November 2011

This letter is to all the people in Burien who have nothing to say but horrible things about White Center.

My husband and I live in unincorporated King County on the outside fringes of White Center but in the area that is looking at being incorporated. How dare any of you imply that because people live in White Center we are all no good and do not deserve a better way of life.

My husband has worked for the Boeing company for 32 years and I was there for 25. We have never been arrested or been involved in any type of crime. We live in a beautiful well-maintained home, pay our bills on time and spend a lot of our hard earned money in your little city.

I read the paper and from what I see, Burien has no business throwing any stones at anyone as you have plenty of crime in your own backyard.

Yes, White Center does seem to have a lot of problems but, bear in mind, not all of the area that is looking to be incorporated is directly in White Center and, even if it were, the people are not all bad.

The noisy and powerful have clouded Burien's civic conversation with scare tactics over annexation, and promoted life-and-death conflict between the rich and the environment.

Meanwhile, those given charge of our future prove again and again their lack of leadership. Those who benefit from stirring controversy and division continue to steal from the unwary majority.

And, as always, the "I've got mine and to hell with you" attitude reaps rewards the unwary majority doesn't even know exist.

As an elected, one can serve those who want something; or serve those who don't want somebody to have something; or serve those who are in danger from not knowing the conversations are happening. But serving the latter doesn't get you elected.

So Burien continues to head somewhere, maybe nowhere, with a council of the self-indulgent, self-important, self-righteous, self-centered, self-promoting, short-sighted, micro-minded, and deer-in-headlights obstructionists. Sigh!

We can only place our hopes on the professional staff to do what's right for the good of all, rather than special interests.

Stephen Lamphear
Burien

Update for Nov. 21
Kendall Jones, founder of the organization that brings together beer drinkers to raise money for charity, reports the 13th Annual Beer Church Turkey Bowl was "another great event" with $4,000 in cash and around 2,000 pounds of food raised for the West Seattle Food Bank.

The fundraiser comes at a critical time as the holidays are always the busiest for food banks, coupled with rising need in a down economy and funding cuts from the state and federal level. (You can read more about those challenges here).

Here is the official recap from Jones at the Washington Beer Blog site:

Participants at the 13th Annual Beer Church Turkey Bowl included a total of 199 bowlers and dozens of spectators. Beer Churchis the charitable arm of the Washington Beer Blog. We organize and operate the events but it is the participants, volunteers and sponsors who actually make a difference.

Real Change, in association with Patti Dunn and pickyourzip.com, will host the 3rd annual “Surviving the Streets” gear giveaway this Thanksgiving.

The giveaway distributes donated cold-weather items such as sleeping bags and jackets to homeless and low-income adults in Seattle.

This year, local meteorologists are predicting another La Niña winter with the likelihood of heavy rains, strong winds and at least one major snowfall in the region. To ensure people who sleep outside can brave the elements, Real Change and its partners hope to serve 250 people.

To reach this goal of offering 250 homeless and poor people cold-weather gear, Real Change relies on items donated by the community.

Donations for sleeping bags, tarps, warm blankets, men’s jackets, socks, backpacks, duffle bags and ponchos are welcomed at various drop-off locations throughout the city.

In Ballard donations can be dropped off at Parker Paint on 5500 14th Ave NW, as well as Sherwin Williams on 1436 NW Leary Way.

The giveaway will be held at the Real Change office, 96 S. Main St., in Pioneer Square from 9 a.m. to noon on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 24.

A repeat of La Niña and snow in the forecast has the King County Road Services Division cautioning drivers to be prepared for winter driving.

Because winter can come early in the higher hills, County road crews have topped off stockpiles of salt and sand and are ready to respond when roads get icy and the first flakes fall. That could be any day now, according to the latest forecast.

This season, the Road Services Division will have 17,700 cubic yards of sand, 270 cubic yards of salt and 21,000 gallons of anti-icing material stockpiled at ten field offices throughout the county. It also has a variety of equipment ready to go to combat snow and ice. During significant snowstorms, crews will be placed on 12-hour shifts to provide around-the-clock response to roads in unincorporated areas.

And beginning this month, six maintenance workers will once again be assigned overnight shifts to respond to snow, ice and other road problems.

press release:
A repeat of La Niña and snow in the forecast has the King County Road Services Division cautioning drivers to be prepared for winter driving.

Because winter can come early in the higher hills, County road crews have topped off stockpiles of salt and sand and are ready to respond when roads get icy and the first flakes fall. That could be any day now, according to the latest forecast.

This season, the Road Services Division will have 17,700 cubic yards of sand, 270 cubic yards of salt and 21,000 gallons of anti-icing material stockpiled at ten field offices throughout the county. It also has a variety of equipment ready to go to combat snow and ice. During significant snowstorms, crews will be placed on 12-hour shifts to provide around-the-clock response to roads in unincorporated areas.

And beginning this month, six maintenance workers will once again be assigned overnight shifts to respond to snow, ice and other road problems.

Mosaic and Mixed Media artist Gretchen Fuller, owner of Crazy Diamond Mosaics, will be among an array of regional artists to showcase and sell their work at the 'Best of the Northwest Fall Art Show'.

The art show features 250 artists and artisans chosen to display their latest creations of jewelry, clothing, drawings and glassworks, ceramics, painting, wood and metal works.

While Fuller is no stranger to the arts, having been a graphic designer and illustrator for 18 years, it was only recently that she traded her mouse for a glass cutter. 

“I was drawn to mosaics when I visited Philadelphia two years ago and saw the outdoor murals Isaiah Zagar created all over South Philly. Some of them are over three stories high!  Isaiah took a rather undesirable part of the city and made it sparkle with broken pieces of mirror and tile and glass, pottery - what other people might consider trash, and made something remarkable. He changed the way people felt about their city. I took a workshop with him and that kicked off the obsession," Fuller recalled.

Ten shorts by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been identified as "works of merit" by the Young People's Film Festival, a competitive, six-state regional festival coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland. A jury of filmmakers and educators selected 30 works for this distinction from over 150 entries in the Teen Division (grades 9 - 12).

The ten Ballard works that made the list include visual stories, short digital films, and a music video. Two of them are the first narrative works by students in the intro class of the Video Production Program.

As we announced last month, Nate Sawtell, Dylan Spence, and Louis Weissman have been named winners in the Teen Division of the 35th Annual Young People's Film Festival for their digital film Safe at Last. The Festival Winners of the Teen Division will be screened this Saturday, November 19 at 1 p.m. at the Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park, Portland, Oregon). Following the screening, there will be a reception and panel discussion for winners and audience members to meet this year's festival jurors. The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend.

The final design review meeting for the 8,000 sq. foot Roxhill Park Skatespot was well attended and offered a lot to see. It was no less laced with skater jargon, reflecting the passionate pursuit of the more than 25 skateboard enthusiasts that came to the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library Mon. Nov. 14 to voice their opinion.

Ranging in age from young teenagers to guys in their 30's and 40's the skaters looked over 4 potential plans that had been developed by designer Colby Carter of California Skateparks working with the Seattle Parks Department, and overseen by Project Manager Kelly Davidson.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

Each of the plans presented variations on the themes offered so far but tempered by the input of the skaters.

Just a few days before Jayme Lelani Thomas was shot in Redondo and later passed away, she stopped to pet my little Shih Tzu dog, "Miss Katrina," at Des Moines Beach Park.

She and I were strangers to each other, yet we had 
that common bond only pet owners share-- love for our dog companions.

When I first saw Jayme and a couple of her girlfriends, they were crossing the little bridge over the stream at Beach Park just laughing and chattering away as teens do so well.

I was resting on a bench at the north side of the stream when this story began. 
The sparkle in Jayme's eyes and that beautiful smile when she first saw Katrina made it clear she liked dogs and was fascinated with my Katrina.

"Look at that cute dog," she called to her girlfriends and they stopped briefly to pet Katrina. Jayme seemed reluctant or shy at first to come nearer until I assured her it was okay to pet my dog. In no time Jayme won Katrina over by scratching her back and patting her belly.

Jayme told me her family once had a German Shepard and someday when she has a home of her own she wants another one.