March 2011

By Samantha Getz

Perfect Pour at The Old Pequliar

Like any Guinness enthusiast knows, it takes a proper pour for the perfect glass of stout. You’ll find the dark, Irish beer at its prime here.
“We’re serving the best Guinness in town,” manager Gabby said.
The bar opens at 11 a.m. serving traditional dishes, corned beef and cabbage or the Irish stew, and some with a modern twist like the corned beef sliders.
Beginning at noon, live music sets the atmosphere until close. Four bands will perform including The Whiskey Gaels and The Raybone Experience.
You won’t find your fancy, mixed-drink specials here, but brews will be on tap and ready to pour. Free parking is available.
Cover costs $10, but $10 vouchers will be given at the door to be redeemed any day after St. Patty’s. Basically, it’s free.
The Old Peculiar, 1722 NW Market St., Seattle, WA, 98107

Irish Night at The Dubliner

Every Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day at The Dubliner in Fremont. But, today especially, the Irish presence will be known.

In an update from the Washington State Department of Health, officials say since the failure of the power plants in Japan, radiation levels in Washington have not climbed above normal nor do they expect them to pose a threat.

From the press release:

Several factors play a role in protecting Washington from the release of radiation occurring at the damaged reactors in Japan:

- Most of the radioactive material is contained at the damaged plants; even if radioactive material reaches the upper atmosphere, it would not reach Washington in concentrations high enough to cause a health risk.
- The radioactive material that was released did not reach the upper atmosphere where it could be carried toward North America by the jet stream in amounts that would cause public health impact.
- The fires and explosions at the Japanese reactors have not been as intense as the Chernobyl accident. Radioactive material ejected into the jet stream from Chernobyl did reach Washington in small amounts. - - Even after the Chernobyl disaster, protective action was not needed in our state, and the Japan incident is much smaller than Chernobyl.

By Patrick Dunn

There’s a beautiful image that comes to mind when you think of an old woodworker in his shop, shaving off a paper thin slice of red cedar with a jack plane as the wood burning stove in the corner helps heat up a kettle of coffee for break time. This picturesque scene surely still takes place here in Seattle but often there are a few modern conveniences thrown in to alter that nostalgic vision and maybe add a little noise and dust to the recipe. Among other tools, a power plane is usually one of the key culprits…and with good reason.

The power plane is designed to accomplish the same task as a traditional plane, which is mainly to smooth, flatten, straighten, or square off a wooden workpiece. With its additional muscle, however, it can far outperform a traditional plane in terms of speed and productivity. This performance undoubtedly comes at the cost of a little bit of finesse and woodworking poetry. Once you use a power plane, though, it’ll still be difficult to revert back to the aesthetic beauty of traditional planes.

West Seattle's long time crime prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow retired on March 15 and with his departure the question remained of who, if anyone, would take his place.

And now we have an answer: Mark Solomon will be taking Kinlow's place as West Seattle's crime prevention coordinator (at least for now) according to a letter sent to the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains' Network (WSBCN)from Southwest Precinct Officer Jonathan Kiehn.

The WSBCN website also noted Solomon has been invited to next weeks blockwatch meeting on Tuesday, March 22 at 6:30 at the SPD Southwest Precinct.

The letter to the blockwatch captains follows:

Burien lawmakers are expected to vote Monday, March 28 on a plan to recycle rocks from Seahurst Park’s north seawall for a drainage system in the Northeast Redevelopment Area.
Council members will be asked to approve an agreement between the city and the Port of Seattle to store the rocks on Port property near South 144th Street and Des Moines Memorial Drive.
Public Works director Larry Blanchard briefed lawmakers March 14 on the agreement.
Blanchard said recycling the rock taken from the seawall and storing it on Port property until it can be used in the redevelopment area could save the city $500,000.
Burien plans to restore the north beach to a more natural condition, as was done earlier on the south shoreline. Restoration would include removing the seawall and rocks.
Burien Mayor Joan McGilton noted that on the south shore project, the rock was transported by barge to Tacoma.
“It was very expensive,” McGilton declared.

The former location for Herban Feast Catering in the Admiral District at 2332 California Avenue s.w. is set to become a yoga studio by the name of Spira Power Yoga.

The owner/instructor is Dora Gyarmati who has been teaching yoga for five years though practicing for 15.

"I came from Hungary when I was 17, " Gyarmati said, "and went to UCSB to study neurobiology. I worked in that business developing drugs and began studying yoga and then I found that I could really help people with it so began teaching full time."

The new shop, "if the construction gods are smiling," will open May 15 "but probably June 1."

Prior to making the decision to open a studio in West Seattle Gyarmati did an extensive study of the market, looking at demographics and existing yoga offerings and decided she could bring something different to the area.

She practices a "slowing style" of yoga in which poses are held for a few breaths, "then you continue slowing into another pose."

Ruth Medsker, who has served as interim Principal at West Seattle High School since last summer has been named to the position on a permanent basis by interim Superintendent Susan Enfield, Seattle Public Schools. Enfield shared her thoughts in a letter to the staff, students and families for the school.

Dear staff, students and families of West Seattle High School:
I am writing to let you know that Ms. Ruth Medsker, currently interim principal at West Seattle High, has been appointed principal for your school. Executive Director of Schools Aurora Lora consulted staff and families before recommending this appointment. We heard that Ms. Medsker has provided the school with strong leadership and she holds students and staff to high standards. Under her guidance, West Seattle High School has developed a more consistent schedule that facilitates increased focus on instruction. Staff are benefiting from a newly structured Professional Learning Community format, and the school is in the process of creating a registration process and master schedule that will work best for students.

On Saturday, April 2 from 9 am to 3 pm at the local PCC (California Ave.), QFC (Alaska Way), Safeway (Jefferson Square), Thriftway (Morgan St.) and the Metropolitan Market the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, SU Circle K, High School Key Clubs and Boy Scouts will be taking food donations at the door.

During April any donation will count towards a matching donation by the Feinstein Foundation. Please come and help your community food bank.

If you cannot make it to the store please make arrangements to make a donation at West Seattle Food Bank.

Press Release:

Join the fun and get fit with Start! Training, a new team half-marathon training and fundraising program by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Start! Training is for runners and walkers of all levels and abilities, and kicks off Saturday, April 9, 2011.

Whether a participant chooses to walk or run, expert staff and coaches will train each team member from step one all the way to completing a half-marathon. Participants will take part in weekly group trainings at various locations while raising a minimum of $500 for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Funds raised help to advance the fight against heart disease and stroke, the number one and number three killers of Americans, through research funding for better awareness, prevention, treatment and diagnosis.

Beginners and experienced runners and walkers are welcome. Information sessions are scheduled for:

Tuesday, March 29 at 6:00 p.m.
Running in Motion, 610 Main Street, Suite B, Edmonds

Wednesday, March 30 at 11:00 a.m.
Vision Quest, 800 2nd Avenue, Seattle

Thursday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m.

We are passing along the following press release from King County's Dennis Clark:

Arbor Lake Shoreline Invasive Plant Removal
On November 20, 2010, we removed about half of the invasive weeds along the southern and western shorelines of Arbor Lake, which is the headwaters of Miller Creek. On February 5, 2011, 33 volunteers removed a lot of the remaining invasives, mostly blackberry and Scotch broom.

We have a third community weeding project this Saturday to remove the rest of the invasive plants along these shorelines.

This stewardship project is a joint effort of the Burien Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, the Miller and Walker Creeks Stewardship program, and the Arbor Lake neighbors.

IMPORTANT: Please let me know if you will volunteer on Saturday - we are working in a smaller area this time and are limited to 15 volunteers. Contact me to reserve your spot (and donut!).

Address: S. 124th St. and 2nd Ave. S. in Burien, just northwest of the SR509/S. 128th St. interchange; at the park, park at the southwest corner by the jungle gym and then WALK to the NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE LAKE
Date/Time: Saturday, March 19, 2011, 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.