August 2009

Dear Editor,

I wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in the Herald’s April 8, 2009 edition regarding the need for greater scrutiny of the costs of the Water Taxi. A King County official responded to that letter alleging that the Water Taxi was economically viable.

A recent July 15, 2009 column in The Seattle Times indicated that the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) prepared an evaluation of Puget Sound regional passenger-only ferries in July of 2008. The King County official’s letter did not reveal the existence of that PSRC study for very good reason – the conclusions were entirely disturbing and unfavorable to the Water Taxi.

According to a report, the Water Taxi handles roughly 660 passengers per day at its peak, not including the parts of the year when travel on Elliott Bay is less than ideal. It costs $1.67 million to operate.

The King County Ferry District was established in 2007 and may levy a property tax of up to 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for ferry district purposes. Taxpayers subsidized operational costs of the Water Taxi.

Dear Editor,

I would like to thank A. Barrett for writing the West Seattle Herald in support of naming the West Seattle Bridge for former Seattle City Council member Jeanette Williams.

The writer provided a brief and valuable history of what travel was like to and from West Seattle before the high level bridge was built. Too soon we forget!

Also it was great to read how he or she called council member Williams to thank her for her work. I am sure she deeply appreciated that call.

Tom Rasmussen
Seattle City Council member and West Seattle resident

By Jonathan McAfee

Have you ever taken a walk along the streets of West Seattle just to look at some of the houses on our streets? We have a very diverse selection of house designs from Victorian to Cape Cod to Post War in a community that’s best known for it’s beach.

Most of the homes have been given proper care and attention by their West Seattle owners who have a great deal of pride in their appearance.

I love the variety of porches we have in West Seattle. Some are small, not much wider than the doors they surround, while some go across the front of the houses where a couple can sit without being crowded.

Some have the beautiful, long porches that wrap around the house and the homeowners have a choice of where to sit. And some homes have expansive decks on the front of them where the whole family and a few friends can relax together for dinner and some dancing.

Unfortunately, those beautiful porches and decks are rarely used. Even when they are decorated with chairs, gliders, swings, tiki torches and strings of lights, the porches often go unused even on the nicest evenings. Why is that?

When my husband and I walked into Endolyne Joe’s restaurant during its opening week, we did not realize what a metaphor it would become. As you probably know, this place was named for the fact that it marked the end of the streetcar line in our area.

My oldest sister once took this mode of transportation out to her special nursing assignment when during the Great Depression of the thirties she couldn’t find hospital employment. The only nursing jobs available were special duty assignments in homes where people could afford special nursing.

If my sister had lived long enough I would have called on her to help me when my husband needed monitoring round-the-clock before he died recently. But all my siblings are gone—all 10 of them. It took me a long time to face the fact that once young Georgie is now the matriarch of her family.

My son consoled me with this remark, “Mother, you can now tell all your family stories and there is no one living who can refute anything you say.”

A police report states that early on the 3rd someone poured “tempura” paint all over a Mercedes parked in the 2000 block of Northwest 75th. Since the damage was colorful--not crunchy--we're pretty sure that the officer meant “tempera.”

On July 31, someone entered a home in the 3200 block of Northwest 73rd, ransacked each floor, stole a TV, and left a special calling card: They took a spear gun from the garage and took a shot in the house, leaving the tip embedded in the stairway landing wall.

On Aug. 1, someone threw a large rock through a window at Swanson's Nursery and stole a charity fund raising jar from the counter.

In mid-July, a Ballard woman returned home from work and discovered that someone had entered her home. She didn't report the break-in until last week, when she discovered that $5,000 worth of jewelry was missing. (Apparently, the Swiss Army knife that had been left on her bed during the incident hadn't been enough of a motivator to call 911.)

On Monday, a man was feeding ducks under the South Park bridge when another man approached, accused him of “messing with a woman,” and then shoved him down a rocky embankment. The victim lost consciousness but was later able to make it home and call 911. Based on the description by the victim, a suspect was located nearby, and he was later positively ID'd by both the victim and witnesses in the park. The officer's investigation and photographs of the scene showed that the victim had fallen approximately 12 feet, face down, onto rocks and into the Duwamish River. The suspect was booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault. He is also being investigated for misdemeanor domestic violence assault, as he allegedly also left the area with a woman who was being forcefully handled. Doctors say the victim suffered a shattered nose/cheek bone, possibly broken ribs, lacerations, bruising to the side of the face and a closed eye. The results of head X-rays are pending.

If you find yourself nearly beheaded by a buzz bomb or nearly clipped in the face by a Clauser, then you know it’s pink salmon fishing time on Puget Sound.
Every odd-numbered year in late summer, millions (that’s right, millions) of pink salmon return home to Puget Sound rivers from the Pacific Ocean. Right around that same time, an equal number of anglers, it seems, fill the beaches from Dash Point to Commencement Bay to try and fill their coolers with these abundant fish.
The scene at Dash Point last week, with anglers lining the pier standing shoulder-to-shoulder, would indicate the pinks have started their biennial run.
These fish, which anglers often refer to as “humpies” because of the exaggerated humped shoulder the males develop when they arrive in fresh water, enter Puget Sound through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and hug the Sound coast line south until they reach their spawning areas in Western Washington rivers.

Check out local artist Jimmy Gersen perform a live painting during the Artwalk on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. at the Bohemian Restaurant, located at 3405 California Ave. S.W. (http://bohemianseattle.com). Enjoy live music and marvel at how Jimmy works his magic on canvas.

To see more details and RSVP, click here.

This weekend, Aug. 8 and 9, marked the 19th annual "Nibble on Dibble," a block party on Dibble Avenue between 75th and 76th streets in Ballard.

A water slide was constructed with a small but deep tank at the bottom to capture the kids.

Commemorative T-shirts are made each year and added to a clothes line draping Dibble Avenue. Barbecue, beer, and banter are trademarks of the tradition.

The event boasts many of the same faces year after year.

The free fifth annual Duwamish River Festival took place Saturday, Aug. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Duwamish Waterway Park, 7900 10th Ave. S., in South Park, to celebrate the cleanup and restoration of the Duwamish River.

The family-friendly environmental festival provided updates on the Duwamish River Superfund cleanup, kayak tours on the river, live entertainment, water taxi rides, food, children’s activities, health information, natural yard care tips, give-aways and more.