December 2009

UPDATE: June 12, 2012

The West Seattle Herald is saddened to learn that longtime Kenney resident Leon Joslin passed away recently at age 100. The story below, and photo, from Dec. 15, 2009, profile the then 97 year-old.

Here is a link with additional information about Joslin, who residents called "Mr. Fancy Pants" because of the colorful pants he liked to wear during performances at the Kenney from masterstrack.com

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Dec. 15, 2009

The ever-athletic Leon Joslin turns 98 March 27, and is somewhat of a celebrity resident at The Kenney. He trained and competed with his pals President Gerald Ford in 7th grade through high school, and both Jesse Owens and future University of Washington basketball coach “Tippy” Dye at Ohio State.

They still call Joslin "Mr. Fancy Pants" at his West Seattle retirement residence ever since he had bright color stripes sewn into two pairs of his pants. He just wowed the Kenney residents and staff Friday, Dec. 11, on stage during their Christmas pageant.

Seattle City Council today adopted two pieces of legislation that will work to improve the livability, sustainability, and affordability of Seattle neighborhoods. The first ordinance creates a pilot project to allow for entirely self-sustaining green buildings in Seattle. The other enhances building design, affordability, construction type, landscaping and environmental standards in the areas of Seattle zoned for mid-rise or high-rise development, including properties in the First Hill, Queen Anne, Alki, Ballard, University District, Northgate, and Lake City neighborhoods.

Living Buildings

Artists from Seattle Mural Art, an affiliate of Greenwood’s Bherd Studios, are creating an 89-foot by 8-foot mural to commemorate the businesses damaged and destroyed by the string of arsons this past summer and fall.

The mural will be installed on the temporary wall along North 85th Street where the Eleanor Roosevelt Building once stood.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Building, which Taproot Theatre rented out to four businesses, was destroyed in the Oct. 23 arson.

Concerned about leaving a hole in the core of the Greenwood business district, and seeing an opportunity to facilitate more art in Greenwood, Taproot Theatre Company commissioned the mural.

“Downtown Greenwood is full of entrepreneurs who have put their all into making this such a thriving business district, full of creativity and artistry,” Scott Nolte, Taproot Theatre’s producing artistic director, said in a press release. “While we’re working on a long-term plan for the property, we want to give back to our community by creating something of beauty for them, something to remind them that this is a special place to live and work.”

Friday, Dec. 18
Boys basketball: Renton at Mount Rainier; Foster at Tyee; Kennedy at Highline, 8 p.m.
Girls basketball: Renton at Mount Rainier; Foster at Tyee; Kennedy at Highline, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 5
Gymnastics: Evergreen, Tyee, Mount Rainierr at Hazen, 7 p.m.; Kennedy, Highline, Lindbergh, Renton at Mount Rainier, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball: Tyee at Mount Rainier, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Mount Rainier at Tyee, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 6
Boys basketball: Evergreen at Highline; Lindbergh at Kennedy, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Highline at Evergreen; Kennedy at Lindbergh, 7 p.m.

Thurs, Jan. 7
Wrestling: Mount Rainier at Foster; Kennedy at Highline; Evergreen at Tyee, 6 p.m.
Boys swimming: Mount Rainier at Renton; Kennedy at Highline; Tyee at Evergreen, 3 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 8
Boys basketball: Mount Rainier at Kennedy; Lindbergh at Foster; Evergreen at Renton; Highline at Hazen, 8 p.m.
Girls basketball: Mount Rainier at Kennedy; Lindbergh at Foster; Evergreen at Renton: Highline at Hazen, 6:30 p .m.

Monday, Jan. 11

Renton attorney Bob Warden filed a preliminary injunction against Mayor Greg Nickels and the City of Seattle in United States District Court on Sunday Dec. 13 in his effort to overturn the ban against carrying guns on Seattle Park Department property.

The ban was put in place by Mayor Nickels in the form of Executive Order 07­08 entitled “Gun Safety at City Facilities,” Seattle Parks Department Rule/Policy Number P 060­8.14.

In the injunction Warden writes,
"The Seattle Parks Department gun ban at issue in this case could not possibly withstand strict scrutiny. First, Defendants have not articulated a compelling government interest to justify the ban. The purported interest, to protect children from gun violence, has no substance and no objective facts behind it.

For example, how many children have been hurt or threatened by firearms in Seattle Parks Department facilities in the last year, ten years, or ever? The rate of actual or threatened gun violence against children in Seattle Parks Department facilities would have to be substantial to demonstrate a compelling government interest.

WORKING FOR A PIN. Billy Hume of Tyee tries to break down Kennedy Catholic’s Thomas Banning with a spiral ride.

The Metropolitan King County Council adopted a supplemental appropriation to King County’s 2009 budget that included $20,000 for the Ballard Northwest and Greenwood Senior Centers Dec. 14.

Funding for senior centers was cut in order to balance a $56 million budget gap in the county’s recently adopted 2010 budget.

Additional revenue in the 2009 budget from lower than expected costs and federal and state reimbursements allowed the council to appropriate funding to some of the human services organizations that were cut in the 2010 budget.

Councilmember Larry Phillips advocated for the Ballard and Greenwood Senior Centers to receive funding.

“Our senior centers rely in part on money from King County every year to keep providing essential programs for vulnerable seniors,” Phillips, who represents Ballard and Greenwood on the county council, said in a press release.. “Getting this funding late in the 2009 budget will help these centers make up for the loss of county funding they would have otherwise seen in 2010 due to the deep cuts taken to balance the budget.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation is looking for input from city residents on electric trolley buses in order to make a recommendation to King County Metro on whether to replace electric buses, such as the 44 in Ballard, with diesel hybrid buses.

Metro had been investing in adding more service hours to electric trolley buses, which run on overhead wires, until a September audit of the department recommended replacing them with diesel hybrids as a cost saving measure.

According to the audit, it would save Metro $8 million per year to replace the trolleys with diesel hybrid buses. The electric trolley fleet will need to be replaced by 2014, according to Metro.

At the Dec. 9 Ballard District Council meeting, Seattle Department of Transportation representative Jonathan Dong said electric trolleys have benefits over diesel hybrids that cannot be measured in dollars.

The electric trolley fleet supports the city's climate action goals and saves hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel per year, Dong said.

He said the trolleys are the quietest buses in the system and have good hill climbing and accelerating capabilities.

A Kenyon Christmas
Kenyon Hall
7904 35th Ave S.W.
206-937-3613
December 18 and 19, 7:30 p.m. soprano Connie Corrick, tenor Aaron Shanks, dance troupe Balarico, and a special appearance by The Nashville Nightingale, all accompanied by host Lou Magor. Traditional and not-so-traditional holiday music for the entire family. Tickets $8-$14. Youngsters 18 and under free.

Amahl and the Night Visitors
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
4408 Delridge Way S.W.
206-937-1394
January 8 and 9, 7:30 p.m., January 9 and 10, 3:00 p.m. This fully orchestrated production by Gian Carlo Menotti tells the story of a poor young shepherd and his mother who receive a visit from the Three Kings on their way to Bethlehem. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors, and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com or at the Youngstown Theater.

Soulful Acoustic Songstress
C&P Coffee
5612 California Ave. S.W.
206-933-3125
Friday, Dec. 18, 6-8 p.m. Angela Reed will be performing her original music. Free show, donations accepted go toward funding the mastering and pressing of Angela's newest record. www.AngelaReed.com.

Surrounded by family and friends, Lisa Brenton read this statement to Seattle-area media representatives after Christopher Monfort was arraigned for the murder of her husband, Officer Tim Brenton.

Tim Brenton – Humble integrity

People who know me would never describe me as helpless. However, over the last month that is how have I felt – not only helpless but afraid, confused and scared. In fact, today it was originally planned that I was to attempt to avoid all of you, but this morning I woke up and changed my mind. I called Officer Ehring and explained to him that I wanted to walk into court with my head held high and that I was tired of being afraid and feeling helpless.