September 2015

Over 5,000 Seattle teachers and paraprofessionals picketed through the day yesterday in front of the 97 schools in the Seattle School District on what should have been the first day of class.

The strike continues today, and teachers have said they will demonstrate until a satisfactory resolution is met in their contract dispute with Seattle School District.

The move comes after the Seattle Educators Association and the Seattle School Board could not reach an agreement on array of contract issues centered on professional pay, guaranteed student recess, staff evaluations, standardized testing time, recess time and workload relief.

SEA moved to strike even after the Seattle School Board passed a motion to take legal action against SEA.

Negotiations began in May, but the district and SEA were unable come to an agreement before the deadline of August 24.

"It's disappointing that the school board is grasping at legalistic straws rather than focusing on ways to provide the support that educators need to be successful with students," says SEA President Jonathan Knapp. "We won't be scared into abandoning our commitment to winning a fair contract.”

A Seattle “Working Waterfront Tour” set for Sept. 19, and open to the public (though tickets are limited) will provide an up-close look at the Port of Seattle cargo facilities that generate 24,000 jobs in our community with an annual payroll of $2 billion. The tour is free and and will be aboard Argosy’s Spirit of Seattle.

Details
Saturday, September 19
Check in and boarding at 9 a.m.
Depart from Bell Harbor Marina, Pier 66: 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Registration information: Space is limited and registration is required. Any age can come but must be 18 years of age or older to reserve a space, maximum of 4 reservations per adult. RSVP with the name for each guest attending and email: pos-reception@portseattle.org by September 15th. Questions? Call 206.787.3527.

Validated parking is available at the Bell Street Garage, 9 Wall Street. Enter on Wall Street between Alaskan Way and Elliott Avenue.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Football
Friday's double-header at Highline Memorial has been halved, as the Evergreen vs. Fife game will not be played.
That leaves a single 7 p.m. game between Highline and Nathan Hale for that day.
Foster will be at home against Sammamish at the same time as Seattle Lutheran hosts Oakville at West Seattle Stadium and West Seattle goes to Parkland to play Washington.
Chief Sealth goes to Kingsway Christian for a 6 p.m. game.
Kennedy travels to Seattle Memorial to play Seattle Prep at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Volleyball
Seattle Lutheran entertains Eastside Prep for a 6 p.m. match Wednesday and West Seattle hosts Franklin at 7 p.m.
Mount Rainier travels to Blanchet at 7 p.m.
Thursday's schedule has Evergreen hosting Thomas Jefferson at 7 p.m. with Chief Sealth entertaining Federal Way and Mount Rainier hosting Bethel at 7:15 p.m.
Chief Sealth will be at home playing Cleveland at 7 p.m. Friday and Mount Rainier and Kennedy play in the Sterling Athletics Volleyball Classic at Auburn Mountainview on Saturday. Seattle Christian goes to Olympic for an 8 a.m. Saturday tournament.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday, Sept. 5

Football
Seattle Lutheran 60, Mary Knight 8
The Saints scored a lopsided win over Mary Knight in their first game of the season Saturday.
Seattle Lutheran is a Class B-8 school in West Seattle.

Garfield 48, Chief Sealth 13
The Seahawks took a loss to the Bulldogs as they opened their season at the Southeast Athletic Complex near Rainier Beach High School on Saturday.

Friday, Sept. 4
Football
Kennedy 49, Rainier Beach 21
Kennedy Catholic of Burien jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter of Friday's non-league opener, widened it to 21-0 early in the second quarter and led, 35-15, at halftime.
The Lancers cruised to victory from there, scoring two second half touchdowns.

Ingraham 27, Highline 14
The Pirates came up shy against the Rams of the Metro League in Friday's road action.

Interlake 43, Foster 16
Foster fell to the Saints in season-opening action Friday.

Nathan Hale 36, Evergreen 6

Update 10pm Tuesday
According to the Seattle Education Assocation, highlights of the agreement include:

• Recess: Guaranteed 30 minutes of recess for all elementary students.
• Reasonable testing: New policies to reduce the over-testing of our students.
• Professional pay: Base salary increases of 3 percent, 2 percent and 4.5 percent, plus the state COLA of 4.8 percent
• Fair teacher and staff evaluations: Test scores will no longer be tied to teacher evaluations, plus there is new contract language that supports teachers' professional growth.
• Educator workload relief: Additional staff to reduce workloads and provide student services.
• Student equity around discipline and the opportunity gap: Creating race and equity teams at 30 of the district’s schools.
• The administration’s proposal to lengthen the school day: Teachers will be compensated for additional work.

A vote Sunday by the membership is expected to ratify the agreement.

Update 8:00am Tuesday

information from King County
King County will soon begin construction at the 63rd Avenue Pump Station in West Seattle. The pump station is located on the waterfront at the intersection of Beach Dr. Southwest, Southwest Spokane Street, and 63rd Ave. Southwest.
Contractors will install a flap gate, upgrade the pump station's electrical and controls, install new access hatches and modify the curbed area on top of the pump station.
Flap gate - keeps seawater from entering the pump station and the county system during extreme tides
 The flap gate construction will happen first. The work will be done outside of the pump station building on the waterfront side, away from and below the street.
 This part of the project should take up to six weeks to complete. It will involve outdoor work, including excavation.

Electrical upgrades
 The electrical upgrade work will start with demolition inside the building and removal of the current equipment. It will also require some work outside the building.

Instead being the first day of school for Seattle Public School students, tomorrow teachers will strike at all of the 97 schools in the district.

More than 5,000 Seattle teachers and paraprofessionals will start picketing in front of schools tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.

The strike comes after the Seattle Educators Association and the Seattle School Board could not reach an agreement on array of contract issues.

Negotiations center on professional pay, guarantee of student recess, staff evaluations, standardized testing time and workload relief.

Another major issue is that the district has proposed to increase the current school day by 30 minutes for more instruction time. However, the district did not include paying teachers for the added time in their proposal..

Negotiations began in May, but the district and SEA were unable come to an agreement before the deadline of August 24.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

McPherson returns for Western

Kennedy graduate Jennica McPherson is back for her senior season as an opposite hitter for the Western Washington University volleyball team.

McPherson started off her season by racking up 12 kills in a 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 loss to Wheeling Jesuit on Friday, then had nine kills, 10 digs and five blocks in a 26-24, 22-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-10 over Minnesota Duluth Saturday.

She added six kills and eight digs as the Lady Vikings won a second match Saturday, 25-18, 25-22, 25-12 over Wayne State.

Kela drops his ERA to 2.67

Chief Sealth graduate Keone Kela continues to shine for the Texas Rangers in the bullpen, lowering his earned run average to 2.67 over 54 innings and 60 games played.
Kela has struck out 60 and walked only 15 this season and has a 6-5 record with one save.
He was sent back to Texas from a road trip over the weekend to have his shoulder examined, but is back with the team for its current series in Seattle.

Brett hitting .247 for Durham

information from Seattle Parks

Seattle Parks and Recreation day camps at Hiawatha and Ravenna-Eckstein community centers are at capacity for Sept. 9, 10, 11. In the event of a Seattle Public Schools teacher strike, parents or guardians can still register their children for day camps at remaining available centers. Available centers include:

• Northwest Seattle: Ballard, Bitter Lake and Magnolia community centers
• Northeast Seattle: Meadowbrook and Northgate
• Central Seattle: Miller and Queen Anne community centers
• Southwest Seattle: Alki, Delridge, High Point and South Park community centers
• Southeast Seattle: Rainier, Rainier Beach and Van Asselt (with Jefferson) community centers

Seattle Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the Associated Recreation Council (ARC), is expanding currently scheduled before- and after-school care into all-day camps on Sept. 9, 10 and 11.

Admiral Way SW has been the scene of a number of serious accidents and despite a 30 mph speed limit it continues to see many people speeding. A plan to address the safety issues on the road offereed last spring by SDOT met with controversy, much as other planned road changes have in West Seattle. Now SDOT will provide and update based on public feedback and additional analysis. SDOT has revised the initial concept to provide safety improvements to SW Admiral Way. September 17, 2015 from 6:15 to 7:45 PM, Presentation will be made at 6:45 PM at the Hiawatha Community Center 2700 California Ave SW

In a post on their website they outline their goals.

Project Goals

• Encourage slower speeds
• Reduce collisions
• Provide a comfortable and predictable bike connection between Alki and California Ave business district
• Accommodate existing maximum on-street parking occupancy

Project Need