September 2010

reasons to be pretty
Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty
Seattle Premiere!
September 8 – October 2
Nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play of the Year!
Directed by Katjana Vadeboncoeur. Greg’s tight-knit social circle is thrown into turmoil when his offhand remarks about a female coworker’s pretty face and his own girlfriend Steph’s lack thereof get back to Steph. But that’s just the beginning. Greg’s best buddy, Kent, and Kent’s wife, Carly, also enter into the picture, and the emotional equation becomes exponentially more complicated. As their relationships crumble, the four friends are forced to confront a sea of deceit, infidelity, and betrayed trust in their journey to answer that oh-so-American question: How much is pretty worth? Adult language, themes, and situations. Recommended for ages 16 and older.
"Unquestionably, reasons to be pretty is a highlight of the season. A superb, satisfying play and Neil LaBute's most compassionate, appealing work to date.” – Associated Press
“The best new Broadway play of the season!” – TIME Magazine

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe Johnson will host a "Welcome Back" region meeting for West Seattle at the newly remodeled Chief Sealth High School 2600 Thistle Street s.w. Sept. 30. She is conducting similar meetings throughout September elsewhere in the district. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 - 8 p.m.

The meeting will include families, District leadership and representatives of schools from each of our five regions. Following a brief presentation, the majority of the time will be devoted to informal discussion.

"The theme of my engagement plan for 2010-11 is Listening, Learning, and Responding. I hope that you will join me at a "Welcome Back" regional meeting or coffee chat during the next two months," Goodloe-Johnson said.

On October 25, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson will host a Community Coffee Chat for all parents, grandparents and caregivers of Seattle Public Schools students at West Seattle Elementary 6760 34th Ave. s.w.

Evergreen was greeted by a loud and grinning crowd as it prepared to leave Highline Stadium Friday, but it wasn't because of a stunning victory.

The Wolverines, in fact, were just dealt a 47-18 non-league loss by Fife.

The reason suddenly came clear as the Samoan majority portion of the team broke into a dance, folding their arms and getting down to the turf as close as they could while making powerful grunting noises.

"They call it the Haka," said first year Evergreen head coach Mark Becker.

Evergreen started off powerfully enough, scoring the game's first touchdown when Andre Marticio caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Leo Feseli with 8:04 to play in the first quarter. A run for a two-point conversion failed to leave the score at 6-0.

But Fife caught them at 6-6 with 11:18 to play in the second quarter, and caught fire to take a 40-6 advantage by halftime.

"The second quarter we ran out of gas," said Becker. "We don't have a lot of guys out and they get banged up and tired playing both ways."

Federal Way hoped to strike it big against a team with a rich tradition Thursday, but received no pay off.

The Eagles stuck with the Puyallup Vikings throughout most of a South Puget Sound League game played at Carl Sparks Stadium before coming away with a 46-17 defeat.

Federal Way fell to 0-2 in SPSL South Division action with the loss as the Vikings -- who have a large share of league and even state titles in their past -- improved to 2-0 in the young 2010 high school season.

The Eagles wasted little time getting the early lead with a field goal at the end of a monstrous 14-play opening drive.

Koby Craig put the Eagles in the money, slicing a 21-yard kick through the uprights.

Puyallup answered with a touchdown with 2:36 left in the first quarter.

Quarterback Erin Barber fired off a 2-yard pass to Stefon Lyons on the right side and Wes Barber tacked on the extra point to make it a 7-3 game.

Federal Way snatched the lead back with 10:18 remaining in the second quarter at the end of a 13-play drive.

Junior running back DJ May punched the ball in on a 5-yard run and Craig's kick widened the Eagles' new lead to 10-7.

By Sally Clark, Seattle City Council

As brief as this summer was, I had a lot of fun attending community events, parades and festivals.

I had the opportunity to walk in the Rainier Valley Heritage Parade, part of the Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets program, which also included events in Ballard and Phinney/Greenwood.

In partnership with community groups, the Seattle Department of Transportation closes down a section of a major arterial for a few hours on a given day to allow people to enjoy the space without any motor vehicles to dodge. People walk, bike, stroll, shop and just hang out.

In the case of Rainier Avenue South, after the parade, people listened to music, chatted with neighbors, checked out the Austin Foundation’s work-out challenge and enjoyed Columbia City on a sunny day.

Greenwood Avenue closed down between North 87th Street and North 65th Street and became a community Art Walk. A section of 22nd Avenue Northwest in Ballard opened up to synch with Bike to Work Day.

Ballard-area residents love their gardens, whether it’s a luscious edible landscape or containers on the condo balcony, and we’re fortunate to have several interesting and unique independent nurseries in and around the neighborhood.

How about going on a fall plant expedition to check them all out? Late-summer and fall is a great time to take stock of your garden and snag some great deals at local nurseries with fall sales.

Starting up north in Blue Ridge, Swanson’s Nursery is the extravagant queen of Seattle nurseries.

Besides a large selection of beautifully tended annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees and more, Swanson’s offers weekend gardening seminars on a wide range of topics. Some upcoming seminar topics include Japanese Maple Selection and Care and Creative Fall Container Designs.

SKIFFLE, an evening of music, food and drink, friends and inspiration to benefit Youngstown's ALL ACCESS Programs, featuring youth performances, video, circus arts, live music and revelry will be staged Sept. 17 at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center 4408 Delridge Way s.w. at 7 p.m.

The event is presented by the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association http://www.dnda.org/

All proceeds go to "raise the rent" for free weekday after-school arts classes hosted at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, where upwards of 300 youth have participated in classes ranging from Organic Gardening to Rock Band 101, DIY Fashion to Hip-Hop Dance, Beatmaking to Spoken Word Poetry.

In addition to hors d'oeuvres, there will be an open beer & wine bar.

Teaching artists and premiere local acts Cristina Orbe & Air 2 A Bird will perform full musical sets, Youngstown partners The Cabiri will perform their aerial act, and the talents of Youngstown’s youth artists and leaders will be on display.

A “Fall into Autumn” Open House, will be held Friday, September 17, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave. SW, adjacent to West Seattle High School and across the Street from the PCC.

Visitors can learn more about classes, special events, and how to become an advisory council member. Share your talent and passion with the community and become an instructor.

There will also be demonstrations, music from Emerald Jazz Ensemble, and light refreshments. Questions or for more information, contact Lakema Bell at 206-684-3879.

The Herald just received this note from Shari Sewell regarding the passing of Charlie Runke.

We are saddened to learn that longtime friend and Kiwanian Charlie Runke passed away last night. Charlie was an active member of the club and will be greatly missed.
We will provide more details as soon as we receive them.

Shari Sewell, Editor-Designate
Warren Lawless, Secretary
Kiwanis Club of West Seattle

Freedom of information in America is a right afforded to all, yet used by few. For those involved in reporting news, it is a tool as common as the pencil – a crucial cog in the steps toward an accurate story. Those who just read the news have busy lives and probably don’t see diving into court documents and police reports as an ideal way to spend their downtime. However, the Internet makes getting at crimes or cases that interest you relatively easy. Here are a few links to check out:

My Neighborhood Map, provided by the City of Seattle, has easy-to-read crime icons over a map of Seattle. You can set dates and types of crime for a customized map. In order to read the police reports linked to a crime, you will need to set up an account, which only takes a minute.
http://web5.seattle.gov/mnm/policereports.aspx

SPD Blotter is a blog of Seattle Police Department news and events that is normally updated several times a day.
http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/