December 2012

Highline Public Schools press release:

Highline High School (HHS) will turn red on Dec. 14 when Pirate fans hold their first “Red Out” in the spirit of raising awareness about heart disease, our nation’s No. 1 killer, and raising donations for the American Heart Association (AHA).

The Red Out will be held during the Quad basketball games versus Renton High School from 3:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. at the HHS Main Gym.

Leadership Class students at Highline have organized and are leading this event.

“Heart disease is a growing issue that almost no one hears about,” said senior Austin Sita, ASB treasurer and organizer of Red Out. “The Red Out gives us a chance to raise awareness among students and our community about heart disease.”

Students, players, cheerleaders, and fans will all wear red for the game.

The Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department will offer free blood pressure checks from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The AHA will bring dummies so that attendees can practice hands-only CPR, and two Highline staff members will speak at half-time about their experiences with heart disease.

Press release:

State Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D –Des Moines) will continue to serve as chairman of the House Environment committee for the 2013 legislative session.

Every two years, committee structure and chairmanships in the state House undergo a reorganization process.

As in years past, the House Environment committee will continue to consider issues relating to air quality, aquatic lands, oil spill prevention, recycling and solid waste, hazardous waste, toxics, and climate change, as well as overseeing the Puget Sound Partnership’s activities.

Additionally – and new for the coming year – the committee will also be responsible for all energy-related issues, including renewable energy standards and energy availability, production and conservation.

“Energy and environmental issues have a lot of overlap, so this shift makes sense,” Upthegrove said. “Washington state is already a national leader in promoting energy technologies that both spur economic growth and help protect the quality of life we all cherish.”

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner offers so many technical advances as an aircraft they defy description so it was fitting that as part of the rollout of the plane they share with the public an innovative way to learn more about it. The company recently revealed a new website called The 787 Dreamliner Dream Pass which gives users an unprecedented look at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – from inside the flight deck to around the airplane’s sleek exterior.

State-of-the-art cameras give users the feeling that they are sitting alongside the pilots during take-off and landing, with a 360-degree tour of the flight deck – a place that only a few pilots have seen. There are options to hear the narration of the flight, which was the final leg of what the company called the Dream Tour. That leg was from Portland, Oregon to Boeing Field.

The site allows users to jump to specific areas including the takeoff, landing, fuselage, engines and wings with specific highlights of each section contained within as choices.

December 10, 2012 would have been Jeremy Peck's 26th birthday, and his friends and family are taking to Facebook to remember the young West Seattle man taken from them too soon.

To read and share, visit the Find Jeremy Peck Facebook page.

Peck disappeared after a night out with friends on Dec. 24, 2010 in West Seattle, and his body was discovered on the shores of Bainbridge Island on Jan. 19, 2011.

Seattle police recently announced they are investigating his death as a homicide, and are sharing the details of his case on their Catch a Killer website.

The Facebook page also urges people to contact authorities with any information in Peck's death and write their local elected officials to encourage movement in the case:

Of all the choices … Jägermeister?
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Dec. 2, three unknown suspects shattered the front door of a Westwood Village liquor store, climbed in through the broken glass and stole three bottles of Jägermeister liquor, an adult version of black licorice. The suspects were gone by the time police arrived, but surveillance footage showed a vehicle pulling up to the store with the suspects shining their headlights on the front doors. Three suspects (gender unknown) broke the door and two entered. They appeared to make a straight line for the Jägermeister and then fled. One bottle of the viscous brown sludge didn’t make it out and was found shattered on the business floor.

Junction business hit again

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

No matter how often women have complained about being objectified, the fact of the matter is that the female body sells. Just recently, after sorting my memorabilia, I found a 1987 calendar displaying Marilyn Monroe who was the icon of female sexuality. Why a feminist like me would have saved such a glaring exploitation of the female figure was at first an enigma. Then I remembered that I used it to illustrate the exploitation of women’s bodies when I gave talks about the status of women and such. The calendar showed one provocative nude pose with this comment from the photographer: Marilyn Monroe has more sexual vibrations than any woman that I ever shot. Yes, every man who looked at her thought he was the only male in the world and that Marilyn was his alone.

By Kyra-lin Hom

Now, I want to jump right in to this topic, but it's been requested that I follow up my Thanksgiving column from two weeks ago. So here's a quick rundown on how that baking with everything BUT any of the normal ingredients went. In brief, the word 'yummy' doesn't exactly spring to mind. All of my efforts were for naught. Oh, the food was pretty great. My dessert, however... frustrating.

Annual Christmas Concert ‘Promise of Light’
Fauntleroy Church UCC
9140 California Ave. S.W.
Sunday, Dec. 16, 4 p.m. The sanctuary will fill with choir, brass, and lots of holiday spirit. Reception follows. Free. Elevator access from the parking lot.

The Junction Hometown Holiday Events
Sundays, Dec. 16, 11-3 p.m.:
Hometown Holiday Headquarters
In front of Key Bank
4701 California Ave. S.W. Meet us for festivities, fun for kids, and information on shopping, the Holiday Raffle, and neighborhood events.
Professional Santa Photos and Printing
City Mouse Studio and Store
4218 S.W. Alaska St. The Junction Association will donate 100% of your suggested donation of $15 or more to West Seattle charities.
Mule Carriage Rides
Sunday, Dec. 16 only. Take a traditional carriage ride down California Ave. pulled by beautiful Belgium Draft Mules. A treat to enjoy with the family and friends.
Also:
Shop Late Thursdays

By Christopher Duclos

The season is still beginning for Beavers basketball as they travelled to Bellevue on Friday, Dec. 7 to take on Newport. Both of Ballard high’s boys and girls teams competed in what was a conference double header.

Girls took the court first only to suffer a loss to the Knights with a score of 54-43. Beverly Verduin, sibling of senior Johnny Verduin was the lone standout on the Ballard side, totaling 17 points. This brings the lady beavers to a season record of 1-3 (0-2 conference).

Following the lady beavers loss, the boys took the court. The boys fought to keep Newport from taking the lead. It was another big night for seniors Seth Berger and Johnny Verduin. Berger, a recent commit to the UMass minutemen, put up 20 points into the basket while Verduin scored 21. The game came down to the efficiency of defensive tactics, holding on to beat Newport in Bellevue.