October 2014

70 percent of the surface of our planet is covered by water---including Budweiser, Gatorade and drool.

Land and poor math students cover the other 45 percent.

After our unusually sunny summer, the return of Seattle rain is getting mixed reviews.

It hasn’t gotten quite torrential yet---and there’s no need to build an ark---but the autumnal weather has arrived. To some longtime dwellers, it’s like a reunion with an old friend---a soggy old friend who drenches us in reassuring familiarity.

But for other local folks, the return of the rain is akin to the re-arrival of an obnoxious relative---Uncle Earl, who sloshes through your front door unannounced and planning to stick around until at least next May.
An acquaintance from the Midwest once said to me, “No wonder you Seattle people have cornered so much of the market on coffee, craft brews and wine. You’ve got so much water to work with.” Based on that reasoning, we should also be the world leader in all other things liquid: water parks, picks, melons and nymphs---not to mention artificial tears, humidifiers and spittoons.

King County Executive Dow Constantine will present the fourth annual Community Preparedness award on Thursday at the Fauntleroy Church CC at 9140 California Ave SW at 1pm.

Each year, the Executive recognizes one or more community organizations for their efforts in one or more of the four phases of emergency management:

• Mitigation
• Preparedness
• Response
• Recovery

The organizations honored go beyond the basics to promote disaster survivability and build community resiliency.

The weekend when a solar storm created the possibility of Northern Lights a Ballard friend invited me to her house on Whidbey Island for the weekend.

The ensuing weekend was a social whirl with a large cast of artists and former Ballardites now meeting to “collage” together and prepare food grown in gardens overlooking Puget Sound. Over a dinner that included gigantic Romano beans and pickled plums the host Tom Blumer shared something he thought might be of interest to his Ballard guests.

“We had a bit of disaster when we were in Ballard for a dinner party night before last,” he said by way of introduction.

Some at the table responded to the word disaster while others thought the real question was, “What were you doing in Ballard?”

Blumer let the story unfold. He and his wife Poli Davila were in Ballard to attend a dinner party with friends from California who were in town for a wedding. The dinner party was in the common room of their friend’s son’s apartment building just across from the Ballard Market.

“The one that was Sunset Bowl?”

Swedish furniture giant IKEA made a very special award to South Seattle College last week.

The college was the winner of a $10,000 furniture and office makeover. The TRIO/Upward Bound program was awarded IKEA’s “Life Improvement Challenge” which in addition to the products, mean that IKEA designers came out and worked with the staff there to complete the project. TRIO operates out of one of the older buildings on campus, Rainier Hall and a makeover was a way to revitalize the mission and serve students more effectively.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

KENT - Veteran savvy ranged the length and breadth of the tennis courts on Tues., Sept. 30, as the Mt. Rainier boys claimed a 5-0 SPSL 4A North win at Kent-Meridian High School to even their record at 3-3.

"We started a new week with a win," said Ram head coach Tim Lee. "After losing two in a row, we want to build a new winning streak."

Austin Sharma and Kevin Nguyen departed from the courts first with a 6-0, 6-0, No. 2 doubles victory against the Royal duo of Dylan Lam and Nate MacDonald.

Mt. Rainier's final three team matches are Wed., Oct. 2 at home against Federal Way, Thurs., Oct.2 at Kentlake plus home matches on Oct. 6 against Kentridge and Oct. 8 against Tahoma.

Once the first match win was posted, the Mt. Rainier victories were reported quickly, although the final, completed matches of the afternoon introduced elements of suspense.

It is with sadness in our hearts that we announce the passing of one of Tukwila’s finest, Firefighter 1st Class Jason William Karwhite. Since his early beginnings in the fire service in 1996, Jason has touched many lives across our region and even on a National and International level!

Jason was doing something he loved to do on Saturday, September 30, 2014! He was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, when he was involved in an accident on Interstate 5 near Fife that tragically took his life.

Jason is survived by his dear wife and their two children, ages 12 and 14. Jason’s strongest love was for his wife and kids, and when not fighting fires he was focused on his children.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

As expected, Kennedy handled the Highline, Evergreen, Tyee, conglomeration, swimming as one team but with separate team scores recorded, with the Lancers posting a 144-34, win by the Pirates, and 153-8 by the Wolverines, and, 153-5, by the Totems, respectively, in high school girls swim league action at the Foster Pool Thursday.

The bright spot for Highline's team was senior diver Sophia Cassam, who won that portion of the meet with a 208.30 total, beating out all Kennedy's divers, taking second, third and fourth places, respectively.
But Kennedy's depth at swimming won out, deeply, in this meet, and, the Lancers have been a swimming power, not just in the Seamount League with multiple championships, but powerful all the way to state, too.

Kennedy has been 3A state champion in girls swimming before and eclipsing that high-water mark, the Lancers won state twice, back to back years, in 2007 and 2008.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS ROUNDUP

Kennedy's good, and getting better and better and better.
Time will tell if the Lancers are their best ever this season, having gone so far as losing to Bellevue, 21-14, in the 3A state championship in 2006 and having lost to 2005 state champ, Ferndale, the year before that, in the semifinals of the state playoffs.

So, that said now that Highline's out of the way, the Lancers having crushed the Pirates homecoming game win hopes, 42-0, Friday night at Highline Memorial Field, arch-rival Lindbergh is in town, next, for the Lancers.

Kennedy improved to 2-0 in the Seamount, 4-0 overall while Highline dropped to 0-2 in Seamount play and 1-3 overall. To note, Highline's win over Nathan Hale was a decent one, considering the team Highline plays next Friday, Evergreen, at 7 p.m., at Highline Memorial, lost to the Red Raiders already this season.

So Lindbergh awaits the Lancers.

"Good football team," said Lancers head coach Bob Bourgette, in his 20th season, having won 17 of the past 19 Seamount League crowns, starting off this season. "We have ultimate respect for them."

Citizens who want to participate in the Nov. 4 general election should prepare now. King County Elections will mail general election ballots to all registered voters on Oct. 15, so it’s important that citizens register to vote and keep their name, address and signatureupdated.

Voter Registration Deadlines:

Monday, Oct. 6

If you are already registered to vote in Washington but have a new name or address, update your voter registration by Oct. 6. This is easiest to do online. Voter registration forms are also available to download and send in by mail, and must be postmarked by Oct. 6.

Voters who miss the Oct. 6 deadline to update their registration should still contact the Elections office to update their information for future elections.

Monday, Oct. 27

Not registered to vote in Washington? You have until Oct. 27 to register in person at King County Elections:

King County Elections
919 SW Grady Way, Renton
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. weekdays

Voter Registration Annex
King County Administration Building
500 4th Avenue, Room 440, Seattle.
8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. weekdays

High levels of marine biotoxin that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) were found in shellfish samples collected at the Des Moines Marina. As a result, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Public Health – Seattle & King County closed Three Tree Point beaches south to the Pierce County line to recreational shellfish harvest.

The closure includes clams, oysters, mussels, oysters, geoduck and scallops. Working with partners, Public Health – Seattle & King County is posting advisory signs at beaches warning people to not collect shellfish.

Shrimp and crab are not included in this closure. Crabs should be cleaned prior to cooking, and the white-yellow fat inside the back of the shell, often referred to as “crab butter,” should be discarded. Commercial beaches are sampled separately and commercial products should be safe to eat.

An existing biotoxin closure for butter clams and varnish clams remains in effect for beaches north of Three Tree Point to the Snohomish County line.