April 2013

A hapless half a whale was towed away from Seahurst Park beach up near us today. I never heard it but the crows and gulls who rob our sparrow feeder went AWOL and that is good.

I never heard any noise or saw any super tugboat as I was sunning myself so I can only guess that the oily birds got the wormy fish for lunch. Maybe they will escape with a beak full.

If I find chunks of whale belly on my roof I will know how it got there and call Burien city hall to belly ache.

They blew up a whale once near Florence, Oregon. It stank up the whole community and they did a lot of belly aching then as large pieces of the whale carcass landed on people and cars up to a 1/4 mile away from the blast. It was such poor execution the tractors still had to bury the poor thing in the sand anyway. At least Burien leaders know what "not" to do.

I wanted to see the 5000 gawkers watching today but the Burien half a whale was dragged half a way to nowhere. The intent was to let it decay on a remote beach. I think they should just fill it with rocks and sink it. No stink.

By Cassandra Baker

Midnight-morning, April 18. N 50th St and Stone Way

A 53-year-old Wallingford woman was arrested on the morning of April 18 after attacking her roommate with a hammer and a hatchet. The roommate had called police just after midnight to report that the suspect had attacked him with an axe.

When officers arrived at the scene to speak with the victim outside the house, the victim’s girlfriend was still inside with the suspect. When the suspect saw the officers, she slammed the front door and began throwing items at a window and screaming at them.

The victim told police that he and his girlfriend were in their room when the suspect came into the room with a hammer and a hatchet and began yelling at them. The victim told the suspect to leave, and she wouldn’t. When the victim tried to walk away, the suspect swung one of the weapons and hit him on the back of the head. The victim was not noticeably injured.

Black Tie Bingo on April 13, 2013, held at Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle raised more than $180,000 for the Providence Mount St. Vincent Foundation which relies on donations to continue providing care to residents of the assisted living/skilled nursing facility in West Seattle.

Upadate, April 24

We just received a full report from the Seattle Fire Department. Read it below:

"A Seattle Fire Investigator determined a North Seattle House Fire was an accidental fire. The most likely cause was determined to be the spontaneous combustion of oils that leaked and mixed in a basement master bedroom.

The first 911 call came in at 7:15p.m. The caller reported hearing a loud sound and seeing light gray smoke coming from the basement of a home located in the 13000 block of 7th Avenue NW. The first arriving engine company found smoke in the basement of the 1-story home. The lone occupant safely evacuated the house before firefighters arrived.

It took crews about 15 minutes to completely extinguish the flames.

There were no reported injuries.

The damage estimate is $50,000 to the structure and $20,000 to the contents."

Update, April 18, 8:20 p.m.

Seattle Fire Department Spokesman Kyle Moore said the occupant called 911 at about 7:15 p.m. saying there was a fire in the basement bedroom of his two story home.

The local organization the Whale Trail that provides educational resources and opportunities to the public is sponsoring the fourth in a series of events on April 25. Orcas of the World: An overview of the diversity of Orcinus orca is a presentation by scientific illustrator Uko Gorter, who will discuss the diversity of orcas around the globe. Spectacular photos highlight the subtle (and not so subtle) difference in appearance, unique behavior, and prey preferences between the many orca populations. Some differences are so great, they may lead to a taxonomic revisions and determination of new species and/or subspecies of orca. Uko will also discuss his collaboration with with biologists Bob Pitman, John Durban, and Andy Foote to create a poster of orca ecotypes and forms.

Orcas (killer whales) are one of the most widespread mammals in the world. Like humans, they exhibit unique cultural and even morphological differences.

Where: C&P Coffee Company, 5621 California Ave SW
When: Thursday April 25, 7 - 9 (doors open 6:30)
Cost: $5 suggested donation, kids free.
--Tickets available at brownpapertickets.com
Contact:
donna@thewhaletrail.org, 206.919.5397

Update for May 3
The final lineup for events, speakers, and participants has been made available and the list is comprehensive. The list of community organizations and information tables at the event are at the bottom of this story.

The annual community event meant to bring together community members , local organizations, and area resources, the Gathering of Neighbors will be held on May 4 starting at 9am at Chief Sealth International High School.

A key group of neighbors, community organizers, public officials, and youth student leaders from various aspects of life in West Seattle and White Center will be part of the event.

VIEWS (Visualize Increased Engagement West Seattle), Southwest Youth & Family Services, the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council, and the Southwest District Council will present the event.

THE EVENT PROGRAM CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT THE LINK ABOVE.

Chip Davis has been appointed Burien’s Community Development director, replacing Scott Greenberg who left for a similar position on Mercer Island.


Davis has been a planner with the city since 2002. Previously, he worked as a consultant for communications companies developing cell phone tower sites in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and upstate New York. He also worked as a Spokane Transit Authority planner for 15 years..

Davis has a bachelor's degree in planning from the University of Washington and conducted graduate work at Eastern Washington University.

At the April 15 Burien City Council meeting, Davis said he is “very energized by the future.

“Based on pre-application meetings, we haven’t seen this level of development in several years.”

Navos Mental Health Solutions CEO David Johnson filled lawmakers in on one of the big new construction projects in Burien.

After merging with Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center and Seattle Children’s Home, Navos has decided to consolidate some programs at the Dykeman campus on Lake Burien.

(Editors note:) I got this email from son Mike, letting me know how he felt about the tragedy in Boston. I asked if it was OK to share it . I said it might help someone else who feels the same way. -Jerry Robinson

By Mike Robinson
Update to letter: We now know the bombers came from Chechnya, not the usual suspects. We still favor hope over despair.

Hearing the news on Monday I felt punched by deep sadness, then relieved that nobody I love was harmed.

In slow succession after that, I felt grim anger at the readiness of a demented or politically twisted mind to injure others to teach us some moral or ideological lesson.

What came to mind briefly were conspiracy theories, like

a) Someone who loves guns wants to scare the nation into
blocking our constitutional guarantee to carry weapons.
[Assault weapons do similar damage in their random use.]

b) Someone who sympathizes with Al Qaeda wants to show us
that we all face a risk similar to what citizens of Iraq and
Afghanistan face daily.

c) In Boston, with its deep Irish ties, someone wanted to show
solidarity with his radical Irish history.

(Editors note:) I got this email from son Mike, letting me know how he felt about the tragedy in Boston. I asked if it was OK to share it . I said it might help someone else who feels the same way. -Jerry Robinson

By Mike Robinson

Hearing the news about Boston last week I felt punched by deep sadness, then relieved that nobody I love was harmed.

Gradually after that, I felt grim anger at the readiness of a demented or politically twisted mind to injure others to teach some moral or ideological lesson.

What came to mind were conspiracy theories, like

a) Someone who loves guns wants to scare us into protecting our constitutional guarantee to carry weapons.

b) Someone who sympathizes with Al Qaeda wants to show we face a risk similar to what citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan face daily.

c) In Boston, with its deep Irish ties, someone wanted to show solidarity with his radical Irish history.

d) A foreign student went over the edge in resentment for our military presence in his homeland.

e) A messed up veteran decided to express his pain over the loss of pals in the Middle East.

Construction at the Barton Street Pump Station, next to the Fauntleroy Ferry dock will enter the next phase on Monday, April 22 as pile driving begins.

The pump station is an underground facility that pumps wastewater to the Murray Avenue Pump Station which then pump flows to the county's regional treatment plant at West Point in Seattle.

The work will continue through Thursday, Apr. 25.

Drivers and passengers should use caution when transiting through the area.

The scope of the work at the station includes:

• Replace outdated electrical equipment, pumps, and associated equipment. The new pumps will increase capacity from 22 million gallons per day (mgd) to 33 mgd
• Upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning
• Construct a new underground vault to house a new backup generator system and a new odor control system
• Construct a new underground valve room and install new valves for the two 24-inch force mains that were installed as part of a 2006 emergency repair project