February 2015

By Gwen Davis

On Wednesday, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) that 29 West Coast seaports would be largely closed for four of the five upcoming days.

Companies operating those marine terminals said they won’t hire crews to load or unload ships on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, according to the AP.

Employers said they don’t want to pay hourly rates that are already far above average, according to the PMA. The President’s Day holiday and weekend factored in.

“Weekend and holiday pay rates command a premium of at least 50 percent of the basic longshore wage rate,” a PMA press release on Wednesday stated. “As a result, working hours on those days would be paid at between $54 and $75 per hour for longshore workers and clerks, and between $77 and $92 per hour for foremen. PMA members have concluded that they will not conduct vessel operations on those dates, paying full shifts of ILWU workers such high rates for severely diminished productivity while the backlog of cargo at West Coast ports grows.”

BY GERARDO BOLONG
Contributing Writer

BELLEVUE - Ball sharing and down-to-the wire persistence joined in harmony for a Seattle Christian Nisqually League 1A boys basketball win at Bellevue Christian on Tues., Feb. 10.

Leading 53-51, Seattle Christian in bounded from back court by throwing a home run pass to Taggart Anderson who was fouled while driving to the basket with 18.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
After Anderson dropped home two free throws, the home Vikings missed an outside shot and had to foul the Warriors.

Jeffrey Sutherland converted the first of two charity tosses to close out the game which at one time appeared to be comfortably in hand for Seattle Christian.

"We came out really hard," said a pleased SC head coach Shaun DeYager. "Intensity was high and no matter who came into the game for us, they played well. Everybody contributed. When Bellevue Christian came back, they hit some big shots and we missed a couple of rebounds. Our guys really battled back after they got close."

Controlling the game

BY GERARDO BOLONG
Contributing Writer

BELLEVUE - Round two of this season's Seattle Christian-Bellevue Christian girls basketball series went down to the wire again.

In a previous Nisqually League 1A match up, the Warriors came back from a 16-point first quarter deficit only lose a verdict by two points.

This gut busting thriller again came down to the final seconds, although the game was played in tight quarters throughout.

With five seconds remaining, Madelyn Weber who had spearheaded the Warrior efforts with 12 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals, was fouled and went to the free throw line for a one-and-one opportunity.

The first shot looked like it was going down, but spun around the inside of the hoop before bouncing out to the relief of Bellevue Christian players and fans who witnessed a 32-31 Viking win on Tues., Feb. 10, and the accompanying reward of hosting a first round district game.

by Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Evergreen battled, and, battled, and, battled, through most of the first half, staying close, playing hard, before something seemed to get the best of the Wolverines as the game wore on, giving them a 55-18 loss to visiting North Kitsap in the first round of 2A West Central District girls playoff basketball on Wednesday.
The Wolverines, now, play a loser-out game for districts, traveling to a neutral court--Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma--for a game against Sequim at 7:45 on Friday night.

But, of this game, against the Vikings, a Bremerton area school, of playing hard and being in the game the first part of it, the Wolverines' leading scorer and a leader out on the court, Marleisha Cox, had this to say of her team's play.

"We were, we were," said Cox, a senior, and captain on the Wolverines' team, too.

By Anastasia Stepankowsky

Wildcat head coach Keffrey Fazio says that the West Seattle boys basketball team isn’t built to come from behind. West Seattle fell behind 15-0 and never recovered in a 69-50 loss to the Lakeside Lions Wednesday night.

The Lions held West Seattle’s lead shooter, Nate Pryor, to just 13 points, nine below his average, while Lakeside sophomore Daejon Davis and junior Isiah Brown scorched the net for 57 points between them.

“It’s a tough game plan to match-up against two kids like that,” Fazio said. “We’re not very deep, so I think we were a little tired and we were a little sleepy to start the game. We didn’t start playing the way we like to play from the beginning, and for a team like us we’re not built to come back like that. We have to sustain the game.”

West Seattle trailed 21-7 after the first quarter, 35-19 at the half and never could find a way to stop Davis and Brown, who have received recruiting interest from several Division I schools, including the University of Washington.

Shannon Braddock, who has served as King County Councilmember Joe McDermott's Chief of Staff for the past four years has joined the growing field of candidates for Seattle City Council District one. She joins six others seeking the position including Chas Redmond, Amanda Kay Hemlock, George Capestany, Phillip Tavel and Brianna Thomas. She has worked as a volunteer for Westside Baby, the West Seattle Food Bank and as a legislative representative for Lafayette Elementary School.

In a statement on her website Braddock stated:

"After years of serving my neighbors as a PTA mom, volunteer, and staff at the County, I am thrilled at the opportunity to be the voice of West Seattle and South Park.

We have unique challenges in our part of the city, starting with a need for improved transportation and transit access. We have an affordable housing crisis for too many seniors, young families, and our diverse, growing population. And we need to enhance the work being done to provide the safety and services every child needs to learn and grow.

by Paul Moseley

The #1 Seed West Seattle girls had their hands full in their Metro League tournament game against Holy Names. Playing short handed without All-Metro point guard Gabby Sarver and Metro MVP Lydia Giomi, the Wildcats put a new combination of starting 5 on the floor. Their preparation paid off and they advance to the Metro League finals as they beat the Holy Names Cougars 53-39.

Holy Names came out aggressively in the first half, and West Seattle could not pull away as the Cougars continued to force turnovers and win the battle on the boards. Holy Names achilles heel in the first half was fouls. They committed 10 by the middle of the 2nd quarter and West Seattle capitalized. Lexi Ioane and Izzy Turk were key at the line, sinking 7-of-9 and 5-of-6 free throws respectively in the half.

West Seattle had foul troubles of their own, and Sr. Forward Emily Fiso was given a rest as she got three fouls quickly. Holy Names took advantage and went into the half down only by 1, 25-24.

On the heels of the announcements from two other local political hopefuls, Highland Park resident Lisa Herbold announced her candidacy for the Seattle City Council District 1 position. She has worked for Councilmember Nick Licata for the past 17 years as his legislative aide. Already announced are Chas Redmond, Amanda Kay Helmick, Brianna Thomas, Philip Tavel and George Capestany. Thomas and Tavel announced in the last two days.

In an announcement on her website, www.district1forherbold.com she made the following statement:

Hello Friends – I’m Lisa Herbold and I’m running for Seattle City Council’s District 1. District 1 is West Seattle and South Park and all the dynamic, diverse neighborhoods within. I’ve lived in Highland Park for 15 years, raised my daughter here, and enjoy all the great parks and small businesses that flourish here. I love West Seattle and South Park – District 1 is home sweet home.

information from WSDOT

Beginning as soon as March 7, construction crews building the roads leading to the north entrance of the State Route 99 tunnel will close a single lane of SR 99/Aurora Avenue North in each direction between Valley Street in South Lake Union and the southern end of the Aurora Bridge.

The lane closures are necessary to create a safe work zone for contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation to build foundations for the large traffic signs approaching the north entrance of the new SR 99 tunnel.

“We understand these closures may inconvenience drivers during peak hours of the commute,” said Dave Sowers, deputy program administrator of operations for the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. “So we’re doing this critical work in winter and early spring to take advantage of typically lower traffic volumes and to avoid conflicts with the recent football season and upcoming major summer events.”

Details of the lane closures

Northbound SR 99 between Valley Street and the Aurora Bridge

SeaTac Citizens,

Last night’s “performance” at the SeaTac Council Meeting was yet another example that some of our Council Members are NOT taking care of City business at our Council Meetings. We need to hold the offenders’ feet to the fire … they supposedly are working for us, and we are paying them to do so.

Firstly, once again Council Member Tony Anderson participated in the meeting via telephone. He has not physically attended a Council Meeting for many weeks, but he continues to create a technology distraction for those who do attend with irritating microphone squeals, audible background noises and poorly timed comments. He stated last night that his repeated absences have been a result of him having to fill in as an instructor for some class that one of his colleagues has been unable to lead. This suggests that Mr. Anderson is an employee elsewhere and is being paid to perform this conflicting duty while he concurrently is being paid to attend our regularly scheduled Council Meetings. If he is unable to perform his latter obligation for an extended time, he should terminate his duties with the City of SeaTac.