July 2010

The City of Seattle is launching 'Engage Seattle' a civic engagement initiative that will concentrate on three primary means of getting people involved with the city.

The first of these is a Public Engagement Calendar that will list, in one place for the first time all the meetings and events taking place in each of Seattle's neighborhoods.

The second aspect of the program is the encouragement of volunteerism as a means of leveraging those who care about their community to help their neighbors. The priorities identified in the Youth and Families Initiative provide the framework for volunteer opportunities.

Thirdly, the effort will seek community leaders, and help them increase their leadership skills. The first wave of these future leaders was identified during the Youth and Families initiative workshop in early June which saw 2800 people attend. To carry this forward the city will host 4 workshops for Engage Seattle during which people will be able to improve their skills and take the next steps toward being effective community leaders.

How would you like to beautify your neighborhood, or better yet grow some of your own fruit from a trees in growing close to your home?
The City of Seattle working through the Department of Neighborhoods and the Office of Sustainability have two different ways to get more trees planted in Seattle.

They posted the following press release today:

Seattle residents can get free trees for their neighborhood through two City-sponsored programs offered this summer. Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and Office of Sustainability and Environment are working together to help residents beautify their neighborhood and help the environment.

Offered by Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, the Tree Fund provides trees for neighborhood beautification and to support neighbors working together. Groups of neighbors from at least five households living on street or block can request up to 40 trees for their project.

Ballardites, as well as all other city residents, can get free trees for their neighborhood through a city-sponsored program offered this summer to beautify their neighborhood and help the environment.

The Tree Fund, offered by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, provides trees for neighborhood beautification and to support neighbors working together.

Groups of neighbors from at least five households living on a street or block can request up to 40 trees for their project. Plus, every participating household can have a fruit tree for their own yard.

Information on how to organize a neighborhood, the selection of trees, as well as the application form, can be found here. The deadline for applications is Aug. 16.

For information, contact Judy Brown, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, at 206.684.0714.

When I signed on with my agent more than four years ago, I held a celebration party for myself and began to imagine my books on the shelves of Barnes and Noble. Three years later, I had two books written and a complete proposal for a third, but none of them had seen the shelves of any bookstores.

And thus, I learned my first lesson in being a writer: Nothing will happen on my preferred timeline.

Sure, we had positive feedback on my manuscripts. Sure, I got a nibble from Penguin. But, mostly what I had were a lot of days where I obsessively checked my emails hoping to hear from editors.

I decided that my agent wasn’t the right match for me, and we parted ways somewhat amicably. I researched and pitched some small presses myself, and within a few weeks was offered a book contract.

Second lesson learned: Everything I thought was true may not be.

I had been told that I must write a book proposal for my memoir or any nonfiction book I wrote. In fact, it was suggested I write and pitch the proposal before writing my memoir to see if there was a market for it.

Two Ballard residents sustained injuries early July 22 when their home caught fire.

The blaze started in a fourplex on the 2300 block of Northwest 67th Street slightly before 3 a.m., with the Seattle Fire Department receiving the first call at 2:53 a.m.

Two men were injured and taken to Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick said. One injured his ankle while jumping from a second-story window, and the other suffered burns to his hands and feet while fleeing the building, she said.

Three other residents escaped the fire without injury, she said.

Fitzpatrick said firefighters had the flames entirely put out within an hour, but they had the fire under control much sooner than that.

The fire was caused by overheated electrical wiring in the walls on the first floor, Fitzpatrick said. She said the fire reached the attic of the house before it was extinguished.

Robinson Communications and The West Seattle Herald announce a new iPhone app that goes beyond the headlines. Developed by Sachmanya LLC in Santa Clara, California, the mobile news app presents the most recent local news as posted on WestSeattleHerald.com but also provides direct access to the Herald's Flickr Photo Gallery and the Herald's YouTube videos.

What makes the app truly unique however is its ability to capture news events with your mobile device to submit for publication through the app itself. Utilizing a service called 360 News registered users can submit photos, videos, and local stories to the Herald for publication. Submissions are reviewed and then posted on the site but may also appear on CNN iReport, YouTube, Flickr Twitter and 360 News. Users can see where 360News posts come from on a map and engage with other community members.

The app even includes "push" functionality that the user can opt in for to get stories delivered to their handset as they are posted.

The Community Breakfast, an annual tradition in West Seattle has for years been held at the American Legion Hall, and on occasion at the VFW Hall across the way on Alaska Street. Not this year.

This year it is being held at Alki United Church of Christ at 6115 Southwest Hinds Street on Sunday, July 25.

The chefs, as they have been for some time now are Don and Sheryl Bogie. Don is the bartender at the Maharaja Restaurant in the Junction.

The event will run from 9am to Noon and on the menu are bacon, sausage, eggs, fruit salad, and pastries.
The suggested donation is $5 and it's a fund raiser with the money going to fund the scholarship program for hi-yu.

Don Bogie promises a great, fresh breakfast, "I cut the fruit salad that morning" and notes that "It really is community because you see the same people every year."

Last year they served 85 to 100 breakfasts.

The Wingdome, a chicken wings and beer based restaurant coming soon to the West Seattle Junction at 4523 SW California Avenue is now doing a bit of advance promotion. In the window of the space now undergoing a remodel is the phrase The Fire is spreading.com which when entered as a web address takes you to the advance promotional web page for the West Seattle Location.

But they went a little further.

In the middle of the street, in between the lines of the crosswalk, likely applied with a stencil, is the same web address. See for yourself at www.thefireisspreading.com .

That's a link to their new local blog that invites the public to the as yet, non-specfic grand opening and asks you to complete a quiz.

The restaurant says they offer "tasty hot chicken wings, cold beer, and your favorite sports games. You'll find every kind of chicken wing imaginable - BBQ, Thai Chili, Triple Garlic, Sambal Peanut Sauce, Blazin' Chipotle and much more!"

Their hours will be:
Mon: 11am – 11pm
Tue-Thur: 11am – 10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun: 11am – 9pm

Controversy over the draft Shoreline Master Plan's impact on property rights dominated the July 19th Burien City Council Meeting.
Though city staff presented relatively narrow revisions of the Shoreline Master Plan (SMP), citizen comments prior to the presentation focused broadly on the ecological function of Burien's coastline and Lake Burien.

John Upthegrove drew attention to both sides of the debate about allowing public access to Lake Burien. Although the lake itself is, by law, public, it is currently surrounded by private property.
"What does a parent tell little Johnny when he asks why he can't swim in the lake?" he asked. On the other hand, he added, it would be impossible to control who comes and goes around the lake if the city built a lakeshore park.

Public access would threaten the fragile ecology of Lake Burien, Don Warren asserted. He argued that invasive species are often introduced to bodies of water by boats that have been used in affected waters.

Ed note: This is the first in a series of articles by West Seattle Hypnosis expert Lisa Mills. It is in a question and answer style.

Q. Isn’t hypnosis what
vampires use to lull their victims
into compliance?
A.
Well, I’m no expert on
vampires. Never having met
one, I’ve never had an opportu-
nity to ask about their method-
ologies. Perhaps a research trip
to Forks is in order…
I can tell you that hypnosis is
not mind control, and has no
inherent connection to the
occult.
A hypnotic trance is simply a
highly focused state of aware-
ness often accompanied by
losing track of where you are in
time and space. In fact,
hypnosis is a naturally occurring
state of mind that we’ve all
experienced many times.
So, what do I mean that we’ve
all experienced a hypnotic state
of mind? Here’s a great
example some folks refer to as
road hypnosis. You’re driving
down the highway, daydream-
ing away, and you blow right by
your exit. You’re so focused on
your daydream, you lose track
of where you are.
Another example: Have you
ever tried to get the attention of
a kid playing a video game?
They’re so focused on the game