April 2010

There used to be a skate ramp in Kate Martin’s front yard. Her sons had just caught the skateboarding bug, and the mini-ramp, planted among the maples and mountain hemlocks, became an icon in their south Greenwood neighborhood.

“It was heaven,” said Martin, a longtime community organizer who owns her own site planning, design and construction management business. “Every little kid on my block came and played on our stuff. Older kids, pro skaters—the gamut – would stop by. It’s just a safe place to play.”

When a lawsuit forced the ramp’s removal last spring, Martin, one of the founding members of Parents for Skate Parks, took a sabbatical from activism.

But now, as nearby Sandel Park heads toward a redesign, she’s reloaded and is pushing for a skatedot—a mini-ramp measuring less than 1,500 square feet—in her neighborhood.

There’s just one speed bump: There isn’t room in Seattle Parks and Recreation’s budget to fund it.

A sharp-eyed citizen and an alert officer led to the arrest of two adults and two juveniles on suspicion of car prowling early Friday. The citizen called in the suspicious behavior in the 3000 block of Beach Drive, along with a description of a dubious vehicle and its occupants. About 20 minutes later, an officer spotted the likely suspects and pulled them over near Beach Drive and SW Douglas. In the rear seat were two tennis rackets that had been stolen from the original site, as well as a number of other possible stolen items. The car was impounded for detectives. Two suspects were booked into King County Jail, a third was booked into the Youth Service Center. The fourth was released to his grandmother but will face charges along with the others. Three of the suspects were from the Burien area. Another was from the Delridge area.

This year’s tea was a great success and a fun afternoon was had by all.
Thank you,
Deena Mahn
West Seattle Hi-Yu Vice President

Thank you for supporting
West Seattle Hi Yu:

The Hall at Fauntleroy
Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering
Madeline Lyons
Harpist
The Marquis’
aka Chuck Marcouiller
Emcee

The following donors:

Admiral Theater
Alki Bike & Board
American Dance Institute
Angelina's Trattoria
Arthur Murray Dance
Anthony's
Artswest Theatre
Atomic Boys
Avalon Glassworks
Bakery Nouveau
Bill Speidel's Underground Seattle
Body Bar & Day Spa
Caffe Ladro
Capers
Carmilia's
Carufel Family
Casa Feliz
Castle Ice
Center for Wooden Boats
Clementine
Courtesy Tire
Curious Kidstuff
Dimitriou's Jazz Alley
Dream Dinners
Dream Space Massage
Easy Street Records
Elegant Nails
Elliott Bay Brewery
Emerald Downs
Enebrad
Fuller Family
Fauntleroy Massage
Funky Jane's
Garage
Gourmondo Catering
Great Harvest
Head to Toe
Carrie Hewitt
Hoodsport Winery
Hotwire Online Coffeehouse
Intiman Theatre
Ivar's
Jan's Beauty Supply
JF Henry
Jillian's Billiards
Junction True Value

Four months have passed since the guilty verdicts were reached for West Seattle UW student, Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, for the murder of Knox’s roommate, Meredith Kercher, stabbed to death in that historic college town Nov. 1, 2007. Unemployed drifter, Rudy Guede, was also found guilty, but that verdict was reached over a year ago. In mid-March of this year a 427-page “motivation document” was released in Italian. Judges from the court there issued it spelling out the motive for the murder. Knox’s family is appealing the verdict.

According to that document, the motive for Knox and Sollecito to kill Ms. Kercher was marijuana that triggered a violent rage. Since Knox was first arrested the prosecution changed her motive four times, from a “cult sacrifice,” to a “sex-orgy-gone-wrong,” to “theft of 300 Euros,” to “jealousy,” to “a rage caused by smoking marijuana.”

A new, robust “pro-Amanda” website capitalizes on this “refer madness” motive, and other aspects of the case it finds troubling, called www.injusticeinperugia.org, started by an American, Bruce Fisher.