June 2011

By David Rosen

The summer solstice kicked off at Solstice Park to ring in the first summer sunset of the year on June 21.

Alice Enevoldsen who hosted the solstice event said “ A couple different pieces came together to start this. The first piece was I am frustrated at the fact that star gazing events in Seattle always get rained out because if you want to have a star party or something its going to be cloudy and raining and so you cant do anything in the dark if you don’t have the stars so I was trying to come up with another sky gazing event that we could do something even if it was raining or was cloudy and also around the same time I finally came to visit Solstice Park and realized that this is right in my neighborhood so its quick and easy for me to get here, and that meant if it gets rained out well I could stop by anyway and see if other people were here and wanted to talk about the solstice or the equinox. I have been doing this event for quite awhile but the winter solstice were actually more popular surprisingly even though those are the most likely to get cloudy or rained out.”

After 8:00 p.m. there was still plenty of sunshine left on Alki Beach for Stephanie Sullivan of Alki, and her friends Nate and Willie to stroll with two kayaks toward a spot to plunk them in. Both kayaks are hers, and she took a chance on her friends trying them out for the first time.

June 21 was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Steve Smith, and his dog Archie, a border terrier, have been together for almost six years. He acquired him from a breeder Shelby Russell Diaz in Maple Valley.

"He's the world's friendliest dog," said Smith," he loves people. He loves everybody."

"If anybody comes to the house he will go right to the door and be ready to greet them and be ready to play. He's just that kind of dog."

Archie is an agility dog, Smith said, "We take agility over at Puppy Perfectors in White Center."
He's been trained but he seems to want to follow his own lead. "He's a really smart dog, but he isn't much of a worker...like his dad," Smith said laughing.

"The nice thing about these dogs is that they don't shed very much and they don't bark very much. He only barks when he's playing with other dogs."

They walk the neighborhood mostly but occasionally go to Alki or Lincoln Park.

Archie's diet is people food rich. "He gets a lot of leftovers and he gets kind of 'scrap happy' and he won't eat anything else. He's a pretty spoiled dog."

He also enjoys dog chews and venison jerky.

Archie is Smith's second border terrier. "I think they're the greatest dogs."

Pizzeria 22 at 4213 s.w. College Street, is set to open Monday June 27 and will offer thin crust wood fired pizzas in an elegant atmosphere complete with a massive painting of Italy's Mt. Vesuvius erupting on the back wall.

The West Seattle Herald previously profiled the restaurant and owner April 28.

The new restaurant, owned by Cary Kemp, will have a full service bar with european wine and beer plus spirits and will offer a range of Italian food including pizzas, calzones and salads.

Kemp is serious about his ingredients for his pizzas, all of them are imported from Italy, specifically from Naples. It will be elegant and comfortable, with Italian music (though as the night progresses it will become more modern). The pizzas are fired at 900 degrees meaning it takes very little time to cook them.

Mirrors line the walls on both sides of the room and Kemp will have Italian pottery around the space. There will be seating for 36 to 40 people.

Pac West opened the District 7 Little league Softball Majors (ages 11-12) Tournament of Champions by storming to a 15-3 four-inning victory against South Highline American at Valley Ridge field No. 2 in SeaTac on Monday, June 13.

Basic baseball skills powered the Blue Thunder.

"We played pretty good," observed Pac West manager Steve Wydick. "We were patient at the plate and when we got the pitches, we hit. When we get good defense, good hitting and good pitching. That wins games."

American scored two runs to open the game on opportunistic running by Natasha Rici and Tatiana Leahy who scored after getting aboard on errors.

The Blue Thunder showed its patience in the bottom of the inning by combining walks with Natasha Scandiffio's run-scoring ground out and Kiki Waiau-Bass's RBI single in a five-run outburst.

Kassidy Streeter led off with a walk and eventually scored South Highline's final run on a wild pitch in the top of the second, but Randi Evert's ground out RBI and a three-run inside the oark homer by Grace Williams keyed another five-run salvo for Pac West in the bottom of the second.

Pac West opened the District 7 Little league Softball Majors (ages 11-12) Tournament of Champions by storming to a 15-3 four-inning victory against South Highline American at Valley Ridge field No. 2 in SeaTac on Monday, June 13.

Basic baseball skills powered the Blue Thunder.

"We played pretty good," observed Pac West manager Steve Wydick. "We were patient at the plate and when we got the pitches, we hit. When we get good defense, good hitting and good pitching. That wins games."

American scored two runs to open the game on opportunistic running by Natasha Rici and Tatiana Leahy who scored after getting aboard on errors.

The Blue Thunder showed its patience in the bottom of the inning by combining walks with Natasha Scandiffio's run-scoring ground out and Kiki Waiau-Bass's RBI single in a five-run outburst.

Kassidy Streeter led off with a walk and eventually scored South Highline's final run on a wild pitch in the top of the second, but Randi Evert's ground out RBI and a three-run inside the oark homer by Grace Williams keyed another five-run salvo for Pac West in the bottom of the second.

Press Release:

Award-winning recess program coming to four Seattle-area elementary schools - Treeswing bringing structure to recess with innovative program, Playworks 360.

Treeswing, a local non-profit organization focused on helping children develop lifelong healthy habits through innovative programs and partnerships, is bringing Playworks Recess 360 to four elementary schools in the Puget Sound area. Playworks Recess 360 is a year-long school based program designed to energize the recess yard in a structured and inclusive way that will engage all students.

Recess 360 addresses many schools’ concerns that the chaos of recess results in fights, bullying and many children choosing not to participate. Play is essential to the physical, emotional and social development of every child and is also the single most effective strategy for increasing physical activity (and combating obesity) among children.

Valley Ridge Field No. 2 in Sea Tac was the scene as the South Highline National Blue outlasted Seattle Central 18-11 on Tuesday, June 14, to qualify for the Wednesday District 7 Little League Majors Tournament of Champions fastpitch softball title game against Pac West.

According to National manager Shawn Metzger, the ability to persevere was etched by his team's character and composure.

"I'm proud of my team," he expressed. "All the girls have learned so much. Sticking together and playing as a team got them there. This was a tough game. Any team that made it to the Tournament of Champions had the chance to make the championship. We were just hanging in there, staying focused and not giving up."

In the beginning, the encounter showed close competitiveness.

South Highline National Little League opened up the game with three runs with one out. Alert base running combined with walks and passed balls keyed the surge.

(Update: Click on the above picture to see nine more exciting photographs of the game taken by our crackerjack photographer Kurt Howard.)

Blue on Blue.

It was an all-blue matchup as the PacWest Blue Thunder team clashed with South Highline National Blue at the Valley Ridge playfields next to Tyee High School.

At stake in the Wednesday, June 15 game was the District 7 Major fastpitch softball title for regular season charter championship teams, and it was the Blue team that prevailed over the Blue Thunder, 7-6.

PacWest led by a 2-1 score in what started off as a tight defensive game and built a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning before National's big comeback.

"It was very exciting," said South Highline National manager Shane Metzger of the come-from-behind game that wasn't settled until the final out. "Just stay motivated. My big thing is to play as a team. I told them to always come back and hold your head high. It's just playing together."

PacWest opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Jordan Miller tripled and scored on a Cheyana Steiner grounder.

Approximately 43 million Americans suffer from arthritis and that number is expected to climb higher as our population ages.

By 2020, it is estimated that 60 million people will have arthritis due to the increased number of people over 65 years of age. But relief may soon be on the way thanks to research conducted by Highline Medical Center rheumatologist Dr. Barry Bockow who has co-authored a study exploring the effectiveness of a medication intended to help with osteoarthritis of the hip.

Dr. Bockow has been on the staff at Highline as a rheumatologist for 31 years and is also a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and been a principal investigator in more than 100 clinical studies.

Dr. Bockow, along with other physicians worldwide, enrolled a total of 313 participants to determine the effects of the medication called hylan G-F 20. Hylan G-F 20 is made from hyaluronan, a substance occurring naturally in the joints that helps with lubrication and shock absorption.