July 2012

Beginning Sunday, July 22 through Thursday, July 27 the southbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed overnight, each night. Metro bus routes 54, 120 and 125 will be rerouted off the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

On Sunday night, July 22 the closure is expected to be from about 10:00 PM until about 5:00 AM. Monday night through Thursday night, the closure is expected to be from about 9:00 PM until about 5:00 AM each night however, start and end times can change without notice.

Visit the WSDOT website or check media reports for updates.

Routes 54, 120 & 125
Routes 54, 120 and 125 will travel instead via I-5. Their last stop in downtown Seattle will be southbound on 3rd Av just south of Columbia St. They will not serve the stop westbound on Columbia St at 2nd Av.

Northbound Viaduct service is not affected.

Press release:

On July 18, King County Elections will mail about 1.1 million ballots to voters via the U.S. Postal Service. Ballots will arrive soon in mailboxes throughout King County. The county already sent about 15,000 ballots to voters living overseas and those serving in the military to allow extra time for delivery.

“Voters should watch for their ballots in the mail and contact us if they haven’t received their ballot by July 25,” said Sherril Huff, Elections Director. “Following the instructions and returning ballots as early as possible helps us process ballots efficiently and provides time to resolve any issues that may occur with voters’ signatures.”

King County voters also will begin receiving their voters’ pamphlet in the mail this week. Voters’ pamphlets are available online, at Seattle and King County libraries, and at the Elections office in Renton.

Roxhill Elementary School Prinicpal Carmela Dellino has been named Executive Director of Schools for the West Seattle Region for Seattle Public Schools by new Superintendent Jose Banda. In a letter, promoting both Dellino and Kim Whitworth of Eckstein Middle School, Banda said of Dellino, "Under her leadership at Roxhill Elementary, the school moved from a Level 1 – the lowest performing – to a Level 3 out of 5 performance levels. She is proud of her staff, who are committed to excellence for all students and collaboratively have instituted reform measures that aim to bridge the achievement gap and foster a love of learning."

Dellino who has been principal at the school since 2008 succeeds the departing Aurora Lora.

Here's the letter in its entirety:

Dear Seattle Public Schools community,

Our mission is to ensure all students at Seattle Public Schools receive a quality education and are prepared for college, career and life. In order to create academic success, it is imperative for us to provide high-quality instructional leadership.

press release
A county-wide burn ban was declared today by the King County Fire Marshal in conjunction with Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties. This ban is prompted by forecasts calling for continued dry weather and will last until September 1, 2012.

This Phase 1 burn ban applies to all outdoor burning except for small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved camp grounds or private property with the owner’s permission. These fires must:

· Be built in a metal or concrete fire pit, such as those typically found in designated campgrounds; and not be used as debris disposal;
· Grow no larger than three feet in diameter;
· Be located in a clear spot free from any vegetation for at least 10 feet in a horizontal direction, including at least 25 feet away from any structure and allow 20-foot vertical clearance from overhanging branches; and
· Be attended at all times by an alert individual and equipment capable of extinguishing the fire shall be in constant attendance at the site while burning.

The King County Department of Development and Environmental services sent out a press release today issuing a burn ban. Look below for the full release.

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A county-wide burn ban was declared today by the King County Fire Marshal in conjunction with Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties. This ban is prompted by forecasts calling for continued dry weather and will last until September 1, 2012.

This Phase 1 burn ban applies to all outdoor burning except for small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved camp grounds or private property with the owner’s permission. These fires must:

· Be built in a metal or concrete fire pit, such as those typically found in designated campgrounds; and not be used as debris disposal;
· Grow no larger than three feet in diameter;
· Be located in a clear spot free from any vegetation for at least 10 feet in a horizontal direction, including at least 25 feet away from any structure and allow 20-foot vertical clearance from overhanging branches; and

Admit it. You've always wanted to name a Visayan warty pig.

Well, now's your chance (even if you've never thought of it before). Woodland Park Zoo is hosting a contest to name the three new Visayan warty pigs who made their debut at the zoo in May. The pigs are unique to two Visayan islands in the Phillipines, where habitat loss, food shortage and hunting have put them on the endangered list.

“We’re excited to introduce our three wild pigs to zoo visitors. As a population, the Visayan warty pigs are a critically endangered species,” said Martin Ramirez, a mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo, through a press release. “By giving them a place at the zoo, we’re making the community aware of their endangerment and our conservation efforts to help grow their population.”

Participants will have to cast their vote on one of six different possible names: Adlaw (sun), Bulak (flower), Lasang (forest), Magdula (playful), Banhaan (nosey), and Guapa (beautiful).

Ballots can be found in any issue of the Seattle Times while the contest is going. There are no age restrictions on voting, but participants must be 18 or older to claim a prize.

Almost a year in the making, a new bakery and deli has finally opened on Delridge Way in White Center at 9427 Delridge Way s.w.

The Delridge Bakery and Deli is owned by Phong Le and his uncle Loc Hounz and after getting through delays in construction, permits and more they got the door open on Monday July 16.

Still not completely stocked, the small bakery has a big oven and Hounz, a very experienced baker who began in Vietnam in 1968, said they will be baking fresh bread, banana bread, sweet rolls and much more every day.

It's also a place to get breakfast and lunch items such as Bun (a vermicelli noodle dish), rice, and seven different kinds of Banh Mi or Vietnamese sandwiches. They will serve rice to go with Teriyaki Chicken or Beef and Cem Tam (a broken rice specialty with BBQ Pork, fried shrimp or tofu).

You'll also find Vietnamese specialties such as Banh Chuoi Hap, Ban Bo Nuong, Banana sticky rice, and of course Bubble tea and other beverages.

If you've ever seen people spinning on their backs then moving into amazing postures as they alternately pose and move, you've seen break dancing. On Tuesday July 17 Summer B-Boy & B-Girl Breakdance classes will be begin at White Center's Steve Cox Memorial Park at 4pm and go until 6pm.

The classes are part of a pilot program and will take place twice a week as a result of a partnership between King County Parks and Extraordinary Futures (EF). EF is a non-profit focused on using art, such as break-dancing, to teach Seattle youth how to develop critical life and leadership skills.

Leading the instruction is Jeromeskee of the well known Seattle break-dance group Massive Monkees.

The pilot will include a twice a week session where local youth will be taught the fundamentals of break dancing and learn how to work in teams to create a unique performance. The summer pilot will last 5 weeks and will continue through fall once the school year starts. For more information, please go to https://www.facebook.com/ExtraordinaryFutures.

Deadline for receiving items for Community Calendar is 5 p.m. Wednesday for the following week’s Times/News. Events are published based on timeliness and space availability. Email submissions to: hteditor@robinsonnews.com Items can be accepted from nonprofit groups and government agencies only. Others may call Dona Ozier at 206-708-1378 for inclusion in our “Out & About” advertising section.

Art Exhibits

Burien Community Center— Images by Seattle photographer Joan Bowers. The images will be on display in the community center lobby until July 30th. 14700 6th Ave. S.W.

Call to artists

Burien’s Arts-a-Glow Lantern Festival-- Looking for artists interested in creating illuminated works for the 2012 festival to be held Sept. 8th. Works can be created for the festival or be already created work that needs to be repaired or altered. Fore more information, contact 206-988-3700.

For crying out loud this column has been appearing in this corner for more than 60 years. It has attempted to inform and amuse our readers over the long haul.

Our beloved readers have tolerated my meandering mind, unabated longer, as far as I know, than any other newspaper in the state; weekly or daily.

Lee, my high school heartbeat, who I later married, not only fed and changed the diapers of five sons but often contributed erudite words and great humor by sometimes writing this column.

The sons are men now and provide bread and butter to their own table but also see to the function of the family newspaper.

Every scribe runs scared he may be boring so I welcomed a lot of help on this space over the years and tears.

Lee is no longer with us. I lost her many years ago.

Today I found one of her typical columns while going through the archives. It first appeared in the paper and then in our book called "Something's Out There."

Enjoy.

Plane Speaking
By Lee Robinson