November 2010

By Steve Shay

If you ask Tyler McKenzie about his grandfather, he might dance around the topic. That's because his grandfather was Fred Astaire, and he is shy about discussing it. But he did, with the West Seattle Herald, and seemed to develop a bounce in his step recalling hanging out with perhaps the greatest dancer in the world.

Full disclosure, they were related through marriage, but Fred and Tyler were as close as any grandfather and grandson, he said. Tyler's father, Richard, married Fred Astaire's daughter, Ava, (pronounced AH-vah) who raised him.

"My parents divorced when I was very young, and my mother passed away when I was seven, so my brother and I then lived with my father in West Hollywood and that's when he married Ava," said McKenzie, 50, a real estate broker with Windermere, formerly at their Alaska Junction office and now manager at their Green Lake office. He lives in West Seattle and serves as Delridge Neighborhood Development Association Board Chairman.

The Dollar Tree at 10014 15th Avenue S.W. in White Center held its grand opening on Saturday Nov. 6 and the new store was busy, the parking lot packed and raffles and other giveaways taking place.

Dollar Tree is a chain that states on its site is "a national company with thousands of stores conveniently located in shopping centers and malls in all 48 contiguous states."

According to employees the most common question they get has to do with their relatively famous pricing policy which is everything is priced at one dollar or less.

At approximately 12,000 square feet the store has room for a surprising array of products (see the full list below) including frozen food, cleaning supplies, toys, greeting cards, pet supplies, and a lot more.

The store is open seven days a week from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Here's a link to the store's weekly ad to give you a sense but here are the categories you will find when you visit:

Floral Supplies & Decor
Vases, Bowls & Containers
Floral Arranging
Candles & Candleholders
Frames
Teacher's Corner
Activity Books
Flash Cards

The Space Shuttle Discovery, one of the three operational NASA orbiters, is scheduled to lift off Cape Kennedy for the last time Nov. 30 as it delivers components to the International Space Station. (It was scheduled to fly last week, but was postponed due to technical and weather issues.) The Endeavour's last flight is scheduled for February, and the third orbiter, the Atlantis, may make one last flight in the summer. Then the Space Shuttle program will be grounded. The silver lining on the fleet is that one may land here permanently at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

"We'll be moving some of the Space Shuttle hardware as it goes off to museums. Specifically, it is my understanding that the Museum of Flight has opted for a Crew Compartment Trainer, or CCP," said Captain Gregory C. Johnson, a West Seattle High School graduate and retired astronaut. He piloted the Atlantis Space Shuttle May, 2009, on a successful mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. You may have met our local high-flying hero when he helped dedicate the Alki Time Capsule here at Liberty Plaza Sept. 9, 2009.

Farmers Market news for the week of November 8 - 14, 2010

Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance Markets:
University District (UD) – Saturdays, 9 am – 2 pm, YEAR ROUND
West Seattle (WS) – Sundays, 10 am – 2 pm, YEAR ROUND
Broadway Sunday (BW) – Sundays, 11 am – 3 pm, 5/9/10 – 12/19/10
Columbia City, Lake City, Phinney, and Magnolia – Closed for the season

Locations, Hours, Vendor and Event Info: www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org

New this Week:

*****NEW ITEMS IN ITALICS*****

Apples – Rome, Karmijn, Claygate Permain, Grimes Golden- Jones Creek Farm at UD and B’Way -

Kale – Siberian Salad variety from Whistling Train Farm at UD and WS

Organic Fruit Roll-ups - 4 to a pack (made from dried nectarines, peaches and apricots) from Rama Farm at UD and WS. Organic Raisins – Rama Farm at UD and WS

Hot Peppers – fresh and loads of varieties available through Thanksgiving from Tonnemaker Family Orchards – at all markets: U-District, West Seattle, Broadway.

When North Beach Elementary School fifth-grader Owen Keith is feeling sad or has had problems at school, he knows the one thing that can always cheer him up: ballet.

"I can get rid of those troubles for an hour and a half and just dance," said Keith, who dances in the Intermediate Boys level at Pacific Northwest Ballet School.

Keith has been doing ballet for more than six years and will be participating in Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Nutcracker" this year – his fourth time in the production.

He said he likes being in Pacific Northwest Ballet's holiday classic, now in its 27th season, because it's a chance to get together with friends. He also said he likes the way the props and stage come together to make "Nutcracker" a great show, for example the moving waves in the opening of the second act.

Keith will be a member of the cavalry when the show opens Nov. 26 at McCaw Hall. In addition to Keith, the show features North Beach Elementary fifth-grader Frances Kuhr and Loyal Heights Elementary fourth-grader Mia Watson.

Dear Editor,
Can someone please explain to me how the city is pushing through the tunnel project while 90% of the people are against it? How is it this is going to happen and we all sit by and allow it. The city has such a bogged down freeway system as it is. It's really going to be a mess if the viaduct is removed.

How in the heck did the convention center and park ever get the ok also? There is no freeway traffic relief insight with that building sitting smack in the center above our freeway. Now no chance someday we could build a double decker freeway system to make way for the amount of traffic that goes through the city. Everyone needs to wake up and say NO!

Victoria Heumann

The Seattle P-I.com has shared some photos of the West Seattle Golf Course early in its history from their archive.

The photos show the clubhouse and course as it looked in 1940. The earliest photo is from 1938.

Check out the photos (which can be enlarged) here
http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/224421.asp

The West Seattle Golf Course has been part of the City of Seattle's Master Golf Plan and new driving range is currently in the concept and planning phase. It has been the subject of a series of public meetings and the source of some controversy. The West Seattle Herald's most recent coverage is here.

Sorry: we had shared the incorrect link earlier.

Veterans Day – Thursday, Nov. 11 – is the first of several 2010-2011 winter holidays that will affect the schedule of King County Water Taxi service for both Vashon Island and West Seattle.

Plan on taking alternate modes of travel to and from Vashon, West Seattle and downtown.

Neither route will operate on the following holidays:

• Veterans Day – Thursday, Nov. 11
• Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, Nov. 25
• Day after Thanksgiving – Friday, Nov. 26
• Christmas Day (observed) – Friday, Dec. 24
• New Year’s Day (observed) – Friday, Dec 31
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Monday, Jan. 17
• Presidents Day – Monday, Feb. 21

Also, the free West Seattle Water Taxi shuttles – Routes 773 and 775 – will not operate on those holidays.

For more information about water taxi service, schedules, and fares, visit: http://www.kingcounty.gov/watertaxi.

Press Release:
Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D. and the Seattle Council PTSA invite parents, guardians and family members to attend a regional meeting to discuss School Reports, which along with the second annual District Scorecard will be released on November 9. The West Seattle meeting will take place Dec. 9 at West Seattle High School.

School Reports will provide detailed information on how each school is performing and the progress being made. Factors include academic growth and student outcomes; student/family engagement; and school leadership, instruction and environment. The reports also provide an overview of what each school, with district support, is doing to increase academic performance and close the achievement gap.
Publication of School Reports means that the district is taking another step towards delivering on a promise made to the community as part of the strategic plan – to be transparent about and accountable for school and Districtwide achievement.

Press Release:
Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D. and the Seattle Council PTSA invite parents, guardians and family members to attend a regional meeting to discuss School Reports, which along with the second annual District Scorecard will be released on November 9. The West Seattle meeting will take place Dec. 9 at West Seattle High School.

School Reports will provide detailed information on how each school is performing and the progress being made. Factors include academic growth and student outcomes; student/family engagement; and school leadership, instruction and environment. The reports also provide an overview of what each school, with district support, is doing to increase academic performance and close the achievement gap.
Publication of School Reports means that the district is taking another step towards delivering on a promise made to the community as part of the strategic plan – to be transparent about and accountable for school and Districtwide achievement.