August 2009

It’s about “things you understand, [but] from a new angle,” said producer, editor and literary manager Roger Tang about the 17th episode of the production "Sex in Seattle."

This romantic comedy performance, which is produced by several West Seattle residents, is told from an Asian American perspective.

The show is similar to a soap opera, with separate but connected story lines focused around relationships. The story lines themselves are not particularly unique, but they are “putting [relationships] into a different context--that of Asian American culture,” said Tang.

"Sex in Seattle" was the first show produced by a company called SIS, which is short for sister. This company was started in August of 2000 by four Asian American women who wanted to see Asian American’s in roles different than what is portrayed in the mainstream, caucasian media.

These roles are often as dragon ladies, villains or submissive geishas. But in reality “they can be lovers and also active heroines in their own stories,” said Tang.

(Editor's note: The following article appears originally in Seattle City Council member Nick Licata's newsletter "Urban Politics.")

The city is currently seeking members to serve on the Urban Forestry Commission. Background on the urban forest, related legislation and a description of the duties and membership positions of the Urban Forestry Commission are included below. Information on how to apply is provided at the end of this newsletter.

URBAN FOREST LEGISLATION

Earlier this month the Seattle City Council unanimously passed two measures designed to improve the city’s management of trees and the urban forest canopy: Resolution 31138 sponsored by Richard Conlin to revise city regulations and establish incentives to preserve and plant trees, and Ordinance 116577 that I sponsored to create an Urban Forestry Commission to provide outside expertise to assist the city in protecting and expanding our tree canopy while accommodating growth.

URBAN FOREST BENEFITS

Washington produces almost 100 million boxes of apples every year – and more than half of all apples eaten in America come from our state.

Today you can find more than 20 types of apples in most local markets. Some apples are great for eating fresh, while others are best for pies or baking, and some cook into the most wonderful applesauce!

Apples ripen six to 10 times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated. For best storage, try keeping apples at 35 degrees to 40 degrees in the refrigerator crisper drawer, or in a cool basement if you have a whole box. Below are some great apple recipes – and a chart that tells you which apples to use when. Enjoy!

How to eat apples

Fresh:
Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonathan, Ida Red, Rome Beauty, Winesap, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn

Pies:
Granny Smith, Winesap, Rome Beauty, Fuji

Baked:
Rome Beauty, Gala, Winesap, Granny Smith

Applesauce:
Gravenstein, Jonagold, McIntosh, York, Rome Beauty, Winesap, Honey Crisp, Fuji

Caramel Apples:
Rome Beauty, Winesap, Granny Smith

Baked Apples

The idea of adding parking meters in the West Seattle Junction is off the table, based on the May 2009 parking study done by the Seattle Department of Transportation. But what on-street changes will be made, if any, are yet to be determined.

Husky Deli owner Jack Miller doesn't want parking meters in the Junction.

"You can pull in and stop and get an ice cream cone and don't have to plug the meter," he said.

Parking study results were discussed Aug. 20 at the West Seattle Junction Parking Project Committee meeting, but official recommendations will not be released until late September, said Dante Taylor, West Seattle Junction Parking Project Manager.

"I've never really had a significant problem finding a spot," said Dave Bachman, who comes for lunch and to run errands. Bachman, a Kent resident, said he would prefer to not have to pay for parking when he comes to the Junction.

The new businesses opening, apartments and condos going up, and drivers using the area as an unofficial park-and-ride, has residents and business owners concerned about the future parking situation in the Junction.

I’m always excited to learn a new skill and was happy to go to a food canning class on Saturday, offered through Sustainable Ballard’s Food and Health Guild.

Great cook and sailor Sarah Elmore led our group of 18 through all the steps to make six complete waterbath-canned recipes, which we then took home. Now, I won’t say it wasn’t a bit of work, and I have not yet tasted the fruits of our collective efforts, but they look delicious.

Elmore came to learn a lot about canning because she lives on a boat, a “small boat” by her description, with a very tiny refrigerator and no freezer. One must get creative in small spaces, and while she shops often for fresh organic veggies, canning provided the perfect way to save money and store the pickin’s.

Canning on a small boat makes for good stories, though. When was the last time you dropped supplies overboard and had to dive for them?

She did bust a couple of notions I had about putting-up goods, one of them being that I needed to pick or purchase 50 pounds of produce and set aside three days to get the job done. Elmore does a lot of “small batch” canning. “It’s just more doable”, she says.

Sunday, Aug. 30 brought a lot of people out to Alki to enjoy the mild temperatures and beautiful fog bank that hung over Puget Sound.

Point Williams (where Colman Pool is located) saw fishers of all sizes and types show up to catch their limit of salmon, too. As the sun slowly burned off successive layers of fog to reveal more blue sky and water more people arrived to enjoy the day.

Click the photo above to see more images (photos by Kim Robinson).

The White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA) hosted a "Luau in the Park" Saturday, Aug. 29 to benefit their organization. It was the WCCDA's third annual benefit and first to be held outside in the White Center Heights Park, at Southwest 102nd Street and 7th Avenue Southwest.

The non-profit group helped create the park.

Community members were invited to an evening of island-style merriment with a real pig in the “imu” (pit).

"I'm really happy to be here today," said Colette Ogle, a guest with Boeing's Global Corporate Citizenship to support local neighbors and neighborhoods. "It's gorgeous. The WCCDA is inspiring the residents by taking the lead to make the neighborhood healthy and strong."

Karen Veloria chaired the event and said she was thrilled that it was held outside and that the skies cleared up by early evening.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, I was doing some errands and driving down Holman Road when I saw a sign on the pedestrian bridge near Dick's advertising the Finland Summer Festival at the Crown Hill Activity Center.

After I finished my errands, I drove back and checked it out, and I'm glad that I did. I got a nice dose of Finnish culture and a reminder of how important it is to know where you come from.

Although this column is entitled the 21st Century Viking, my Scandinavian heritage is of the Finnish variety. The fact that Ballard has a distinctively Scandinavian history and flair is what drew me here in the first place.

My paternal great-grandparents and my grandmother immigrated to America from Finland in the 1920s and settled in Maine. If they were around today, I bet they would have enjoyed the festival.

There were a bunch of tables with people selling Finnish related items and promoting their organizations. I got tips on Finn organization meetings and where to take a Finnish language class.

The importance of the community to file complaints for suspicious criminal activity, problem properties and illegal liquor sales was the focus of the White Center and South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting Thursday, Aug. 27.

The Coalition meets once a month to “discuss local crime and nuisance issues and to organize community projects and to increase the safety and quality of life in out neighborhood,” according to the Safety Coalition brochure. The group consists of residents, police officers, social services and city and county staff.

Other than a slight rise in auto thefts, officer Adonis Topacio noted, “nothing stood out as far as crime goes.” In fact, burglaries have decreased to eight this month as compared to the 12 incidents of last month.

Topacio added that the best form of prevention is to watch out for your neighbors and report anything out of the ordinary or suspicious.

“You know your neighborhood better than anyone,” and are more aware of unusual cars or activity, explained Topacio.

Mayor Greg Nickels said that the city of Seattle will receive $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance the city’s fleet of green vehicles and install electric car charging stations throughout the city.

The funding is part of a $15 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awarded to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Clean Cities Coalition. The grant is specifically for alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.

Seattle will receive:

- Fifteen diesel/electric work trucks, which will save more than 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year and reduce carbon emissions by more than 112 tons annually. This will also help the manufacturer ramp-up production and drive down the price of hybrid systems in the mass market.

- $500,000 for installation of electric vehicle charging stations at city-owned properties.