April 2016

Knife wielding assailant desperate for detergent and diapers

A man threated a security officer with a kitchen knife at a store located on the 9000 block of N.W. 45th Street after the suspect fled the store with a cart full of stolen items on April 8. Police were dispatched to the scene and made contact with the security officer. She said she followed the man to his car as he loaded the items. She asked him to stop, and the man took out an 8-inch kitchen knife. He did not threaten her verbally, but he “made sure” she saw the knife. She backed off, and the man drove away in a 2000 model Pontiac. She was able to record his license plate number, but the plate was registered to a Kia. She was sure it was a Pontiac. She described the man as being from the “Middle East,” 30s, balding and having a goatee. The man stole household items like detergent and diapers, amounting to roughly $150. Police were unable to gather more details from security footage.

Man wakes from slumber to burglar at front door

If you would like to obtain some well considered financial advice, contact Sarah Cecil 206-938-6017.

Brought to you by Sarah Cecil Financial Advisor with Edwards Jones Investments.

Sponsored post.

by Lindsay Peyton

Emily Williams, owner of the FIT4MOM West Seattle franchise, offers clients a number of options to get in shape.

There’s Fit4Baby, an interval-based class for pregnant women, which is held at 7 p.m. on Monday evenings at the American Legion in Pershing Hall, 3618 SW Alaska St. or at 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings at Youngstown Cultural Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW. The course is $89 for a six-visit punch-card or $18 per session.

Once baby is born, moms are invited to sign up for Stroller Strides and Stoller Barre classes. During these fitness programs, which combine cardio with strength training, the stroller becomes part of the exercise equipment.

Stroller Stride classes are held at 9:30 a.m. on Alki Beach from April through October and at the VFW from November through March. Stroller Barre meets during the Thursday time slot. Monthly membership costs $64 and the first class is always free.

By Sarah Cecil

Tax Freedom Day, which typically occurs in late April, according to the Tax Foundation, is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay off its total tax bill for the year. So you may want to use this opportunity to determine if you can liberate yourself from some investment-related taxes in the future. 

Actually, Tax Freedom Day is something of a fiction, in practical terms, because most people pay their taxes throughout the year via payroll deductions. Also, you may not mind paying your share of taxes, because your tax dollars are used in many ways – such as law enforcement, food safety, road maintenance, public education, and so on – that, taken together, have a big impact on the quality of life in this country. Still, you may want to look for ways to reduce those taxes associated with your investments, leaving you more money available to meet your important goals, such as a comfortable retirement. 

So, what moves can you make to become more of a “tax-smart” investor? Consider the following:

By Amanda Knox

I grew up with two mutt dogs—a chummy, runt named Ralph and his fretful, dominant sister, Britta. They always escaped from the backyard when we were away at school. It didn’t matter that we walked them everyday or that our backyard was bigger than our house or that they had plenty of food and water and each other to entertain. It wasn’t enough. It was like Ralphy and Britta just had this itch to be elsewhere.

I was an easy kid back then, my mom tells me. I put myself to bed early. I played nice and fair with other kids. I ate what was put in front of me. I did well in school, even if I didn’t do all my homework. I never felt the need to act out or object or rebel because everything seemed good and abundant and I never felt measured up against anyone else. There was nothing I could think to change, within me or without. I was just happy, and happy to just be.

The Ballard Branch, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W., will close effective Monday, May 9 for up to two months for refurbishing and interior improvements.

Parking garage hours will be revised to match the hours of the Ballard Neighborhood Service Center and a temporary book drop will be installed between the main entrances of the branch and the NSC. Most of the branch will be fenced off during construction.

The 15,000-square-foot branch opened in May 2005, thanks to the 1998 voter-approved “Libraries for All” bond measure that renewed and revitalized libraries across the city. It is one of the most heavily used branches in the Library system.

After 11 years of use, the branch needs to be recarpeted. While the branch is closed for that work, the Library also will consolidate staff service desks, add comfortable seating, group most public computers in a single area and add a self-checkout kiosk. The changes are based on branch usage and trends in library services.

To the Editor:

I am discouraged and saddened that some members of Congress and
presidential candidates continue to attack key programs that help families
struggling with poverty.  Some of these that are struggling are my
neighbors.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food
stamps) helps these families in my neighborhood and other communities,
nationally.  And many of them are working full-time but struggling to make
ends meet -- put food on the table.

SNAP and other nutrition programs have been shown time and again to not
only improve a child's short-term health, but also to have remarkable
effects in the long term. Children who benefit from these programs are
healthier, do better in school, achieve more, and have increased economic
opportunities later in life.  And all of us want our children to enjoy
increased economic opportunities and to have a positive impact on our
society.

With one in five American children at risk of going to bed hungry, we need
to build on the success of these programs instead of dismantling them.  I

By Pat Cashman

Years ago a teacher stood before our class and made two grammar rule declarations: 1)“Never end a sentence with a preposition.”2)“Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.”

All these years since, I rarely follow the second rule. But I digress. As for the preposition thing, it is apparently not a rule at all. So do it if you want to. It does not matter why you do it for.
However, sometimes there is a practical and important reason to ditch a sentence-ending preposition. It saves time. And in this hurried world, we can use every extra moment possible.

For example, you could ask somebody, “Where are you going to?” But it’ s quicker to drop the ‘ to’ and just ask, “Where are you going?” You have conveyed the same meaning---and saved time. Granted, not much, but it adds up.

Rather than say, “I literally blew milk out my nose,” why not just say “I blew milk out my nose?” For that matter, maybe “I blew milk” is enough. Unless you are doing it figuratively.

By Peggy Sturdivant

Someone gave me a magnet that reads, “Stop me before I volunteer again.” I picture volunteering as actually raising my hand and offering to take on responsibility. The reality usually occurs in a more sideways fashion, the way it did when I got an email asking me to be on a Department of Neighborhoods Small & Simple grant application with the Low Income Housing Institute’s Cheryl Chow Court to create an event series in Ballard.

I was flattered, besides LIHI might not even get the grant; they just needed to show support for the application. It wasn’t as if I’d actually volunteered to help create a yearlong program of community engagement, especially since I was already committed to a Ballard Historical Society application. Who knew both would be funded?

By November I found myself heavily involved in the grant kickoff for Ballard Historical Society’s Mapping Historic Ballard: Shingletown to Tomorrow (November 12, 2015) and the LIHI “Bringing in Ballard” Speaker Series (November 20, 2015). So much for that magnet by my back door.

By Pat Cashman

Years ago a teacher stood before our class and made two grammar rule declarations: 1)“Never end a sentence with a preposition.”2)“Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.”

All these years since, I rarely follow the second rule. But I digress. As for the preposition thing, it is apparently not a rule at all. So do it if you want to. It does not matter why you do it for.

However, sometimes there is a practical and important reason to ditch a sentence-ending preposition. It saves time. And in this hurried world, we can use every extra moment possible.

For example, you could ask somebody, “Where are you going to?” But it’ s quicker to drop the ‘ to’ and just ask, “Where are you going?” You have conveyed the same meaning---and saved time. Granted, not much, but it adds up.

Rather than say, “I literally blew milk out my nose,” why not just say “I blew milk out my nose?” For that matter, maybe “I blew milk” is enough. Unless you are doing it figuratively.