August 2012

Good news for Washington adults looking to kick the tobacco habit once and for all. According to the Washington State Department of Health, funding has been restored to make the state’s Tobacco Quitline available to all residents once again.

The service was drastically cut in 2011 due to budget shortfalls, which forced the Quitline to deny service to over 6,500 tobacco users reaching out for help. Most of them were denied because they didn’t have health insurance, DOH reported.

Here is the press release from DOH:

Washington State Tobacco Quitline resumes service for all residents
Quitline to provide free help for all Washington adults who want to quit using tobacco

OLYMPIA – Adults in Washington who are considering quitting tobacco can now get free help from the Department of Health’s toll-free Washington State Tobacco Quitline. Calling a quitline significantly increases a person’s chances of kicking the habit.

Kami Williams and Tyler Houser got their puppy Skyy (named after "sky bird" Williams said), only a few days ago. Skyy is an 8 week old purebred pit bull. "Her father is an American Pit and I'm not sure about her mother," explained Williams about Skyy's look and markings.

"We drove all the way to DuPont, Wa two days ago to pick her up." The couple found her online and Williams said, "We were looking for any kind of new puppy for our son Kaden (he's only four months old too)," and they wanted to find him any kind of dog to grow up with as a companion.

They only paid $150, "and she was the last one" said Williams. They marked the price down for Williams and "she's a bargain hunter," said Houser.

Even though they have only had Skyy a short time they are already in love with her. "She's very playful," said Williams, "but she likes to have accidents in the middle of the night." Houser said "One happened on me. She actually took a poop on my foot while I was sleeping. It was the weirdest thing and I've never heard of anything like that."

On Aug. 1 (one week after the strikes began), Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued a statement that the city will “begin assessing possible fines to be imposed on Waste Management for non-collection of garbage, recycling, and food and yard waste, with funds to be returned to the public in the form of bill adjustments.”

Fines could reach as high as $1.25 million a day.

"This service disruption is creating a hardship for residents and businesses, and we expect Waste Management to fulfill their contract," McGinn said in a press release.. "We will be looking for every missed collection by Waste Management and with the public's help we will hold them accountable. I urge both sides to return to the table to reach a mutually acceptable solution."

The mayor said Seattle Public Utilities inspectors will “begin fanning out across Seattle looking for missed collections and assessing possible penalty fees.”

This is where the public’s help comes into play. The city is asking any Wednesday (Aug. 1) customers to leave their uncollected carts out until Thursday (Aug. 2) to help assess missed pickups. Thursday customers should do the same until Friday.

SLIDESHOW UPDATE & story:: SATURDAY 9:15 P.M. Click on photo for more

Melissa Swanson is the new President of Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club, the host of this annual race.

"I did a lot of leg work to get people down here," she said. "Fantastic weather. Should be another great course, a lot of fun. I got here at 6:00 a.m. so I got rockstar parking."

Malia McFatridge attended high school and college in Hawaii. She paddles with Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club. She learned the sport after high school.

"I moved here for work 12 years ago," she said. "The first week I Googled 'outrigger paddling in Seattle' and the Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club was the first result. I didn't know anyone here but met so many people through paddling."

James Jackman of Columbia River Outrigger Club, or CROC, the club that finished first place in the long race.

"You're a little more buoyant in salt water than fresh water," he said. "You move a little faster because less of the boat is in the water and you have less resistance. The Columbia River is fresh water."

It came as a total surprise to Chief Sealth International student Sahro Fidow when an impressive roster of professional Seattle athletes showed up to help her and fellow Garden Club members expand their garden for the upcoming school year on Aug. 1.

“I thought it was just (going to be) us,” Fidow said, looking around in amazement as Forey Duckett (former Seahawk) helped shovel compost, Mariners pitcher Lucas Luetge planted vegetables for the fall, and Camille Little and Svetlana Abrosimova of the Seattle Storm chipped in anywhere they were needed. Mariners pitcher Steve Delabar, Seahawk alumni Kerry Carter and former Sounders defender Taylor Graham were also in attendance.

UPDATE: 6:21 p.m.
If you are a Burien Wednesday residential customer, Waste Management will collect garbage and yard waste on Friday as part of our recovery services (only
garbage and yard waste collection).

Waste Management is working diligently to resume services throughout Puget
Sound. We are pleased to announce that WM is expanding our service recovery
efforts to include regular Friday routes and additional recovery in certain
residential areas. Customers may double load at no extra charge and please keep your carts out until 6:00pm.

Update: 11.28 a.m.

Press release from Seattle Public Utilities

Teamsters Local Union No. 117 recycling drivers voted this morning to end their strike against Waste Management, and garbage and food/yard waste collections have resumed.

UPDATE: 7:20 p.m.

Tentative agreement reached. Here is the press release issued by Waste Management:

James Lynch with our news partner Q13 FOX News reports a group of homeowners in Normandy Park are "less than thrilled" with a group of homes purchased by a California company that house citizens who are apparently in treatment for mental health issues.

Neighbors complained to Lynch that the group homes appear to operate unregulated, with no medications, counseling or supervision at the homes (they go to a different building in Normandy Park for those needs).

To learn more, please read the full story at www.q13fox.com.

Race two of the third Ballard Cup series was completed last Monday evening, July 30. Six different fleets, amounting to fifty-two boats made Shilshole Bay a frenzy of sails and shouts.

Aboard the Kowloon, a thirty-foot Olson 911, Captain Ken Chin and his crew of thirteen adapted to the conditions and took first in their class, beating Wood’N’Wind.

Members of the Kowloon crew along with Chin were Tammy Walker, Mikki and Chon Pieruccioni, Barry Cade, Adam Hauck, Ashley Krzeszoski, Charley Rathkopf and his 6 ½ year old son Arden, Dan Smith and Stefan Bittner.

Other victories in each fleet went to Water Street, Rock Lobster, Three Ring Circus, Moonshine, and Delirium.

The wind in Shilshole bay undulated regularly, and northerly puffs twelve to fifteen knots blasted boats throughout the race. However, at times in the race sails went from taut to dead in the water in seconds.

“You look at some of the weather sites and you have an idea of what to expect but the truth is you never know, its always changing,” said Chin.

Most of the 10,000 riders who huffed and puffed their way from a UW parking lot by Husky Stadium 202 miles to Portland, Oregon the July 14 to 15 weekend did so on bicycle. But that would be considered a luxury for Des Moines resident, Kevin Williams. He completed the Cascade Bicycle Club's Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic on his unicycle, his forth year to accomplish this. He raised $950 for Seattle Children's Hospital's Crush Kid's Cancer.

Williams, 50, a long-time employee of SafeWorks, most involved in its wind energy division, grew up in the Texas Panhandle, including the town of Wheeler, an apt name for Williams, who said he got serious about unicycling when delivering newspapers for the Seattle Times in 1974. He saved up for a quality Schwinn unicycle, then continued his route on one wheel.

By Elizabeth Wang

Click on picture above for slideshow

Families, friends and even dogs gathered onto the streets of Crown Hill for the 6th Annual Garage Sale on July 28, where over 50 households filled their front yards with antique furnishings, old clothes and a variety of odds and ends.

While most of the residents were looking to clean house and get rid of outgrown items, a few people set out with another goal.

Caroline Thompson has been participating in the Crown Hill event the past four years to make room to rearrange her house. But this was also a chance for her to display her quilting skills, a hobby she has enjoyed for the last 15 years.

Though she sells more quilts at the craft fairs she attends than at garage sales, Thompson still hung her projects across her front porch.

“It’s really nice when a kid walks away with a quilt or a pillow case and it’s really fun,” Thompson said.

Among her knitted accessories, Thompson was trying to sell her 13-year-old daughter’s clothes and books to help her raise money for a class trip to Washington, D.C.