December 2012

About two weeks after the overall sense of glory and pride in book sales, community connections and sheer attendance at the Ballard Writer’s Collective: The Big Event I finally started to come back into my body. The raffled gift baskets had been delivered and costs reimbursed; the buzz in my head and on the street was abating. When I realized it was mid-December panic set in over what wasn’t accomplished in 2012.

This wasn’t the year I worked on my own book, but it was the year that my husband and I were completely attendant during his mother’s final months, with its low points and its triumphs. It was the year that other Ballard Writers and students did the hard work of turning long-held dreams and hundreds of revisions into published works. It was a year of writing too many endings but holds the promise of a first: being asked to marry two friends.

Sorting all my “to do” lists I found column ideas and quotes on the usual mélange of receipts and re-purposed envelopes; some of them time-sensitive with too few weeks left in 2012 print space. Other notes pertain to accomplishments that are ongoing or will be timeless.

By Dusty Henry

Judd Apatow is helping tell the American story and does so with a few fart jokes and foul words.

That sounds about right.

The marketing campaign for “This Is 40” is incredibly misleading. What looks like a dramatic film with some offbeat humor that panders to middle aged audiences is actually a hilarious and realistic snapshot of family life in 2012.

Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “The 40 Year-Old Virgin”) is known for writing and directing drama-comedies (“dramadies,” if you will) with mixed results. Whereas a film like “Funny People,” which starred Adam Sandler as a dying comedian trying to come to terms with his life, took themselves too seriously, “This Is 40” finds Apatow’s sweet spot.

The movie centers on Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann), who are married and both turning 40, and who were first introduced briefly in “Knocked Up.” Pete and Debbie are suffering through financial woes, are unable to connect with their children and are fighting more and more.

Sound familiar? That’s because it’s a description of most people in middle-class America.

The nature of a close community is that its members look out for one another, take care of each other and work together for the common good. West Seattle really is that kind of place. Its history, traditions, and the memories that keep them alive are all strong and vital.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers sincerely for your interest and support for this past year. Since 1923 we've been telling West Seattle stories and bringing you news and information and have taken our brand of story telling to a wide range of outlets.

Today you can find the West Seattle Herald online of course but also in our dedicated iPhone and unique and different iPad apps (free) and one for the Android market too.

2012 saw major changes in the complexion of West Seattle as higher density development got more intense. The year also saw many local business changes with restaurants coming and going, and entrepreneurs still finding West Seattle to be a good place to open a business. In White Center, 2012 was a year of mobilization as business and community members worked to make it a destination for foodies and shoppers alike.

Cherished members of our community were lost, and many new ones were born.

In our year in review, we have attempted to cover the big stories; those with the greatest impact on our lives. We hope you enjoy this look back at the year 2012.

Development in 2012

A Gift Wrapping Fundraiser with Furry Faces and Animal Aid & Rescue Foundations
Beveridge Place Pub
6434 California Ave. S.W.
Dec. 24, 2-7 p.m.
furryfaces@hotmail.com and info@myaarf.org

White Center Library December Events
11220 16th Ave. S.W.
206-243-0233
Children & Families:
Holiday Board Game Party
Thursday, Dec. 27, 2 p.m. Family program, all ages welcome. Enjoy playing your favorite board games while munching on holiday goodies.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169

As a nation, we were dealt a withering emotional blow with the deaths of many school children in Connecticut Dec. 15. In the days since, as the reality of this loss to the greater community has washed over us, we have been tentatively trying to make sense of it, to gain perspective that would help us understand the why of it. But nothing comes that salves the deep grief, that lets the lump in the throat dissolve.

Four years ago, this time of year, a friend of mine killed himself with a rifle shot to the head. He was living alone in self-exile, following a divorce. He made his home in a mountain valley where he was surrounded by all of his 'stuff', the things he had collected over years and which, in part, led to his divorce because his wife found his pack-rat tendencies objectionable. On top of that, he was a vagabond and his wanderlust did not square with being a family man. Still, I loved him.

The Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council has been conducting neighborhood meetings on the school that will eventually be built on the Genesee Hill site. Kerrie Schurr, the Communications Chair for the council and representative to the School Design Advisory Team shared responses to the question regarding the "single goal" for the new school in the council's newsletter:

"Remember when we asked, "If you could have only one goal for the new school, what would it be..."? Below is a compilation of the thoughtful responses we received, which were used as the basis for our continued input to the district and design advisory team. We sincerely thank all of you who were able to take the time to respond.

Best,

Kerrie Schurr, Communications Chair
and Rep. to School Design Advisory Team

From Lilith Lysistrata:
I'd like to put my vote in for this as a single goal:

The new school at Genesee Hill should be an asset to the entire community: students, neighbors, and the city.

press release:
City residents who subscribe to curbside food and yard waste collection can put their Christmas trees and holiday greens out on their regular collection day at no extra charge, from Dec. 26, 2012 to Jan. 13, 2013.

Multi-family buildings can put out one tree next to each food and yard waste cart per collection day at no extra charge during this time.

Trees should be cut into sections of six feet long or shorter, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Sections should be bundled with string or twine. Metal, plastic and ornaments in trees and wreaths must be removed.

Trees that are flocked and/or have tinsel or ornaments will be collected as extra garbage. Customers will need to cut the tree into three-foot pieces and each piece will be charged as extra garbage. Each unit of extra garbage costs $8.60. Plastic trees are not recyclable.