May 2011

Dear Editor,
I was happy to see the Editorial by Guy Gallipeau, Citizen Against Tunnel from West Seattle. We have tried to get the retrofit for Viaduct forever. Why won’t anyone listen. We have signed to stop the building of the tunnel.

You, the taxpayers, should know the money is what is talking, big business people that didn’t grow up here. This is not New York or California. Please, I am asking that you talk to Victor O. Gray, Civil and the Structural Engineer Viaduct Preservation Group. Elizebeth Campbell and Craig Keller are on the computers so ask them. Victor O. Gray was involved in the building of the Viaduct. Please don’t let money do what they have tried for years.

Well, I got a haircut today.

Nick the barber was walking in front of his shop yesterday holding up a sign which read "NO HAIRCUT, NO NICK."
I hated the thought of him starving to death so I hired him again this month.

I have been holding off till ex-Sheriff Reichert runs for Governor next election. He has a haircut that got him elected as U.S. Representative, and he is planning to ride that haircut all the way to the White House. I am not running.

Nick doesn't promise to get me elected to anything but he does agree to be careful not to scar up your skull. So far, after about 30 years, he has yet to put a “Nick” in my scalp.

My dad was my only barber tiIl I was 12. He had scissors and clippers that he also used on my dog Mack.

Dad also had a leather razor strop, not strap. He used it to sharpen his straight edge. His razor was about six inches long with a really sharp blade. It was a wicked looking thing that he shaved with. The strop he also used as a weapon for delivering stinging raps on obstreperous boys. I never felt it but my big brother did a few times.

A game of golf turned ugly earlier this month when two male golfers found themselves stuck behind a very slow moving, heavy drinking group of males at the West Seattle Golf Course. The sober group of two asked the intoxicated group of many if they could speed up their game. The request was not well received and one of the booze hounds said he would “be waiting for them” in the parking lot. The sober two finished their game and headed out to the parking lot. The aggressor from earlier popped out from behind a truck and “belly-bumped” the victim several times, then started throwing punches, cutting his lip and nose. The suspect fled the scene but police were able to gather information from the clubhouse and said the victim will likely press charges once he is apprehended.

Press release:

TUNNEL OPPONENT SUES STATE TO FORCE DISCLOSURE OF PUBLIC RECORDS

Department of Transportation Has Delayed Releasing Thousands of Tunnel-Related Records Compiled More Than a Year Ago

Elizabeth A. Campbell, chairwoman of Seattle Citizens Against the Tunnel, today sued the Washington State Department of Transportation in an effort to force disclosure of long-withheld records.

The records relate to the state’s controversial plan to replace the quake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct with a multi-billion-dollar “deep bore” tunnel. The plan is the subject of two citizen-sponsored ballot measures.
“No matter how people feel about the tunnel project, they have an interest in how it is financed, planned and managed,” said Ms. Campbell, the primary petitioner behind the anti-tunnel Initiative 101. “What is the state trying to hide?”

Today is the 17th of May, which for all Norwegians in Seattle means it's Syttende Mai and a time to celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day.


Syttende Mai has been celebrated in the Greater Seattle Area since 1889 with proclamations, speeches, and a parade.

The annual Syttende Mai parade is one of the largest ethnic parades in the United States with over 100 units every year.

The parade starts near Adams School in Ballard at 6 p.m. and the route follows south to Market Street and eastward to Bergen Place.

In addition to the parade, various events will be taking place in and around Ballard all day:



Barneleker (Children's activities)


Children can enjoy easy craft projects at the Museum. The crafts are free and children must be accompanied by an adult.


Where: Nordic Heritage Museum
When: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Nordic Café

Free Museum admission all day! Enjoy Scandinavian food and beverages available for purchase.
Where: Nordic Heritage Museum
When: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Luncheon


The space shuttle Endeavor launched for its second-to-last flight this morning, taking with it, a Ballard High School science experiment.

The shuttle, headed for the International Space Station, has aboard select student experiment as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP).

Students in Ballard HIgh School's biotechnology and astronomy programs were chosen to send their project - E.Coli cells - into space where it will fly for 14 days.

Designed by BHS students, the experiment pertains to the growth of E.Coli cells in space.

Once in orbit, a population of dormant non-pathenogenic E. Coli will be inserted into a liquid growth medium. The cells will reproduce at a different rate than on earth.

“So we keep these E.Coli cells and the growth solution separate. We won’t touch them and once they’re in space and astronaut will pull a lever which will unite them and allow them to grow,” said student Katie Kemp.

After the flight students will recover and freeze a population of these well-traveled cells grown in microgravity and compare them to the same strain of stay-at-home E. Coli for changes like mutations, plasmid uptake ability, and growth rate.

World MS Day was launched in 2009 with over 200 events in 67 countries to raise awareness about multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic, often disabling disease. It is one of the most common disabling neurological conditions amongst young adults in the northern hemisphere. Over 2,000,000 people in the world have MS, 400,000 Americans. Northern latitudes like ours show high rates of the disease, especially in Eastern Washington.

Some Seattlites afflicted with MS say the disease is misunderstood and even unknown to many and are taking advantage of World MS Day on May 25 to raise awareness and money for the illness.

Seattle resident William Khazaal learned he had MS in the summer of 2009. It was a tough time for him. Many know William as the son of Hussein Khazaal who owned the Phoenecia Restaurant in West Seattle which he ran with his wife, Inaam and their three children, Sonya, Nadia, and William. Hussein passed away suddenly in August, 2009, and, after a lot of consideration, the family reopened the restaurant about a half year later.

The dedication ceremony for the Knowing the Spring Courtyard, the first completed major component of the Seattle Chinese Garden (SCG) in West Seattle, took place May 15 primarily under a tent due to the persistent rain, that finally gave way following introductions, and speeches by the gathered dignitaries so visitors could explore the new structure and witness a traditional chinese lion dance and some martial arts demonstrations.

The event saw an estimated 200 people come to the site to hear those responsible for making the garden possible and others for whom the project has meant so much speak about the courtyard and the larger garden it will eventually be part of.

Sullen skies were overcome by inspirational words forever inscribed in stone to remember fallen King County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Cox, known for his relentlessness as a crime fighter and passion for improving White Center, his childhood home and beat as a deputy.

Bronson, Deputy Cox’s five-year-old son, spoke with poise well beyond his years at he addressed the large crowd of family, friends, colleagues and elected officials gathered at Steve Cox Memorial Park on May 15:

“Thank you for remembering my dad as a hero,” Bronson said as his mother and Steve’s widow, Maria, stood behind with a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Deputy Cox was killed in the line of duty on December 2, 2006 and five years later marked the unveiling of his stone monument, created by artist Jay Haavik with stone supplied from Marenakos Rock Center. The event was put on by the North Highline Unincorporated Council (NHUAC), of which Deputy Cox was president at the time of his passing.

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW, 21 images

The smiles and tears of over 150 friends and family members of Andrew Seffernick filled the Alki Bathhouse Sunday May 15. His sturdy metal art work was displayed on tables lining the wall, and his one-of-a-kind welded bicycles, which some might also consider metal art work, were gathered in a corner. His customized skateboards leaned against the wall, inside and out.

This was a memorial to celebrate the West Seattle resident's short life, which ended on his motorcycle which was hit by a car April 13 at Juneau and 35th, just shy of his 25th birthday. He left behind his two year-old son, A.J. (Andrew Jr.) A.J. was in the front row with his mother, Karra Malone.

You can read our stories about Andrew Seffernick here:

and here: