April 2010

Wayne and Jeanne Johnson have always loved cats but didn't go seeking one 7 years ago. Their neighbor had a cat who enjoyed dropping by their home.
"He was always over here in the summertime, you'd find him sleeping in one of our chairs because the doors would be open and of course you can't help but give him a snack now and then eventually he spent more time over here than he did at the neighbors. When they moved away, they asked if we wanted to keep him. So I was very happy and he's been here ever since," Johnson explained.

While his name sometimes varies from "Chunk" to "Chubby" it's rather obvious how he got the name, "Chubby is getting on the chubby side, but I've never weighed him," said Johnson.

Chubby is a very scheduled cat, he sleeps in at night time, "He's an outdoor cat, but since we have coyotes running around the neighborhood now, we've trained him to do that," Johnson said.

Chubby is not a mouser, however he's proud when he catches birds, though the Johnsons are not happy about that.

A Night at the Movies Concert
Presented by Bells of the Sound
Tibbetts United Methodist Church
3940 41st Ave. S.W.
206-931-7669
www.bellsofthesound.org

Friday, May 14, 7:30 p.m. Under the direction of Shirley Lindberg, this talented group of musicians is a dynamic force in the handbell world and will present some of the most memorable movie music. A suggested donation of $10/adults and $8/youth and seniors will be collected at the door (free/under 8 yrs).

Music Northwest Presents a Cello Extravaganza
So. Seattle Community College
Olympic Recital Hall
6000 16th Ave. S.W.
206-937-2899
www.musicnorthwest.org
Friday, April 23, 7:30 p.m. Chicago’s Stephen Balderston and Ruth Marshall join Seattle’s Mara Finkelstein and Walter Gray in a flamboyant recital for multiple cellos, assisted by pianist Jane Harty. Free Parking. Tickets $18/Gen; $16/Sr; Free for students, but must be reserved in advance.

Twelfth Night Productions Open The Miss Firecracker Contest April 9, 2010



Lunch With Our Neighbors
Seaview United Methodist Church
4620 S.W. Graham St.
206-932-7609
Friday, April 23, 11:30-1:30 p.m. All are invited to join in a free lunch. The menu consists of hearty, homemade soup, make-it-your-own sandwiches, dessert and beverage. Children are welcome.

Animals First Foundation Auction

The Feedback Lounge

6451 California Ave. S.W.

www.animalsfirstfoundation.org

Sunday, April 18, 2-5 p.m.
Amazing auction of vinyl records and other one of a kind rock memorabilia. Matt Johnson, mixologist extraordinaire, will create a delicious drink special and donate $1 from each drink to Animals First. The auction will benefit Animals First Foundation and will help us pay for our massive vet bills. Come have a great time and help a great cause.

Volunteers Needed to “Raise a Puppy-Change a Life” 

West Seattle See Dogs meeting at:
Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights

2326 California Ave. S.W.

Monday, April 12 and 19, 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Am I the only one who thinks that the advances in communication technology, which were supposedly attempts to create better communication, have actually made communication and relationships exceedingly worse?

See if any of this rings a bell.

We have cell phones that make it possible for us to talk to anyone from anywhere at anytime - while we're driving, having lunch, on vacation or in the middle of an intimate moment with a spouse. I'm sure you've been on the other end of the line, when the person you've called is saying, "Uh-huh, yea, uh-huh", and you know darn well that they never really heard you - only the sounds of the words. Is that good communication?

When a percentage of sales and real estate taxes are the primary public revenue resource in a city of about 30,000 souls and the community spending economy is in the dumps, what's to celebrate?

Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler answered these questions:
· Has today's poor economy reduced the city's major revenue?
· Is the city taking measures that benefit local businesses?
· Will that be self-sustaining long-range economic development?
· Are any of the U of W Storefront recommendations included?

All answers were, "Yes," adding, "In long-range economic planning my philosophy is, open guidelines and find a way to make it work," Sheckler said.

Life just doesn't get much better than when you're bringing home a promise for multi-million dollar local investments. Mayor Sheckler experienced one of those unreal moments - and it appears his feet haven't touched ground since. More on that story follows.

Meantime, Des Moines' financially hard-pressed local retail income is down about 30 percent. Business owners are working on new ways to cut costs and increase revenue. That's no easy task when folks don't have jobs.

Somehow I got hooked on Nero Wolfe mystery novels. That's strange because if I envisioned my own crime fiction series, my protagonist certainly wouldn't be a fat guy who rarely leaves his house, lives with two men and tends orchids in the attic.

Even stranger was my flirtation with Donald E. Westlake's Dortmunder. In that series, the hero is a grumpy cat burglar.

So it was refreshing to discover the fictional world of David Sloane, a nearly unbeatable courtroom attorney whose cases inevitably lead he and his loved ones into danger.

What's special is Sloane lives on Three Tree Point and hangs out at the Tin Room Bar in Old Burien. He shops at the Burien Fred Meyer and drives home on SR-518.

I met Sloane's creator, Kirkland author Robert Dugoni, at the Tin Room last week to talk about his new novel, "Bodily Harm."

As he did for Dugoni's previous New York Times bestseller, "Wrongful Death," Tim Room proprietor Dan House is hosting a big launch party. This one is May 27, starting at 4:30 p.m.

A Transportation Benefit District is being considered by lawmakers in Burien to help fund a street overlay program.

No asphalt overlay has been put down in the City for the last two years. Something City staff has told the Council cannot continue. The plan being proposed would be to spend approximately $8.6 million over the next couple of years to bring the Cities streets up to an 80+ Pavement Condition Index, and then spend $600,000 annually for the next 20 years maintaining the roads.

A road with a PCI of 80+ is considered to be in very good condition.

As the roads deteriorate they become exponentially more expensive to bring up to a high PCI and maintain. If Burien’s roads were maintained at a PCI of 70 it would cost the City $231 million by 2029. Staff made the argument to the Council by spending the money up front they are actually saving millions in road work later.

The money for the initial work would be raised in bonds which would be paid back over 20 years. With the $600,000 annually being looked at to maintain the streets, Burien is looking at $1.25 million a year to pay back the $8.6 million bond and maintain the roads.

(Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles on longtime Fauntleroy resident Morey Skaret, whose family moved to West Seattle in the early 1920s after enduring the rigors of the Canadian prairie for a dozen years.)

Morest Layton "Morey" Skaret was born on Aug. 2, 1913, the second of six children. His mother was a North Dakota schoolteacher, his father a Norwegian immigrant in search of free, farmable land. Ida and Elling Skaret homesteaded 160 acres in southeastern Alberta, Canada.

The young family-and their warmth-producing animals, especially on chilly nights-lived in a sod house, or "soddy." Morey's father would later build the first wood-framed house in the area.

Elling Skaret was not only the first homesteader in the area; he was a resourceful frontier craftsman, gifted artisan and font of folk wisdom as well. When the Gypsies came by with a horse to sell, for instance, he would sidle up to the animal, discreetly wedge a stick into its mouth and survey the teeth.

Hundreds of people came out to look at the new Emergency Room and Patient Care Facility at Highline Medical Center on Saturday.

From 10 to 3 p.m. on April 10, the public was invited to tour the new facility, which features 32 private rooms, compared to the old E.R.'s 19 rooms. The new E.R. cost $60 million to build.

The new E.R. will begin taking patients on Tuesday, April 13.

Bicycle helmets were handed out to 150 kids. The Pacific Science Center had a blood and guts exhibit set up. Science center performers also gave a presentation on all of the body's senses.

Kids could also take a tour of an ambulance and a fire engine that were on location for the event.

Bob Harper from the reality TV. Show, "The Biggest Loser" was there, giving a presentation on the importance of eating right and exercising as well as signing his book for people.

From the local television show, "Northwest Backroads." Grant Goodeve shared his story of every parent's worst nightmare. He described his son's frightening bicycle accident and gave tips on bike safety.

Hoping the third time is the charm, more than five years after beginning the process, Des Moines officials are resubmitting their Shoreline Master Program (SMP) for approval by the state Department of Ecology.

Des Moines was one of the early adopters when the state began asking all the cities and counties to update their Shoreline Master Program. Councilmember Dan Sherman described Des Moines as an experiment-- an experiment that went horribly wrong.

The Des Moines SMP was originally adopted in 1988 and has not been revised since then. The 1988 SMP is still in effect and remains the legal document governing the shorelines in Des Moines until the DOE accepts a new one.

Des Moines formally began updating their SMP in 2004. It was approved by the city council to be sent to the DOE in February 2006. The process went downhill from there.

The SMP was supposed to be completed by June 30, 2006. DOE gave the SMP back to Des Moines, with comments that needed to be addressed, in the first week of July. That left the city with no time to address the comments made by DOE.