December 2012

Artwest is presenting a new production starting Jan 23 called Shirley Valentine which they describe as "a witty and insightful story of a middle-aged working class Liverpool housewife who is transformed by a surprise holiday in the Greek islands."

The play was a Laurence Olivier Award winner for Best New Comedy in 1988 and Tony Award nominee for Best Play.

It's a one-woman play starring Footlight Award winner Heather Hawkins.

In a press release ArtsWest offered a play synopsis:

"Shirley’s life, stagnant and in a rut, takes a rare turn when her best friend buys tickets for a trip to Greece and invites her along. Like Eat, Pray, Love, the trip takes the audience on a journey of self-discovery, soul-searching, love, and renewal. Inspiring and heartwarming without being syrupy, Shirley Valentine is a surprisingly powerful, memorable and authentic character and story.

It was a comeback with true grit and desire...

In the first half of a girls-boys basketball doubleheader at Seattle Christian on Friday, Dec. 21, the Warrior girls overcame a 17-point deficit to send the game into overtime before climbing to a 47-45 overtime Nisqually League win against Life Christian (Tacoma).

Life Christian took control to establish a 26-20 halftime lead on the strength of 10-for-23 shooting from the field versus the Seattle Christian 8-for-27.

Late in the third quarter, the Warriors trailed, 39-22, but a tough, slashing defense and a mighty offensive rebounding effort brought the Warriors within 41-39 with six seconds left in the fourth quarter at which time Mariah May was fouled.

Performing well under pressure, May converted two free throws to send the fray into overtime where SCS finally prevailed.

KENT - Opportunities to win were abundant before Class 1A Seattle Christian dropped a 41-38 boys basketball verdict to Class 2A South Puget Sound League Sumner in the 9 a.m. opener of the 2012 ShoWare Shootout on Saturday, Dec. 22.

"After a high energy late night game, I thought we did well to stay in the game and have a chance at the end," declared Warrior head coach Shaun DeYager. "We had a chance at a game winning scenario and got a good look at the end. It was tough to play in a large arena with just a few fans, but it was an opportunity to play in a big arena before we go to the Yakima Sun Dome next week.

After Cody Miller notched a basket to give Seattle Christian a 35-32 fourth quarter lead, Thomas Murphy torched a Spartan 3-pointer to deadlock the proceedings with just less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

KENT - Sometimes a wake up call is not received.

This seemed to be the scenario on on Saturday, Dec. 22, at the ShoWare Shootout basketball classic in a 57-24 Bear Creek boys basketball defeat of Evergreen Lutheran as the 9 a.m. tournament opener.

Evergreen Lutheran began the encounter in a primarily passive state. Mistakes reigned supreme with passes directed to the twilight zone of turnovers. In addition, the Grizzlies penetrated the inside nearly at will for close range, easy baskets and great looks.

On the other hand, the Eagles from Des Moines experienced great difficulty in negotiating their way through the Bear Creek zone in order to obtain good shot opportunities as the Grizzlies piled up a 17-0 lead en route to the constantly cascading margin of the lead, holding a 55-12 margin at one point.

Team statistics showed the story of this one.

By Holly Brown

Ring in 2013 by dining in and making classic handmade tamales at home with friends. Tamales are a special treat. Here’s how we make Pork Tamales with Chile Sauce, and assemble them as a group, perfect for New Year’s eve dinner party entertainment!

Tamale pork and sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance, so all you need to do on party day is make the masa, assemble the tamales in corn husks, steam them, and eat. Steaming takes about an hour and a half, so you’ll want to plan a 2 hour window of finger food and drinks while the tamales go from corn husk, to steam pot, to dining table.

We make tamales annually at TheBrownLounge with our friends and have a great time doing it. Everyone brings an hors d’oeuvres to share while we cook. We serve cocktails, and of course champagne. We also set a festive table and enjoy a sit down dinner. After dinner, we dance, play games, and watch the ball drop (on TV) as we ring in the New Year together in the comfort of our own home….no babysitters required!

For Classic Tamales, and other great main dish ideas for a New Year’s eve dinner party, try these delicious recipes:

As student populations continue to explode, Seattle Public Schools is trying to find ways to accommodate the city’s pupils and relieve overcrowding of schools.

We brought you the report earlier in December about a public meeting where the district laid out the options they are considering and heard back from the community. From elementary to high school, West Seattle is constantly part of the overcrowding conversation.

In the aftermath of that meeting, a school board work session was held on Dec. 19 to propose “preferred” methods of relieving overcrowding until the district can secure funding for more schools in the future.

From here, the school board will make their final decisions on Jan. 23. As always, comments can be sent to capacity@seattleschools.org.

One of the more controversial options was to move kindergarten-aged kids to an annexed location to make room at West Seattle schools like Schmitz Park and Highland Park. In the followup recommendations, that option is not currently being considered.

The developers for the largest mixed-use project in West Seattle history have submitted their master use permit application to Seattle’s planning department and with that comes open comment time for the public.

Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development is accepting comments on the project – ranging from building design to traffic or environmental impacts – until Jan. 9.

Comments can be sent to the city’s head planner on the project, Bruce Rips, at bruce.rips@seattle.gov or by calling (206) 615-1392.

The plan is for a multi-story 370 apartment complex with a Whole Foods grocery store and chain drugstore at the ground level. There will be parking for nearly 600 vehicles underground and the project will take up three-quarters of a city block at the southwest corner of Fauntleroy and Alaska, at the “Fauntleroy Triangle.”

Update, Feb. 25, 2013:

Peddler Brewing (1514 NW Leary Way), the bicycling-beer enthusiast's dream brewery, has officially announced their open date: Friday, March 8.

"After 8 months working full time jobs and doing all the construction and paperwork ourselves, we are exhausted ... but so excited to announce that we’re finally done permitting and building out our brewery!" said owners Haley and Dave in a press release.

Haley and Dave say they will start with eight beers on tap: Kolsch, Caramel ESB, Pale, IPA, Tangerine-Wheat, Snow Beer’d (dark winter), Belgian Lights (winter-spiced Belgian), and a Coffee-Saison.

Patrons can order tasters and pints to drink at the brewery and purchase 32 oz. bottles and 64 oz. growlers of beer to go.

Peddler Brewing has no food, but the owners say it's OK to bring your own or call delivery.

As advertised, and per their theme, they will have a public bicycle work station, a nine-bike indoor parking rack and bicycle parts integrated in their decor.

Hours starting off will be Fridays 5-10 p.m. and Saturdays 4-10 p.m., with hours and days to expand as they get up and running.

By Dusty Henry

Kleenex should really sponsor screenings of “Les Misérables.” Waiting in the theater before previews (or even just Tweets and Facebook statuses for that matter), it’s inevitable to hear several people say the following:

“Oh my God, I am going to cry.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to restrain myself from singing along”

“I’m crying already. It hasn’t even started yet and I’m crying.”

“Les Misérables” has a huge reputation to live up to. Based off of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel and consequently the 1980 Claude-Michel Schonberg musical, the latest film adaptation of Les Miz is put in the awkward position of needing to live up to its predecessors but prove itself as a worthy and new adaptation.

The outcome for this dilemma is astounding. Particularly, Les Miz succeeds as the new standard for film musicals.

The story focuses on the trials and redemption of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) as former prisoner released on parole by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe). Valjean sheds his identity and seeks to become a better man –- until Javert discovers his identity and makes it his goal to hunt down Valjean.

In order to better engage the community about Phase II of a work-in-progress road-side rain garden project -- meant to mitigate combined sewer overflow -- Seattle Public Utilities is sending out a survey to Ballard residents to gather feedback.

The survey, which most should have received by Saturday, Dec. 22, was sent out via U.S. Mail to about 4,000 Ballard residents -- which includes nearly all households connected to the combined sewer system. The coverage area is between 16th Ave NW and 30th Ave NW, and NW 65th St and NW 85th St.

So SPU can present the results of the survey along with a soils analysis at the Feb. 12 project open house -- to be held at the Sunset Hill Community Club -- SPU is asking residents to submit their responses by Jan. 7.

For residents’ convenience, they can also take the survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BallardCSO