October 2010

The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce annual banquet has been renamed and reinvented this year. In previous years it was Bordeaux-Bites and Bingo...this year it's dancing or more accurately "boogying" during Bordeaux-Bites-Boogie on Thursday, October 21, 2010 from 5:00pm - 10:00pm.

It promises to be an evening of singing, dancing and more at Herban Feast 3200 1st Avenue.

Featured at Bordeaux -Bites and Boogie are:
Great food and wine
Raffles and Dessert Dash
Dance Lessons with Loretta Turin Ballroom Instructor
Lip Readings with Lipsologist Expert Jilly Eddy
Massages from Alki View Massage

Tickets are $50 and are avaiable from the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and brownpapertickets.com

For more information info@wschamber.com or call 206-932-5685

The event is sponsored by:

Merrill Gardens at West Seattle
and
Tom's Automotive Service
Wiseman's Appliance
The Kenney
Harbor Properties
PB&J Textiles
Potter Construction
Mister Sparky
Dignity Memorial

West Seattle Family Zone presents The Pesky Peanut Book Discussion

Local author and mom, Katie Corl, has just published her book titled The Pesky Peanut, a beautifully illustrated children's story of her son's peanut allergy. The story is informative and entertaining for elementary age children.

Please join us in hearing Katie's story and learn how The Pesky Peanut can be a tool to educate parents and children about food allergies.

Monday,Oct 25 6:30-8:00pm
Holy Rosary School Hall
4152 42nd Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116
Public Welcome
Admissions Free

West Seattle Family Zone website connects the West Seattle community with family resources. Visit us at http://westseattlefamilyzone.comTake Off Pounds Sensibly
Guadaloupe Church-Pastoral Care Center
7000 35th Ave. S.W.
Every Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. TOPS is an encouraging weight loss support group with weigh-ins every Tuesday. For information contact Peg at 206-932-2621.

Host for Chinese Teacher Urgently Needed!

Ken Cole, his father Ray Cole, and Dr. John Hanford, of Ray Cole & Company, pictured at the Kenney Retirement Community in West Seattle, have performed there on the second Wednesday of each month there since 1995. They perform the first Wednesday monthly at Providence Mount St. Vincent in West Seattle. Ray performs solo at the Park West Nursing Center in North Admiral the third Thursday monthly at 2:15 p.m. Ray is partial to Hank Williams, Sr.

The Lower Duwamish Waterway Group (LDWG) will officially release their “Draft Final Feasibility Study” tomorrow, OCT. 18, outlining clean-up options for EPA to review. They will choose an option to move ahead in accordance with the designated Superfund site, the lower five miles of the polluted Duwamish River.

The LDWG is represented by the Port of Seattle, City of Seattle, King County, and The Boeing Company. The PDF of the entire 13-section summary totals 682 pages, the “Executive Summary,” a boiled down version, a mere 42 pages.

The West Seattle Herald asked Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC) Coordinator B.J. Cummings, back from her yearlong sabbatical trip around the world, to decipher some of the water and soil issues in the summary.

Vinegar is one of my favorite seasonings. For a tasty addition to your low-salt repertoire, try the sour-sweet taste of fruit vinegars in cooking.

To make your own, add about one cup of fresh berries, kiwi, citrus or other diced fruit to about one quart of white vinegar. Let sit at room temperature about two weeks or longer, strain and use in these great low-salt recipes.

Fruit Vinegar Chicken

This marinade works great for both fish and meats. Always refrigerate foods when marinating.

• 2 pounds chicken
• 1/2 cup fruit or berry vinegar
• 1/4 cup salad oil
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon tarragon

Combine all ingredients in a large, Ziploc bag. Add chicken and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Remove chicken from the bag and place it on the rack in the oven. Bake about 30 minutes at 350°F.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 227
Carbohydrates: 3 grams
Protein: 18 grams
Fat: 16 grams
Sodium: 65 milligrams

Oven -blasted Vegetables

What does it take to build something to last for centuries? What if you started with an artistic sensibility, understanding that good art is timeless, then backed that up with good engineering, sound construction methods and a dedication to detail?

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS

That's the goal and philosophy behind the home on the corner of 44th s.w. and s.w. Brandon which, while initially puzzling is clearly a work in progress with a very active mind behind it.

From the street the casual observer can see a female figure with wings atop a chimney, a figure carved into one of four tree stumps, a large mound overgrown with vegetation out front, and thick, smooth cement retaining walls with curves and cutouts.

The home also appears unfinished with an older roof, and walls awaiting siding.

John the owner (he prefers to remain somewhat anonymous) invited the West Seattle Herald in for a tour recently and revealed some of what he has had the time, inclination and money to work on over the project's history.

Toxic PCBs, lead, mercury, arsenic, raw sewage, pesticides, oil … and the list goes on for contaminants found in the Duwamish River, declared a Superfund Site in 2001 and considered one of the most contaminated sites in the country.

Sustainable West Seattle, a nonprofit organization “that educates and advocates for urban sustainability in our local community”, will host a community forum on Oct. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss the past, present and future of the Duwamish River.

The forum will be held at Camp Long (5200 35th Ave s.w.) and a long list of individuals involved in the river’s cleanup efforts will speak.

Speakers include Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland, Lori Cohen from the Environmental Protection Agency, Bob Warren from Washington State Dept. of Ecology, BJ Cummings of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Heather Trim from People for Puget Sound, Chair of the Duwamish Tribe Cecile Hansen and Genevieve Aguilar from Puget Sound Sage.

To the Editor,

As the parents of two children, one currently a senior at Ballard High School and the other a Ballard High School grad, we are painfully aware that cuts by the State Legislature to our schools have a direct and negative effect on our children and the quality of their education.

That is why passing the Seattle School Levy on Nov. 2 is so important.

This temporary, three-year levy will help offset just some of the $32 million the state has cut from our schools. It will also help to offset future cuts that our schools are bracing for.

At 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, the owner of a $400,000 home will pay just $48 per year to support our kids. We think that’s a small price to pay to make sure our kids get a decent education.

The recent decision of the Seattle Times to endorse a no vote on this levy is unfathomable; they have completely ignored the urgent needs of our schools and are treating the money that this levy will raise as inconsequential.

The Ballard High School football team's struggles continued Oct. 15 with a 21-0 loss to Roosevelt High School. The Beavers are facing the possibility of a third one-win season in a row.

The win was Roosevelt's first in KingCo, while Ballard has dropped to 0-4 in the conference and 1-6 overall.

The Beavers have have lost six games in a row since their Sept. 2 victory over Sammamish, who remains winless on the season, and have been outscored 183-0 in the last five contests.

With one game remaining against Bothell High School, a team that is 4-0 in KingCo and ranked third in the state, Ballard is facing a very real possibility of another one-win season.

The final Beaver football game of the 2010 season takes place at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Memorial Stadium. Bothell defeated Ballard 42-7 in their meeting last season.

Starting Oct. 18, the Seattle Department of Transportation is adding electronic signs on five city arterials, including one in Crown Hill, as part of its Intelligent Transportation System. The dynamic message signs will show the actual times it takes a vehicle to travel between two points, not estimates or averages, according to the department.

“We are excited by this new phase,” Mayor Mike McGinn said in a press release. “This real-time information will help people make better travel decisions.”

The five dynamic message sign locations displaying travel times are:

• Holman Road Northwest near 14th Avenue Northwest.
• Fauntleroy Way Southwest near Southwest 38th Street.
• 35th Avenue Southwest near Southwest Snoqualmie Street.
• First Avenue South near South Bennett Street.
• Fourth Avenue South near South Spokane Street.

Travel times will be added to a dynamic message sign on Admiral Way Southwest by the end of October and to three signs on SR99 and one on East Marginal Way South by March, according to the Department of Transportation.