January 2014

Burien, WA– Enrollment opens January 21 for students who will start kindergarten next fall. To help prepare more students for success on Day One of kindergarten, Highline is offering a new kindergarten readiness program partially funded by a Race to the Top grant.

Geared for students who haven’t had access to preschool, Highline will offer the programs from March-June in several low-income neighborhoods. Fewer than half of all incoming Highline kindergarten students have access to high-quality preschool programs.

To secure a seat in the kindergarten readiness program, families should register for kindergarten as soon as possible. Only qualified students who enroll early will have access to the programs.

“Highline Public Schools recognizes the importance of early learning in the success of our students,” said Early Learning, P-3 Director Anne Arnold. “We are recommending that families register their incoming kindergarten students as close to January 21 as possible to be admitted to this kindergarten readiness program, and others, which will prepare children for school success."

Burien, WA– Enrollment opens January 21 for students who will start kindergarten next fall. To help prepare more students for success on Day One of kindergarten, Highline is offering a new kindergarten readiness program partially funded by a Race to the Top grant.

Geared for students who haven’t had access to preschool, Highline will offer the programs from March-June in several low-income neighborhoods. Fewer than half of all incoming Highline kindergarten students have access to high-quality preschool programs.

To secure a seat in the kindergarten readiness program, families should register for kindergarten as soon as possible. Only qualified students who enroll early will have access to the programs.

“Highline Public Schools recognizes the importance of early learning in the success of our students,” said Early Learning, P-3 Director Anne Arnold. “We are recommending that families register their incoming kindergarten students as close to January 21 as possible to be admitted to this kindergarten readiness program, and others, which will prepare children for school success."

The West Seattle Transportation Coalition, formed in response to the growing need to address the transportation issue facing people on the West Seattle peninsula held a Q & A panel on Tuesday, Jan 14 with representatives from the State of Washington, King County, and the City of Seattle responding.

About 80 people came to the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center to hear from Ron Judd, Project Strategy Manager for WSDOT, Chris Arkills, Transit Policy Advisor for King County Executive Dow Constantine, Andrew Glass Hastings, Transit and Transportation advisor for new Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, and Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who heads the Council's Transportation committee. They took questions from WSTC board members Michael Taylor-Judd, Mat McBride, and Joe Szilagyi.

From 1961 to 1972 Freda Kelly had a job that millions of girls dreamt about. She was the personal secretary for the Beatles. From the days before they became the biggest band in the world to their acrimonious break up she was on the inside and knew them literally better than anyone.

Good Ol' Freda, which starts Friday at the Admiral Theater is one of few documentaries with the support of the living Beatles. It features original Beatles music and offers an insider perspective on their lives during a time that changed the world. It is 1 hour 26 min Rated PG and plays at 6:50 p.m. and 8:50 p.m.

The Admiral is located at 2343 California Ave SW, West Seattle.

The Director Ryan White explained the importance of the film:

By Carol Smith

I drive to work five days a week
Show up on time, promotions seek
Help kids with homework, settle fights
Read bedtime stories, turn off lights

I watch my temper, walk the dog
Eat healthy so my veins won’t clog
Wear shoes that mostly look the same
Don’t know the latest Rapper’s name

I’m not too handsome or too tall
Will hold my wife’s purse at the Mall
Have never been accused of cool
Try hard to keep the Golden Rule

But then come Sunday, hair in spikes
I leave the world of skates and trikes
To join all other Twelfth Men who
Like me that day, bleed green and blue!

Family Literacy Night at Roxhill Elementary School on Jan. 14 was a night of pizza, reading and gratitude.

Natalie Gelms, Children's Services Librarian at the High Point Branch of the Seattle Public Library explained, "Seattle Public Library and Seattle Public Schools have partnered this year with a grant from the Allen Foundation and monies from the Seattle Public Library to figure out what we can do, when we do everything together. The first part of the grant was buying 500 books and materials for each of the two school libraries that are participating, Roxhill and Sanislo Elementary. They are narrative non-fiction titles that help with the common core standards, our new educational standards. They are meant to encourage kids to read non-fiction when they choose books instead of just choosing the new cool titles.

By Paul Marston

Rainier Beach pulled away from West Seattle in the second half for a 117-78 victory at West Seattle High’s gym. Beach was led by 6’7 senior forward Shaqquan Aaron’s 32 points and 6’4 junior guard Dejounte Murray’s 30 points. 6’3 senior guard Deandre Love led West Seattle with 31 points.

Beach led 41-37 late in the first half before ending it on a 12-4 run, capped by a long 3 pointer at the buzzer. Beach left little doubt that it would be victorious by opening the second half on an 18-5 run to lead 71-46 with three minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Beach was relentless from the initial tap to the final buzzer, regardless of the score. Taking full advantage of its superior athleticism and height, Beach continually looked to fast-break as they pushed the ball up the court and pounded the boards. Beach’s unselfishness was also on display with its quick, sharp passing, as players were continually looking for the open man. Shaqquan Aaron dominated in the paint, particularly in the second half, using his obvious skills going to the rim or dishing off to his teammates with decisive interior passes.

An intersection in Ballard is back in the headlines after a man drove his car into Taco Time (2853 NW Market Street) on Market Street the morning of Jan. 12.

At approximately 2:07 a.m. Seattle Police Department and the Seattle Fire Department responded to a reported collision and found a vehicle lodged in the front end of Taco Time.

The vehicle had gone through a plate glass window and much of a wall into the seating area of the restaurant. The driver of the vehicle was standing near the car and admitted to officers he had been driving when the accident occurred. There were no passengers, and the man was not injured.

Image taken from KIRO TV

Officers reported that there was no obvious sign the man had been drinking, though he refused a sobriety test and medical treatment from SFD.

The man was processed for Driving Under the Influence and booked at the North Precinct for DUI and negligent driving.

After Marty Riemer and Michael A. Stusser brought out their documentary, Sleeping with Siri, a lighthearted film that addresses the serious implications of digital devices in our lives there was an obvious question. What's next?

Their answer is an exponential expansion of the idea of a digital detox. Teaming up with Canadian life insurance company Foresters Insurance the two men are now part of Tech Timeout Academic Challenge a 3 day challenge in which students shut down their digital devices to gain awareness of how dependent they are on technology.

Cyclists commuters, skaters, walkers, and pedestrians alike may have an extra glimmer in their eyes these last few weeks since SDOT has made strides in making Ballard and all of Seattle more cyclist and pedestrian-minded.

Most recently, SDOT announced that electrical sensors would be placed in numerous locations throughout trail systems and greenways of Seattle in order to count the number of pedestrians and cyclists using the routes.

SDOT says the data will provide information that will facilitate measurement and ways to better serve a growing population of pedestrians and cyclists.

Already on the Fremont Bridge, another counter will be placed at Northwest 58th Street at 22nd Avenue Northwest in Ballard, and six other locations around the city.

SDOT stated, “The counters will help create a ridership baseline in 2014 that can be used to assess and measure ridership in the future and help reach the goal of quadrupling ridership by 2030.”

“No one has really methodically counted trail users,” said Kevin Carrabine, one of the original founders of the Friends of the Burke-Gilman Trail (BGT) and daily bicycle commuter.