June 2015

By Michele Smith

Born out of their passion to save animals, Heather Enajibi and Erin Halter of Burien started Animal Aid and Rescue Foundation (AARF) in 2010 and have rescued and found loving homes for more than 500 animals (dogs, cats, turtles and guinea pigs), with 39 dogs adopted so far in 2015.  

Erin and Heather are passionate about helping people keep their animals.  “We've heard of many cases where people surrender their animals to shelters because they can't afford to feed them or had to have their animals euthanized when they got ill or injured because they couldn't afford the medical care,” states Halter.  In 2012 AARF Angel Fund was created to aid with pet food and vet care for these cases.

By Nathan Miller

Thursday was a good day for ducklings in downtown Burien.  Bunny Critch offered the following account of that morning’s excitement.

“I spotted Mama Duck and her ducklings walking in front of the Burien Library this morning. They were determined to cross 152nd street, so I hurled my body into the street to stop traffic and allow the ducks to pass. They walked up the other side of 152nd to Page 2 Books where Jenny showed them the book that made them famous.”

Other local residents joined Bunny and Burien C.A.R.E.S. on the scene and were able to secure the 6 ducklings.  However, Momma duck proved a little more difficult to catch.  After many attempts it was decided that C.A.R.E.S. would escort the Momma duck with the babies safely contained in a pet carrier, back to the animal shelter.  They walked together from 6th and 152nd all the way to Hayes Feed Store, where the Momma duck was very happy to enter their garage.  Quick thinking on the part of the Hayes employees allowed them to quickly close the garage door, trapping the Momma duck and then securing her along with her babies.

By Eva Khan, ARNP

Lumps, bumps, pain and wanting a different size. What is the common source of these problems? If you haven’t guessed, it’s a woman’s breasts.

Breast issues can range from serious, like breast cancer, to cosmetic, which might include changing one’s breast size. Throughout a woman’s reproductive years and continuing after menopause, women have questions about breast health and may need medical evaluation for these types of issues.

Breast lumps
Although the majority of breast lumps don’t turn out to be cancer, having one can be an anxious experience for women and, although rare, men as well. The key to evaluating a breast lump is a thorough evaluation that includes a clinical exam, breast imaging (usually a mammogram and ultrasound) and sometimes a breast biopsy. Breast tissue is often lumpy and some breast lumps felt by women turn out to be normal glandular tissue. Other benign lumps are caused by cysts, which are fluid-filled lumps in the breast. Another type of non-cancerous lump is a ‘fibroadenoma,’ which is often found in younger women.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Youth sports
Little League
The PacWest complex located between Burien and SeaTac will be the site of all District 7 Little League baseball tournaments this year, with the action getting underway Friday and running through July 10.
Divisions involved are Minors, age 10-11, Majors, Intermediate and Juniors and the charters involved are West Seattle, Southwest (White Center), PacWest, South Highline National, South Highline American, Renton, Rainier District and Seattle Central.
At stake are berths into state tournaments to be played in July.
No District 7 softball tournaments will be played this year, but SHNLL/SHALL will send a 9/10 team and PacWest will send a 10/11 team to state.

Swimming
Area youngsters will plunge into their summer swim club seasons with 6 p.m. meets Thursday.
Gregory Seahurst opens at home against Kent as Olympic View entertains Marine Hills.
Arbor Heights opens at Lakeridge and Normandy Park goes to Twin Lakes.

Some neighbors of a new music venue in Ballard are complaining that the loud music won't let them rest at night.

KIRO TV recently reported that the neighbors of the Ballard Substation at 645 NW 45th St. have filed complaints for loud music occurring after hours.

One neighbor who resides a block and a half away complained of a dull bass noise rousing her from rest around midnight. She described the noise as “painful,” and said that the noise can be heard through earplugs.

The 150-capacity venue opened earlier in the month, but they reported in their opening announcement that they have been hosting music events since April.

“We are bringing an underground warehouse feel to the city,” a promoter of the club wrote. “This isn’t your Belltown dance club. Substation is an old school warehouse party with a full service bar.”

The club is described as a “mecca for all things underground.”

“As the city continues to lose small, independently owned and operated live music venues, a sense of community is what Substation’s owners, employees and talent buyer want to bring to the club.”

Last weekend thousands of eager Seattleites went to Fremont for the annual Fremont Solstice Fair to celebrate the start of summer.

On Saturday June 20, spectators lined the streets as naked and painted bicyclists cruised North 36th Street. Mystique, Batman, Darth Vader and Iron man all made an appearance.

The summer celebration went into the night with Fox and the Law, Ayron Jones and the Way and The Presidents of the United States of America performing.

Today in San Francisco, the nation’s mayors called on the federal government to find a workable solution that allows Somali families living in the United States to once again send money to friends and relatives still living in the Horn of Africa.

In February, the Merchants Bank of California closed down all accounts of Somali-American Money Transfer Operators due to the increasing difficulty of complying with federal money laundering and terrorism financing regulations. That action has created new hardships for thousands of families in Somalia already struggling to meet their basic needs.

The resolution adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors was sponsored by Mayor Ed Murray of Seattle and Mayor Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis. Minneapolis and Seattle are home to the largest and second-largest Somali immigrant communities in the United States.

An Ohio man and life-long fan of Jacque Cousteau wants to establish a historic marker at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard to recognize the place where Cousteau’s iconic ship, Calypso, was built.

Earlier this month, Alan Bundy of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, wrote the City and the Seattle Times a letter petitioning a landmark be established at the site to commemorate the place where the boat was birthed.

“For me – and I will bet for many others around the world — this is an internationally important historical site,” Bundy wrote to the City. “I believe it should be designated as such-with perhaps an interactive kiosk informing the public about its history and how important Jacques Cousteau and the Calypso are.”

Doug Dixon, General Manager of Pacific Fishermen Shipyard, supports the idea.

Two computers taken from apartment

Two Ballard people are missing laptops after a burglar managed to break into their apartment on the 1400 block of NW 64th Street on June 14. The complainants told officers that they left their apartment for work that morning and returned later to find their apartment ransacked and computers taken. They locked the deadbolt when they left, and when they returned their apartment was still locked. Police determined that the windows were undisturbed and that the only way a burglar could have entered was through the front door. Both residents said they had no extra keys. No latent fingerprints were found at the scene.

Man finds bicycles stolen from garage

A man is missing two bicycles after a burglary occurred on the 9200 Dibble Avenue NW on June 15. The complainant told officers that he came home from work and found his bicycles had been stolen from his garage. The doors and windows of the garage were undisturbed. Nothing else was taken. The bicycles were estimated to be $1000.

Transient man assaulted at Commons Park

Sustainable West Seattle will be sponsoring a City Council candidates forum during Greenlife at the West Seattle Summeriest in July.

They have put together a question gathering page to give the public a chance to submit a question.

http://www.sustainablewestseattle.org/2015/06/participate-in-local-demo…