December 2010

Fremont Chamber of Commerce invites holiday shoppers to shop for a cause on Thursday, Dec 9. Fifteen Fremont merchants will donate a percentage of their sales from Thursday evening to B.F. Day School, the oldest Elementary School in Seattle.

“Merchants decided on B.F. Day School because it’s local and it’s the longest continuously-run school in Seattle,” said Jessica Vets from the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s the first time we’re doing a combined charity event during the holiday season,” Vets said.

Stephanie Hana, owner of the Show Pony, spearheaded the collective charity idea and encouraged other retailers to extend their hours on Thursdays throughout the holiday season.

“We want to get the word out that Fremont is a shopping destination,” Hana said. “And on this coming Thursday we’re using our extended shopping hours to give to charity.”

SW Precinct Captain Steve Paulsen sent out the following information to local media outlets on Dec. 7 and asked that it be shared with the community.

"Currently, our West Seattle crime trends are at the lowest in the past six years," Captain Paulsen said in an email. "Given that, we do expect, based upon historical seasonal trends, a modest increase given more citizens out and about shopping as well as possessing purchased gifts available inside their homes/cars."

Press Release from the SW Precint:

NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY AWARENESS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

The West Seattle community has been experiencing record low crime over the past few months. This is due in part to the combined effort/partnership with our citizens who have been observant and vigilant to call 9-1-1 to report crimes and suspicious activity. We are now in the holiday season. The holidays are a time to spend with family and friends. This time of year often brings out predatory criminals looking for opportunities to benefit themselves.

Buddy is a five year old pure bred Yorkshire Terrier and Diane Blanco got him from a breeder in Spokane. He came from a litter of six puppies. That's not unusual but Buddy had a six pound mother and a four pound father and he himself weighs in at a whopping 13 pounds. That's large for a Yorkie.

Buddy is a great observer. "He sits in our living room window and watches birds and squirrels and kitty kats," said Blanco, "most of the day." That doesn't mean he's purely an indoor dog however. He's a walker and loves Alki as a place to stretch his legs.

His observational habits are of course canine fantasies about actually chasing and catching something but alas for Buddy he has yet to catch a squirrel or bird despite his avid attempts, "He works hard," said Blanco.

Buddy loves to bring his toy to anyone who visits. It's a purple rubber ball and since men are more prone to throw it for retrieval, Buddy has taken a liking to men...and of course he will chase the ball, endlessly. "He probably needs a new one about now," observed Blanco, "maybe for Christmas."

The print deadline for calendar submissions is two weeks before the date of the event to be publicized. Email calendar@ballardnewstribune.com, or to get it posted online immediately, email anner@robinsonnews.com.

Winter Arts and Crafts Show
Come see wares from several Ballard/Phinney Artists including hand sewn journals form Marcie Swift, children's book Finding Mr. Ness, photography by Chris Wells and glass jewelry by Ganjana. Many of the art and crafts are priced under $30, making them the ideal gift.
Saturday, December 11 from 11-4 p.m.
148 North 74th Street

Seattle Civic Band - Christmas Ship Concert
The Seattle Civic Band, “The Mayor’s Own Band”, will play your favorite Holiday Music from 8pm until 9pm in the Golden Gardens Bathhouse. Christmas ship arrives at 9:05pm. Free refreshments. Open to the public.
Wednesday, December 15, 8pm
Golden Gardens Bathhouse in Ballard
8498 Seaview Pl. NW
www.seattlecivicband.org.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Comment Period
You can submit a comment to: awv2010SDEIScomments@wsdot.wa.gov from Oct. 29 - Dec. 13, 2010.

An evening of contemporary Celtic music to celebrate the season of Christmas

by Micah Summers

At The West Seattle Tool Library, we've been thankful and fortunate to receive a large number of unique donations, from brand-new tools to obscure, vintage items. Today I'm writing about a tool donation that came to us nearly unused, a Porter Cable profile sander.

If you've ever tried to refinish a piece of old furniture or prepare fine woodworking for that gorgeous finish coat, then you've likely discovered that most power sanders aren't too useful when it comes to the small details. The profile sander is a multi-function sander specifically tailored for working on that small stuff.

The most common attachment, or profile, for this sander is a triangular profile that's able to reach into the corners and edges of flat surfaces. This particular sander also comes with a set of hard rubber profiles, however, that allow you to sand rounded, convex, or even concave surfaces easily and efficiently.

Art
Burien Arts Juried Exhibition-- Burien Community Center, 14700 6th Ave S.W. View some of the best art in Puget Sound. Exhibition runs from Nov. 12- Jan. 14.

Music
ChoralSounds Northwest-"Season of Wonder," New artistic diector Cathy Bleecker has planned an exciting and heart-warming Christmas concert. Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12, 2 p.m. Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St. Tickets $15-$25. 917 and under free with paid adult.) www.northwestassociatedarts.org. or 206-246-6040.
KidsSounds, TeenSounds, YouthSounds-"Sleigh Ride," Under the artistic direction of Paula Hawkins, the three youth choirs will give families a spirited start for their holiday season. Dec. 10. 7 p.m. Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St. $15-$25. (17 and under free with a paid adult.) www.northwestassociatedarts.org or 206-246-6040.

Theater

As Times/News editor, I've received lots of invitations to meet the artists at a Burien Arts gala exhibition opening reception.

But this time was different.

First of all, the reception was not being held at "Old Blue." That's the little blue house nestled in the trees of Dottie Harper Park that used to house the art gallery.

Secondly, I had already met one of the artists.

In fact, I've wasted countless hours watching TV upstairs while Marge labored in the basement creating unique, vibrantly-colored, digital-art money collages.

Why money as the medium?

Marge explains, "Money carries a huge weight of meaning. It's a form of energy, a means of exchange, an object of desire. We trade our time for it, we philosophize about it, we think it will or will not buy happiness."

Wow. As a husband, I had always thought my wife's deep interest in money had just to do with spending it.

After five years toiling in her artist's lair, she was ready to emerge and show her work at exhibitions and on her website at www.margeryellsworth.com.

She was accepted into Burien Arts first annual juried exhibition in the old library/new community center, located at 14700 6th Ave. S.W.

King County Executive Dow Constantine has appointed newly-elected King County Councilman Joe McDermott as a south county representative to the Sound Transit Board of Directors.

"It is critically important that we continue to have strong south King County representation on the Sound Transit Board, and Councilmember McDermott's extensive legislative experience will serve all of our customers well," said Executive Constantine. "The 8th District includes the cities of Burien, SeaTac and Tukwila, and these are all emerging residential and job centers for our region that need good transportation alternatives."

"We need to connect communities within south King County to each other, recognizing that people live, work and play outside downtown Seattle," said McDermott. "Working together and thinking creatively, we can produce a transit system that meets the needs of the entire region. I am honored to be a South County representative on the Board."

Gun hoax locks down schools

Several schools in the Highline School District were locked down Tuesday, Nov. 30 after a student called 9-1-1 and made false reports about a person with a gun at the Evergreen High School campus. King County sheriff's deputies arrested the 15-year-old student at the school after tracking him through his cell phone, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said in a news release. He was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of making threats. Starting about 9:30 a.m., five calls were made to 9-1-1. The voice said someone had an AK-47 rifle in a locker at the school and that "we need help quickly," according to the Sheriff's Office. The calls prompted about 20 deputies and detectives to respond. Police checked lockers with a K-9 dog that can sniff out weapons. No weapons were found. A Highline School District spokeswoman confirmed that several schools were locked down for about 45 minutes Tuesday morning.

The schools included the Evergreen campus at 830 S.W. 116th St., which has three small high schools. Schools next to it -- Cascade Middle School and New Start, an alternative school -- also were locked down.

Destination Des Moines will receive $7,500 next year-- half of the money they requested, from the Des Moines City Council.

Destination Des Moines in its new incarnation has been working the last several months to organize itself and create a plan for the upcoming year. The biggest part of that has been securing seed money from the city so they can hold initial events and fundraisers as they work to become self-sustainable.

Des Moines recently voted to give Destination Des Moines $5,000 this year so the group could hold a couple of events for Halloween and Christmas.

The group was hoping to receive $15,000 from the city throughout next year, which Destination Des Moines President Bradley Hawthorne said they expected would turn into $60,000 by the end of next year.

"We need money to make money," Hawthorne said.

Councilman Matt Pina, who along with fellow councilman Dan Sherman has joined Destination Des Moines, said at some point the city needs to look at both sides of the balance sheet.

"This is a group of people that is working very hard to bring money into the city," Pina said. He said the city cannot continue to keep cutting their way out of their problems.