March 2013

Based on the Burien CARES Program Evaluation in the Council Work Session packet for tonight, CARES is not head and shoulders better than the King County Animal Control Program-see pages 25-36 of the online packet.

For the last year and a half, the Burien City Manager/Mike Martin has been standing up before the public and declaring that CARES (provider of Animal Care and Animal Control for Burien) is head and shoulders better than the King County Animal Control program. He has repeatedly made this statement at public meetings, at annexation meetings and to the media. Denise McVicker, the Deputy Director of the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, has just completed an evaluation of CARES and here are some of her findings in the completed report that I believe will be glossed over tonight at the work session of the Council.

1. The staff is inadequately trained.
2. There is no coordinated mechanism for the pick up and reporting or description of dead animals in Burien so that the citizens looking for their animals can be apprised of information.

Burien resident Carolyn Piksa pleaded not guilty on March 25 to a first degree assault charge for allegedly shooting a co-worker on March 8 in North Seattle, and told authorities after her arrest she was trapped in a “game of manipulation” involving her victims.

Piksa, 46, is being held on a $1 million bail in advance of her case setting hearing in King County court on April 8.

According to court records, Piksa allegedly shot 65-year-old Bill Keller in the chest at a Parks Dept. building, and then threatened another employee, Cynthia Etelamaki, with a gun at a nearby facility (she also faces a second degree assault charge for that incident). Park Dept. buildings were locked down for a good portion of March 8 while authorities searched for their suspect. She was arrested later that day at her S. 115th St. home in Burien.

Charging documents in the case show Piksa, who went by the name “Zoom,” was a long time Seattle Parks Dept. employee who went to a Parks building where Keller was stationed shortly before 2 p.m. on March 8.

Burien resident Carolyn Piksa pleaded not guilty on March 25 to a first degree assault charge for allegedly shooting a co-worker on March 8 in North Seattle, and told authorities after her arrest she was trapped in a “game of manipulation” involving her victims.

Piksa, 46, is being held on a $1 million bail in advance of her case setting hearing in King County court on April 8.

According to court records, Piksa allegedly shot 65-year-old Bill Keller in the chest at a Parks Dept. building, and then threatened another employee, Cynthia Etelamaki, with a gun at a nearby facility (she also faces a second degree assault charge for that incident). Park Dept. buildings were locked down for a good portion of March 8 while authorities searched for their suspect. She was arrested later that day at her S. 115th St. home in Burien.

Charging documents in the case show Piksa, who went by the name “Zoom,” was a long time Seattle Parks Dept. employee who went to a Parks building where Keller was stationed shortly before 2 p.m. on March 8.

City of Seattle press release
Mayor Mike McGinn moved to confirm Randy Engstrom as permanent director of the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. Engstrom has been the acting director since October 3, 2012.

“Our arts community is a critical part of our local economy and cultural vibrancy,” said McGinn. “Randy has done a great job engaging with the community as acting director and I urge the City Council to confirm him as permanent director.”

Engstrom has deep experience and success working in the Seattle arts community. He has over a decade of grassroots arts and culture experience beyond consulting, having founded Static Factory Media, a multi-media artist development company, and acted as the Founding Director of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. He has also served as a chair to the Seattle Arts Commission, and previously served as a board member of One Reel and board President at Washington Bus Education Fund.

A number of accolades support his past work - City Arts Magazine named him "The Advocate" in December of 2011, he was an Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader in 2009 and was also named to Puget Sound Business Journal's "40 under 40" in 2009.

Drivers headed to Sea-Tac Airport Monday and Tuesday nights will find State Route 518 closed in both directions between State Routes 509 and 99 from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The closure may continue on Wednesday night, March 27, as well.

Crews working for the Federal Aviation Administration will be replacing cross cables that hold Sea-Tac Airport’s runway lights.

Traffic will be detoured to South 154th Street to bypass the work area. Westbound traffic will continue to be able to access the Sea-Tac terminal by taking SR 518 to Airport Expressway, and eastbound traffic can reach the terminal by taking S. 154th St. to SR 99.

The ramps from South 154th Street to westbound SR 518 and Des Moines Memorial Drive to eastbound SR 518 will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. as part of the project.

In early April of 1980 some of my friends threw a 60th birthday party for me at Kingston Village. It was a thrill to see so many friendly faces. As a surprise my kids arranged to have King County Executive John Spellman come to the party. About mid point of the event John gave a nice speech about how important community newspapers were to the lives of the residents and presented me with a plaque honoring my service to White Center. He called it Jerry Robinson Day. John was a candidate for Governor to replace Dixie Lee Ray. He succeeded and thanked me personally "for not running for Governor" as he believed my popularity might have threatened his candidacy. I was flattered.

What he did not know was that I was a big fan of his and had no intention of seeking political office. Yes, I have opinions and I used them in my newspapers but living in Olympia would have been quite a commute for me because I loved living and working in White Center. It is where I got my start as a newspaper man. And it was a mile from house.

From Ballard Boys and Girls Club

Parents,

Tee Ball and Machine Pitch Baseball Registration is underway. We offer four leagues for boys and girls, from Pre K-5th Grade, starting in April. Space is starting to fill up so register today. For more information and to register log on to: ballard.positiveplace.org

ROOKIE TEE BALL

Pre K-K

TEE BALL
K-1st Grade

ROOKIE MACHINE PITCH
1-2nd Grade

MACHINE PITCH
3rd, 4th, 5th Grade

We are also looking for volunteer coaches. Coaches meetings are March 5th or 6th, 6:30pm for tee ball or 7:15pm for machine pitch. For more information contact: Billy Rodgers, Athletic Director at (206) 783-5775 or wrodgers@positiveplace.org

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Seattle Police wordsmith Jonah Spangenthal-Lee brings us the latest in strange with an incident at the Yen Wor bar in West Seattle early this morning (March 25) resulting in a man's arrest for indecent exposure and property damage.

From SPD's Blotter:

Just after 1 am this morning, police received a report that a man was exposing himself inside a West Seattle bar, where he had thrown “some kind of smoke” like some sort of half-naked wizard.

Officers arrived at the Yen Wor Village Restaurant and Bar, near California Ave. S.W. and S.W. College Street, where employees recounted the evening’s events, describing how a man inside the bar had repeatedly pulled his purple sweatpants down.

When restaurant staff asked the man to return his pants to their full, upright position, he complied for a short time a short time, but eventually pulled them back down and “mooned everyone” in the bar.

By Katy Wilkens

Snacks are one of the Top 10 salty foods in the American diet. Quick and easy to eat on the run, they are killing us. All that salt intake is problematic because it often leads to high blood pressure and other serious conditions, including heart and kidney disease.

How do you shift away from snacks that are salty, and make healthier choices? Reading labels really helps. You may find crackers with as much as 250 milligrams of sodium per serving on the same grocery shelf as brands that have none.

My new favorite is Ryvita Fruit and Seed Crunch Crispbread, which has only 2 milligrams of sodium per two large crackers. Plain matzo crackers and some rye crisp-type crackers also have no added sodium. For your best bet, look for crackers with no salt, or less than 20 milligrams per serving.

If you love a certain type of cracker, most brands now offer a lower salt or lightly salted option but, again, read labels and pay attention to portion sizes! A total of 150 milligrams of sodium for five crackers may sound like a good deal, but if you eat 20 crackers, you are nearly a third of the way to the suggested 2,000 milligrams of sodium a day.

To start with, it was a very cold day for a track meet, but according to the calendar it was spring. It hailed, it rained and it was windy. All those things that would normally keep you inside, at least it would for me. But there were five track teams scheduled to compete at Highline Memorial Stadium on Thursday, March 21.

Evergreen, Hazen, Highline, Kennedy Catholic and Tyee were the teams that took the field. For these athletes, track is mostly an individual sport, with the exception of the relay races. I have always enjoyed watching the camaraderie between athletes, not only with their own teammates, but also with the athletes from other schools. They are all out there competing against each other, but when all is said and done; they show great sportsmanship by congratulating each other after their event. It is times like these a person learns how to win and how to lose, and doing both gracefully. In the words of Vince Lombardi, "Winning isn't everything-but wanting to win is."