April 2014

By Christy Wolyniak

In the world of iPhones and an app for every maneuver of the day, individuals often enter personal information with the swipe of a finger, a tap here and an email there. However, severe emotional and financial stress can occur when and if this information is compromised, which happens more often than some may realize.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, 9 million people are victims to identity theft each year. This confounding reality is evident in the number of cases that occur in the Seattle area alone. On March 24, 2014, the Seattle Police Department filed 15 cases of identity theft and 3 cases of check fraud in a single day.

Fewer cases of check fraud might be due to the increase in online banking, resulting in less paper checks, though it still does occur.

Perpetrators access personal information through malware and internet hacking also known as ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks, stolen mail, lost or stolen debit or credit cards and non-secure online transactions.

By Gerardo Bolong

Late inning unforced Mount Rainier errors in the field opened the gate for Thomas Jefferson to enter the victory column in a 5-4 eight inning SPSL girls fast pitch softball home win on Tues., April 1.

After Texas Southern-bound Ram right hander Jasmine Fulmore had shut out the Raiders on four hits and 11 strike outs over six full innings, Jefferson struck back in the bottom of the seventh inning beginning with a lead off single by Megan Dougherty. Two outs later, with a runner on second base, Annalise Campbell delivered a run home on a single with two strikes on her. The third and game ending out proved to be an elusive catch for Mt. Rainier as errors on an infield grounder and pop up plus Isabelle McCarty's RBI single produced three additional runs and a 4-4 draw that forced the extra inning.

With two outs in the top of the eighth inning the Rams were in business following a walk to Sophie Hilsen and Natasha Ricci's single to right field. The threat ended on an infield ground out.

Jesse Sochetna Chhay and his family moved to Seattle in 2006 from Cambodia with a single goal in mind: to obtain the best education possible.

“In this country, the most important thing is education and I believe the education system here is much better than in Cambodia,” Chhay said.  “We knew it would open up a lot of opportunities and great things in the future.”

Chhay said his English was poor when he started high school at Cleveland that year, forcing him to stay in his social shell much of the time.  On the inside, however, he was repeating a personal mantra over and over again.
“I started out with a language barrier and I was embarrassed sometimes because I couldn’t always express myself in English,” he explained.  “But I knew I needed to push and said to myself, ‘You are going to get better, you can do better than this and it will just take time and effort.’ ”

By the time his senior year arrived, Chhay’s English was improving and he was working hard - putting that mantra into practice - to position himself for higher education scholarships.  And that’s when he heard about the 13th Year Promise Scholarship Program at South Seattle College. 

By Peggy Sturdivant

It seemed so wrong to be in a bad mood on such a beautiful day. All night the magnolia tree had glowed in our back yard. The grass looked too green to even be real, but for some reason I was seeing red.

I had no real reason to want to decapitate toadstools or toss snails into the street, unless a sense of despair of the mudslide to the north or the missing plane to the east had crept into my psyche. The week was actually going well. I had done my part for Cancer Lifeline, addressing over 600 people at a fundraiser at The Westin, and just dropped off a donation for the Senior Center auction. I had started vegetables from seed in the new cold frame and joined the Ballard Chamber of Commerce.

Someone into astrology might be able to claim an explanation for my combination of anger and sadness. Perhaps I was just tired. Tired of soliciting gift items for yet another silent auction, tired of seeing three-story townhouses next to older homes. Maybe I was still feeling stupid because I was so busy rubbernecking new construction in Ballard last week that I rode my bicycle into a parked truck.

By Peggy Sturdivant

It seemed so wrong to be in a bad mood on such a beautiful day. All night the magnolia tree had glowed in our back yard. The grass looked too green to even be real, but for some reason I was seeing red.

I had no real reason to want to decapitate toadstools or toss snails into the street, unless a sense of despair of the mudslide to the north or the missing plane to the east had crept into my psyche. The week was actually going well. I had done my part for Cancer Lifeline, addressing over 600 people at a fundraiser at The Westin, and just dropped off a donation for the Senior Center auction. I had started vegetables from seed in the new cold frame and joined the Ballard Chamber of Commerce.

Someone into astrology might be able to claim an explanation for my combination of anger and sadness. Perhaps I was just tired. Tired of soliciting gift items for yet another silent auction, tired of seeing three-story townhouses next to older homes. Maybe I was still feeling stupid because I was so busy rubbernecking new construction in Ballard last week that I rode my bicycle into a parked truck.

Scott Anthony

My office chair had failed me, the back support had become wobbly and finally just broke off one day, falling to the floor with a ‘thwump’ loud enough to scare the dog.

Frugal sort that I am, though I could not fix it, I just used the seat without the back hoping that anyone who saw it would figure that it was supposed to be that way. Eventually the springs under the foam began to make themselves known and I had to make a move. A friend of mine stopped by, we’ll call him Dirt. Dirt said “Hey…that’s not much of chair you’ve got there, pal. I know somebody who has a storage unit full of ‘em…you can take your pick…twenty bucks.”

Dirt had my attention, so I made arrangements to meet Dirt’s friend. We’ll call her Mud. Mud rolled up the door of the storage unit and instead of a unit full of office chairs, there was a unit full of regular old household items. Mud said, “It’s in there somewhere…maybe under the persian rugs.”

Re: May Day Demonstrations
To Whom It May Concern,

We should all be concerned about the anarchists who trash our streets and businesses on May 1st each year. Although May Day has been known for Labor and Immigration reform, it is also an official Congressional Holiday called Loyalty Day. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) will be having a Celebration of Patriotism next month on Thursday, May 1st, 2014, at VFW Post 2713 in West Seattle. The public is invited to come and see what “Loyalty Day” is all about, from noon to 1:30, at 3601 SW Alaska St. Seattle, 98126.

Loyally,
Barbara L. Moore
District 2 President
VFW Ladies Auxiliary

With the final vote on the Whole Foods/Whittaker project coming up on April 8, after being deferred at the last meeting of the Seattle City Council Transportation Committee meeting, the opposition has been busy.

This is not the group that calls itself "Getting it Right for West Seattle" but rather a group of people who feel strongly about mitigating the impacts of the project and who hope to influence the design decisions made.

They've assembled a letter addressed to Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen who chairs the Transportation Committee and a group of documents in support of their position and claims. Here's their letter and their documents are found at the links.

RE: Alley Vacation Petition for the 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW Development Proposal

Dear Councilmember Rasmussen:

April 1 - Mayor Ed Murray joined neighborhood business district leaders and local business owners at Bastille Café to announce 18 neighborhood business districts will be receiving a $2 million investment as part of the Only in Seattle Initiative.

“This investment in neighborhood business districts is critical to our city,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “Healthy business districts equate to thriving businesses, stable jobs and overall success for our city.”

Small businesses make up 72 percent of Seattle’s workforce and create 35 percent of the city’s business tax revenues, totaling $55.4 million.

The Office of Economic Development (OED)’s Only in Seattle Initiative (OIS) has been coordinating the funding allocation in order to support economic vitality in neighborhood business districts.

The Burien Community Center is thrilled to be hosting an exhibit by Burien artist Danny Mansmith. Danny is a self taught, mixed media, fiber, and installation artist. His exhibit is titled “New Beginnings” and will be up from April 1st to the end of May.

“I moved to Burien five months ago and I am very honored and grateful to have the opportunity to introduce myself to you, my new community, here at the Burien Community Center. All the work that you see has been inspired by my new surroundings; especially the yard. It has been a long time dream of mine to have one and its presence fills up my life.
So much so, that it spills out and into my studio, its walls, these walls and maybe your walls in the future. I hope you enjoy it… It’ll be here till the end of May. Cheers!
http://dannymansmith.wordpress.com/

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Ave SW, Burien, 98166. The center is open Monday-Thursday from 8:30am-8:00pm, Friday 8:30am-5:00pm and Saturday 8:00am-noon.

For more information: parksinfo@burienwa.gov, 206-988-3700.