August 2012

When I met my future husband I got more than I bargained for in the form of his irrepressible mother Charlotte Elaine Tollefson Gaddis. It was only after her death Saturday morning at 5:05 a.m. on the 4th floor of Ballard Swedish that she was uncharacteristically still and silent.

When Charlotte’s health problems actually clipped her wings such that I did more of her errands it was clear her 20+ years in Ballard had left quite a mark, almost like the dancing footsteps on Broadway. Just the mention of her name at the bank, Bartell’s Pharmacy, QFC, LT Nails or Sons of Norway could illicit an exuberant response. Her gold Saturn was the one with the license plate holder, Ballard’s Favorite Herbal Life Lady.

If you go to farmers markets, you've probably seen him. Ballard, Fremont, Magnolia, Madrona, Queen Anne, Pike Place, or whatever other market you might frequent -- he's done it all, or just about.

His name is Howlin' Hobbit (www.howlinhobbit.com) and he plays the ukulele, sometimes solo, sometimes with his band, the Snake Suspenderz. He wears felt hats and fezes and flat tops and dresses up like a dapper gentleman from the '20s or '30s. His website says he specializes in old-skool jazz, hokum, novelty tunes and original songs on the ukulele (though he plays a bevy of instruments, including guitar, harmonica, keyboard and even the washboard). And he's been on the streets busking and entertaining passersby in the Seattle area for 28 years now. He's 54.

When asked why he busked, instead of perhaps pursuing a more lucrative career, Hobbit replied:

“It’s the most honest work in the world. It’s you and your talents and skills, whatever they happen to be, and the passing pedestrians. If you can’t convince them to give out some of their money, then,” he gave a small shrug, “you make no money.”

Andy Rogers and her husband Jeff got their dog Mouse from a breeder named Just Danes (Facebook page here) in Arlington Washington.

The Rogers have only lived in West Seattle since November.

Andy said, "My husband had wanted a Great Dane for about five years and I finally caved."

Mouse (they came up with the name together) was born in January and they got him at 8 weeks of age.

They feed him special puppy food in what some might find to be large quantities. "He eats three cups three to four times a day. And he loves rawhide bones as treats but he eats them in five minutes so we go through a two pack in a week."

His biggest characteristic is that he thinks he's a lap dog.That wouldn't necessarily be an issue if you have a big lap yourself but, "we have a two year old and he will try to sit in his lap too," Rogers said. He's just a very cuddly dog and he doesn't realize his size."

Mouse is not supposed to be on any furniture but, "I'm the only one who enforces that rule," Roger said with a laugh, "He loves the furniture."

Neighborcare Health which operates a West Seattle school based health centers out of West Seattle High School Chief Sealth International High School, Denny International Middle School, Madison Middle School, High Point Medical and Dental Clinic, among its six locations locally released news via Facebook of a grant it has received from Boeing:

"We are thrilled to announce a gift of $90,000 from Boeing in support of our work to achieve Patient Centered Medical Home recognition at our 6 main primary medical care clinics.

We believe everyone deserves and needs a place to call their health care home, and we are grateful to Boeing or this investment in the health of our community. To learn more about our PCMH project, please see our Report to the Community for 2011 at http://www.neighborcare.org/about-us/annual-reports"

Neighborcare operates 16 medical, dental or school based health centers around the greater Seattle Area including these in West Seattle:

Neighborcare Health Chief Sealth School-Based Health Center
2600 SW Thistle St.

Ed. note - for updated information from Dr. Shannon McKinney, principal for K-5 STEM, please scroll to the bottom of the story.

One of the first things you’ll notice at the Louisa Boren Junior High School building on Delridge Way S.W. is a new exterior paint job – a mixture of yellow and grey that actually carries on into the building itself, which will house Seattle Public Schools first kindergarten through 5th grade STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program.

The colors were decided upon by architects who work with Seattle Public Schools because they had that technological feel, according to SPS Capital Projects Manager Jeannette Imanishi, who is in charge of getting Boren ready for K-5 STEM students in September.

PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR A PHOTO TOUR

Press release from the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
Save the date: Saturday, August 25, 2012 – Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98108).

We will celebrate our river and the communities that live along its shores. Everybody is welcome!

Walk / Bike / Paddle fundraiser
This year we are encouraging people to get to the festival “in Seattle style” by walking, biking or paddling to the festival. This activity is perfect for families, recreational walkers, bird watchers, history buffs and more! Guides with information about the area will be stationed at rest stops along the way, and will have water, snacks and First Aid.

For specific information about each activity and registration please visit www.BrownPaperTickets.com.

100% of the proceeds will go toward organizing next year’s festival.

Duwamish River Festival

Press release

BURIEN, WASH., August 14, 2012 – Local 1461 Burien Fire Fighters will be out in the streets on Friday, August 17, with a goal of raising $5,000, as they kick off their annual Fill-the-Boot fundraising campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Fire fighters will be in the complex at 1st Ave S and 148th St, 1st Ave S and 160th St and 1st Ave S and Normandy Rd. from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., filling their boots with donations from motorists. They will be joined by Danielle Harada and Linda Harada, who are local MDA clients.

Over the last two years, the Burien Fire and Emergency Services Department raised almost $4,000 for MDA, adding to the International Association of Fire Fighters’ (IAFF) national total of more than $28 million. Fire Fighters have been volunteering their time and, don’t forget, boots—to help children and adults with 43 muscle-deteriorating diseases since 1954. Public’s help will help

Until 2:30 p.m. today, one northbound lane will be closed while a crew continues work on removing streetlight poles.

Significant traffic delays could occur when the bridge goes up, warns the Seattle Department of transportation.

Expect more lane closures on Friday, Aug. 17.

At Commodore Park near the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, a family of osprey has moved into a man-made nest, Seattle City Light reports.

The nest, a 4-by-4 platform secured on a 70-foot pole, was built back in March to provide a safe nesting habitat for breeding ospreys. Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle City Light, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Northern Santa Fe Railroad all teamed up to work on the project.

In 2009, ospreys were seen nesting on a 90-year-old, deteriorating telegraph pole on the trestle bridge, according to an older City Light post. In 2011, it was removed before osprey mating season due to potential safety issues. The new, much safer platform then is something of an upgrade for osprey families.

Jason Bourne, who art not in this movie, why does the title bear your name? The original Bourne trilogy never felt much like a franchise along the lines of James Bond, but somehow it has now managed to get this treatment. Despite the title character being nothing more than a casual mention in this film, The Bourne Legacy finds its own strides with a new likeable assassin, sans amnesia.

To call The Bourne Legacy a sequel would be a little misleading -- it’s more of an appendage or supplementary device than anything. It takes place sometime during the first two Bourne movies where Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is at large and looking for answers about his forgotten past as a super assassin for the government project, Treadstone. Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner (The Avengers), has a parallel journey to Bourne as he escapes the program and seeks independence from the drugs Operation Blackbrier (the “new Treadstone”) has been giving him and to help a Blackbrier doctor, played by Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Fountain), along the way.