September 2014

information from South Seattle College

South Seattle College will host the 13th Year Bridge graduation ceremony today at noon. This marks the completion of a three-day orientation specifically designed for 13th Year Scholars to ease the transition from high school to college before classes officially begin on September 22.
The graduation ceremony includes a panel discussion with former 13th Year Scholars.

The 13th Year Promise Scholarship guarantees one-year of free tuition for all high school graduates from Chief Sealth International, Cleveland and (most recently) Rainier Beach high schools, regardless of their grades or finances.

In addition to the free tuition, the 13th Year Scholars also receive academic support to ensure their academic success with programs like the Bridge Program. The program, which is required for all 13th Year Scholars, is designed to ease students' transition from high school to higher education with several workshops covering everything from college success strategies to financial literacy.

By Peggy Sturdivant

I’ve read about an alleged “Seattle Chill” for newcomers. In my neighborhood, it’s the opposite, more of a “Ballard Melt.”

On Labor Day, I tried to make it home from Market Street and was waylaid for hours by cross-connecting stories at a single yard sale (and no offense, not the greatest yard sale). It’s almost as though they were lying in wait for me, wanting to tell the story called, “They Bought the Farm.”

West on N.W. 61st, the street ends on 34th N.W. At that T-top of that dead stop, there’s a newly landscaped vegetable and flower garden. Not attached to the house on either side; it has always been a garden. In fact, the 2,250 square foot plot of land has never, in the history of Ballard since white settlers, been built on. But, it has passed through a lot of different hands, and it has always been farmed.

STAR Communities announced today that Seattle has been awarded a 5-STAR Community Rating for national leadership in sustainability. The City achieved the highest score to date, and is only the second in the nation to achieve the 5-STAR rating for its participation in the STAR Community Rating System (STAR), which evaluates the livability and sustainability of U.S. communities.

“I applaud our numerous community partners whose work contributed to this recognition and the highest score yet received by any City in the country,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “Our commitment to sustainable practices and innovative solutions begins and ends with our residents and businesses. This 5-STAR rating is just the latest example of the Seattle’s deep-seated culture of environmental consciousness.”

The Seattle Mariners will play against the Astros at Safeco Field today, Sept. 10. The game will start at 7:10 pm and will end around 10 pm. Expect congestion near Safeco Field during the afternoon peak traffic period as fans head for the game. For tips on ways to get to the game, please see http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/sea/ballpark/transportation/index.jsp

Seattle's 36th annual Lake Union Boats Afloat Show gets underway today and continues through Sunday, Sept. 14th. Weekday hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and weekend hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The show is located at 901 Fairview Avenue North on Lake Union. Expect additional traffic in the South Lake Union area as people enjoy this event. http://www.boatsafloatshow.com/ The South Lake Union Streetcar runs from downtown to South Lake Union, providing a good way to get to the show. See the streetcar website to learn more about riding the colorful streetcar. http://seattlestreetcar.com/slu.htm

by Gwen Davis

The Seattle City Council met on Sept. 10 to examine impact fees on land development. In West Seattle with a recent spate of major construction transforming the neighborhood, this issue has become more serious.

Are we charging fees that are different from other cities, a council member asked? Is it fair that we're picking on the developers? "We're actually making them join the party and not letting others subsidizing their cost," he stated.

There is evidence for the benefit of impact fees. The jurisdictions that are implementing impact fees, including 80 cities are doing well, according to the presenter, even though not all of the jurisdictions have the same impact fee policies. The highest impact fee in cities across the country are slated for schools, which has been a popular move. The fees are still very small and overall have not scared developers away, the presenter said. On the contrary, developers are allegedly friendly to jurisdictions with impact fees.

Fortunately, low-income housing projects are 80 percent exempt from impact fees, he said.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After redshirting last season, Kennedy Catholic High School graduate Conner Richardson is preparing himself for a greater role in the scheme of the second-ranked in the country Football Championship Subdivision Eastern Washington University Eagles.

Listed as a reserve at quarterback in the preseason, Richardson is third on the depth chart.

Three spring scrimmages featured the former Lancer completing 8-of-15 passes for 100 yards and one interception.

"I learned a lot last year about staying in the pocket and adjusting to make the proper throws," he said after the Eagles had pushed the University of Washington Huskies to the limit before falling to the UW 59-52 on Sept. 6, at Husky Stadium. "I'm always learning and growing."
Part of the growing is observing and staying close to Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin.

"I'm always staying close to coach B," he said. "I look at the plays and try to help as much as I can. When the call comes, I want to be ready.

Sports events worth keeping an eye on

For the week of Sept. 10-16

By Tim Clinton, SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Football
West Seattle hosts Washington at 7 p.m. Friday at the Southwest Athletic Complex as Chief Sealth travels to Rainier Beach.
Mount Rainier is home at Highline Memorial facing Bethel at the same time as Evergreen goes to Fife, Foster to Sammamish and Highline to Nathan Hale.
Kennedy Catholic goes to Seattle Memorial to play Seattle Prep at 5 p.m. Friday.

Volleyball
Foster entertains Washington at 7 p.m. Wednesday, while Chief Sealth is home at the same time and West Seattle at Franklin.
Mount Rainier visits Lake Washington at 7 p.m. Thursday and Evergreen goes to Thomas Jefferson at 7:15 p.m.
Friday West Seattle is at home at 7 p.m. as Chief Sealth travels to Cleveland.
Monday's schedule has West Seattle hosting Cleveland and Chief Sealth entertaining Ballard, while Tuesday Evergreen is at Tyee, JFK at Highline and Hazen at Evergreen -- also at 7 p.m. -- with Mount Rainier hosting Blanchet at 7:15 p.m.

Girls soccer

Ugwoaba now with Western

Highline High School graduate Uche Ugwoaba is now a defender for the Western Washington University men's soccer team and drew praise for his efforts from Vikings head coach Greg Brisbon in a recent press release about a 1-0 upset of UC San Diego.

McPherson stars as a junior

Jennica McPherson, a graduate of Kennedy, is playing her junior season with Western Washington University's volleyball team.
McPherson had eight kills and 12 digs as the Lady Vikings also defeated UC San Diego this past Friday.

That came on the heels of another Central Washington University invitational tournament match where McPherson scored the final two kills out of her seven in a win over Cal State Stanislaus.

The opposite-side hitter also had seven kills, 10 digs, four service aces and two blocks to help WWU to a defeat of Sonoma State University on Thursday.

Thommasen starts for Pacific

Leyton Thommasen of Des Moines is the starting goalkeeper for the Pacific University Boxers men's soccer team as a freshman.
The Boxers are from Forest Grove, Ore.

Trio plays for Saint Martin's

Saturday, Sept. 6
Football
Juneau-Douglas 24, West Seattle 8
The Wildcats of West Seattle High School played their season opener in Alaska against a team that was already in its third game and took a loss Saturday.
Douglas High School of Juneau improved its record to 2-1 with the win at Adair Kennedy Field.
Flynniecko Glover scored the lone touchdown for the Wildcats on one of seven carries that resulted in a total of 55 yards.
Carter Colgate caught seven passes for 80 yards and also made six tackles, while Bailey Wyatt led with seven tackles.
Quarterback Robert Harrelson completed 14 of 24 passes for 98 yards.
Kennedy 2, Franklin 0
Kennedy was a winner against Franklin on Saturday.

Friday, Sept. 5
Football
Interlake 20, Foster 12
The Bulldogs took a close loss to the Saints in their non-league season opener on Friday.

Thursday, Sept. 4
Boys golf
Ingraham 105, Chief Sealth 39
The Seahawks were outscored in their opener against Ingraham this past Thursday.
Girls golf
Ingraham 40, Chief Sealth 8
Chief Sealth also took a loss on the girls side Thursday.
Girls golf
Kentwood 67, Mt. Rainier 27

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

KENT - Water on the treacherous back nine at the Riverbend Golf Club sunk the efforts of the Mt. Rainier boys golf team in a 79-26 loss to visiting Kentwood on Thurs., Sept. 4.

"Playing the back nine (instead of the front nine) caused some problems with too any penalty strokes," said Ram head coach Rob Caudillo . "Last week in tryouts the team played to 10 or so less strokes. They're disappointed. I'm encouraged because they know that we can do better.
The team has a good work ethic and we look for each player to get one or two shots better each match."

In trying times for the entire team, Zac Lockhart carded a 51 on the par 36 set up while leading Mt. Rainier with seven points scored. Three-year letter winner and captain Alex Seifert led in the low score category with a 49 while scoring six points.