August 2011

By Cassandra Baker, Intern

4:42 a.m. on August 14th. 22nd block of NW Market St

A man called police early on the morning of August 14th to report that he had been attacked for no reason. The victim said that he was walking along Market St when a man holding a beer bottle came up and started yelling at him. The victim told the suspect to “shut up,” and the suspect hit him in the left eye with the beer bottle. The force of the blow was strong enough to shatter the bottle. The victim suffered swelling and bleeding to the area surrounding his eye.

The victim told police that he fought back after he was struck until the suspect begged him to stop. He said that the suspect eventually walked away. The victim also said that he briefly lost consciousness after he called 911. The responding officer found the victim to be visibly intoxicated, and the victim was taken to Swedish in Ballard for further treatment.

The Ballard High School Foundation hosted its 11th annual Ballard High School Golf Classic at the start of August to benefit Ballard High School's music and sports programs.

Over 240 golfers took part in the event at the Golf Club at Newcastle and over $130,000 was raised.

This funding at is crucial for the music and sports program a funding provided by the Seattle School District for athletic teams and pep bands only covers limited team transportation costs, and music programs don't receive any funding from the District at all.

Winners of the 11th annual BHS Gold Classic included Mike Nall, Randall Morris, Eric Peterson, Fernando DaSilva and Joe Sullivan, Tony Kazmirski, Brent Husmoe, Steve Oylear.

The title sponsors for the event included Victor Salvino ‘51, Dennis Burns ‘62, and John Goodman ’71.

The summer fun continues this coming weekend, August 19 – 21, with a wide variety of events happening all around the city. Whatever your preference, there’s plenty from which to choose – from food, dance, foot races, and art to parades, music, cars, and all things hemp – even a touch of fall with a pre-season Seahawks football game. Motorists should plan their travel keeping in mind that there will be traffic congestion surrounding the various events.

The Seattle Department of Transportation encourages event-goers to consider leaving the car at home and trying one of the many alternate modes of transportation available - Metro Transit, the West Seattle Water Taxi, the Sounder commuter train, Link light rail, car pool, bicycle or even walking, if feasible.

Friday, August 19
Sunset Supper at the Market: 7:30 – 11 p.m.
Pike Place Market
1,275 attending
Streets closed 3 – 11:59 p.m.: Pike Place between Pine and Virginia streets, and Stewart Street between Pike Place and First Avenue.

Seattle Hempfest: 12 Noon – 8 p.m.
Myrtle Edwards Park
40,000 expected
Plan on major congestion near the Park.

Saturday, August 20
Seattle Hempfest: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Johnny Moses, a Ballard resident and noted native storyteller, turned 50 on July 10 but that is only a minor event among his achievements of late.

His paintings and beadwork are currently on display at the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center in West Seattle. And he just released two new CD's, together called Medicine Songs of the Pacific Northwest, which feature songs in eight Native languages including Duwamish.

A storyteller since 1976, Moses gave the official blessing for the Duwamish Longhouse opening Jan. 3, 2009.

Moses is a Tulalip Native American raised in the remote Nuu-chah-nulth village of Ohiat on the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. He was raised in the traditional ways by his grandparents. His traditional name is Whis.stem.men.knee (Walking Medicine Robe), and, according to his website, he carries the Si.Si.Wiss (sacred breath, sacred life) medicine teachings and healing ceremonies of his Northwest Coast people. He is also part Duwamish and a member of other tribes.

While Rupert Murdoch, Anne Coulter and Bill Gates – some of the more famous names to take a pie to the face – will likely not attend, everyone else is invited to BTownies Burien Bike Share 1st Annual Pie Joust at Burien Town Square on Aug. 19.

Participants will invoke the intensity of jousting’s medieval roots, only updated to bicycles instead of steeds and harmless cream pies instead of deadly lances.

The event starts at 4 p.m. with an age 9-11 youth bracket, followed by 12-15 from 5-6 p.m., 16-20 from 6 – 7 p.m. and finishing up with the 21-and-over bracket from 7 p.m. until a winner emerges.

Full event details are available at www.btownies.com , including registration instructions and details on the beer garden for those 21-and-over.

According to BTownies website, proceeds from the event “will help kick off an initiative to ignite Burien’s bicycle culture.”

Here is a sneak preview of the format from www.btownies.com:

oCompetitors pass each other in the jousting arena on bikes at slow speed

oEach competitor attempts to cover their opponent with as much pie as possible

oFace coverage earns more points with the judge and the crowd

The enrollment team at Seattle Public Schools wants to make sure all students have a school assignment by the first day of school, which is Wednesday, Sept. 7. To accomplish this task, the District is asking families to enroll their students by Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Families new to Seattle Public Schools who want to change schools or who have not yet enrolled should visit us at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (JSCEE) at 2445 3rd Ave. S. Enrollment hours are 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

“Those first few days in the classroom are so important, and we want to make sure all students have school assignments before the first day of school,” said Brandon Holst, JSCEE Services Manager. “It takes time to complete the enrollment paperwork, and the lines in our lobby grow longer as we get closer to the first day of school. We encourage families to enroll by Aug. 30 and avoid the last-minute rush.”

In addition, families should note that the JSCEE building will be closed Wednesday, Aug. 31 due to a district-mandated unpaid furlough day for all employees, one in a series of furlough days aimed at offsetting reductions in state education funding.

The Aug. 18 edition of the Summer Concert series at Hiawatha will feature internationally recognized Leroy Bell and his only friends. Bell has performed with B.B. King, Van Morrison, Etta James, Al Green, Paolo Nutini, India Arie, Erykah Badu, LeAnne Rimes, Michael McDonald, Keb Mo, Taj Mahal, Charlie Musselwhite, Los Lobos, and Leon Russell.

He has written songs in association with Casey James that were recorded by The Spinners, The O'Jays, The Temptations, Rita Marley and most notably Elton John. The band around Bell features Terry Morgan on bass who has played with Dee Daniels, Pat Wright & The Total Experience Gospel Choir, Dave Lewis, Thelma Houston and others. The mighty force on drums features Davis Martin, formerly of the band, Maktub.

West Seattle fans will recall that the late Rick Novito of West Seattle also toured extensively with Bell prior to his passing.

The embedded video here is one from a show the band did in 2009 to give you a sense of what the music is like.

The film

During nearly 20 production and planning meetings in West Seattle at the Feedback Lounge in the Morgan Junction, and the West 5 Lounge in the Alaska Junction, bothers Paul and Brian Michaels followed their dream to create a documentary on the grunge-era music scene. Paul produced while Brian directed. A private screening is planned for December. Then the film will be submitted to the Seattle International Film Festival.

Prominently featured is popular vocalist and guitar player Carrie Akre of the Seattle bands Hammerbox, Goodness, and The Rockfords fame. She lived in West Seattle's Westwood Village neighborhood beginning in 2004 but moved to Minneapolis last month. Akre performed at the West Seattle Street Fair in 2007.

The film is called The Hash After the Bash and subtitled The Untold Story of Seattle Rock 'N' Roll. For the uninitiated, the title is not a drug reference to hashish, but refers to the club the Offramp Café where Pearl Jam played its first official show in Seattle, October 22, 1990. Well, then they called themselves "Mookie Blaylock" after the NBA 6' guard.

Update 3 for Sept. 1
Anthony Haroldlee Smith pleaded not guilty to the charge of second degree murder with a firearm enhancement in his arraignment at the King County courthouse on Sept. 1, according to the prosecutor's office.

25-year-old Smith was charged with the Aug. 16 shooting death of Sweetheart Failautusi in White Center, and remains in jail on a $1 million bail.

Smith's case setting hearing will be on Sept. 15.

The sentencing range if convicted is 16 to 24 ½ years in prison.

Update 2 for 2:45 on Aug. 19
Anthony H. Smith, 25, was charged on Aug. 19 with second degree murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Maria “Sweetheart” Failautusi on Aug. 16 in White Center, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

If convicted, the sentencing range is 16 to 24 1/2 years in prison.

Smith will be arraigned on Sept. 1 at the King County Courthouse and remains jailed on a $1 million bail, according to Dan Donohoe with the prosecutor's office.

The King County Medical Examiner's have released the cause of death in the shooting of 23-year-old Maria "Sweetheart" Failautusi in White Center during the early morning hours of Aug. 16.

She died from a gunshot wound to the head, classified as a homicide, according to medical examiners.

For more details on the shooting, including the arrest of one of the three suspects on Aug. 17, please check Herald coverage here.