March 2010

Officials of White Water Aquatics Management, LLC, a not-for-profit subsidiary of an area swim team, today announce that they have reached an agreement to re-open Evergreen Community Aquatic Center (formerly Evergreen Pool) in White Center on or before May 1, 2010. From the time King County closed the pool last summer, the parents of children who compete on the Whitewater Aquatics Swim Team have worked with The Highline School District and King County to develop an operating agreement.

White Water Aquatics Management has developed a business plan to operate the pool with a full range of programming for diverse community needs, and has raised over $50,000 in private donations to get started.

The Ballard High School softball team is riding a three-game win streak to start the 2010 season after dispatching Sammamish 7-2 March 24.

The Beavers traded runs with Sammamish for most of the game and headed into the bottom of the sixth inning with a slim 3-2 lead.

A two-run double by freshman Brittney Blokker and an RBI double by junior Karissa Marshall were part of a four-run inning that put the game away.

Junior Jamie Thelen, sophomore Amry Kimmerly and senior Syrina Bailey each contributed RBIs as well.

Freshman Andrea Jewitt pitched six innings, giving up six hits and striking out five batters, pushing her season record to 2-0.

The Beavers are 3-0 in nonconference games this season.

The team will have a shot at a perfect nonconference season at 3:30 p.m. on April 1 at Lower Woodland against Blanchet before opening the KingCo season April 5 against Roosevelt.

Woodland Park Zoo euthanized a 47-year-old, female hippo March 24 due to physical decline from age-related osteoarthritis.

Despite medication, the hippo, named Gertrude, experienced intense generalized lameness, which seriously affected her mobility and compromised the quality of her life, according to a Woodland Park Zoo press release.

Gertie, who weighed approximately 5,000 pounds, lived at the zoo since 1966. She was the oldest animal currently living at the zoo and is believed to have lived at the zoo longer than any animal in its 110-year history.

Two female hippos remain at the zoo’s African Savanna: 31-year-old Water Lily and 10-year-old Guadalupe.

According to Dr. Darin Collins, the zoo’s director of Animal Health, the hippo’s health had been under a normal age-related decline for the last year from the degenerative joint disease, not uncommon in geriatric animals, including humans.

Mount Rainier fought its heart out in a thrilling 77-72 double overtime loss to East Valley (Spokane) in a loser-out scuffle of the 2010 state girls basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

"That was quite a game," said Ram head coach Bob Bolam. "All we asked of them was to play 32 minutes, and they had to play an extra eight. We knew they'd be physical and we prepared to play physical. I can't remember a last second shot like Marisa's."

With the shot clock winding down in the fourth quarter, Blair swished a running one-handed looping shot through the hoop with 0.4 seconds left to forge a 58-58 tie and force the first overtime.

"I knew I needed the shot to go in," recalled Blair, who completed her Ram career with a personal best 31 points and added five steals. "I just shot and rolled my ankle as I fell to the floor. I didn't even see the shot go in. I didn't know I made it until I got up."

Gandy, Blair and Codd combined to give Mount Rainier a 63-58 lead to open the first overtime, but East Valley eased the deficit and eventually sent it into the second overtime on a Jenni White steal and layin with 42.8 seconds left.

Prime time shooting came quickly and often for Seattle Prep's Karri Luttinen, who fired home a career-high 40 points in a 75-60 Panther shocker against Kennedy Catholic for fourth place. The defending champion Lancers took home the seventh place trophy.

"We had a lot of turnovers and fouls," said Presley Nuefeld, who stepped up in the first half with 10 points on 4-for-5 from the field with a pair of three-balls. Nuefeld finished with 13 points.

Luttinen tallied 12 straight points in the first quarter as Seattle Prep (19-10) built a 14-3 lead that ballooned to 17-3 before Kennedy closed within 22-13 after one quarter.

The Panthers stayed in control for a 38-28 halftime lead after leading by 15 points at 36-21.

The Lancers (24-4) played the entire first half without star guard Yaz Fuller who retook the SAT Saturday morning in Seattle, seeking to improve upon an earlier score. Fuller arrived with 2:45 remaining until halftime, stretch and entered the game after intermission.

On March 24, CAST Architecture presented three design schemes for the solar power-generating park neighborhood residents are hoping to build on the site of the former Sunset Hill City Light substation.

CAST Architecture's three designs were built around trying maximize the power-generating ability of the site without sacrificing community space as well neighborhood input from two previous meetings.

The Big Roof Scheme includes a 15-foot-high solar array covering the entire site, which is located on Northwest 65th Street and 32nd Avenue Northwest behind Ristorante Picolinos.

Dark solar panels would be spread out on the array to let light through. A central community plaza would be protected from rain by solar panels and glass panels.

There would be a community building in the southwest corner of the park and a storage shed in the northeast corner. Shade gardens would be located east and west of the central plaza.

The Pair Scheme is laid out much like the Big Roof Scheme, except there are two solar arrays, one in the northeast corner and one in the southwest corner, instead of one.

This scheme allows for the most solar panels without losing public space.

"The Trials of Amanda Knox," is a documentary about the West Seattle U.W. student currently serving a 26-year jail sentence outside Perugia, Italy for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher there. The film was released on Great Britain cable TV early January. An American version of that release will air in Seattle on TLC, The Learning Channel, this Sunday, March 28, 8pm.

The documentary characterizes the city of Seattle as a place where “Amanda’s strange behavior was encouraged as she was not tied down to social standards (…) in a city with a Bohemian background.”

According to Chris Mellas, Amanda's stepfather, there are at least seven versions of the documentary, and he personally possesses five or six. He showed two versions to the West Seattle Herald in his living room.

It took awhile for the John F.Kennedy Catholic girls basketball team to power up before rallying for a 47-37 victory against Shorecrest in a loser-out game of the Class 3A state girls' basketball tornament on Friday, March 12, at the Tacoma Dome.

After Thursday night's devastating loss to Mercer Island, the motivation of playing for a trophy finally set in.

"We needed to play hard and the light came on," stated Aminah Williams, who toiled for nine of her 11 points in the second half.

Kennedy (23-4) offset Shorecrest's torrid outside shooting to emerge with a 15-14 first quarter lead. The Scots, behind Brianne Lasconia, dissected the Lancer interior defense to turn a Kennedy 18-16 lead into a 23-16 Shorecrest advantage after a Lasconia lefty lay up with 1:35 until halftime. Allie Madison scored eight of her team high 12 points to keep Kennedy in range. Madison also closed with seven rebounds

With the Scots holding a 30-24 margin at 4:59 of the third quarter, Kennedy scored four consecutive points to trim the deficit to two points, 30-28,and eventually 32-30 going into the fourth quarter.

Photographer Kurt Howard captured these images from the Kennedy vs. Foster baseball game on March 23. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO PLAY SLIDESHOW.

Enchanted April runs March 26 through April 11.

Centerstage’s managing artistic director Alan Bryce made the decision to produce the utterly beguiling stage version of Elizabeth von Armin’s best selling 1921 novel, Enchanted April, at a time when the South Sound’s own enchanting flora are at their peak.

The play’s thematic components of gentle feminism, love and self-discovery are universal and engaging; and its ability to transport audiences back to another time and place makes the show the perfect antidote to the tax season blues. A brief escape to a secluded Italian castle on the Mediterranean coast is just what the doctor ordered.

Enchanted April was adapted for the screen twice; first in 1935 and again in 1992.

The later film version starred Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Alfred Molina and Josie Lawrence and went on to receive multiple Oscar nominations and other industry awards. Enchanted April is a bittersweet comedy set just after WWI, the war to end all wars.