December 2013

By Peggy Sturdivant

We were supposed to be discussing the upcoming Santa Breakfast but Ballard Senior Center Director Carlye Teel and I were temporarily distracted by her $33,000 deficit. Carlye looked uncharacteristically worn.

“Board meeting tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll figure it out.” I asked a few questions and of course she started to warm to her subject, a first-time partnership with Adams Elementary, for a holiday event. Her granddaughter is at Adams, or at least its pre-school, so Teel had the idea of involving their PTA in a Santa Breakfast to raise funds for the Senior Center and Adams PTA (5% to Adams). The 4th graders and a Girl Scout Troop are going to be helpers.

The breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 7th also includes the opportunity to have Santa photos taken locally for $20. Photography teacher Boon Goh will be at the camera.

By Marjorie Young

One of the most fascinating aspects of my psychic work is that I am often the recipient of tidings aimed not at my clients, but rather those in their circle; friends, loved ones, work-place acquaintances. Though I am in no way attempting to ‘connect’ with these people, their circumstances are revealed to me with clarity. Of course, I pass on those messages without fail, hoping they will be delivered to the ‘third party’ involved.

I’ve reported previously concerning a session where urgent warning was provided for my client’s mother; that she had a dangerous, as yet undiagnosed, medical condition called ‘cardiomyopathy.’ At my urging, she had her mother consult a doctor that very day. He immediately hospitalized her, undoubtedly saving her life. Of course, the goal of the original appointment had been to simply focus upon the daughter rather than her mom. Yet there was ‘something out there’ that provided me with that imperative information.

Metro Transit held the first of its public outreach meetings on the proposed drastic cuts to service at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center Tuesday, Dec. 3

Metro has said that service cuts could begin next fall as other funding runs out, starting in June and would be phased in over time unless the legislature takes action to pass a transportation package. The special session that would have addressed the issue did not happen so the next opportunity to address it will come when the state House and Senate return to work in January. Without a long term solution to the $75 million annual funding shortfall, King County Metro will be forced to cut 17 percent of its services.

Dinah Brein, Admiral Theater proprietor announced Dec. 3 that the FREE holiday film for this season is Arthur Christmas.

In a press release Brein said:

"It’s always a challenge at Christmas finding the perfect family film. The whole family comes together, children are excited, and joy fills the air. What better way to spend the festive season than seeing a family Christmas movie with your loved ones? This charming 2011 award winning animated film has quickly become a Christmas Classic.

Arthur Christmas, reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?' The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the center of the film is a story about a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.

With a top-notch voice over cast, James McAvoy, Bill Nighy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Laura Linney and many others, Arthur Christmas is filled with charming, likable characters you will end up falling in love with.

Ever since a serious fire in 2009, the Alki Homestead, the famous West Seattle landmark and former restaurant, has sat vacant and deteriorating. But the owner Tom Lin has made multiple efforts to bring it back. Designs were drawn up, meetings with the Landmark Preservation Board were held, plans were revised but little real progress was made.

Local investors inquired after Lin announced last June he wanted to sell it, and the property was withdrawn from the market while negotiations proceeded. But that deal fell through.

Now, Lin is ready to sell to any restoration minded buyer and has put it on the market again with Paragon Real Estate Advisors for $1.85 million.

West Seattle author Nicole Hardy will meet and greet the public in the next meeting of the Southwest Historical Society "Words, Writers & West Seattle" series, with a presentation on her funny, intimate and thoughtful memoir, Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin.

A review from Booklist talks about the book:

Information from SDOT

The Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle City Light plan to work on the high-level, West Seattle Bridge on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Dec. 4, 5 and 6, if weather conditions permit. SDOT crews will perform maintenance work, and SCL crews will install LED lights.

On Wednesday the eastbound, right-hand lane will be closed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The closure will extend for approximately 400 to 500 feet, and will be repositioned as the work progresses along the length of the bridge. On Thursday, the westbound, right lane will be closed starting at 8:30 a.m. until no later than 2:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 6, the westbound, left-hand lane will be closed, again from 8:30 a.m. until no later than 2:30 p.m.

"Free E-Cycling"
ECOSS and InterConnection.org are working together to provide a FREE E-Cycling Event Saturday, January 4th from 1-4 pm at South Park Neighborhood Center (8201 10th AVE S, Seattle WA 98108), where you can recycle old electronics for FREE!

Items that will be accepted are: desktops, laptops, TVs, cell phones, printers, monitors, hard drives, and most other portable electronics.

The items collected will be donations and donors will receive a donation receipt. If you are interested in learning more or would like to volunteer for this event please email me at: ariel@ecoss.org

West Seattle Symphony holiday concert

Host: Toni Reineke
Time: Friday, December 06, 2013 07:00PM
Location: Chief Sealth HS, 2600 S.W. Thistle

Join us for a warm concert on a cool winter's evening of Elgar's Enigma Variations, R Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite and seasonal favorite, Anderson's Sleigh Ride

Featuring the WSCO Woodwind Ensemble performing Hedien's Sextet No. 1

Film “Lolita, Slave to Entertainment”
Admiral Twin Theatre
2343 California Ave. S.W.

Sports Briefs

Fulmore joins Texas Southern
Mount Rainier High School's Jasmine Fulmore signed a letter of intent to play fastpitch softball for Texas Southern University.

Gandy scores 10 in win
Mount Rainier graduate Kiana Gandy scored 10 points for the Western Washington University women's basketball team in its 83-44 win over Northwest University this past Saturday.

High schools

Boys basketball

Mount Rainier is scheduled to host Evergreen in a 7 p.m. Monday game, then Kennedy entertains Archbishop Murphy at 7 p.m. Tuesday as Foster hosts Kentwood.
Highline will be at home against Decatur for 7 p.m. action Wednesday and Thursday Mount Rainier will travel to Auburn for a 7:30 p.m. South Puget Sound League North Division opener.
Chief Sealth drops in on Foster for a 7:45 p.m. game Friday, then Saturday's schedule has Mount Rainier home against Kentridge at 7:30 p.m. and Highline home against Blanchet at 3 p.m.
Evergreen entertains Olympic at 7 p.m. next Monday.

Girls basketball

Evergreen hosts Washington at 7 p.m. this Monday and Seattle Christian entertains Foster at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Kennedy gets a 7 p.m. visit from Olympia on Wednesday and Mount Rainier travels to Eastlake at the same time. Highline travels to West Seattle for 7:30 p.m. action Wednesday. and Mount Rainier is home against Auburn at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Foster hosts Chief Sealth for a 6:15 p.m. battle Friday and Mount Rainier is at Kentridge for a 7:30 p.m. game Saturday.