January 2012

Updated Saturday, Jan. 28, 11:40 p.m.

By Patrick Robinson & Steve Shay

The Riverside Memorial Plaza in the heart of the historical West Seattle Croatian immigrant fishing community took place Saturday, Jan. 28. The plaza is located at 17th Ave. SW and West Marginal Pl., at the mouth of the Duwamish River, just south of the West Seattle Bridge

It is the product of a partnership between the “The Friends of Riverside” – the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the Riverside fishing families of the early 1900s – and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.

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"A lot of hard work went into this," said Historical Society President, Marcy Johnson. "It's a wonderful thing." (Another slice of West Seattle history, Johnson's parents purchased what is now the Log House Museum on Alki in 1959 where she grew up. She recalls strangers entering their front door at dinner assuming it was the Homestead Inn restaurant, another log house down the street.)

The Hi-Yu Spring Tea and Auction taking place Sunday, March 18th, from2:00-4:30 will feature a rare event, the official coronation of the West Seattle Hi-Yu Senior Queen, Kayli Schulz accompanied by her junior court Queen Thea Pulido, Princess Amanda Elder, and Princess Elena Kline.

Auction items are lined up for the event from area businesses and individuals.

Tickets are now available for purchase individually or the the option to become a Table Captain and buy a table for 10 to share.

All purchases support the West Seattle community with family events including Seattle’s last remaining community float and the Hi-Yu scholarship program for women. This year’s theme is “Secret Garden.” You can read more about coming events at www.westseattlehiyu.com or on Facebook.

You have two Spring Tea ticket options, by mail or online. To purchase by mail, send a check for $25 each to West Seattle Hi-Yu, PO Box 16130, Seattle, WA 98116-0130. To purchase online, simply click one of the links below.

Wednesday, Jan. 25
Girls basketball
West Seattle 50, Ingraham 35
The Wildcats of West Seattle scored a convincing win over Ingraham in a Metro League game played

Wednesday, Jan. 25.
West Seattle's next action is a 7:30 p.m. home game against Chief Sealth Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Wrestling
Evergreen 42, Lindbergh 40
Evergreen was a two-point winner over Lindbergh in a tight match Wednesday, Jan. 25.
Chief Sealth hosts the Metro League meet starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4.

President Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Jan. 24, did more than touch on education, including the quality of public school teachers, the critical role of community colleges and tuition costs. He made it a major theme.

* Please note, emphasis mine on those parts of the speech in bold type. They are referenced later in this story.

The President said, in part, "At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies -- just to make a difference.

Press release:
 
Do you like to work with tools, or wield a paint brush?  How about tearing stuff apart? ArtsWest is looking for a few good men (and women) to help build and paint our theater sets, and take them down when the show closes.  It’s “all hands on deck” in the two to three weeks prior to opening night, and in the days following closing.  Volunteers work with our technical staff, typically Monday - Friday, 10 am – 4 pm.  Next call for theater tech volunteers begins Feb. 13th, for our production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, by Jim Cartwright.
 
Or, are you one of those social types who enjoy “meeting and greeting?” If you like visual art, that’s a bonus! ArtsWest is also recruiting volunteer Gallery Greeters to fill two and a half hour shifts in the afternoons (Wed. – Sat.), on a weekly basis. A Gallery Greeter is stationed in the ArtsWest gallery to answer visitors’ questions, assist customers with jewelry and art purchases, and sometimes give short tours or help staff with mailings.
 

After successful pilot programs in two elementaries, Highline Public Schools officials are considering expanding the district’s dual language program.

In the program, students are taught in both English and Spanish.
In April, administrators hope to identify more schools that could begin the program in Fall 2013.

Language and Cultural Arts coordinator Bernard Koontz briefed the school board Jan. 25 on the program.

Highline’s first dual language program is operating at Hilltop Elementary in Burien with eight teachers and about 200 kindergarten through third-grade students. The other program at North Highline’s Mount View Elementary has six teachers and approximately 150 kindergarten through second-graders.

Half the students began kindergarten as Spanish speakers with the other half as English speakers. They all become “bi-literate,” Koontz said.
Bi-lingual students can listen and speak on a social or conversational basis in two languages, according to Koontz. Bi-literate students can read and write academically in two languages.

What do you do if you've lost your business and have come to a crossroads in your life?

For Vik Puri and Nikhi Aum, the answer was to try and live by their core values and do their absolute best to give back.

The couple will be opening a new healthy foods store called Martin's Way at the corner of Findlay Street s.w. and s.w. Delridge Way in early February, inspired by their heroes Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi. It will operate as a non profit.

The store will offer fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, rice, beans, as well as Stumptown coffee plus a remarkable array of spices ranging from jalapeño peppers, cardamom, bay leaves, and star anise to a series of gourmet flavored salts.

Just before the end of the year, Mayor McGinn signed an ordinance (123790) that rezones the West Seattle Triangle, a seven block area, that changes the requirements for buildings regarding lot coverage limits, setbacks, separation, the maximum width of structures and other land use.

This ordinance takes effect on Jan. 27.

This legislation:

Rezones the area from a general commercial 1 (C1) zone to the neighborhood commercial 3 (NC3) zone in an approximately seven-block area. The new zone designation would require pedestrian-oriented street frontages in structures consistent with the area’s location at the hub of transit within the urban village.
Extends an existing Pedestrian (P) designation along SW Alaska Street between 36th Avenue SW and 42nd Avenue SW.

Kalene Larson was coming down N.W. Market Street around 8 p.m. on January 14 when she was struck by a car going at least 35 mph. The car was totaled and Larson was rushed to the ER with head injuries.

Larson says the car was a 1998 dark green four-door Chevy Tahoe and the driver was caucasian, in his early 30s with dark hair and chin strap facial hair.

" was aggressively driving and seemed drunk because he was swerving and tailing my car," Larson said. "He struck the car intentionally, going 35mph, side swiping the entire left side [of my and then sped off."

Two pedestrians witnesses the event and a police report was filed.

"Clearly he is unsafe and should go to jail. If anyone sees a late 90's dark green Tahoe with dark blue paint or damages to the right front side, please contact police," said Larson. "I would love it if someone saw his car and wrote in because he could get charged with intentional manslaughter and I want him off the road so he doesn't continue this."

The Seattle Police Department's non-emergency hotline can be reached at (206) 625-5011.

The Ballard gymnastics team took second in a four way meet on Thursday with a season high score of 159.25.

Woodinville took first with 174.0 points. Roosevelt finished third with 156.9, and Eastlake fourth at 111.45 points.

In her last home meet, Ballard senior Maria Volk was second on vault, fourth on bars and fourth all around. Freshman Lauren Lee was second on bars and fourth on vault.

"Overall the seniors had a great meet their last time in their home gym. The whole team has improved so much since the start of the season, it's exciting to see," said coach Stephanie Gundel.

Ballard will host the JV Invitational on Saturday and then travel to Roosevelt on Feb 4th for the KingCo 4A League Championships.

Meet individual scores:

Vault

1. Elaine Marshall (r) 9.05

2. Maria Volk (B) 8.95

3. Julie Tollifson (W) 8.65

Bars

1. Emily Paratore (W) 8.45

2. Lauren Lee (B) 8.35

3. Madison Engel (W) 8.25

Beam

1. Emily Paratore (W) 9.45

2. Julie Tollifson (W) 9.4

3. Madison Engel (W) 9.35

Floor

1. Emily Paratore (W) 9.6

2. Rose Kibala (R) 9.55