November 2010

This year, Santa Bags brimming with free goodies are back for Burien's Winterfest, a holiday celebration for the whole family on Saturday, Dec. 4.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., browse holiday-bedecked streets packed with free activities such as horse-and-carriage rides, holiday crafts for kids, hayrides, hot treats and photos with reindeer or Father Christmas, even for the family pooch.

Festival-goers have a chance to win one of about a dozen Santa Bags, each stuffed with items from approximately 12 businesses. Each Santa Bag features a combination lock. With the correct combination, a festivalgoer gets to take home the bag and its contents.

Possible combinations are provided to shoppers at participating businesses, who will also host a Santa Bag.
Each combination received can be tried on all of the Santa Bags to see if it unlocks any of them. A Santa Bag will also be located at the two drop-off and pick-up points for the horse-and-carriage ride, where event-goers can get one combination without making a purchase.

The Make a Wish Foundation reminds us that, "Lives are measured in memories, not years." Some memories are found in old yellow newspapers. These are some of mine.

July 4th, 2001: I wrote, "Ladies, let's celebrate our freedom. Let the fireworks fill the sky, the symphony orchestra fill the air with dancing tunes that ignite our imagination, and remind us that ladies fought for independence long after the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. When America was officially born that day documents read, "All MEN are created equal." How about the ladies, fellas?

August 20, 1920, 72 years later Elizabeth Caddie Stanton and Lucite Moot helped win the right for women to vote. Still, it took World War II for ladies to be officially recognized with equitable opportunities.
Amelia Bloomer fought for sensible fashion in 1851 and would applaud today's freedom of choice to wear pantsuits, slacks, jeans. She'd surely cheer the demise of steel-belted corsets and cotton bloomers. Today, it's thongs, bikini bottoms, push-up bra or none at all. We've come a long way, ladies. The rights of Americans are copied and coveted worldwide.

With winter's heavy rain and occassional snow comes the threat of landslides.

"As the rainy season begins in Seattle, residents and homeowners need to be alert that the chance of having landslides greatly increases," said Bill Benzer, City of Seattle Landslide Expert. "The soil will be saturated, which reduces slope stability, but certain measures can be taken to help protect yourself and your property from landslides."

The Take Winter by Storm campaign is urging property owners of landslide-prone sites to clear drains and take other simple measures on their property, such as:

Checking downspouts, to make sure they are functioning and routed to a safe location.
Inspecting sloping areas for indications of slope movement (such as cracks in the ground, and newly tilting trees) and erosion.

Keeping fill and yard waste off slopes.

Shutting off the irrigation system and checking it out seasonally.

Leaving tree stumps in the ground on slopes.

America is WEALTHY! There's no denying it. The economy is only in a slump for some of us.

Remember the billions of dollars that were just spent on the election? Wow! How many jobs could have been created? And from the November 24 Seattle Times Business Section: "The nation's workers may be struggling, but U.S. companies just had their best quarter ever....U.S. businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.659 trillion the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track more than 60 years ago, at least in nominal or noninflation-adjusted terms."

Big banks, too, are once again in the black, but are holding onto their money rather than loaning it out to the small businesses and lower-income homeowners who really need it!

In spite of all these billions floating around, the unemployment rate has remained high, the deficit is astronomical and lawmakers talk about cutting such as things as Social Security and Medicare.

Let's take a closer look.

The headlines blare" Aggressive Airport Screening is Here To Stay" Oh really! It sounds to me like the TSA is yet another Federal Agency out of control, much like the EPA who almost single-handedly ruined the automotive industry.

The TSA seems bent on causing the same result with the airlines and, locally, the Boeing Company who just coincidentally is the USA's largest exporter of goods and services.

I am totally familiar with the TSA groping procedures because I have two prosthesis; a total knee replacement and an aorta valve replacement plus I'm a seventy-five year old white haired Caucasian man with a slight limp and these characteristics seem to set off all the alarms.

Prior to going through the electronic screening I announce to seemingly deaf ears that I have these prosthesis and offer documentation which apparently can not be read as it offers factual data to the screeners and would definitely fall in the function of a Profile - Horrors!

So, what's one to do for Thanksgiving, if they're single, don't have a local family or hate to cook?

Well, I'll tell you what I did. I headed down to the Mark Restaurant in Burien.

On the 23rd, I was perusing my emails and came across the word "FREE" in the Subject line. Well, that's enough to stop me dead in my tracks, right there!

The e-mail suggested that I could come to the Mark Restaurant between 2 and 6 p.m. and join others in the community for free turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and even pumpkin pie!

All they asked is that I bring a side dish. "Hmmm," I thought, "Why not?"

I wasn't sure what to expect, because "free" usually does not mean "FREE", if you know what I mean. I suppose I adopted a jaded eye from reading the small print or finding the asterisked line, too late.

Okay, so I was wr-r-r-r-r...I was not correct in my jadedness.

Before I could get three steps into the door, Nathan Miller, the nephew of one of the owners, greeted me with a big smile and ushered me to the feast. There was indeed everything that was promised, as well as an abundance of delicious side dishes brought in by the folks from the community.

Meet a couple of ambitious youngsters we bumped into when we dropped into Page 2 Books in Burien this week.

The charming owner, Gayle Collins introduced me. At left is Lorena Lemurs, 12th grader at Mt Rainier High, who plans on becoming a psychologist. She is 18 and is in the 12th grade.

Beside her is Brittanee Forgie, also from Mt Rainier, who is studying physical therapy. She is 17.They are both enrolled at Puget Sound Skills Center.

They are both interning at Page 2 for 5 hours a week to earn high school credits. Lorena wants to learn about marketing and advertising strategies for small businesses. Brittanee is interested in how to successfully set up and manage a small, independent retail business.

Seattle police recently released holiday theft prevention tips and a new technique to deter car prowlers: a sign inside the vehicle that lets would-be thieves know they are wasting their time.

The sign reads, “Nothing to steal but this sign. Please don’t steal this sign.”

“We were just looking for something a little more innovative and the idea of having people put the sign in their car was a pretty good concept,” SPD Detective Renee Witt said.

Police recommend placing the signs either on the car seat or visible on the dashboard, and they can be downloaded free from the SPD website.

The sign and accompanying theft prevention information are all part of the SPD’s “They’re Watching …” campaign, a concept they credit to the Vancouver B.C. police department.

According to the SPD website, the campaign is about being aware that thieves are watching for easy targets.

Dan R. Murphy, a Washington Real Estate Commissioner since 2008 and a key leader with REALTOR® associations at the local, state and national levels, was known as a consummate professional and volunteer by his colleagues.

Mr. Murphy died Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25) at the VA (Veterans) Hospital in Seattle after a brave battle against an infection complicated by kidney disease. The SeaTac resident was 60.

A service celebrating the life of Mr. Murphy will be held next spring. At his request, his ashes will be spread at Molokini Crater, Maui, Hawaii, his favorite scuba site.

At the time of his passing, Mr. Murphy was managing broker at Windermere Real Estate//Fauntleroy, where with his partner, did business as Murphy Brown at Windermere. His real estate career spanned more than 20 years.

The King County Prosecutor has agreed to review the Des Moines police officer shooting of a dog, which could begin as early as the end of the week.
Rosie, a 115-pound Newfoundland was shot and killed by Des Moines police officers on Nov. 7, when the officers were unable to identify or capture her.
The shooting has brought an outcry of support demanding justice for Rosie, and asking Des Moines to look into the incident and review their own policies regarding animal control.

Immediately after the shooting Interim Des Moines Police John O’Leary ordered a shooting review to be completed on the incident, which does not automatically occur in cases like this. A shooting review is not automatically required when an officer discharges their weapon at an animal.

At a memorial held a week after Rosie was shot, Mayor Bob Sheckler announced the city was looking for a third party to investigate the incident.