March 2010

For travel documentary videographer Michael Murphy, roaming out of his comfort zone is what makes him most comfortable. The award-winning West Seattle resident has made 185 documentaries worldwide for www.tripfilms.com. He shoots for Lonely Planet TV online, and others, including his own Travel On Productions.

Murphy said he looks for the “unknown parts of well-known destinations.” That may include Yosemite, Amsterdam, or Iceland. He is being modest, because his compact digital high-def Canon has also taken him to unknown parts of destinations that are not so well-known, like Antarctica, Easter Island, and last year, the tucked-away Himalayan nation of Bhutan.

All his reports are viewed online. Tripfilms can pay him because their website makes money with ads. And while short films nominated for Academy Awards run around 15 minutes, Murphy’s documentaries last just a fraction of that.

“The attention span on the Internet is about three minutes,” he said, adding, “I can tell if a travel video will be any good within 30 seconds.”

Three Highline-Des Moines area teams had a short stay at the state Class 3A tournaments held at the Tacoma Dome last week, while the other won its opener but turned around to lose a heartbreaker the next day.

Kennedy Catholic was the survivor in the group, outlasting East Valley of Spokane, 62-55, to open last Wednesday.

The Mount Rainier girls, on the other hand, took a 62-31 loss to Mercer Island before being narrowly defeated in double overtime by East Valley last Thursday, 77-72.

For the Mount Rainier boys, the Rams were defeated by O'Dea in a high-scoring 77-61 game, before falling to Seamount League rival Renton, 45-41. It was the fourth meeting of the year between the Rams and the Indians with Mount Rainier winning the previous three.

"As usual, you win the first three games with a team and then lose the important one, like at state," said Rams head coach Brian Johnson.

The Foster boys absorbed a 50-34 loss at the hands of Bellevue before being eliminated by the Meadowdale Mavericks on Thursday, 55-43.

The fourth time was the charm, but for Mount Rainier it was the wrong team.

The Rams defeated Renton three times during the 2009-2010 season and then lost to them, 45-41, in a Class 3A state boys basketball tournament game last Thursday. The loss, coupled with a 77-61 defeat at the hands of O'Dea the day before, spelled the end of the season for Mount Rainier.

"As usual, you win the first three games with a team and then lose the important one, like at state," said Rams head coach Brian Johnson, whose team finished with an 18-9 overall record after tying for first place in the Seamount League season.

Even though the team was cut sort of the state title -- or any placing game -- Johnson did not feel bad about the season.

"My goal for the season was to get to state," Johnson said.

The Rams certainly got there, but were greeted by the loud crowd of O'Dea, an all-boys school.

The crowd dominated the noise game with a wide variety of cheers, but ended with a friendly, "Drive home safely."

Bryce McPhee of Mount Rainier started off the action on the Tacoma Dome floor with a dunk only 15 seconds in.

The lead then changed by only one point eight times in a row.

Taylor Graham of the Seattle Sounders may not live in a mansion, but he does have a girlfriend. So he at least has that going for him.

Whitman Middle School students learned those facts and more when Graham visited the school March 12 as part of Symetra Financial's campaign with the Sounders, "Active Bodies Active Minds."

Graham started playing soccer when he was 4 but was frustrated in high school because he wasn't as tall, muscular or fast as the other players.

He advised Whitman students not to worry about things that are beyond their control but focus on the things they can control, such as effort and energy.

He told the students to find classes they like in school and follow them because they will lead to what they are meant to do in life.

At Stanford, Graham started taking classes that interested him without realizing there was a pattern until an advisor let him know they were all part of an international relations degree.

Graham closed his presentation with a bet. If he could bounce the ball off his head 30 times in a row, the students would have to maintain perfect attendance forever. He did it on the first try.

What are Neighborhood Projects Funds (NPF)?
NPF consists of two funds, the Neighborhood Street Fund and the Cumulative Reserve Subfund. These funds are a portion of Seattle’s city budget – approximately $1.2 Million in 2011 that is set aside for neighborhood improvements to streets and parks. These funds are unique because NPF projects are proposed by the community.

What projects can NPF money be used for?
NPF money can be used for small-scale (up to $90K per project) street or parks improvements, such as sidewalk repair, traffic circles and traffic calming, sidewalks, school zone speed limit signs, playground improvements, etc. NPF projects are required to meet the following criteria:

Projects funded by the Cumulative Reserve Subfund (approx. $1 Million total) can only be used for maintenance or repairs, projects which address safety issues, or upgrades related to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) like wheelchair access improvements; and must relate to the implementation of an existing Neighborhood Plan. View Neighborhood Plans online at http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/npi/plans.htm.

Starting as early as today and into next week a contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation will begin installing new dynamic (electronic) messaging signs at several locations to provide improved traffic information to travelers.

Crews will work from approximately 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 12 through Thursday March 18 starting at Fauntleroy Way SW and progressing down the list to 1st Ave South:

• Fauntleroy Way SW near 38th Ave SW
• 35th Ave SW north of SW Snoqualmie St
• 1st Ave S/ S Bennett St

Traffic lanes will be reduced at these locations to accommodate the construction. Expect delay and congestion. Motorists are asked to slow down and use caution when passing the work zone.

This work is part of SDOT’s Intelligent Transportation System improvements that will help manage traffic and keep travelers informed.

The finished signs will resemble the one pictured here on the SDOT Flickr page.

A superior court judge has just ruled the gun ban in City of Seattle parks as constitutional.
U.S. District Court Judge Marsha J. Pechman ruled that under current case law, the Second Amendment constrains the actions of Congress, not cities and states. Therefore the city was within its rights to enact the ban.

Bob Warden who brought the suit, is the Kent attorney who challenged the gun ban by walking into the Southwest Community Center with a weapon in a holster. He was asked to leave and later filed suit against the city.

In another suit, filed prior to Warden's the gun ban was struck down. See that story here.

Presentations by an architect, hydrogeologist and an engineer at a March 11 meeting did little to quell neighbors' fears that the construction of the new Greenwood Fred Meyer would have dire consequences on surrounding properties.

Half of the site for the new Fred Meyer at 100 N.W. 85th St. is located on a peat bog, one of the largest in the Seattle area.

GeoEngineers' Michael Kenrick, working for Fred Meyer, said it is important to not disturb peat because it is sensitive and compressible. If you take water out of the peat, it will shrink, leading to settling buildings, he said.

"Nobody wants their building to settle because it causes so much damage," Kenrick said. "It basically condemns the building."

The March 11 meeting was a chance for the Fred Meyer development team to explain how it is dealing with soil and groundwater issues on the site and for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development to received public feedback before deciding on whether an Environmental Impact Study is warranted for the project.

Some climb Mount Rainier because it’s there, but West Seattle’s David Town has another, more personal, reason to make the hike. His wife of two years, Lisa, is a recent breast cancer survivor. The Town’s are raising money for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center through its 13 year-old “Climb to Fight Breast Cancer” program.

David, an avid hiker and scrambler, attended a seminar at REI about the hike, co-sponsored by Alpine Ascents International. He also belongs to the Seattle chapter of Mountaineers.

In addition to the July 22-24 trek, the fund-raising aspect is also an uphill battle because of the challenging economy. To participate in this climb, the Towns must raise $2,500 by April 1, then another $2,500 by June 1. They have raised just over $2,200 so far and will throw a fundraiser at Talarico’s Pizzeria Tuesday, March 23, 6pm-9pm to try to climb toward the top.

Lisa’s employer, Liberty Bell Printing’s Michael Hoffman is one of the sponsors and has been a huge help, she said. Bruce Savadow, a fine art photographer on the Mountaineers Photography Committee, and other photographers are also on board.

With inspections and repairs now complete, the Lower Spokane Street Swing Bridge has reopened to traffic. Seattle Department of Transportation electricians and bridge crews determined that a faulty electronic component caused the malfunction that occurred earlier.

The component has been replaced with a spare part and systems tests show that the bridge is fully functional. The Lower Spokane Street Swing Bridge is now available for vehicular, pedestrian, and bike traffic, and can open to allow the passage of marine vessels.