October 2011

By Patrick Robinson

For some people Halloween is their favorite occasion. It's not really a holiday (nobody gets to take the day off) and while it has traditions (costumes, and trick or treating) it doesn't really have any other practices that a lot of people follow. This means that for those who love it, going all out with decorations that depict all manner of scary scenes is never enough. You can see them during the day but they lack a certain, "fright factor" because, well, frankensteinly, they are meant to be seen after dark.

West Seattle Herald Photographer David Rosen took a trip around West Seattle to capture just a few of their displays that are out there and worth seeing during this haunting season.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

The middle eastern flavors of the Mawadda Cafe will finally be available on November 1 as it officially opens in the Admiral Junction at 2352 California Ave. s.w. Owner Rami Al-Jebori gave the West Seattle Herald a look inside the new restaurant that is in the space once occupied by Museum Quality Framing. We covered the background on the restaurant in early September. The Mawadda did a soft open last weekend and were busier than expected but some of the early issues faced are expected to be worked out now.

The new restaurant joins his existing cafe in the Rainier Valley though some of the menu items will be different.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

The restaurant will seat more than 25 people and is decorated with Iraqi art, drop lighting and the walls and furniture are done in light green, "the color of life," said Al-Jebori. The art was acquired by his brother, who purchased it specifically for the decor, to reflect daily life of people in Iraq.

UPDATE 7:25pm
A power outage along Bonair Pl. s.w. and 52 Ave. s.w. has been resolved. A fallen tree knocked out power but City Light crews have taken care of the issue.

Original post
131 customers are without power in West Seattle due to a falling tree. The power is out on 52nd ave. s.w., Hughes Ave. s.w. and Bonair Pl s.w. Seattle City Light estimates it should be repaired before 12am.

You can check on the status of the power outage on the City Light system status page here http://www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat/

Drug take back day is happening Saturday, Oct. 29 in SeaTac and Des Moines.

Drop-off centers will be in the SeaTac City Hall front lobby, 4800 S. 188th St., 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.; Bartell Drugs parking lot, 27055 Pacific Hwy. S., 2-6 p.m.; and Bartell Drugs parking lot, 21615 Pacific Hwy. S., 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.

In April, Washington residents helped the state collect more than 8,535 pounds of unused or unwanted medicine (that’s roughly 4.25 million pills in a single day) during National Drug Take Back Day. This event highlighted the critical need for permanent safe drug disposal programs to reduce the rising rates of prescription drug abuse, overdoses, and accidental poisonings.
This year, the DEA will work again with local groups to host National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29. Sponsored by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with local law enforcement agencies, the one-day event provided communities with free, anonymous medicine returns for unused medications, including dangerous controlled substances.
Why Washington Needs a Permanent Drug Take Back Program

“It’s not about me; it’s about the faces here at Evergreen,” Tyrone Curry said at the official dedication of Evergreen High School in White Center’s new track on Oct. 28.

Please click the image above for more.

Curry is a multimillionaire (thanks to a lottery ticket in 2006) who continues to work as the school’s janitor and track coach even though it’s no longer needed to support his family. He donated $40,000 of his own money to help build the track – a much needed replacement for the disintegrating cinder track once in its place.

“In the twenty years I’ve been here we had a cinder track and my goal was to make it better,” he continued. “So for the athletes that are coming, the athletes that are here and the past athletes - it’s not about me; my name might be on here but it’s for Evergreen students, for our next state champions, that’s what it’s all about.”

(Editor’s Note: In honor of Oct. 28’s seventh and deciding game of the World Series, we bring you a special column from our the publisher)

A few weeks ago I did a column on my boyhood dream of becoming a big leaguer.

I told about a special bat I acquired from a nice lady on my paper route; how it belonged to her son who had not returned from the war. How the bat was split by a friend the day after I got it. I reminded him to keep the label up, facing the sky, but he didn't listen.

He broke my Louisville Slugger. He was very sorry. So was I. I never got to swing it, not even once at a pitch, as I mostly rode the pine on the end of the bench.

But there is good news.

A few days ago I got a package in the mail. I was astonished that a brand new, shiny black Louisville Slugger was inside the box and it had my name engraved up at the top.

Also inside was a letter I share with you now from Rick Redman, VP Corporate Communications for the makers of the Slugger (Hillerich and Bradsby) out of Kentucky.

Dear Jerry:

Press release:
Overnight lane closures will affect travelers entering and exiting the airport from State Route 518. The closures will be during the evening hours of Monday, October 31 between 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m., plus the evening hours of Tuesday, November 1 between 11:30 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.

Monday night/Tuesday morning intermittent lane closures will reduce to one lane for both the approach to the SR 518 off-ramp to the Airport and the exit to SR99/154th. A single lane will be maintained at all times.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning intermittent lane closures will reduce to one lane for both of the exits to SR 518. A single lane will be maintained at all times.

The closures are for upgrades to the roadway improvements for Sea-Tac Airport's Consolidated Rental Car Facility. The project is adding a lane to the SR 99 bridge southbound over SR 518 for convenient access to the new facility. A new ramp from SR 518 will take vehicles to the expanded bridge lane thus reducing the impact to regular traffic on SR 99/International Blvd. The new ramp and expanded bridge is expected to be open by early 2012. The Rental Car Facility is scheduled to open in April 2012.

Burien’s auto row along 1st Ave S. has taken some hits over the past several years, a product of our long-standing recession.

Dodge, Ford and Nissan dealers all shuttered their doors (although Nissan reemerged as Car Pros Burien Nissan and the Ford dealership is selling used vehicles), and just as the economy dips, so do car sales.

In addition, according to Dean Anderson who owns Burien Toyota and Burien Chevrolet with his brother Alan, the dealerships linked to manufacturers are under constant pressure from the parent companies to improve and expand their stores.

For some, like Mark Minium at Burien Honda, there simply isn’t enough room to expand on 1st Ave S.

This is where the Auto Mall concept comes into play, an idea Councilmember Gordon Shaw said he’s been working on for the past four years and one he believes will increase auto sales (leading to more sales tax revenue for the city) and encourage new dealers to set up shop in Burien.

Paving crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will install curb bulbs, curb ramps and new crosswalks at two north Seattle locations.

Work will begin on Tuesday, November 1 and will take approximately two weeks to complete.

One of the crossing projects is located in Ballard at Leary Avenue NW mid block between NW Vernon Place and NW Market Street. Part of the sidewalk will remain open during this work.

The crews will work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On-street parking will be restricted in the work areas.

Curb bulbs improve pedestrian safety by shortening the crossing distance. The projects announced here are two out of 50 crossing improvements that SDOT is installing this year at locations throughout the city. The work is funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters.

Great progress by demolition and construction crews means the Alaskan Way Viaduct is expected to reopen midday Saturday between the West Seattle Bridge and the Battery Street Tunnel, a move expected to help relieve recent regional traffic congestion on Interstates 5 and 405 and local streets.

Starting this weekend, drivers will travel on a new, temporary construction bypass that will allow an estimated 110,000 vehicles a day to keep moving while construction on a replacement State Route 99 tunnel continues through the end of 2015.

Quick work by demolition crews allowed them to beat the scheduled Monday reopening of the viaduct by nearly two days.

“This project is six months ahead of schedule and today we’re again ahead of schedule,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said. “Thank you to the hard workers on this project, and the people of the region who were patient, found alternate routes and adjusted their schedules. Everyone showed a great spirit of cooperation.”