April 2013

Press release:

Four key health care policies sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-33, have been passed by the Legislature and are on their way to becoming law.

“I am happy that we have finally moved beyond the debate over health reform and are creating health policies for the future,” said Keiser, ranking member on the health care committee.

Key policies passed by the Legislature include:

• Health care oversight: Senate Concurrent Resolution 8401 establishes a joint legislative oversight committee to ensure smooth, efficient implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the Insurance Commissioner, the Health Benefit Exchange and the Health Care Authority. Now that three different agencies are responsible for parts of the ACA implementation, the Legislature needs to provide for coordination so there isn’t a “one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing” problem in health reform efforts.

Press release:

Global Connections High School students are teaming up with Cedarbrook Lodge to educate fifth graders from Bow Lake Elementary on childhood obesity, anti-bullying and classroom etiquette.

The DECA class at Global Connections developed a field trip for the Bow Lake students. Cedarbrook Lodge is hosting the field trip on May 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

DECA is an international association that aims to prepare emerging high school leaders for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.

“My Advanced Marketing students love the challenge of ‘thinking like a 5th grader’ as they consider their target market for the lessons they are planning,” said DECA teacher Alana Vinther. “It’s delightful to hear them comment on the challenges and rewards of working with the elementary students.”

The high school students have enlisted the help of Cedarbrook’s Culinary Director, Roy Breiman, and Executive Chef, Mark Bodinet, to teach the elementary students about nutrition and sustainability through a cooking demonstration. The students will then get to taste the food and go home with a few easy and healthy recipes to try at home.

Mercy Crisostomo has only had her dog Charlie for a short time, because he hasn't been here that long. She got Charlie, a English/American Golden Labrador Retriever, from her friend Erica whose dog had puppies. "He came and sat next to my feet out of four little puppies. I had gone to see them to see if it was a good fit and out of all of them all the others were biting at my feet and he just sat right next to me." She named him Charlie after a co-worker who is a dear friend. "He's the sweetest guy ever so when I found my dog I named him after my friend."

She has only had him for less than two weeks (he was born on Dec. 13) so he's just over 4 months old. He currently weighs 30 pounds and will get up to be 90 pounds.

"He goes by his name now and he sits and he shakes," said Crisostomo.

Charlie is eating Blue, described as "Healthy, holistic food for dogs" from Petco. He gets treats from Mud Bay. "They are really good up there. They selected them for him."

So far Charlie only has a tennis ball and a stuffed bird he enjoys chasing and chewing on.

The Seattle Fire Department is looking for tips as they investigate a fire started at the Longfellow Creek P-Patch storage shed in the early morning hours of April 24.

Here are the details from Kyle Moore with SFD:

Fire Investigators have determined a shed fire located at a West Seattle P-Patch is an incendiary fire.

At 6:50 a.m., a delivery driver called 911 to report a shed fire located in the park in the 2400 block of SW Thistle Street. Engine 11 arrived to find a smoldering pile of combustibles in a wheelbarrow bucket. The fire was quickly extinguished. There was also minor scorching to the shed.

The damage estimate is $500.

The Seattle Police Department’s Arson Bomb Squad was notified of the fire and will investigate.

Anyone with information that can help solve this case is asked to call the Arson Hotline at 1-800-55-Arson.

This school year has been just as much about learning for the parents and staff of West Seattle’s K-5 STEM School as it has been for the kids.

As summer approaches the new school on Delridge Way S.W., which focuses on giving kindergarten through 5th grade students a solid foundation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), will have wrapped up their first year in existence, and the collaborative community of teachers, parents and kids gathered on April 23 to discuss what they’ve accomplished so far, and where to go from here in further refining a system that is completely new for Seattle Public Schools.

That vision was presented on the 23rd, as the K-5 STEM Strategic Planning Committee unveiled their 5-year strategic plan to a cafeteria full of parents, and then opened up the floor for questions and feedback. As a first note, the staff has taken to calling their school West Seattle STEM (WSS for short), and this report will follow suit.

The Arbor Heights School Design Advisory Team will meet on the following dates at Arbor Heights Elementary to discuss the new replacement of the building: the public is welcome to attend but since these are work sessions, no public testimony will be taken.

Saturday, April 27th, 9am – 1pm

Wednesday, May 8th, 4pm – 6pm

Thursday, May 23rd, 4pm – 6pm

Thursday, May 30th, 4pm – 6pm

Arbor Heights Elementary is located at 3701 SW 104th Street.

If you told Neighborhood District Coordinator Rob Mattson he was your hero, he would disregard you. Even as a whole circle of people at the Ballard District Council one by one said that Mattson was their hero, as happened at April’s meeting, his reaction was at best a caustic smile.

Though jokingly referred to as the unofficial mayor of Ballard, Rob is quick to give credit to others and quicker to reject any kind of compliment one might offer him. He plays the role of the unsung hero impeccably.

“I’m sort of that background guy behind the curtain. That’s the way I like to do it. I tell my coworkers that, I tell citizens that,” Rob said. “It’s more important I leave a legacy of people who are savvy, able to do things and able to speak up.”

He added, “I am not a civic leader, I don’t want to be a civic leader. I don’t want to be a recognized godfather. I want to recognize good.”

He was reluctant to give an interview to the Ballard News-Tribune, answering that he was more than willing to pitch ideas for other, more worthy people to profile. But, after a bit more prodding, his helpful demeanor took over and he granted the newspaper an exclusive inside look.

Update for April 25 from the Seattle Animal Shelter:

"On Sunday April 21, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) removed a small dog, Zipper, from a vehicle in a West Seattle parking lot. It is alleged Zipper may have been in the car for up to six days. The SPD turned Zipper over to the Seattle Animal Shelter, where he remains, contrary to public perception that he has been returned to the caretaker who left him in the car. Zipper is happy, energetic, appears to be in good health, and is being well cared for by animal care staff. As with any similar case of potential animal cruelty, the Shelter has opened an animal cruelty investigation and will keep Zipper in custody until the investigation is complete and a course of action is determined."

Original post on April 24
Southwest Precinct Officer Katrina Stuckey located and saved a pug/beagle mix who had allegedly been abandoned by a dog sitter and left in an abandoned car left in a Westwood Village parking lot for nearly a week.

Here are the details from SPD's Blotter:

A few months ago a woman in my Cancer Lifeline writing class described crying at an oncology appointment. The nurse tried to comfort her but my friend said, “You don’t understand. This is good. Yesterday I couldn’t get enough breath to cry.”

I thought of my friend this week, if only to keep my own discomfort in perspective. The particularly cruddy virus that made the rounds in Seattle this winter/spring finally got me. The more I cried reading accounts of heroism and injuries in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, the more that I sneezed. When I tried to watch the Interfaith Service on my laptop, my inability to breathe through my nose got me coughing. Yet being personally, temporarily miserable seems indulgent.

I haven’t left the house for days. Yet from my Kleenex strewn nest next to our newly plugged fireplace I have watched my old stomping grounds by live feeds on Boston.com -- and daily life from my picture window.

The first of two meetings to "Celebrate Lincoln Park", was held at the Hall at Fauntleroy on April 23 primarly as a means to share information about the park and its place in the community.

Information on the park's history, creatures, and ecological importance were part of the event.

Information tables included Seal Sitters, the Whale Trail, Fauntleroy YMCA, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Puget Sound Partnership, Seattle Animal Control, Friends of Lincoln Park, and the Alliance for Lincoln Park Nature.