March 2010

Groundswell NW recently completed the Salmon Bay Natural Area East Expansion in Ballard along the estuary of the Greater Lake Washington/Cedar River Watershed.

The project, located immediately west of the 34th Avenue Northwest adjacent to The Canal restaurant, offers a rare estuary habitat that is essential for juvenile salmon as they make their way through the Ballard Locks and acclimate to salt water.

The Salmon Bay Natural Area is a small part of a collective effort to preserve critical environments in the life cycle of Puget Sound salmon.

As the juvenile salmon make their way through the Locks, disoriented by the abrupt transition to salt water and vulnerable to predators, an area of refuge and adjustment to the new environment is essential for their survival, Groundswell NW's Elizabeth Dunigan said in a press release.

Restoration of The Canal slope enhances this refuge by giving salmon a better chance of surviving and gaining the body weight needed to thrive in the open ocean, Dunigan said.

The loss of the South Park Bridge, which may come down in June, and the lack of funds in the near future to replace it, has created a ripple effect, not only in the area’s industrial sector, but also in the environmental community concerned with the polluted Duwamish River, a Superfund Site that hosts dozens of toxic chemicals.

Thea Levkovitz is coordinator of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, or DRCC, a formal community advisory group recognized by Environmental Protection Agency.

“We share the concerns of the South Park community that the TIGER grant ($99 million) didn’t come in,” said Levkovitz. TIGER grants, part of the Federal government’s stimulus package, were awarded nationwide for transportation projects, and locally, for Mercer Avenue road development, but the bridge was overlooked.

“We’re getting ready in the next few years for the Superfund cleanup on the lower five miles of the Duwamish River,” she said. “That means heavy equipment, trucks, in addition to residents in South Park needing a way to commute out.”

There are currently two bridges that cross the Superfund Site, the South Park Bridge and the 1st Avenue Bridge.

The four-piece rock band Tacoma Finish, including, left, guitarist Brian Bell of West Seattle, and drummer Christopher Hogan, performed at the Shipwreck Tavern in Admiral Thursday night, March 4, for the "FunBlog Food Drive 2010."

The White Center and West Seattle Food Banks are encouraging people to make donations through Apr. 30 so they can receive additional funds from the Feinstein Foundation’s $1 Million Challenge. Several large cardboard boxes of food were collected at this event.

For the past 12 years Rhode Island philanthropist, Alan Shawn Feinstein, has made $1 Million available to help anti-hunger agencies. For every cash and food donation received by the end of April the Feinstein Foundation will add a financial contribution.

On March 10th the Admiral Theater will host a special screening of “Running the Sahara,” a documentary that is as beautiful in its execution as it is jaw dropping in its subject. “Running the Sahara” follows the journey of three ultra runners as they attempt to run the breadth of the Sahara desert from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. By the time they are threading through Cairo’s chaotic traffic on the final leg of the expedition, the three men, Kevin Lin, Ray Zahab and Charlie Engle, had run close to 4,600 miles over the course of a hundred and eleven days. They had braved sand storms and heat that drove the ground temperature up to 140 degrees.

The shear audacity of their quest is such that at times director James Moll’s elegant cinematography is overwhelmed by the statistics on the subtitles (Day 39: Total Run 2,579K/ 1,603 miles). Distance runners are sure to thrill at numbers like these while the rest of us will secretly congratulate ourselves on our membership in the local bowling league (at least there is air conditioning and snacks).

Organizations that want to increase tourism and overnight stays in Federal Way can get a little financial help this spring from the City of Federal Way.

Applications for the City’s Tourism Enhancement Grant (TEG) program are due March 31.

Applicants will be invited to a committee review on April 16, and grants will be awarded by June.

TEG supports the promotion of cultural, arts, sports and community events that will occur in the Federal Way area. This is the first of two rounds of grants during 2010, with approximately $40,000 available for the entire year. There is no cap on individual grant requests. Funds will be awarded based on the following:

• Eligible organizations: Non-profit 501(c) organizations or municipal organizations of the State of Washington that plan, sponsor or host eligible events.

• Eligible events: Amateur sporting, arts/cultural events, membership meetings, trainings and conferences, or other events that will bring participants to Federal Way.

Kathryn Smith has been named the third ever recipient of the Federal Way Teacher of the Year award from Communities In Schools of Federal Way.

Colleagues, administrators, parents and students concur that it’s an honor she well deserves, saying Smith is a gifted educator, and a whole lot more. The award was presented at the annual Federal Way Literacy Breakfast on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

As a recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award, Kathryn will receive a $500 for her classroom from Communities In Schools.

With 8 years of teaching experience in kindergarten and first grade classrooms at Olympic View, Smith is recognized as an exceptionally dedicated teacher, said Olympic View principal Cindy Dracobly in her nomination letter.

“She continually seeks ways to improve her skills as a teacher and to improve student performance,” Dracobly said. “She is dedicated not only to her own students, but to the school as a whole. She participates and offers her leadership on many building and district committees. She willingly gives of her time and energy far beyond the school day.”

As expected, the Highline School Board unanimously decided March 3 to apply for a three-year federal grant that would mandate major changes at SeaTac's Chinook and North Highline's Cascade middle schools.

Besides low scores on the standardized Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) tests, the schools were singled out for grant eligibility because they were in Step 5 of school improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind act, made less progress in reading and math than the state average in the last three years, and their math and reading scores over the last three years are within the lowest 5 percent of schools receiving federal Title I aid.

The district expects to know by March 26 if the grant is approved. If so, additional teacher training could begin this summer, incoming 7th graders could be offered summer programs and class changes would begin in September.

Superintendent John Welch reported at the special board meeting that a two-day "summit" of around 40 administrators, teachers, parents and community organization staffers met last week to hash out "big ideas and emerging directions."

On March 4th at approximately 5:38 p.m. an on-duty officer in a marked police car was involved in a collision with another driver near the intersection of Delridge Way SW and SW Holden Street. There were two occupants in the other involved car (driver and passenger). The officer was the only occupant of his patrol car.

All involved parties were transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.

Rugged defense and good execution down the stretch teamed up to give the Mount Rainier Rams a 71-65 winner-to-state, loser-out West Central/Southwest Class 3A Bi-District win against Southwest No. 1 seeded Hudson's Bay in Tuesday, March 2, boys basketball action at Auburn High School.

Mount Rainier (16-7) earned its third state berth in four years after missing out by one game last season. The Rams are assured of nothing less than the No.8 seed and would gain the No.4 seed with two more wins in a row at bi-district.

"Our biggest thing was execution off fast passes," said Ram head coach Brian Johnson. "They packed in the zone, but we didn't want to settle for three-point tries that would play right into their hands, so we kept passing until we found some openings. We did a good job of stealing balls down the stretch. It feels good to be back (at state)."

Adult businesses are not allowed in any part of the Burien annexed portion of North Highline. A Feb. 12 Times/News article incorrectly indicated that that adult businesses would be allowed between Southwest 112th Street and Southwest 116th Street along either side of Ambaum Boulevard Southwest.