May 2015

Today Mayor Ed Murray announced the 2015 recipient of the 10th Annual Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film, Megan Griffiths. The award recognizes an individual or entity for exceptional work that has significantly contributed to the growth, advancement and reputation of Seattle as a filmmaking city.

“Megan’s passion for filming locally and attracting new business and talent has raised the profile of Seattle and the region’s film community,” said Murray. “Her award-winning career in directing and producing speaks for itself. I am pleased to present this award to her, and thank her for championing Seattle as a thriving place to make movies.”

Griffiths has been a director, writer and producer in the Seattle film community for over a decade. Her most recent film Lucky Them was filmed in Seattle and premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Her previous film, Eden, was set in the southwest but filmed entirely in Washington. It premiered at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival in Austin where it won the narrative Audience Award and the Emergent Female Director Award.

information from South Seattle College

South Seattle College announced today that Jeff Maxfield has been named the 2015 Alumnus of the Year.
Maxfield, who graduated from South’s Culinary Arts program in 1996, is currently the Executive Chef at the SkyCity restaurant located at the top of the iconic Seattle landmark, the Space Needle.

His quick ascension to the top of the culinary world started shortly after his graduation from South. At the age of 19, Maxfield was named the sous chef at one of Seattle’s finest restaurants, Canlis, and become the youngest to ever hold that position. His decorated culinary career includes stops in Hawaii and Arizona, where he was able to work in some of the finest restaurants. He says that much of his success started at South.

“My time at South truly shaped who I am today,” Maxfield explained. “The relevance of the program really gives students a leg up in the restaurant world and it certainly shows when hiring graduates. Thank you South for giving me the tools to be successful in my career, and I’m honored to receive this award.”

information from the Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America

Team Challenge is partnering with Clothes for the Cause, a fundraising company that collects clothes in exchange for cash, for an event to raise money for Crohns & Colitis Foundation of America. Team Challenge is hosting the clothing and textile drive, accepting clothing and shoes of any kind, in any condition, from May 1, 2015 to May 23, 2015 Following the clothing drive, Clothes for the Cause will pick up the donations and provide Team Challenge with the total of their fundraising effort, measured in dollars per pound.

Team Challenge is fundraising to help find cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis - two painful, debilitating, and seldom-discussed digestive diseases that affect 1 in 200 Americans, including 150,000 children nationwide.

“We are thrilled to be able to help Team Challenge in its time of need,” said Joyce Showalter. “Clothes for the Cause and Team Challenge make it easy for everyone in our community to contribute by collecting things, free of charge, that our friends, family and neighbors already have in their houses.”

The proposed mixed use apartment/retail project called Alki Landing at 2626 Alki Ave SW has finally applied for a land use permit with a few changes in place since it was originally conceived.

This is being developed by Borge Steinsvik

Steinsvik owns the 13,700 ft. lot that Alki Beach Properties and Saigon Boat Café currently call home. Roger H Newell AIA Architects have produced the proposal that the plan says will be a mixed-use residential and commercial space with surface parking and “one or two eating establishments on the main floor of the building with possible commercial uses on the upper floors.”

The proposal calls for a 3-story structure containing 14 (it was 13) residential units with 5 live/work units with 3,862 sq. ft. of commercial space located at street level. 23 parking spaces would be provided. The existing structures would be demolished.

The project is being designed by Roger Newell AIA Architects.

It is permit number 3015843 on Seattle's Department of Planning and Development site.
http://web6.seattle.gov/dpd/edms/

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Baseball
Kennedy Catholic faces a loser-out game Wednesday, playing Bonney Lake in a 7 p.m. playoff game at Heidelberg Park in Tacoma.
If the Lancers win, they will play at the same site at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Seattle Christian is also still alive in the postseason, playing a 4:30 p.m. game Friday at either Charles Wright or Curtis.

Fastpitch
The Seamount League regular season concludes with four games starting at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Kennedy Cathoic visits Evergreen for a 3:30 p.m. game as Foster hosts Renton, Highline entertains Lindbergh and Tyee travels to Hazen.
The Metro League tournament concludes Friday with both West Seattle and Chief Sealth assured of no worse than a sixth place finish.
The championship game takes place at 7 p.m. at the Southwest Athletic Complex following the game for third and fourth at 5 p.m.
Southeast Athletic Complex is the site of the game for fifth and sixth place at 5 p.m.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle will meet Ballard for the Metro League fastpitch softball tournament title Friday, playing a 7 p.m. game at the Southwest Athletic Complex lower field.

West Seattle's Wildcats got there by virtue of a 15-7 victory over Eastside Catholic on Tuesday night after the Beavers edged Bainbridge, 4-2.

Both teams will advance into next week's Sea-King District 2 tournament.

It will be the first time two private schools have played in the Metro League final.

Chief Sealth, meanwhile, will play for the No. 7 and No. 8 Metro League seeds to district at 5 p.m. Friday against Roosevelt at the Southeast Athletic Complex near Rainier Beach.

The Seahawks fell into that game with a 12-2 loss to Holy Names that came on the heels of a 13-0 loss to West Seattle on Monday.

West Seattle scored eight runs in the second inning in Monday's game played at the SEAC to break open a 1-0 game, then tacked on four insurance runs in the third.
The Sea-King District 2 tournament will also take place at the SWAC and SEAC.

Boys soccer

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

It would be exciting to obtain a time machine and set it to ages past in order to observe the dating rituals from time immemorial. Then I got to thinking, maybe there was a time when there was no dating. Maybe the Neanderthal male just walked around with his club and when he needed sex he took it without asking. It would be interesting to flash back to the days before the modern world evolved a dating ritual. Women went to dances dressed in their enticing best and waited for a man to choose them. Then after marriage the woman took the man’s last name and women were not important outside the world of their husband’s sphere. Women didn’t even get to vote in this country before all men were allowed that privilege. As I have probably mentioned before, my mother didn’t get to vote until two months before I was born. And since my father had died before I was born I didn’t have the same sheltered upbringing that most young girls had in my day.

At tomorrow’s city council meeting the City of Des Moines is set to pass a motion vacating a portion of the sidewalk on 7 Ave. S. and S. 226 St. A public hearing will be held during the regularly scheduled council meeting at City Hall tomorrow at 7 p.m.

“Citizens should always be concerned about the vacation of public property originally obtained with their tax money. Also, in this particular case, the vacation appears to be more for the benefit of a private party than for the public good. No one has demonstrated that a useful project cannot be built without public assistance at this location other than the word of the requesting party standing to benefit financially,” said former councilmember and Des Moines resident Dan Sherman.

The renovation process for West Seattle's historic Admiral Theater has begun with the imminent installation of two new state-of-the-art NEC Digital Laser Projectors arriving in early June.

Laser technology offers an unparalleled viewing experience that is brighter, crisper and highlights the intensity of colors unlike traditional digital cinema projectors. In addition, moviegoers watching 3D films will view an image much brighter than is seen in systems now in use.

Utilizing a laser light source in lieu of traditional projector bulbs also extends the life of the projector and eliminates gradual dimming of images as a bulb begins to wear out.

“Everything we will be doing as a part of this renovation is designed to create a superior viewing experience and facility that while functionally modern, respects viewer comfort and the historical character of the theater,” said Jeff Brein of Far Away Entertainment, which operates and manages the theater.