August 2010

The Mayor's office is looking for some citizen involvement on the homelessness problem and today released a list of names of people who will sit on a panel to help move forward on the issue:

From the Mayor:
Today Mayor Mike McGinn announced the formation of a citizen review panel to make encampment policy recommendations to the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle City Council. This group has been convened to provide recommendations that are sensitive to the changing economic climate and the city’s ongoing budget realities.

A memo detailing the effort and questions for the review panel’s consideration is attached to this release. The following is a list of those serving on the panel.

Alison Eisinger, Seattle-King County Coalition on Homelessness, executive director

Tim Harris, Real Change, executive director,

Bill Hobson, Downtown Emergency Service Center, executive director

Vince Matulionis, United Way of King County

Paul Carlson, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, regional coordinator

Sheila Sebron, Committee to End Homelessness, veteran

Michael Ramos, Church Council, executive director

Tasha was a pound puppie who came to the Light family five years ago when she was 8 months old. A friend had adopted her but could not keep her and offered her to them.

Aaron Light and his sister Alex spend a lot of time with Tasha who is a pure bred Rottweiler. Their parents Renee and Chris Light also look after Tasha with most of the walking duties going to Renee. "She's just the most loving dog, she loves everyone," said Renee, and when we leave the door open and she lays on the porch, she doesn't leave. She's just a big old happy girl."

Tasha likes to open doors by nudging them with her nose (she hasn't mastered doorknobs), and she's a good guard dog.
While her normal diet is Pedigree dogfood Chris added that Tasha will, "eat anything a person would eat," and her number one treat is Milkbones dog biscuits.

There are three words she knows the meaning of, (an early attempt at training did not go so well, she still won't roll over), and they are "walk, play and food."

But according to Aaron she knows how to play "rug." What's that?

"She will lay in the doorway of the kitchen," explained Alex, " and stretch out like a rug, and wait until someone drops some food."

On Aug. 17, Mortenson Construction began removing the concrete structure, occasionally referred to as Ballard's "Stonehenge," that lies between Swedish Hospital and the Plaza Building on Market Street.

As part of Swedish's new medical office building and emergency room project, the space that was once occupied by the large concrete towers and beams will be transformed into a courtyard garden featuring trees, shrubs, plants, benches and a commissioned sculpture, Swedish spokesperson Ed Boyle said.

Boyle said the spot will enjoyed as a restful place by patients, family members and the public for years to come.

The courtyard garden is expected to be completed in early November, around the same time the new medical office building and emergency room opens.

For more information on the medical office building and emergency room project, click here.

Two sonic booms rocked the southern King County area shortly before 2 p.m. The Seattle Times is reporting the sonic booms were caused by two F-15 fighter jets that were launched after an airplane flew into restricted airspace around Boeing Field.
The Jets were scrambled from the 142nd Oregon Air National Guard Wing in Portland.
So many calls were made to 911 in Pierce County that it shut down the call service for a time, Detective Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said.
President Obama is in Seattle this afternoon hosting a fundraiser for Democratic Sen. Patty Murray. Air Force One landed at Boeing Field earlier this morning.

Although I write memoirs and a zine called "Reality Mom," I never claim that all of my stories are 100-percent true. Or as friends say, “Maybe it’s reality according to you, but that’s not how I remember it.”

So when my 4-year-old daughter started to tell tall tales, I wasn’t too concerned. I’m all for creative freedom and figured exaggerating was part of being 4 (or 40).

Soon enough, her tall tales no longer resembled creative expression, they were just outright lies.

Me: “Did you brush your teeth?”

Her: “Yes.”

One glance at my son shaking his head and another glance at the dry toothbrush told me otherwise. Not wanting to call her a liar, I tried to give her an out and suggested maybe she thought she brushed her teeth this morning, but in actuality that happened last night.

“No,” she said. “I brushed them this morning before I went downstairs to play ponies. I remember, really.”

Just as I was about to tell her she was wrong, I recalled my son went through a phase of not quite truth telling as well. And, a small miracle occurred where I not only remembered what I did about the situation, I remembered that it worked.

Sustainable West Seattle (SWS) held their Annual Summer Potluck at Lincoln Park on Monday Aug. 16 and it was about camaraderie, fun and of course sustainability.

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

Alki Kayak/Mountain 2 Sound provided kayaks and longboards and Alki Bike & Board brought 3 electric bikes to demonstrate their function and let people ride them. People attending were able to borrow one of the electric bikes and ride up to Lowman Beach Park and catch a longboard ride back on the Sound.

SWS was started 5 years ago with the simple mission of making the area known as West Seattle a self sufficient neighborhood. Through grass roots action they hope to change the way sustainability is viewed by being involved in the planning and decision making at the local level.

By being involved in local area councils like the Citywide Neighborhood Council and the SW District Council SWS hopes to influence policy initiatives concerning the use and distribution of energy resources. SWS is interested in Seattle's Carbon Neutrality Project, which SWS believes to be the crisis of our time.

A major win for shoreline property owners in Burien, a split City Council voted to keep the building setback requirements at 20-feet.

The Council voted 4-3 to keep the building setback requirements at 20-feet along the marine shoreline in Burien, instead of the staff and planning commission recommendation of a combined buffer and building setback of 65-feet from the ordinary high water mark in the draft of the Shoreline Master Program (SMP).

In contrast in the proposed Shoreline Master Program in Des Moines the buffer is 150-feet from the ordinary high water mark.

Council Members Gordon Shaw, Jack Block Jr., Kathy Keene and Lucy Krakowiak voted to keep the building buffer at 20-feet.

At the July 19 Council Meeting, language was passed by the Council so the current legally existing structures along the marine shoreline would not be labeled nonconforming. But Block said because of the State regulations-which supersedes City regulations- people’s homes would still be nonconforming.

In the Fauntleroy area, a woman approached newcomers to the neighborhood, asked for a beer, asked to go inside their house, spent ten minutes in the bathroom talking to herself, tried to kiss their father (who was asleep on the couch), demanded they let her walk their dog to the store, and then threatened to sue when their dog bolted and pulled her to the ground.

While running down a slope in Lincoln Park Wednesday morning, a jogger was startled by another runner who came from behind, allegedly stumbled, grabbed her hips and, as the police report states, “planted his face in her buttocks” as he went to the ground. The man seemed surprised as well and asked if she was OK, but the woman thought he lingered a bit too long while holding onto her. The stumbler was a white male, aged 30-49, with short blondish hair. He wore a green sweatshirt and dark sweatpants.

The North Admiral car prowlers surely appreciated the drive who left his car unlocked. Especially since a loaded .45 caliber pistol was tucked under the seat and two additional loaded magazines (17 shots worth) were in the center console.

Skate Church starts Roxhill Campus Youth Group
Roxhill Park across from Target
2850 SW Roxbury St.
206-890-8110 or theskatechurch.net
Every Wednesday in August at 6 p.m. Skate Church launches it’s second youth group in West Seattle. In August at Roxhill Park, then in September it moves across the street from the Park. The original West Seattle Junction campus of Skate Church will re-start again on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. in September at the new Skate Church headquarters (4157 California Ave. SW). Yes! there are in-door skate-ramps at that location for Skate Church members.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
Wednesday, August 18 through Sunday, August 22: 50% OFF short sleeve and sleeveless clothing, including shorts and bathing suits. Also, all items tagged in yellow, 50% OFF. Yellow-tagged items will be $1 from Monday, August 23 the Tuesday, August 31. The Discovery Shop is open on Sunday from 11a.m. to 3p.m. All other days the Shop is open for customers and donors from 10a.m. to 4:30p.m. The Discovery Shop always needs new volunteers, especially for Sunday afternoons. Please call 937 7169.

1000 miles up the Yangtze River in the Schezuan Province of China a style of architecture exists that is intrinsically chinese but also unique. That is the style being employed by a group of Chinese artisans now building the Knowing the Spring Courtyard, at the Seattle Chinese Garden located just north of South Seattle Community College.

When the project began 20 years ago on the 4 1/2 acre site the sister cities of Seattle and Chongqing chose to cooperate on the construction of a garden that would be a place to share Chinese culture, architecture, the arts and horticulture. The Song Mei Pavilion, a small structure, was built and initial plans were drawn up, models were made. But funding for the elaborate garden is a perennial problem.

The garden is a public-private partnership with funding from the City of Seattle, King County and Washington State. Funds also come from corporate donors, foundations and individuals. In-kind support comes from the City of Chongqing, which is home to 30 million people.