April 2011

Press Release:
For the third consecutive year, The 2011 Seattle International Film Festival brings their amazing array of movies to the Historic Admiral Theater and this year they have extended their one week stay through the entire festival run.

“We are truly thrilled to have the SIFF festival here for all 3 weeks,” said Dinah Brein, Manager of the Admiral. Having that energy and caliber of movies brings a whole different level of excitement here but in the past it’s always gone by so quickly. What a treat to really provide our customers with the full festival experience; we can’t wait.”

The Admiral’s Crow’s Nest Lounge will be open weekend evenings to accompany the festival. The Admiral has added dark chocolate from Theo’s and will be offering pie and coffee during the festival run.

The theater will still show their regular movies in Pier 1 as well as Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Saturday, June 4th .

Also up for the Admiral is an Elizabeth Taylor Film Retrospective slated for Sunday, April 24th. Three of Taylor's finest films will screen;

Press Release:

The Northwest Wine Academy will be featuring classic wines from the Academy for sale Easter weekend. The Academy has also now begun to sell wines produced by alumni from their own wineries.

Available for purchase will be a 2008 Well Red (Bordeaux Blend – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc) and a 2009 Field Blend ( Rhone Blend – Mourvedre, Grenache and Counois.) In addition, a very limited number of bottles of 2010 Rosé will be available. Also on hand will be Bubbly for purchase and tasting. All these wines will be available in gift and wine baskets filled with treats from South’s Pastry Arts program. The Academy now stocks a large number of wine accessories that make perfect gifts.

South Seattle Community College’s Northwest Wine Academy is a first-of-its-kind program in Western Washington and offers three certificate programs – Wine Making, Wine Marketing & Sales, and Food & Wine Pairing. The Academy complements the college’s highly regarded and award-winning Culinary Arts program and the new bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management program.

During the West Seattle ArtWalk on Thursday ArtsWest is hosting a free special event at 7:30 pm called "How to Make it As A Video Artist," Featuring guest speakers and video artist Tess Martin, Heather Dwyer with 4Culture, & Maile Martinez with Reel Grrls.

ArtsWest is located at 4711 California Avenue s.w.

Discussion Topics:
- How to market and sell video art
- How technology impacts copyright laws
- What it takes to be a successful video artist from the equipment to the creativity.

Light refreshments and drinks will be served.

The promotional film Plain Face by Tess Martin is included here.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is inviting the public to a community meeting April 27 to discuss the improvements to Walt Hundley Playfield at 6920 34th Ave. s.w.

The $1.0 million project is being funded by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy.

The renovation includes the replacement of the existing all weather Cushion-Turf field surface with synthetic turf to provide adult soccer and improved ADA accessibility with construction to be completed by fall 2011.

The meeting will run from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the Southwest Branch Library 9010 35th Ave. s.w.
You can see more about the field and learn more about the project here.

Interviewee: Craig Etheridge
Occupation: Bike messenger
Riding style: zigzagging in-and-out of cars to deliver packages; racing

His ride: An old steel Rossin with a flat bar

Joining me for a short loop around Lake Union on a rather wet and grey afternoon last week was reining World Champion of bike messengers, Craig Etheridge.

Despite the weather and the fact that it was his day off, Etheridge agreed to get back in the saddle for the purpose of this interview. On an average day at work for KNR Couriers, Etheridge spends an estimated 40 miles on a bike, zigzagging through traffic to deliver packages from downtown to West Seattle, Ballard or even the East Side.
Craig tells me that KNR is just one of five or six companies in Seattle that provide bike messaging services.  

“There is quite a bit demand for it,” he said.  “Photoprints, court documents, bank deposits, architecture plans, that stuff still demands hard copies.”

Craig said in the short term, companies chose bike messengers for the speed of things.

Fireworks will explode over Angle Lake this Fourth of July, partially funded by a $10,000 donation from the city of SeaTac.
SeaTac lawmakers voted 5-2 on April 12 to approve the controversial contribution. Councilman Rick Forschler and Councilwoman Pam Fernald voted against the donation to the Angle Lake Shore Club, which puts on the display. About $7,000 is also being raised from private donations.
Lawmakers made it clear that this is the last year the city will contribute. Several council members urged the club in future years to seek private donations for the entire cost.
Deputy Mayor Gene Fisher said the contribution had already been earmarked in the budget for this year. The International Festival parade had previously been cancelled to free up money in the budget for the fireworks, according to city officials. City Manager Todd Cutts noted the festival will go on without the parade.
Councilman Tony Anderson said the council began approving the fireworks subsidy several years ago after discharging of private fireworks was banned in SeaTac. He added that public displays with permits are allowed.

Press release:

White Center 3rd Saturday Art Walk
April 16th, 2011 6 PM to 9 PM

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Avenue SW): Carlos Aguilar- Paint and Ink-
www.carlosgaguilar.com-Animated, vibrant & twisted paintings that will
make you double-take, every time. Come have a pint of Local Hero #9,
play some Wii and absorb a room full of enthusiastic awesome!

Dubsea (9910 8th Ave SW): Martijn Caspar Swart- New Varied Paintings http://martijncswart.blogspot.com/- Same artist, more mind blowing.
Martin will be rotating new work into Dubsea this month. If you missed
last month, stop punishing yourself and go experience his gift. His
vibrant colors are married seamlessly in a perfect mixture of
abstraction and realism. Guaranteed to drive you to drink more
delicious Dubsea coffee so your eyelids keep from wavering during the
onslaught of creativity. I purchased a piece from his last show and
have absolutely NO buyers remorse! Can't wait to see it in my house!

Salvadorean Bakery (1719 SW Roxbury): Andrew Miller-
MantisArt-Photography. http://mantisart.wordpress.com/ Andrew Miller
will blow your righteous eye with his hand painted original

Burien Toyota has won Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc.'s President's Award for outstanding sales and service. This is the eighth time the dealership has won this award.
The President's Award pays homage to Toyota dealerships throughout the U.S. that achieve high standards of performance in all facets of the automotive dealer profession, including vehicle and parts sales, service and customer satisfaction.
"Burien Toyota earned one of Toyota's highest tributes, the President's Award, through its outstanding professionalism and commitment to quality," said Mark Angelacos, general manager, TMS, Portland Region. "Burien Toyota achieved exemplary standards of performance in sales and service, and most importantly, in satisfying our customers' needs."
TMS has recognized dealers with the President's Award annually since 1986.

Giving Day at Seattle Lutheran High School is set for April 22. Students, parents and volunteers will start the day with a Good Friday Chapel in the gym and then hit the streets of West Seattle for a volunteer day. They will be cleaning Junction Park, Me Kwa Mooks park, volunteering at Westside Baby, Arts West, and the Red Cross, as well as many other activities.

The tradition goes back to 1978 when the school began reaching out to the community with the first Giving Day.

To stay up to date on current events with the school check their Facebook page.

Nearly 100 Burien and SeaTac residents descended upon the Criminal Justice Training Center in Burien on April 11 for a free two hour seminar focused on burglary education and prevention.

Presenters included King County Sheriff’s Operations Captain DJ Nessel, Crime Prevention Officer Doug Reynolds with SeaTac police, King County Sgt. Jon Mattsen, Burien PD Officer Henry McLauchlin and an IT representative for the City of Burien.

Burglary rates soar in Burien and SeaTac
Sgt. Mattsen, who oversees a day and night team of undercover detectives in and around Burien said, “One of the main areas that we focus on is burglaries. Burglary affects more individuals and more areas in the West Precinct than in any other area of King County … Since December of last year we have been hammered left and right by burglaries by several different groups that conduct daytime burglaries.”