June 2011

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.

The inclusion of Dr. Jim Rice in a June 17 Times/News article on the guilty plea of Jayson Boehm was not meant to imply that Dr. Rice has been accused of wrongdoing or improprieties as a volunteer in the Highline School District's athletic programs.

Dr. Rice is a licensed physician and former head of the Highline Medical Center Emergency Department. He has never been accused of wrongdoing while offering low-cost physicals at Highline High School for the past 25 years.

Dr. Rice drove eight or nine wrestlers in a van to a wrestling tournament in Sedro-Wooley. District officials objected to the trip because it was out of the area and not authorized by administrators. No parents or students complained and there were no reports of improprieties.

Various projects are underway around West Seattle and while the West Seattle Herald did not visit them all, here are some updates on their status on June 21, 2011.

The Irish Pub, A Terrible Beauty, asked for help to get ready for a first inspection by the Liquor Control Board and got it as volunteers showed up last week to help them clean. They passed that inspection and while the construction process goes on, it is largely complete with their "Irish Market" (an area inside the restaurant/bar where you can buy authentic Irish products).
The restaurant is set to open at 11:00 am on June 28.

The Elliott Bay Brew Pub is now completing the last stages of their building front remodel and Mark Silber, working on the new "corners" to be added adjacent to the front door said it will be done soon. "It will be wrapped up by Wednesday of next week I bet you. It's gotta be done before the street fair" he said.

An understandably modest crowd (the weather outside was stellar) gathered at the West Seattle Senior Center on the evening of June 20 to discuss the concept of sustainable tourism with a panel of local figures and experts. The event was hosted by Sustainable West Seattle.

The panel included Patti Mullen, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce president, Alki Kayak Tours and Mountain to Sound Outfitters owner Greg Whittaker, and Heidi Siegelbaum and Steve Gersman of Calyx Sustainable Tourism, a consultant company.

What is sustainable tourism?

Ticket books are on sale now the 17th Annual West Seattle Garden Tour, Sunday, July 17th, 2011 from 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Ten select West Seattle residential gardens are featured. As a non-profit organization, the WSGT donates all net proceeds from the tour to their 2011 beneficiaries.

Ticket books for the tour are $15 per person (children 12 and under are free) and include a map and driving directions to the gardens and admission to the noon-time lecture by Sue Goetz at the West Seattle Golf Course.

Ticket books may be purchased at the following businesses:

Admiral Metropolitan Market - 2320 42nd Ave SW, Seattle
ArtsWest Theatre - 4711 California Ave SW, Seattle
Junction True Value - 4747 44th Ave SW, Seattle
Swansons Nursery - 9701 15th Ave NW, Seattle
Village Green Perennial Nursery - 10223 26th Ave SW, Seattle
Wells-Medina Nursery - 8300 NE 24th, Medina
West Seattle Nursery - 5275 California Ave SW, Seattle
Ticket vouchers can also be purchased online at: www.brownpapertickets.com

By Christy Wolyniak, Intern

Summer break is here which means students and recent graduates are on the hunt for jobs...any job.

“I don’t care at all [what job I have]. I’d be a lumberjack at this point," said Ballard High School senior, Shannon Ponnelly. "I’d love to work at a coffee shop like Peet’s Coffee. I check Craig’s List every day for jobs.”

High school students have been aggressively competing for jobs anywhere from local grocery stores, coffee shops, and ice cream parlors to the Ballard Locks and internships at financial firms.

“Every time I hear someone talking about a job that’s [available], I hear it’s taken,” said BHS senior, Virginia Van-Zee.

Whether it's word-of-mouth or online job sites, students take advantage of the limited resources available to them as this is the first year BHS does not have a career center due to budget cuts.

Senior Scotland Schieber recently was hired at Red Mango. He said he’s been trying to get a job for eight months and was excited to finally land a job in a day in a half. Shieber said his involvement with DECA prepared him with business etiquette and interviewing skills.

Three bands will perform during a July 8 fundraiser for West Seattle raised Amanda Knox at the Showbox Sodo, 1700 1st Ave South. not the other Showbox (at the Market) as was previously reported. The family told the West Seattle Herald that the Sodo location charges a lot less for fees to use the room.

Knox’s family is currently in debt over one million dollars because of legal and travel expenses incurred by her three and a half year long murder trial that is now in its appeals phase. She is currently serving a 26-year sentence in prison in Perugia, Italy. If she wins her appeal, she could be released in early September.

The three bands performing are Brian DiJulio & the Love Jacks, Zero Gravity Circus, and The Gifted Program, with special musical guest Tony Montana. Silent auction items include two donations made by Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of Knox. They include an autographed book, and a certificate for a golf foursome at one of his resorts. Some band members who are Seattle Prep graduates volunteered because, they said, they felt a connection to Amanda Knox, who was a Seattle Prep grad, class of '05.

UPDATE: Opens tonight, July 15

West Seattle actress Hollis Heron is set to portray “Mad Margaret” in the lesser-known but highly melodramatic Gilbert & Sullivan opera Ruddigore at the Bagley Wright Theatre, Seattle Center opening July 15. The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society presents the show.

“Gilbert and Sullivan is mostly farce,” said Heron, who has performed with the Society on and off since 2000. “Actually I didn't know about the genre at all until I auditioned for The Yeomen of the Guard. I just auditioned for it on a lark. To be honest it's my favorite show. Musically the most operatic of all of the stories they’ve written and the story is dark which is very different.

“I really like Ruddigore. It's an interesting, whole idea. If you're familiar with the Pirates of Penzance, (H.M.S.) Pinafore, and Mikado that are all the palatable mass appeal shows, those three shows are just silly. The circumstances, the characters are really contrived. This show does have some flavor of contriving. What I like about the character I'm playing, Mad Margaret, her circumstances are pretty real, and I can play her real instead of playing her the farce.”

I am writing this letter to urge the voters to reject the tunnel and refurbish the viaduct. The Mayor and City Council have the duty to look after the people of the City of Seattle. After all, it’s our City and the citizens have a right and duty to see that they do that. Personally as a resident of West Seattle I enjoy using the viaduct and the Broad St. tunnel both as a highway thru town and as an access to town on its ramps. I also enjoy the view of Seattle’s harbor from the viaduct. It’s a neat way to avoid the freeway and it makes our city unique. It also bypasses all the ferry traffic from across the sound. Stick to your guns Mayor McGinn and the voters are watching your Mr. City Council.
I am urging the voters to reject the tunnel again as you voted on this subject previously. With the tunnel the Seattleites are getting a bum deal. The following are my reasons to refurbish and keep the viaduct:
The tunnel allows no access to downtown Seattle from State Highway 99. This is a bum deal for downtown businesses and shoppers.
The viaduct and Battery Street tunnel are still the best solution for access and route for highway 99 and the City.

Press Release from the King County Executive's Office:

The recession-driven decline in the sales-tax revenues that support public transit leaves the Metropolitan King County Council with two choices – ensure interim funding to continue service at current levels, or face the reality of cutting 17 percent of bus service.

To meet that challenge, King County Executive Dow Constantine sent the Council a proposed ordinance to enact the one tool recently authorized by the state Legislature for King County: a temporary $20 Congestion Reduction Charge on vehicle licenses for each of the next two years.

“To keep people moving and economic recovery on track, this temporary funding will preserve bus service near current levels while we work out a statewide transportation solution that supports transit,” said Executive Constantine. “I don’t hear anyone asking for less bus service, but the system reduction that would be required if there is no interim funding would impact four of every five of our riders. It would directly or indirectly affect every community in the county, at a time when demand is going up.”