February 2013

By Patrick Robinson and David Rosen

Sonya Elliott, head basketball coach for West Seattle High School Girls Basketball Metro League. The award is determined by a vote of all her fellow coaches, "Which is a real honor to me," she said. She's been the coach there for three years but this is her first year as a head coach.

"I'm fortunate to have a great coaching staff," said Elliott. "My direct assistant Ashley Iaone, has been with me from the start. When we took over the program three years ago we wanted to build pride in the program (...) we wanted to get girls excited about basketball. I love the game and i've been playing for 30 some years. This is a good place to start.

Mixed news headlined the Tues., Feb. 4, evening for the Seattle Christian boys basketball team.

Despite the loss to Cascade Christian the Warriors (9-7, 11-9) stayed in the hunt for Tri-District with the Vashon Island defeat of Charles Wright. Seattle Christian has winner to Tri-District, loser-out game against Port Townsend at Port Townsend at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

"I thought we played hard and with passion," said SCS head coach Shaun DeYager. "Things didn't go our way. The difference was that first quarter. They hit big shots early and we had to play from behind. We made a few runs, but couldn't quite get to the lead."

Cascade Christian's smoking guns riddled the Warriors repeatedly in a first quarter demonstration of awesome firepower led by top marksman Jacob Kushman to lead 19-5 before Shawn Abe's three-pointer left the score 19-8 after one quarter.

Sally Jewell, West Seattle resident and CEO of the outdoor gear and clothing business, REI, was nominated today for Secretary of the Interior by President Obama.

The West Seattle Herald ran a story on the history of REI here. That company started in a small attic in a house off of California Ave.

Thank you to REI public relations for this:

REI Statement on the Nomination of Sally Jewell as Secretary of the Interior

REI applauds President Obama’s nomination of Sally Jewell, REI’s CEO and president, to be the nation’s Secretary of the Interior. Sally is a remarkable leader, an excellent business person and a thoughtful steward of our public lands and resources. We believe that she will do a superb job in this very important role.

Press release:

WHO: KeyBank is proudly partnering with Highline Community College and United Way of King County to present its eighth annual Super Refund Saturday, a free tax preparation day for local residents who are filing a federal income tax return. Tax filers do not have to be KeyBank customers to participate. Media are welcome to attend.
WHAT: Super Refund Saturday is a one-day event during which community volunteers and banking professionals provide free income tax preparation assistance to low- and moderate-income wage earners and help them identify their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Maximum refunds resulting from the EITC can range anywhere from $475 to $5,800 for qualifying families, depending on income and family size.
WHEN: February 9, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE: Highline Community College Outreach Center (Bldg. 99)
23835 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198

When it comes to Seattle Public Utilities’ RainWise rain garden program, it’s hard to find a dissatisfied customer.

You can ask Steve Severin. “It looks beautiful, but it’s also functional,” he said. “It’s doing something. It’s really cool.”

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

Or you can ask Beth Humphries. “I love the garden.”

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

You might even ask that one lady whose name this reporter forgot to write down (we've been told now that her name is Theresa Olsen). She wasn’t able to get a rain garden because she had no soil for it, but she was able to get a rebate on three two-hundred gallon cisterns. ”I am so psyched! I am excited for this summer to use them (for gardening).”

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

By Christopher Duclos

It's official, Nate Rauda has given his verbal commitment to play college at the next level. Among schools looking to him for his football talents, he has chosen Central Washington University. His announcement was made on Jan. 28 via his own twitter account.

Upon the morning of his signing Rauda had this to offer on his signing -- “It feels great to be a Wildcat and to finally be done with this recruiting stuff. I finally found a place that I could go to school and that feels good.”

His hard work during the course of his senior season paid off. Rauda was attempting to make a comeback from a junior campaign in which he was dealing with a broken leg, causing him to miss most of the season.

Ballard News-Tribune had the opportunity to interview Nate in late September of 2012.

A “Pop Up” art gallery is coming Feb. 9 to the Bethaday Community Learning Center in White Center 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The Bethaday Community Learning Space is located at 605 Southwest 108th Street just east of Hicklin Lake (Hicks Lake).

Local artists will showcase and sell their work at affordable prices as well as talk with the community about their inspirations. Activities will include a photo booth, snacks, and music. This is a family oriented event, open to everyone.

Here are the artists:

Michael B. Maine
I use photography, video, and audio to empower people to find, develop, and share their stories. Everybody has a story, and I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to know that story, play an active role in it, and share both the process and product with the world. I feel most alive when working with people to bring out and share their authentic selves and stories.I feel personal evolution in each photograph we (”we” meaning the subject and I) make, interview we conduct, or stroll we take as I find some piece of inspiration from them.

Information from Twelfth Night Productions:
Twelfth Night Productions brings the Peanuts to the Stage in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (revised)

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (revised) opened on Broadway in 1999 and is a fresh approach to the 1967 classic musical. Sally Brown joins our favorite Peanuts - Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder and Snoopy – as we follow them through Valentine’s Day heartbreak, the buzz of baseball season, and many little moments that make up a rich, yet ordinary childhood. “Schultz embedded adult ideas in a world of small children to remind the reader that character flaws and childhood wounds are with us always. It was the central truth of his own life, that as the adults we’ve become, and as the children we will always be, we can free ourselves, of only we can see the humor in the predicaments of funny looking kids,” muses director Joel Kurzynski.

The play will be presented at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, April 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 7:30pm and April 14 and 21 at 3pm.

Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.

The King County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in identifying a man suspected in four convenience store robberies in White Center and Burien from Jan. 11 to Feb. 1.

KCSO Deputy Charlie Akers describes the suspect as follows:
“He has been armed with a black handgun and demands cash from the register. He is described as a black male between 35-40 years old with a long narrow face and a deep voice.”

Akers said the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous, and asks anyone with information to contact the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311.

A PDF flyer with information on the suspect is attached at the top of the story.

It has been over a week since I attended the “Ballard Prepares” emergency training in the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s set room at Crown Hill Neighborhood Center. I would be remiss if I didn’t share the experience and its lessons. For starters, carry earplugs -- not everyone can handle the BeeGee’s “Stayin’ Alive” played at high volume before 10 a.m. However, along with other mnemonic devices shared that day, I will never forget the right beat for doing compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

After spending an unreal day in the company of almost 100 folks pumping dummies and practicing the Heimlich maneuver on one another I am almost disappointed that I have not been able to apply my new skills yet. I rushed to the scene when Martin burned his hand overfilling the French Press, but I wasn’t needed. I can also understand his refusal to let me feel the cartilage give during compressions (“snap, crackle, pop” as our trainer repeated), but not even a practice splint?