February 2010

Summer Case got her cat Misty a year ago literally as a kitten. Misty's mom, Bella lives with Summer's family and Summer shares Misty and Bella with her whole family. Misty has a habit of batting at your leg as you walk by.

"I think she's really playful," Summer said. While Misty apparently has aspirations to go outside "She doesn't like the outdoors, she's an inside cat," Summer continued, but "When she sees a bird moving around in the sky she meows at it. She talks like she's chewing it."

Misty is very compatible with dogs and from what the family has observed it is probably because she acts a lot like one.
"She's pretty much like a dog. She fetches and she sits," Summer said.

Misty likes Friskies cat food, salmon and some 'people food' once in a while. She usually sleeps on the couch or sometimes with Summer.
"I just know she's a cute playful kitty," Summer said.

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:

When she was a girl in Liverpool England, Karen Connolly played cricket and soccer with the young Paul McCartney. She lived three houses away on Forthlin Road and moved to America when she was 11. Today after 30 years as a financial adviser she has embarked on a new business called Squareganics. It's both the name of the company and the product.

They consist of various sizes of raised garden boxes that are based on an idea called “Square Foot Gardening” from a book by Mel Bartholomew. The business represents a kind of personal renewal for Connolly. When her youngest son David got cancer he asked his older brother Michael to be his care giver. Despite a brave battle, David died at the age of 24. This was a terrible blow to the family as they tried to cope with the loss. Then, Karen’s elderly mother told her that she really missed gardening. Karen and Michael came up with the idea to build a raised garden box that required no stooping over and based it on Bartholomew’s book.

After repeated inquiries they turned it into a business.

The Seattle City Council's "2010 Priorities" document released Feb. 22 was developed contrary to open government, and its priorities are out of balance. Here’s what was wrong with the process and what is missing from the Council’s priorities

The "2010 Priorities" document that the Seattle City Council released at its Monday, Feb. 22 meeting was developed without public notice or input, and in violation of the spirit and letter of Washington's Open Public Meetings Act. While it’s difficult to fault some of these priorities, they certainly would have been better and different it the City Council had not left the public entirely out of the process.

White Center Library and Boulevard Park Library were scheduled for replaced when a bond for the King County Library System (KCLS) was passed in 2004. Recently KCLS Director Bill Ptacek has said KCLS is considering the possibility of closing both of those libraries and building a new one in a central location.

Ptacek said this is only one of the ideas being looked at, and no decision will be made until a service area analysis can be done on the area.
Burien Council Kathy Keene told Ptacek during last nights Burien Council Meeting to tread very carefully when looking at consolidating the two libraries.

“My concern is while consolidation might be efficient it is not best for the community,” Keene said.
She said where the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries are now they are easily accessible by the community. People can walk, ride their bike, or take public transportation to them. She was afraid if those libraries are consolidated into one it will make it harder for a lot of residents to get to and use.

This is the final week to purchase commemorative bricks in the Liberty Plaza on Alki. Over 160 new bricks and 1 bronze plaque will be added to the Plaza this spring. Bricks and 5 Tribute Plaques are still available, so if you want to purchase a brick or plaque to be installed this spring, your order needs to be in the mail by the end of February. Orders placed later will be installed this fall. Installation will be done by Seattle Parks & Recreation and we will email donors when an exact date is set.

Order forms can be downloaded at www.sealady.org .

For information on bricks contact:

Eilene Hutchinson
206-933-8352
libertyplaza@msn.com
For information on plaques contact:

Libby Carr
206-938-8721
libby@carrbiz.com

When I am out enjoying the abundant nightlife in Ballard, I sometimes notice things that seem strange. A 4-percent tip being left for a delicious meal with great service. Someone loudly complaining about the lack of seating when they have just walked into King's on a Friday at midnight.

Isn’t there some general evening etiquette and knowledge that people should know to smooth their way?

As I grew up, my parents taught me proper protocol and provided me with those little tricks of life.

“Don’t you dare forget to send a thank you note.” “When boys pull your hair and make fun of you, it means they like you.” “No, you don’t need premium gas Lindsey, you drive a Corolla.”

I also managed to learn some myself along the way.

Thanks to years of waiting in long lines, I learned go to the mall at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday, not on a rainy Saturday at 1 p.m.

And the most important lesson I ever learned? Two words: Kirkland. Signature.

So here is my public service announcement for February: some techniques on navigating nightlife gathered from experts – both friends in the industry as well as local bartenders and servers I pestered for information.