April 2012

Press release from Holli Margell, North Delridge Neighborhood Council Outreach

Last year’s 5th Annual Delridge Day was a true community success. North Delridge Neighborhood Council’s Co-Secretary, Amanda Leonard, stepped up when the previous organizing group’s lack of funds threatened to cancel the festival. The result? A community-wide celebration that included the Delridge Skatepark Grand Opening, over 40 vendors and more than 2,000 attendees. Plans for an even bigger 2012 Delridge Day Festival are currently under way.

The 2012 Delridge Day Festival is planned for August 18th from 11AM-3PM at the Delridge Park. This year’s festival will feature two new activities: the first Alki Bike and Board Skate Contest and a music stage. Interested musicians can email contact Chas Redmond at credmond@mac.com and provide links to their music.

West Seattle Community Orchestras Spring 2012 Concerts press release

Join the West Seattle Community Orchestras twice in May for concerts on May 8 and May 15. Concert details as follows.

May 8: Stepping into Spring featuring the WSCO Debut and Intermediate Orchestras, 6:30 pm, Chief Sealth International High School.
A multifaceted show highlighting our youngest players just beginning to adults taking up instruments for the first time or after an extended absence. We are so proud of these musicians’ growth and improvement. The Debut Orchestra will show off their new skills in Sword Dance, a march and “Ode to Joy” featured in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The Intermediate Orchestra will shine through “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Together, both groups will add sparkle to the night with an enthusiastic rendition of the “Can Can.” Also on the program will be a very special performance of the WSCO Trombone Quartet, performing “A Song for Japan,” a gorgeous piece written to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 2011 tsunami.

By Jerry Robinson

      When I told my Mom I hitched a ride to the stockyards in Portland with a man I did not know, when I was 10, she was shocked. When I told her he had a badge with his name Albert Wiesendanger (rhymes with anger), she did not believe me. It was okay, he was a park ranger.I also told her I knew a man named Elmer Slotboom; she didn’t believe me and never wanted to know about a boy named Booger something.

When I bought the White Center News in 1952 I was stunned when my foreman told me that as a schoolboy at Highline High he and his friends called the town Rat City.

He  said it was called that because his buddies believed it was named as a Restricted Access Territory for U.S. Navy personnel during the second world war. 

I had never heard that and ignored it but set about working hard to improve the image by helping get improved parking, paved streets, and a generally nicer place to live. 

press release:
The Seattle School Board on Sunday discussed the qualifications of the Superintendent finalists and asked Board President Michel DeBell to contact José Banda, the current Superintendent of the Anaheim City School District.

“I spoke with Mr. Banda on Sunday night and told him the Board is very interested in having him as our next leader of Seattle Public Schools. Mr. Banda expressed his willingness to accept the position if offered,” DeBell said. “We believe he is a strong fit for Seattle.”

The Board met in closed session on Sunday night. They did not take a formal vote on the candidates, but did direct DeBell to contact Mr. Banda. The full Board is expected to officially name Mr. Banda as their choice during Wednesday’s School Board meeting (May 2), and then vote on the contract on May 16. If approved, the new Superintendent would start after July 1.

On April 16 the School Board announced three finalists for Superintendent: José L. Banda, Steven W. Enoch and Sandra L. Husk. On Saturday night, Enoch withdrew his candidacy, and on Monday morning, Husk also withdrew her candidacy.

Not getting the hint
It was 4:15 a.m. on April 24 when a couple living on the 9000 block of 29th Ave S.W. awoke abruptly to their dogs madly barking and someone knocking and ringing the bell at their front door. The male victim peeked out his window and watched a young male start kicking back at the door with his face to the street. The victim attempted to scare the intruder off by yelling to his wife to call the police and get his gun, but the suspect just kept kicking. He gave up when the door wouldn’t give and started walking eastbound on S.W. Barton St. By that time, police responded to the scene and tracked him down. The suspect claimed he was from Tacoma and was just trying to find a friend’s house. Police took him to the victims’ home where he was positively identified at the attempted burglar. He was transported to the Southwest Precinct for booking and the couple said they would gladly testify in court.

Robbery at gunpoint

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206 971 7169
Check out our Spring Zing Sale - 25% off marked prices store wide (jewelry excluded) May 3rd-6th. Items with yellow tags are 50% off through May 22nd, all men's wear is 50% off every Sunday. Pre-Mother's Day women's wear sale is 50% off, May 7th-13th. Also, in preparation for Mother's Day, we have a dish garden made by our talented volunteer, Diane. A $1 donation will get you a chance to win this unique gift for Mom. In keeping with the American Cancer Society slogan: "A world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays," shop with us on your actual birthday for a 20% discount on all your purchases. Join us during Art Walk on, May 10th when we're open until 8:00 p.m. When you shop and volunteer with us you help support cancer research. The all volunteer run, non-profit American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

9 Pin Bowling Tournament Fundraiser for Susan G Komen
Roxbury Lanes & Casino
2823 Roxbury St.

By Kyra-lin Hom

You all know of the famous, USDA Food Pyramid, right? Grains on the bottom, fruits and vegetables on the next level, dairy and protein after that and fats, oils and sweets on the top? It's in our textbooks, on the backs of our cereal boxes and in our heads telling us what to and what not to eat. But where did it actually come from? Nowhere scientific, let me tell you. And it might just be responsible for why America is getting so dang chubby.

By Marjorie Young

One of this column’s readers, ‘bent pros’ wrote in the following question: “Some people fear knowing their future. Do you think being told what lies in store is a hindrance or a help?”

That’s a fascinating topic…and a complex one. It leads inevitably to a related line of inquiry – is our path preordained? Is the future indeed fated or flexible?

My own belief is that our fortunes overwhelmingly rest in our own hands. Though ‘fate’ may land us in a given situation, we always possess freedom of action within that sphere. And so our lives are, to a great extent, our own creations. Will we produce a ‘masterpiece’ or ‘mayhem’? Our ‘destinies’ are malleable…we shape them at each crossroads we encounter and every direction we embrace.

In April, Ballard restaurant Plaka Estiatorio celebrated their three year anniversary, and they are as busy as they have been since day one, when they completely sold out two hours before closing.

Tucked away on 20th Avenue N.W., Plaka on any given night is crowded, loud, sometimes a tad bit chaotic, and wonderfully homey. Guests feel as welcome here as they do at their parents' dinner table at Thanksgiving.

Plaka is named after an old district of Athens, which was once a gathering place for free thinkers who roamed the marble lined streets below the great walls of the Acropolis. Today, the labyrinth of the streets are filled with the welcoming sounds of music and chattering of locals and tourists drawn to the quarter by the wafting scents of grilled meats, fresh seafood, and roasted garden vegetables.

From the Ballard News-Tribune BLOG:

By Dusty Henry, Arts & Entertainment Intern

In July 2011, Ballard acoustic singer-songwriter Kevin Long released his first record titled Small Town Talk. Just under a year later Long is preparing to record a follow-up album and is about to head out on tour with Seattle-folk elder statesman, Rocky Votolato.

His forthcoming sophomore album, Forgiveness in the City, will deal with varying themes of personal growth, envy, and competition.

“It’s hard to be a better person when you’re being vengeful,” Long said.

While happy he followed through with his dream of recording an album, Long does have some beef with the first record that he plans to correct this time around, he said.

“To me [Small Town Talk] sounds like there’s too much going on sonically,” he said.

For Forgiveness in the City he plans on recording the songs more sparse and adorned with “pretty stuff.”