April 2012

I had to laugh when I heard that carpetbagger Chris Hansen, the San Francisco hedge-fund manager who wants us to help him build a basketball arena in Seattle, said he would pay for traffic studies.

Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse.

After the Mariners objected to the plan to plunk an arena next to the baseball stadium we are already paying for, Hansen apparently has decided to play an additional card.

I think it is a bad plan from the get go. We already have disagreeable traffic congestion on days when the Mariners and Seahawks play. Hansen wants to add more traffic and use the big parking garage used by the Mariners.

Remember: Hansen wants to put up only half the money. You and I will be asked to put up the rest. If you have forgotten, you have helped one of the world's richest men build a stadium for his football team.

What is wrong with people?

The NW EcoBuilding Guild's 2012 Seattle Green Home Tour is a free, self-guided opportunity to see all shades of green and sustainably built/renovated homes in person. Participants can talk to the professionals, see integrated solutions in-person, and learn how to transform their home to become part of a healthier, more productive lifestyle.

Celebrate Earth Day with us! All 25 sites (4 in West Seattle) open daily, 10am-4pm, April 21 & 22, 2012.

Projects range from DIY-applicable to ones that take extensive planning and carefully executed construction by professionals that significantly save energy, resources, and increases comfort and homeowner satisfaction.

Sponsored by Greenhome Solutions, Seattle Natural Awakenings [WS, IKEA, ESP Services, Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union, Northwest ENERGY STAR, Envision Homes [WS, Mighty House Construction [WS, Built Green, Local Tools [WS, Greenpod, Green Depot, and Keystone Windows & Doors.

The four West Seattle sites include:

A suspect has been named in the shotgun beating of an 80-year-old Burien man in an attempted home robbery.

The suspect is Zachary Irish, also known as “Lil Zack.” Despite his nickname, Irish is described as 6 fteet tall. He weighs 165 pounds and is 27 years old.

Irish has a record of burglaries, robberies and domestic violence assaults.

Police say Phil Isernio, 80, returned to his Burien home and surprised Irish and an accomplice.They say Irish hit Isernio in the face with the butt of a shotgun.

Q13 Fox News quotes Isernio as saying, “As soon as I got in the house—bang!—right there. I dropped down on my knees and he came at me again and I blocked it like this and then I started pleading for my life after that, because I knew he meant business—he was going to kill me.”

The other suspect ran away during the incident but was caught later by deputies. Police said Irish escaped.

West Seattle Thriftway is making some changes to get ready for the sale of liquor, starting June 1 but they are doing it in way to enhance the beauty of the store.

The center freezer cases, known as "coffins" were taken out of the store and that area has had special, retro style lighting fixtures added and the floor there chemically treated with a stain and glaze that is both good looking and durable.

Michelle Grasso of Thriftway said, "Our housewares is going in that spot." The liquor will go in the back of the store where Housewares used to be.

Large warehouse style stores and grocery stores with 10,000 square feet or more will be able to sell liquor as a result of the vote that passed in November and state-run liquor stores officially close on May 31.

Seattle author Garth Stein's wildly successful novel "The Art of Racing in the Rain" has been adapted for the stage at Book-It Repertory Theatre , Seattle Center, April 17 to May 13. The book, released in 2008, has been a New York Times best-seller for 173 weeks and still counting, and while it has been translated into over 30 languages, it is the language of a lab-terrier mix, Enzo, that seems to connect with the reader.

The official synopsis explains that Enzo knows he is different from the other dogs, and has educated himself by watching TV, and listening to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast.

Portraying Enzo is West Seattle/White Center professional actor David S. Hogan who also happens to be a professional dog trainer and walker.

The Delridge Produce Cooperative that has been working to bring fresh produce to what is known as a "Food Desert" along Delridge Way s.w. has chosen a location for their future store.

The DESC housing project at 5434-5444 Delridge Avenue s.w., will be finished around the end of 2013 - and DPC has been in negotiations to secure a commercial space. They plan to open a green grocery store selling organic fruits, vegetables, greens, roots, seeds, nuts, grains, flours, oils, nut butters, bottled tomato sauce and a few similar items, bread, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products in the beginning of 2014.

In a press release they stated how they will source the produce.

AUBURN - Consistent pitching and good defense paved the way for a Mount Rainier South Puget Sound League North 6-2 girls fastpitch win against Auburn Riverside at Game Farm Park on Tuesday, April 10.

With the outstanding win, the Rams moved their record to 3-6 in league and raised momentum going into the Spring Break.

"We know we have talent with a couple of the best players in the league," said first-year Mount Rainier head coach Ben Reindel. "We also start five underclassmen. There were only three freshman at the catcher's spot, but Tristen Yong has stepped up to catch and played her second game at catcher today. She's a great catcher with a great arm. Our role players were good today. We're counting on Sonny Dorhofer, Maylynn Mitchell, Jasmin Fulmore and Yong."

Mitchell is an outstanding and proven All-League shortstop who also is an outstanding hitter.

On Tuesday, the Rams unleashed early offense.

Friday, April 6
Baseball
Kennedy 21, Tyee 1
The Lancers trounced Tyee by 20 runs Friday.
Highline 11, Evergreen 0
The Pirates shut down the Wolverines in Seamount League action Friday.
Lindbergh 19, Foster 1
Foster also lost by a big score Friday.
Kentwood 12, Mt. Rainier 2
Kentwood cruised past the Rams in Friday action.
Fastpitch
Highline 15, Evergreen 0
The Pirates posted a shutout win over the Wolverines this past Friday.
Kentridge 6, Mt. Rainier 5
The Chargers edged the Rams in a one-run SPSL North game Friday.
Boys soccer
Kennedy 2, Lindbergh 1
Kennedy slipped past the Eagles in Friday Seamount League action.
Lacrosse
Roosevelt 8, Kennedy 7
The Roughriders knocked off the Lancers Friday.
Highline 12, Shoreline 9
Highline scored a three-point victory over Shoreline on Friday.

Saturday, April 7
Lacrosse
Three Rivers 14, Highline 2
Three Rivers drowned out the Pirates in a Saturday battle.
Garfield 9, Kennedy 8
The Bulldogs nipped the Lancers last Saturday.

Monday, April 9
Boys soccer
Mt. Rainier 2, Kent-Meridian 2
Jacob Winkle scored both goals for Mount Rainier in last Monday's tie.

More than 1,000 well-wishers attended a memorial service of former West Seattleite Lou Tice Friday at St. Edwards Memorial Church in Seattle

Tice, 76, died April 1.

A former high school teacher and football coach Tice and his wife, Diane, founded The Pacific Insitute (TPI) in 1971. TPI is a human potential education organization that has helped millions of people throughout the world.

When Lou Tice was a child in West Seattle, his father, a bread truck driver, died. Lou was six. He had three younger brothers. To get to school at Holy Family in White Center, Lou transferred three times on busses. One day, he got a bad cut on his eye on the playground. Back in class, his teacher was shocked to see his bloody face and ran to the principal's office for help. Father McGrath, who was head of the school at the time, took Lou to the doctor to get his cut stittched. On the way back to school, because he felt sorry for Lou, he bought him an ice cream cone. That gesture, Lou would later tell people, was the thing that got him interested in being a catholic.

The benches of King County Courthouse Room W-928 were full on April 13 as over 25 people, family and friends of slain 23-year-old Sweetheart Failautusi, came to watch her killer get sentenced for the 2011 White Center shooting death.

Each person wore a black t-shirt emblazoned with the image of Sweetheart as a child and a young woman – a visual testament to the solidarity and loss of the White Center woman’s family and Pacific Islander community.

Her killer, 25-year-old Anthony Haroldlee Smith, was sentenced to 15 years and a little over three months in prison after pleading guilty to a second degree murder charge in February. Smith admitted to shooting Failautusi after an altercation occurred on the evening of August 16 in downtown White Center. The victim’s group of friends had gotten into a fist fight with Smith’s group, and a short while later he returned with a pistol and shot her.

Members of Sweetheart’s family were given the chance to address Smith directly at his sentencing.

Her sister, Mona Failautusi, told the story of losing both of their parents prematurely, their mother in 1998 and their father on August 17, 2010.