March 2013

Dozens of hungry area residents, from children to seniors, attended West Seattle Lions Club's St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at the Senior Center of West Seattle Saturday, March 16.

Corned beef and cabbage was served, or chicken if you preferred, and a three-piece band played "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover", "Danny Boy" and other holiday favorites. West Seattle's Bob Fox, who we have featured in three previous stories, played the guitar. A live auction and raffle helped raise some money, and the noise level, at the annual event.

The famous Seafair Pirates arrived loudly outside the soon to close Alki Tavern at 4:30 on Saturday aboard their landing craft the famous Moby Duck. More than 20 of them piled in to drink their last beers at the bar, share memories of many nights spent there and say goodbye.

It wasn't a long visit, they left after a little more than an hour, but at least they had a chance to pay their respects to a watering hole that had been one of their favorites for the past 38 years.

In contrast to "Seinfield", coined by some as "a show about nothing," ArtsWest Playhouse's current production, "Next Fall" is a show about everything. The play grapples with complications in same-sex relationships, religion, addiction, denial, hospital rights to gay partners, and, well, life and death.

Set in present day Manhattan, (plus flashbacks) the 2010 Tony Award nominee “Next Fall” begins with a traffic accident that leaves Luke (David Elwyn Traylor) in a coma. Family and friends gather nervously outside his hospital room, forced to relate to each another. Luke is gay. His male partner, Adam, is devastated by Luke's accident. Luke never came out to his father, Butch, (John Wray) who keeps asking Adam, "Who the hell are you?" Butch probably knows, but doesn't want to know.

The dialogue offers breathers to counter the ordeal with occasional wit and wordplay. Flashbacks show Luke and Adam developing their intense, generally nurturing, relationship. Problem is, Luke is an Evangelical Christian (with guilt issues that strike following intimacy in bed) ) while Adam is a skeptic with little use for the Bible, its pages suitable, he says, for toilet paper.

By Rev. Judith Laxer

The year grows. The third month marches in and flowers begin to bloom in the northwest garden. Primrose and Crocus boast the first welcome colors in the landscape. Lenten Rose hangs delicately from her yellow green stalk, a sure sign of resurrection in the season of Spring. Soft green shoots emerge through their blanket of papery brown leaves promising tulips and daffodils, hyacinth and iris. My soul is uplifted as I witness.

I am anxious to get my garden going. I long to buy a plethora of vegetable starts at my local nursery and get this show on the road. But something tells me that exercising caution in early Spring will save me heartbreak in late Autumn. Move the rhododendron, yes. Build the new raised bed I’ve been dreaming of, yes. Mow the lawn if I must. But be very selective about planting just yet.

West Seattle resident Avrian Sellick has started at online petition at Change.org asking the City of Seattle to take down several surveillance cameras along the shoreline.

The petition is available for viewing here.

Sellick explains:
"I've created an online petition at Change.org for those who are against the unsolicited installation of Surveillance Cameras in West Seattle by the Seattle Police Department. The petition is also for those who are deeply concerned with the SPD's handling of the public relations aspect of these cameras.

"Once the signatures reach 2000, I will deliver the signatures to the Mayor's Office along with the comments made by those who've signed.

"I really just want to give those people who are concerned about these cameras an organized avenue to communicate with the city and SPD."

Booth Gardener's official biography
Booth Gardner, the charismatic Democrat who ousted Washington’s last Republican governor in 1984, launched the Basic Health Care program and later used his long personal battle with Parkinson’s disease to spearhead the state’s death with dignity law, has died. Gardner was 76.

Gardner died March 15 of complications related to Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Because Parkinson’s itself is not fatal, the death with dignity law approved by voters in 2008 did not apply to Gardner.

“We’re very sad to lose my father, who had been struggling with a difficult disease for many years, but we are relieved to know that he’s at rest now and his fight is done,” said Gardner’s daughter, Gail Gant.

Gardner, an heir to the Weyerhaueser timber fortune, was Pierce County Executive and little known elsewhere in the state when he entered the governor’s race in 1983. His campaign team adopted the signature slogan Booth Who?, and he went on to defeat now-U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott in the Democratic primary and upset incumbent Republican John Spellman in the general election.

A home on the 2000 block of S.W. Cloverdale was hit with drive-by gunfire for the second time in six days on March 16. On March 10, the home and a vehicle were fired upon as well. No one has been injured in the shootings and police are looking for information.

Here are the details from Seattle Police:

The Gang Unit is investigating the second shooting in a week at a West Seattle home. This morning at approximately 1:32 a.m., officers were dispatched to a drive-by shooting at a house in the 2000 block of SW Cloverdale St. Upon arrival, they located damage from small caliber rounds in the outer wall of the house.

One bullet fragment was removed from the wall and placed into evidence. The only two people home at the time of the shooting were the parents of the family. There is no suspect information and there were no witnesses to the shooting. The residents of the house claim they have no idea as to why anyone would target their home. This is the second drive-by shooting at this house in a week.

By David Rosen

The Alki Tavern threw its last biggest party of the year before they shut their doors for good on Sunday, March 17. Hundreds of people came and packed the place tight as no seats were available as of 5:00pm. Lots of spectacular music was played throughout the evening by great bands such as the Tim Turner Band, Alki All Stars, Child, as well as other special guests. The event started around 8 pm.

As the night went on, people were lined up outside just to get in so they could see the bands and visit one more time with their family and friends. The Seattle Fire Department from station 36 showed up to do their occupancy inspection and to make sure everything was running smoothly but the real reason they came was to get their Alki Tavern remembrance t-shirts.

You can read our previous coverage Here and Here

The Seahawks improved their record to 2-1 with steadfast pitching by Marley Lucas.

Facing a team that just a few days ago handed Sealth its first loss of the season, the Seahawks bounced back with a pointed 7-2 win over the Rams of Ingraham at the SWAC.

Lucas held Rams batters in check tallying seven strikeouts on the afternoon and the Seahawk offence scored in five of their seven opportunities at the plate.

Sealth coach Ernest Policarpio couldn’t say enough about his star pitcher.

“ He’s a senior this and has been on varsity since (he was) a freshman. He doesn’t throw a hundred miles an hour but he has good location and changes up his speed, and with his curveball he messes with batters”.

“Messing with batters” would be a slight understatement as five out of seven of Lucas’s K’s were called, leaving the batters standing there looking.

The Seahawks will try to improve their record when they travel to face the Garfield Bulldogs on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 12:30.

According to Ann Martin, the Treasurer of Southwest Youth and Family Services, in a speech given to the 34th District Democrats at their meeting on March 14th, Southwest Youth and Family Services and New Futures in Burien and SeaTac are in the process of merging the two organizations with a formal announcement to be made no later than April 1st. While all of the details have not been finalized, it seems that New Futures staff will soon become employees of Southwest Youth and Family Services. New Futures’ existing programs will continue as New Futures-branded programs although New Futures itself will come under the umbrella of Southwest Youth and Family Services.

To read the rest of the story click here.