February 2011

From King County Prosecutors:

Charge filed in West Seattle homicide--Angelo Felice, 19, was charged this afternoon with Murder First Degree (11-1-01717-2) for the stabbing death of Robert Stabile on February 16 in West Seattle. Bail is set at $1 million. Arraignment is scheduled for March 8 at 8:30 a.m. at the King County Courthouse, courtroom 1201.

Herald coverage of charging documents released on Feb. 22 follows.

Angelo Felice, 19, has been charged with First Degree Murder in the alleged stabbing death of West Seattle resident and lifelong vaudeville entertainer Hokum W. Jeebs (aka Robert Stabile) in the early morning hours of Feb. 16.

According to charging documents, prosecutors believe Felice intended to rob Jeebs, but murder was the result.

Washington State Police crime lab scientists ran DNA tests on blood samples taken from Felice’s shirt and the murder weapon (a kitchen knife). Blood taken from the knife and back of Felice’s shirt match Jeebs’ DNA, according to documents.

As the Beavers boys basketball team prepares for their State playoffs game on Friday, they received other celebratory news.

Coach William "Billy" Rodgers has been named Coach of the Year.

Rodgers was nominated by his fellow Kingco Conference coaches for his successful season and helping his team make it to the State playoffs for the first time since 2002.  

"It is a very nice honor that I share with my coaching staff Sam Colter, Marques Chinn, and John Nygaard and my players," Rodgers said.

"I think the strength of our team this season has been the togetherness and unselfishness that we have played with.  I am really proud of all of my coaches and players and thank them for their hard work."

The Beavers play Gig Harbor for their State playoffs game at 6 p.m. at Puyallup High School.

Rodgers said he's grateful for the support his team has received from Ballard High students, faculty, administration and alumni.

"Beaver Nation has shown us great support and our players want to represent them to the best of our ability," he said.

Coach Rodgers joins players Salim Gloyd, Brad Baker, Seth Berger, Nick Onstad-HawesPost who were honored for their performances.

Last June 10, Chief Sealth senior Sabas O. Rousseau was surprised in the lunchroom when it was announced he received a $5,000 scholarship called the Sun Life Rising Star Award given by Sun Life Financial. That story is here:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/06/10/news/sealth-student-awarded…

Now a South Seattle Community College freshman, he attended the National Sun Life Rising Stars Summit in Miami.

UPDATE: We have just posted a photo of Rousseau from that event.

Highlights from last weekend's trip included the students’ grand entrance into Sun Life Stadium via the Dolphin’s famed ‘Orange Carpet’ as they were applauded by tennis champion and Miami Dolphins Limited Partner, Venus Williams; Dolphins Wide Receiver Davone Bess; Quarterback Chad Pennington, the Dolphins front office and cheerleaders; a special welcome reception in the Dolphins locker room where they received personalized Dolphins team jerseys; and inspirational speeches by Thompson, Moore and the Dolphins players. Williams shared her personal story of overcoming the odds as an at-risk student in her keynote address.

Press release:

In the afternoon on Feb. 10 police responded to a burglary call on s.w. Henderson St. The burglar(s) entered the house (which was on the market and unoccupied) with a hand cart and stole the oven – evident to police by the muddy tracks left by the hand cart wheels. The kitchen sink was not stolen, so the idiom holds true in this case. No fingerprints were located or suspect information given.

Between 1:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. unknown suspects shattered the bathroom window of a house on s.w. 106th St on Feb. 12 and stole the traditional loot of two television sets and two video game systems along with the less traditional, more heart-wrenching haul of two two-month-old pit bull puppies described as “blue nose” by the victim. It was not clear by the report whether “blue nose” was a physical description or the puppies’ names.

Many awoke to the sound of sirens and helicopters a little before 7 a.m. as fire crews responded to a fire at 317 N.W. 41st St.

The Seattle Fire Department reports that the house was vacant and the fire started in the basement.

The fire was extinguished shortly after firefighters arrived.

UPDATE: The Red Cross was called to the scene, providing assistance to one adult which could include shelter, food, clothing and other immediate needs.

The Seattle Fire Department said there was a transient living in the basement. He was unharmed by the fire.

By Robyn M Fritz, Alchemy West

Robyn M Fritz is a writer, writing coach, speaker, and intuitive communicator at Alchemy West. She was in New York Feb. 11-14 to receive the 2010 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award from the Dog Writers Association of America for her book Bridging Species: Thoughts and Tales About Our Lives with Dogs.

If you’re going to New York and have to leave your own dogs (and cat) at home, there’s one sure way to get your dog fix: arrange to be there in February, when New York goes doggy for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

The 135th Westminster Dog Show was Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 14-15. The American equivalent of the crowning of canine royalty, this year it drew over 2,000 dogs from all over the world. Since I was already there, and love dogs, I leaped right into Manhattan’s doggy mania.

For most of us dogs are cookie monsters, couch potatoes, stick fetchers, bed hogs, cat barker atters, and companions. Those into dog sports can pursue agility, tracking, herding, dancing, and therapy dog training. But dog shows? What do they have to do with me? I decided to find out.

The Walk For Variety 5 mile Walk-A-Thon starts this Saturday, 10:30 a.m. at the Alki Bath House to raise money for Variety the Children's Charity. You needn't pre-register. Simply show up and mailing envelopes will be provided to send in your donations.

Seattle Lutheran High School student Brian Simmonds, 18 of Burien, is organizing the walk for his senior project.

"I saw a notice about the organization in a movie theater so I contacted them," said Simmonds. "They were glad I contacted and said they wanted more people in our area to know about Variety. I believe there will be people from my high school participating."

There used to be a Northwest Chapter here, and they still encourage fundraisers in this area.

The organization is called "The Variety Club" because 11 men gathered in Pittsburgh in 1927, each representing a facet of the entertainment business. Actors involved with Variety have included Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Princess Grace. Presidents and world leaders (for Variety Intl.) have included Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and Gold Meir.

The Crown Hill sporting goods store, 3GI, has been sold to Prostock Athletic Supply, a Bellingham-based sporting goods store.

3GI has been in the LaMaine family since 1946 but due to age and health issues, owner George LaMaine has transferred ownership to Eric Ericsson.

"The ride is over," LaMaine said. "It was a pretty tough situation but it had to come to an end sooner or later."

LaMaine said he had been looking for a while to find a good business to take over.

"I've been asking Eric for 2.5 years to buy it from me. I'm confident that he will keep it going as well as we did, if not better," he said.

3GI will keep its name and appearance but while 3Gi has predominantly been a baseball goods store, Prostock will add more products to the store including football and volleyball gear, employees said.

In celebration of Ballard's green spaces, Groundswell NW is featuring a "Park of the Month" every month this year starting in March with Corners Park.

"We want to make people aware that they can go to a park right in their neighborhood and encourage them to enjoy what we build," said Andrea Faste, Groundswell NW president.

Groundswell NW had build 12 new parks since 1989.

"We have really strong communities around the parks," said Faste.

"Most of them have children but I see young people in the parks, too."

Envisioned by Davidya Kasperzyk, a nearby resident, architect, regional planner and long time activist with Groundswell NW, Corners Park held its grand opening last year.

The park has several unique features including raingardens and a concrete sofa and chair created by local artist Nathan Arnold. The furniture looks like it's made of real leather and many visitors can be seen testing the material, Faste said.

Arnold also designed the homage to the corner store that once stood at the north end of the park. Historic photos and text are embedded on the “lunch counter” table tops.

If your children are home for mid-winter break, why not take them to Taproot Theatre for The Odyssey.
I know, a Greek tragedy may not be something your kids would pick out themselves, but that's only because they haven't seen Taproot's performance of Homer's epic tale.
You know you're in for something different when prior to the play's start, aisle seat patrons are asked to keep their feet and belongings in front of them.
Minutes later, Athena, goddess of war, rushes off the stage and Hermes, the Olympic messenger god, sporting high top converse and a bright yellow baseball cap comes sprinting out of a corner of the intimate theater.
Putting on an original performance of The Odyssey is not an easy thing to do. Making it fun and kid-friendly seems to be feat for Odysseus himself but writer Mary Zimmerman and director Scott Nolte seem to have accomplished just that.