August 2009

The annual White Center Community Development Association Fundraising Dinner will be held tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 29 with the theme "Luau in the Park" at White Center Heights Park.

The price of the tickets has been lowered this year to $35 for advance tickets, in part because of the weak economy, said Aileen Balahadia, executive director of the White Center Community Development Association.

Balahadia said the event is family-friendly and will feature authentic food, aloha attire and entertainment.

You can purchase tickets directly from the White Center Community Development Association Web site and brown paper tickets.

Tickets are $45 at the door and $35 in advance. The fundraiser dinner will take place at White Center Heights Park, 102nd and 7th Avenue Southwest, from 4 to 8 p.m.

For more information or to volunteer, visit the Web site or contact Ranell Asuega at 253-277-2388, info@wccda.org.

Some seemingly far-fetched fishing stories are actually true, and the "pinks," or humpback salmon, are biting just off the shores near Colman Pool in Lincoln Park.

But talk to those yanking out four fish each sunrise and sunset and they'll probably say, "SHHH! Don't tell anyone else." CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDE SHOW.

Johnry Reynoso, 9, takes some initiative on a sunny afternoon in Lincoln Park to haul a few large logs.

When summer hit, many West Seattle teenagers and young adults fled to the mountains to hike, the ocean to swim, and to Europe to sightsee. Three West Seattle friends, however, opted for a grittier, eye-opening experience they may never forget.

Natalie Wastman, 18, Kristina Johnson, 19, and Mandy Parker, 20, visited Nicaragua to meet some of Central America’s least fortunate children, kids as young as 6, trapped in a dark world of prostitution. Some have HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and many have been sold by single mothers to human traffickers for a few dollars.

The adventurous trio visited the “Casa Esperanza” or “House of Hope,” a Christian faith-based orphanage that rescues young sex-workers and helps their parents and children. It is in Managua, the country’s capital. Johnson stayed in Managua for two months and the others joined her the second month.

Greenwood's 826 Seattle, a non-profit writing center that helps students develop their creative writing skills, and Fremont's Shunpike, which helps art groups manage the business side of art, will receive money as part of $250,000 in federal stimulus funds to help preserve dozens of jobs at 22 Seattle arts and cultural organizations.

826 Seattle, 8414 Greenwood Ave. N., will receive $15,000 to help support a program coordinator position. Shunpike, 3518 Fremont Ave. N., will also receive $15,000 to support a program manager position.

826 also operates the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co., of which all proceeds go to help the non-profit's writing and tutoring center.

Mayor Greg Nickels announced today which arts and cultural organizations will receive funding. For a complete list of funded city organizations click here.

Phinney-Greenwood Sustainable Harvest, a branch of City Fruit, has collected more than 2,600 pounds of fruit from surrounding resident trees within their neighborhood.

“We’ve got a group of about 30 volunteers and they’ve really been stepping it up and harvesting the fruit,” Jen Mullen of Phinney-Greenwood Sustainable Harvest said.

City Fruit is a non-profit, grass roots organizations that started last December. Volunteers are involved in taking care of fruit trees, have an interest in tree care and harvest large amounts of fruit in Seattle, said Gail Savina, executive director of City Fruit.

Because most residential tree owners can’t-or don’t -use all of the fruit produced on their properties, much of it falls to the ground and rots, according to City Fruit’s Web site. In addition, much of the fruit grown in urban landscapes is infested with preventable pests.

“There are a lot of problems in trees,” Savina said. “Much fruit is wasted and a lot of them aren’t good because they’re diseased."

She said City Fruit was created to help promote fruit in all different aspects, to care for, help harvest, share and extend the life of fruit.

As part of $250,000 in federal stimulus funds to help preserve dozens of jobs at 22 Seattle arts and cultural organizations, West Seattle's Whit Press will receive $5,000 to support an executive director position.

Mayor Greg Nickels announced today which arts and cultural organizations will receive funding. For a complete list of funded city organizations click here.

“The arts play an important role in our economy, boosting spending in other sectors and contributing to our quality of life,” Nickels said in a release. “We are focused on protecting jobs in all areas of our local economy, and these dollars will help nonprofit arts organizations preserve jobs during difficult economic times.”

Whit Press, located at 4701 S.W. Admiral Way, a nonprofit publishing organization dedicated to the transformational power of the written word, according to its Web site.  

In addition to the city, Whit Press is also funded through the Seattle Foundation, The Hill-Snowdon Foundation and The Glaser Foundation, among others.

UPDATED: Officers were searching for a bank robbery suspect in the 2100 block of S. 296th St. At about 1920 hrs two officers made contact with the suspect who was threatening to kill the officers. The officers opened fire on the subject striking him. The 24 year old black male was transported to Harborview. The two involved officers have been placed on paid administrative leave which is standard practice. The Auburn Police Department will be conducting the investigation. One of the involved officers has 3 years of police experience, while the other has 13 years of police experience.

On August 24, at approximately 2:56 p.m., officers were dispatched to the Sterling Savings Bank located at 1700 South 320th Street for a bank robbery.
A male suspect entered the bank and presented a note, which said, “NO ALARMS OR ELSE YOU DIE."
There were no injuries reported and no weapons seen. The lone suspect escaped on foot with an undisclosed quantity of cash. This matter is under investigation by the Federal Way Police Department.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Vision Greenwood, a neighborhood organization that supports Greenwood Park, will hold a party in the park at 602 N. 87th St. this Sunday, Aug. 30, from 1 to 4 p.m. to review alternatives for the park design and enjoy music and food. 
 
Local restaurants, including Mr. Gyro's and Olive You, are donating food. There will also be home-cooked barbecue donated by volunteers and live music.  Molly Moon's will donate ice cream. The public is invited to attend.
 
Vision Greenwood is a group of neighbors working to improve and expand the park.  After receiving a Neighborhood Matching Fund award, the group hired SiteWorkshop as landscape architect consultant. 

Vision Greenwood and SiteWorkshop have been talking with community groups, park users, neighbors and others about new ideas for the park expansion.
 
Based on feedback, they’ve developed a range of alternative designs for adding more features and activities to the park. The community is invited to see the range of plans and give feedback about the future.
 

So would you rather have a "strong" City Council or a "strong" Mayor?
For me the answer is easy. I want a strong City Council with its diversity of opinion, checks and balances, and overall accountability.
Elected mayors listen to opinions and follow directives but in the end do what they do with much less accountability and oversight. Trying to mount a recall campaign or unseat an incumbent in a small diverse city like SeaTac is not so easy.
SeaTac has a strong city council elected by the voters - -a much better form of government for a city of our size. Council members, which include our mayor, debate and decide the issues. The majority varies depending on the issue.
Proposition 1, which calls for a "strong" mayor elected directly by the voters, would be a dangerous move backward that I would not like to see.
Tom Layden
SeaTac