July 2014

information from Seal Sitters

Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network’s final training for the 2014 seal pupping season will take place on August 9th. There will be no further trainings until late fall due to time constraints on volunteers. SSMMSN responds to reports of live and dead marine mammals along the shores of West Seattle and the Duwamish River.

Last year’s record-breaking pupping season stats in West Seattle (from late July’s first response to a newborn seal pup to the end of the year’s weaned pups) included 163 responses to marine mammals, including 66 positively identified seal pups.

This 2014 season has begun unusually early in West Seattle with responses in June to one full lanugo seal pup “Luigi”, a second premature pup, and full-term “Junebug” who is now in rehab at PAWS Wildlife Center.

TRAINING DATE:
Saturday morning, August 9, 2014
Time:
10am - 12pm (doors open at 9:30am)
*please note: Plan to arrive early to register and receive paperwork - training begins promptly at 10
Location:
Alki UCC Church 6115 SW Hinds, Seattle

By Christy Wolyniak

Coffee has come a long way in Seattle. Devoted to quality, a handful of Seattle roasters are looking beyond a nondescript bag of beans and to the very heart and source of coffee: the hardworking farmers themselves.

“We call it Seed to Cup in our industry. Knowing the whole chain of where it comes from, how much people are being paid, how it’s grown, and how it’s roasted,” said Kuma Coffee Production Roaster, Peter Mark Ingalls.

“That’s still pretty new and rare instead of just some nondescript bag where you don’t know how people are being treated.”

Fair Trade requires several stipulations of farmers before the coffee is Fair Trade Certified; price per pound is a minimum of $1.69 and paid directly to the cooperative. Direct Trade, on the other hand, is a flexible model involving an agreed upon price between the producer and the buyer, opening trade to a wide variety of farms.

By Peggy Sturdivant

“I want to give dogs haircuts,” Jasmine Pulido’s four-year old daughter Penny said.

“You don’t want to be a financial analyst like your dad?” Jasmine teased her daughter. The only surprise was that her daughter already wants a job. Both her daughters love dogs, but her older daughter is the namesake of her mother’s business, “Penny Paws In-Home Dog Grooming.”

Not that Jasmine set out to be dog groomer after completing her Bachelor of Science at the University of California, San Diego, in Animal Ecology Behavior and Evolution with a minor in Biology. She planned to work with wild animals. After they’d both graduated Jasmine and her husband moved to Seattle, partly because of her husband’s love of coffee, music and rain. He’s a musician and they both compose.

Seahurst Park in Burien is set to reopen August 25 following completion of the Seahurst Park Ecosystem Restoration Project, Phase II. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned to follow.

The project, which began Oct. 28, 2013, removed 1,800 feet of shoreline concrete armoring in the northern section of the park replacing it with more natural habitat for forage fish and salmon rearing.

Improved habitat aids recovery of species, such as bull trout, steelhead and Chinook salmon, listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Along the park shoreline 25,000 tons of sand and gravel were added, as well at 17,000 plants. The public will be able to enjoy the new stretch of natural beach with several stairway access points, and new park features including a fish ladder, picnic shelter, playground, lawn areas and parking lot.

“We’re very excited about the completion of the project and the reopening of Seahurst Park,” said Burien Mayor Lucy Krakowiak. “With nearly a mile of natural beach, this park has become the crown jewel of urban Puget Sound waterfront parks.”

Seahurst Park in Burien is set to reopen August 25 following completion of the Seahurst Park Ecosystem Restoration Project, Phase II. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned to follow.

The project, which began Oct. 28, 2013, removed 1,800 feet of shoreline concrete armoring in the northern section of the park replacing it with more natural habitat for forage fish and salmon rearing.

Improved habitat aids recovery of species, such as bull trout, steelhead and Chinook salmon, listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Along the park shoreline 25,000 tons of sand and gravel were added, as well at 17,000 plants. The public will be able to enjoy the new stretch of natural beach with several stairway access points, and new park features including a fish ladder, picnic shelter, playground, lawn areas and parking lot.

“We’re very excited about the completion of the project and the reopening of Seahurst Park,” said Burien Mayor Lucy Krakowiak. “With nearly a mile of natural beach, this park has become the crown jewel of urban Puget Sound waterfront parks.”

Jogger shot in buttocks by pellet-gun

On July 13 Seattle Police Department responded to an assault with a pellet gun at the intersection of Northwest 96th Street and 17th Avenue Northwest. The victim told officers that after leaving his house to go for a run, he ran by a black vehicle and as he did he felt a sharp pain in his buttocks. He turned around and was immediately stunned by another pain in his stomach. He saw the black vehicle quickly drive away and saw a pistol being pulled back into the car window. After getting a look at the license plate, he realized he had two red welts on his body. He reported the license plate to SPD and they were able to track the vehicle address. Later, SPD made contact with the owner of the vehicle who told officers that his 17-year-old son had taken the car and possessed a small pellet gun. Officers searched the area but did not find the suspect.

Hooligans take park vehicle for joy ride

The largest annual parade in Seattle, the Seafair Torchlight Parade, will take place Saturday evening in downtown Seattle. An estimated 300,000 spectators will congest incoming routes in the late afternoon and evening as they claim spots to sit along the Fourth Avenue.

The northbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed from 5:30 p.m. to approximately 7:45 p.m. for the 5 k and 8 K Seafair Torchlight Run races. At approximately 6 p.m. Fourth Avenue will close from Broad Street to South Washington Street, complicating traffic circulation in the downtown area. Fourth will reopen around 10:30 p.m. and routes out of downtown will be congested as the crowds leave the event.

Other events likely to have a significant effect on traffic this weekend include Mariners games and the Capitol Hill Block Party, both events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; and Sunday’s Pista sa Nyon festival in Seward Park.

Friday, July 25

Mariners vs. Baltimore
· Safeco Field

· 7:10 p.m. start

· Estimated attendance: 35,000

· Expect congestion near stadium

Mayor Ed Murray today announced John Okamoto as the new acting Director for the city’s Human Services Department (HSD). Okamoto will replace current HSD interim Director Catherine Lester, who will remain with HSD and assist Okamoto in his transition.

“I want to extend my gratitude to Catherine Lester for the great work that she has done since 2011, first as deputy director and then interim director,” said Murray. “As the interim director, Catherine successfully led the department through a period of significant change and uncertainty, prospering in many areas. I’m confident John will build upon Catherine’s great work as we continue looking for a permanent director.”

Okamoto served as Executive Director of the Washington Education Association from 2008 – 2012. He has a long track record of successful leadership positions, and is well known by community, public and business leaders. His extensive management experience includes leadership positions with the Port of Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation, and as Director of the former Department of Engineering and former Director of Personnel for the City. Read his resume here.

information from WestSide Baby
WestSide Baby collected more than 300,000 diapers through its 14th annual Stuff the Bus community diaper drive July 20, marking the nonprofit’s largest and most successful outreach effort since opening its doors in 2001. In addition, WestSide Baby received hundreds of donations of essential hygiene items, such as diaper cream and wipes. The agency hoped to collect 290,000 diapers for children and families in need in King County through Stuff the Bus.

WestSide Baby collected donations in school buses at HomeStreet Bank in West Seattle, Burien Toyota and Scion, and AmericanWest Bank in Ballard. More than 70 individuals and businesses collected diapers to contribute to the effort, including two-dozen Safeway stores, eight HomeStreet Bank branches and five AmericanWest Bank branches across King County. Safeway staffed its stores with its own volunteers and discounted its diapers for the weekend.

Safeway stores alone collected 127,000 donated diapers, and the Safeway Foundation provided WestSide Baby with a $1,000 grant to support its diaper bank program.

By Seth Halleran, UW News Lab

In the nine years since Isaiah Hoban Halvorsen started playing with cameras, making videos with his friends, his passion for film hasn’t wavered.

19-year-old Hoban Halvorsen wrote and directed the short film The Same Old Thing, a dark-comedy exploring the parallel stories of two Seattle teenagers.

“It’s a pre-coming of age story,” says Hoban Halvorsen, “it’s basically about people trying to figure themselves out and not quite realizing who they are.”

Many of the 24 teens and young adults that made up the cast & crew of The Same Old Thing, including Hoban Halvorsen, graduated from Ballard High School’s digital filmmaking program.

The Same Old Thing has been the biggest project undertaken by those spearheading its production.

“It was like looking at it and trying to bite off more than we can chew and doing our best to wolf it down any way we could,” says Vann Fulfs, one of the film’s four producers.

Fulfs believes that the shared experience of the Ballard high graduates helped foster a professional environment on set.