July 2011

The 20-year-old man responsible for a several-hour standoff with police on July 15 in West Seattle (Herald coverage of that event is here) has been charged with two counts of domestic violence assault for alleged violence towards his ex-girlfriend in the days leading up to the stalemate with police.

The standoff ended shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday, July 15 in a peaceful, unusual fashion. At Seattle SWAT and Police swarmed the Delridge Way S.W. home where defendant Jory Lee Preston was holed up he managed to slip out of the house and meet up with his mother who drove him to the Southwest Precinct where he turned himself in, according to Seattle Police.

Press release:

Burien Little Theatre announces auditions for the world premiere production of "Frankenstein," adapted by Roxanne Ray from the novel by Mary Shelley. This production will feature an original background score written by composer Allan Loucks, who composed for stage and film.

Characters range in age from mid 20's to late 50's/early 60's. Some actors will be playing multiple characters.

Synopsis: The thrilling horror story of a young scientist's disastrous attempt at playing God. Appalled by the deformed monster he has created, Victor Frankenstein abandons his innocent, bewildered creation. Rejected in horror by everyone he meets, the creature becomes increasingly vengeful and bent on finding his creator--to make a ghastly bargain.

Performances are at Burien Little Theatre in Burien from Sept. 30 through Oct. 30.
Auditions are Monday, Aug. 1 and Tuesday, Aug. 2 from 7 to 10 p.m. Callbacks are Wednesday, Aug. 3 from 7 to 10 p.m. Rehearsals begin Aug. 13.

Stage director Steve Cooper.
$100 stipend provided.

press release:
Starting on Thursday, July 21 through Thursday, July 28, from 7:00 AM until about 4:00 PM, Route 22 will be rerouted off of 15 Av SW between SW 106th St and SW 107th St each day, due to construction.

During this time, Route 22 heading toward White Center will travel instead via westbound SW 102nd St, southbound 16th Av SW, eastbound SW 106th St and then southbound on 15 Av SW to its regular route.

Heading toward downtown Seattle, northbound Route 22 will not be affected.

Dogs4Cats will be back for the Hi-Yu Parade on Saturday, July 23. If you don't know what that means here's the information as released by Teri Ensley of Furry Faces Foundation and Lora Swift of Hotwire Online Coffeehouse.

"The dogs have decided there are just too many cats having babies, so they want to raise money to spay and neuter those darn cats by offering hot dogs at the Parade.

Their Hebrew Nationals will be available from about 10:30ish and on--steamed in our own Hebrew National Hot Dog Cooker!

Cat-chup; Mutts-tard; Re-leash; and Chopped Onions will be available too--all for just $3 per dog. (okay, so dogs can't spell very well ;0)"

Olde Burien held a sizzling summer street party on Saturday, July 16.

Our party-hardy photographer, Eric Mathison, took photos of some of the fun events, including a fashion show, ice-cream eating contest and dancing sausages.

Please click the photo above to start the slideshow.

King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson released this statement July 20 on Ordinance 2011-0288, the proposal to implement a temporary $20 Congestion Reduction Charge on vehicle licenses for each of the next two years to help maintain Metro Transit service at its current level:

"After finding out today that the proposed Congestion Relief Charge would save the 26,000 service hours scheduled to be cut in Council District 5 as part of the 17 percent reduction of transit service, I am ready to support Executive (Dow) Constantine's proposal.

"This was not an easy decision for me because families are already struggling in this economic recession. Before I gave my support of a fee increase, I needed to make absolutely sure that this proposal did not disproportionately burden the working poor in my district.

"South County residents commute further than anywhere else in King County. They rely heavily on bus service everyday to get them to work and back home to their families.

Big Sam's Funky Nation is appearing at Ballard's Tractor Tavern at the end of the month with a promise to get people dancing.

Led by trombone powerhouse, Big Sam Williams, Big Sam's Funky Nation is a New Orleans band that transcends musical classifications by merging influences of jazz, rock, hip-hop and funk together into an energetic and bold sound.

"It's rock and funk with a lot of heart," said Big Sam in a phone interview. "Audience should get ready to do a lot of shaking. This is not a sitting party."

Formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Sam began playing with the Dirty Dozen at 19 before venturing out on his own as a soloist and creating the Funky Nation. He has toured with Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint and played with artists like Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dave Matthews, Ozomatli, and Widespread Panic. He has shared the stage with U2 and Green Day for the re-opening of the Superdome.

"When Katrina happened, it shifted things a lot," Big Sam said, adding that
it made him want to be close to people and reach more people with his music.

This Saturday, July 23, Angle Lake Shore Club members will be organizing a "Clean Sweep" event from 9 a.m.-noon at Angle Lake Park.

The group will be concentrating on the shoreline and subsurface waters from the boat launch south past the city parcel referred to as "the Hughes property." The team will consist of walkers along the shore, waders/snorklers in the shallow water and divers for the deeper stuff. The city contribution to this effort will be to dispose of the debris gathered from these areas.

Further details are posted at www.anglelakesc.blogspot.com

Press release from city of Burien:

The City of Burien is in the process of updating its Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan (PROS) to be in compliance with requirements of the state Growth Management Act and to ensure that Burien remains eligible for a variety of grant opportunities. The public is invited to a workshop to kick-off and brainstorm planning elements on Wednesday, July 27, 7- 9 p.m., at the Burien Community Center, 14700 6th Ave. S.W.

Representatives from all Burien neighborhoods - north, south, east and west - are desired to provide input on our park and recreational needs.

The purpose of the City's PROS Plan is to guide the planning, acquisition and development of parklands, and support the implementation of Burien's cultural and recreational programming. Visit our web site at www.burienwa.gov/parksplan.

Organizers of a Boy Scouts of America camp being held at Camp Schoenwald (behind Sylvester Middle School) were greeted with an unpleasant discovery on Tuesday, July 19.

According to Sgt. John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff’s Office, Cub Scout Pack 793 parked their trailer full of archery equipment on Sylvester Middle School grounds around 8:30 p.m. on Monday night, July 18, in preparation for an archery training session for the youngsters.

When staff arrived the next morning to set up the archery range they discovered someone had broken the lock to the trailer and stolen boys’ compound bows, arrows, a drill, a generator and a sledge hammer with a total loss of around $1700.

The stolen equipment has been provided to the Boy Scout District by Cub Scout Pack 793 for several years, according to Cub Master Jon Gerhardt.

“To have this go missing is a big impact to the kids and parents,” Gerhardt said of the supplies his troop has compiled over the past five years through a lot of sweat equity and fundraising activities.

No arrests have been made, according to Sgt. Urquhart.