions from the audience help to make this show absolutely hilarious.

Fans of Mystery Theater 3000 will love this show. Suitable for all ages.

Tickets $12.

July 25: The Listening Room Series

Three singer/songwriters, one poet, and four painters come together to create an interactive and art-filled evening at the Historic Admiral Theater. Featuring local muralist Glenn Case.

Musicians: Gina Young, Ian Jones, Jackie Mitchell
Spoken word artist: Lucas Smiraldo
Artists: Glenn Case, Nicole Stremlow-Monahan, Michaela Eaves

Tickets $12.

July 31: Troup de Ville

Tuesday, August 4 is nationwide Night Out event, a community event happening across the country aimed at keeping neighborhoods safe.

The East Ballard Community Association is encouraging people to participate in this event by closing down their block for the evening for a community get together. 

The city usually charges for a permit to close down the street, but on Night Out, it's free.

This year the Seattle Police Department is using Night Out to thank their strong community partners and organized block watched, according to the police department. Officers will also be out on August 4 to visit neighborhood celebrations.

According to Dawn Hemminger of the East Ballard Community Association, participating blocks on the east side of Ballard will be entered into a raffle to win prizes from local businesses.

To host a Night Out event block party or to become an East Ballard Community Association sponsored block, here’s how to get started:

“Encouraging” seemed to be a common response from brokers upon reviewing the June activity summaries from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The report shows inventory continues to shrink, pending sales increased more than 19.5 percent from a year ago, and median prices system-wide are up 4.4 percent since January.

“The positive movement in our real estate market year over year is really very encouraging,” remarked Ron G. Sparks, managing vice president of Coldwell Banker Bain. "Compared to 12 months ago, the Puget Sound region has nearly 7,000 fewer homes listed for sale, and nearly 1,200 more homes under contract, he noted, adding, “In anyone’s book, that’s substantial improvement.”

J. Lennox Scott, chairman and chief executive officer of John L. Scott Real Estate, echoed those comments.

“It’s encouraging to see that pending sales are at their highest since the credit bubble burst nearly two years ago,” Scott stated. While the median home price is down about 9.5 percent from a year ago, median prices have flattened over the past seven to nine months, he noted.

Two empty storefronts on Market Street are getting a facelift to make them more attractive to new businesses.

Workers from Reilly Construction Group were tearing down the awning over what had been Best Regards and Annabelle's Consignment July 6.

Owner Randy Reilly said they have been working their way west on Market Street remodeling building facades. Most recently they did the Mon Petit storefront and the storefront that holds Buffalo Exchange and the soon-to-open BECU.

Reilly said the company will eventually redo the facades up to Olsen's Scandinavian Foods.

He said the company always looks to maintain the classic look of the buildings.

Best Regards closed June 27 and Annabelle's Consignment went out of business in mid-February.

Dear Editor,

Gay and lesbian families deserve to have the same rights as heterosexual families. Denying basic civil rights to families based on sexual orientation is not only derogatory, but it is insulting and demeaning.

LGBT families end up paying more Federal and State taxes because they are not recognized under the law. At the same time, the government wants to deny basic civil rights (such as the ability to see your partner in the hospital, get married, receive benefits in the case of a partner's death, pension benefits and more). Talk about a double whammy!

Referendum 71 seeks to revoke the Everything but Marriage Act and write homophobia and hate in to law. We must stand up and say ENOUGH. No longer will you treat my son, daughter, wife or husband as a second-class citizen. No more.

DECLINE TO SIGN REFERENDUM 71.

Sarah Toce
West Seattle

West Seattle would not look the same without Alki resident Earl Cruzen. He is the man behind 11 murals including “The Hi-Yu Parade” affixed to the post office’s south wall, and “The Mosquito Boat Landing” on the building on the northeast corner of the Junction.

His “12th mural,” as some call it, is the sculpture collection, “Children Walking on Logs,” along the west side of the Fauntleroy Freeway. The term was coined because the original intent was to place a free-standing mural where the sculpture is, but many signed a petition against what they feared would be an unattractive billboard.

“Children Walking on Logs" was dedicated Oct. 5, 1996, and, unlike the murals that need repainting and touching up over the course of many years, the landscaping around the sculptures needs constant care. Cruzen said he has attended to that care for more than a decade but cannot manage the chore anymore.

“I’m 88 years old, and out of gas you might say,” said Cruzen, who still seems quite agile and alert, but did suffer a stroke a few months ago.

Doris Jones has a busy life; she spends time with her family, takes her granddaughter to ballet and, of course, tends her flower beds. Plus, twice a week she drives seniors to medical appointments through Senior Services’ Volunteer Transportation Program.

Jones became involved with volunteer transportation when she found herself with a little extra time on her hands. She had been driving an elderly friend from a nursing home to medical appointments until her friend passed away. She wanted to continue helping seniors and she likes driving.

When she heard about volunteer transportation at church, it seemed like the perfect fit. With her busy family life, the program’s flexibility appeals to her – she can drive when she wants to and where she wants to.

“If you want to help seniors, this is the program," said Jones. "The people that I take to the doctor are each unique, and I like hearing their stories.”

Ballard resident Sara Gardener used to have a lot of stuff. Not any more than “the usual” amount of possessions found in any of our homes.

At the time she had a house that had a lot of space, and the majority of the belongings were “…out of sight, out of mind. But it kind of takes up psychic space, too.”

With a big life change (divorce), Sarah found herself moving from a large house to a smaller one and in the process getting rid of many of her things.

“I’m not living an austere lifestyle, or anything”, she said, “it’s just less.”

More and more folks are clutter clearing and downsizing and I admire that. Personally, I think it can be a really difficult thing to do.

I wish I could add up the minutes that I have stood in front of (fill in closet, garage, drawer) and tried to decide if I really, really need (fill in those red shoes I rarely wear, the dremel tool I had to have or every computer cable purchased since the Commodore 64).

How many things do we really need? And why is it so hard to let go of our precious possessions?

Dear Editor,

There are many reasons why Dow Constantine's promotion of King County as a "sanctuary" for illegal aliens is unwise.

Constantine helped move adoption of Ordinance #0393 on July 1.   Ord. #0393 will be further debated at council Wednesday, July 15, 9:30 a.m., King County Courthouse (10th Floor). 

Concerned citizens are encouraged to attend and shine sunshine on this behavior.  No Seattle newspaper has yet to cover this story.

The major folly in branding King County a "sanctuary" for illegal aliens is that it will welcome additional illegal activity.  It will promote more fraudulently obtained drivers licenses.  It will promote more Social Security Number theft that all illegals commit to obtain employment and to dodge income taxes.

"Sanctuary" branding will promote more theft of jobs from struggling legal Americans and legal immigrants even if these Americans happen to low-skilled youth.  For heaven's sake!