May 2012

Dana Hoven got her dog Gwendolyne six years ago and as you can see, Gwendolyne makes an impression. She's a large dog, a South African Boerboel, who came from Moon Mountain Ranch in Spokane, WA.

Hoven picked her out online at first but, "She was actually promised to somebody else, but we went out to visit because I didn't understand how the dog could measure so small but then you look at the pictures and they are so big, so when we went out to visit, she was suddenly available."

Gwendolyne weighed 45 pounds, at the age of 3 months when she came to live with Hoven but these are big dogs and weighs 150 pounds now.

"Gwenny eats all natural food because she has a horrible corn allergy," Hoven explained, getting the food at Petco.

Thaiku, a beloved Ballard Avenue restaurant which closed December of last year due to a property dispute, will re-open in the form of a pop-up restaurant located at its sister venue Copper Gate, 6301 24th Avenue N.W. tonight.

During its ten year presence in Ballard, Thaiku was famous for its regional, home-style Thai cuisine, and the restaurant's bar, Fu Kun Wu, was a haven for jazz musicians and jazz lovers alike.

Following the venue's closure, Thaiku's decor and furniture was auctioned off, and its resident jazz band, the Fu Kun Wu Trio, relocated to Copper Gate.

"We all miss Thaiku and Fu Kun Wu," said Jon Alberts, the restaurant proprietor and resident jazz musician. "We're still actively looking for the right space to reincarnate. For now, let's see how this goes."

Some of Thaiku's original staff will prepare and serve the meal at the pop-up, and several of the popular dishes will be served, along with a couple of Fu Kun Wu's signature herb-infused cocktails.

The first pop-up night is scheduled for Thursday, May 31, from 5 p.m. until midnight. More Thaiku pop-ups at Copper Gate are planned in the future until its reincarnation.

UPDATE MAY 30

Highline Garden Tour
Saturday, June 9, 2012 1
10 AM - 5 PM

The Highline Historical Society has hosted the Garden Tour since 2005," said Cindy Upthegrove, the Historical Society Director and Burien resident. "We collaborate with the Sea-Tac Highline Botanical Garden every year. We have seven locations, including the botanic garden. One location will offer a series of rain gardens. We're featuring rain gardens because that's the new thing in sustainability, keeping pollutants out of Puget Sound. There are probably 40 volunteers working on this.

"They will find pottery and plants and other thing for sale," she said. "Every place where you stop has some feature to it that is in addition to a lovely garden. The gardens are generally very, very nice. I'm not a gardener and I can take this tour and have an excellent day."

Included on the tour is the half-acre Normandy Park property of John and Dana Lassell. Her handmade sculptural pottery, which is for sale, will be placed in and around the garden.

King County press release

Join us for a Pre-construction Community Meeting!

Construction will begin in early summer to upgrade the Barton Pump Station, increasing capacity and efficiency to accommodate West Seattle’s growing population and ensure the pump station’s safe and reliable operation.

Wednesday, May 30, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Fauntleroy Church, Fellowship Hall
9140 California Ave SW

At the meeting you will learn about:
• Anticipated construction schedule
• Impacts on the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal
• How we will work with the community during construction
• Pump station design and site restoration

King County protects public health and the environment by conveying and treating the region's wastewater. The Barton Street Pump Station is 50 years old. King County must upgrade the facility to accomodate West Seattle's growing population and ensure its safe and reliable operation for the next 50 years.

4th UPDATE May 26

UPDATE: Abductor charged with kidnapping

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jimmy Hung described Riley as an admitted member of the Valley Hood Piru street gang with an extensive criminal history and outstanding domestic violence charges involving three women, and said, The state has grave concerns for the safety of the victims in this case as well as the community at large,” Hung told the court.

Riley is charged with second-degree kidnapping, car theft, unlawful gun possession and violating a no-contact order, all felonies. He remains jailed at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center on $400,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned June 5.

3rd UPDATE for 4:35 p.m.: The King County Sheriff's Office is tweeting information that the suspect, Micheal Riley, is in custody and the kids are safe.

LoJack (vehicle tracking technology) and air support were used to track the suspect's vehicle, located at S.W. 160th St. and S.W. 20th Ave S.W. in Burien.

The suspect had a loaded gun at his feet and drug paraphernalia in the car when arrested, according to KCSO.

More details to come.

2nd UPDATE:

Seattle Parks and Recreation is in the process of creating a strategy to reduce water usage and costs while maintaining the health of Parks’ living assets with a pilot program to limit park irrigation in some, and cease watering in other parks with less use. The plan under consideration would be in place from June through September of this year. The results would be evaluated next winter to determine future implementation.

“Our crews are excited about being able to make a tangible contribution to our water conservation efforts,” said Acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams. “It’s also an opportunity to learn what may happen during drought conditions and to validate the assumptions in our drought contingency plan.”

It costs $1.25 million each year to irrigate 300 of Seattle’s 430-plus parks. Of these, about 100 have their water use regulated by a state of the art, computerized irrigation system that measures how much water is needed at any given time and turns irrigation on and off at precise times.

What may be the world's first 1970's disco hand clapping movie with a Swedish swagger begins filming in the Seattle area soon. Titled "HÄNDS OF THUNDER", this unique effort is co-produced by Abundant Productions, and West Seattle-based Corwood Productions. The same team produced the short "All My Presidents" filmed in West Seattle which opened at the Admiral Theater and was just screened at SIFF.

Corwood partners Lisa Coronado and Alder Sherwood live in West Seattle. Abundant's Lorraine Montez is a former West Seattle resident.

"All My Presidents" stars Coronado, West Seattle's David S. Hogan, and Brian Sutherland.

A display of beautiful spots appeared earlier at Woodland Park Zoo when triplet snow leopards were born to 7-year-old mother Helen earlier this month. The cubs represent the second litter for Helen and 6-year-old father Tom.
 
A neonatal examination on the cubs last week confirmed the cups as two females and one male.
 
The mom and cubs are off public exhibit in a maternal den to allow bonding and proper nursing. The zoo anticipates putting the cubs on public exhibit in mid-July.
 
“Helen was an excellent mother to the pair of cubs she gave birth to in 2009 and successfully raised. We’re very pleased to see that she’s nurturing the three cubs very well and that they appear to be progressing normally. They appear to be healthy, their eyes are just now opening and their bellies were full of milk, indicating that they are nursing,” said the zoo's Director of Animal Health, Dr. Darin Collins.

The cubs currently weigh between 2.1 and 2.4 pounds.
 

Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying, “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered...”

Mine is a garden of mystery, then, as I apparently have many plants with undiscovered virtues. And now, when I actually have time for the garden, they have my full attention. Instead of planting vegetables, I’m playing the catch up and maintain game, making sure the herbs, berries and flowers have the room – and air and sunlight – they need to flourish.

That’s where City Grown Seattle urban farm comes in. In previous years, in addition to growing my own, I’ve signed up for CSA* boxes, or frequented the farmers market. But this year, my vegetable dollars will help support my neighborhood farmer when I purchase my fresh seasonal veggies from farm stands near or around my ‘hood.

What’s an urban farm?

by Carol Smith

This tale’s about a hamlet that
Serenely undeveloped sat
Upon the lovely Westside Shore
Where less was not considered poor

Unlike its neighbors to the east
For years it let no builders feast
Like cannibals upon its space
To change its charming small town face

But even this most pleasant nook
Could not maintain its village look
When those beneath the wily guise
Of progress plotted its demise

For greed’s self-serving destiny
Cares not when it leaves you and me
Frustrated in the crowded dust
Of its unregulated lust

So places where the locals shopped
Ate burgers and to music rocked
Were left obscurely in the wake
Of building just for profit’s sake

And if the nature of this tale
Continues to grow out of scale
We may find next to any door
A low-class, high-rise now can soar!