July 2016

By Amanda Knox

Some things are irrevocably lost. The time I spent in Perugia—when I was just another young college student in the crowd—feels that way. I had been there for only a little over a month before tragedy struck. I couldn’t say that I knew even my own roommates deeply. There is only so much you can know about a new place or person in so brief a time.

And then, for circumstances to turn on their head… It’s difficult to reconcile Perugia, the paradise, with Perugia, the prison, especially when the duration and intensity of prison dwarfed my experience of paradise. For that reason alone, looking back on my memories of blossoming friendships, cultural discovery, and delicious food feels painful. It’s as if wrongful accusation not only physically removed me from Perugia, but by redefining me as something I was not, it also stole from me who I had actually been in Perugia, and everything I had actually done.

Long ago I gave up dreaming that any piece of Perugia, the paradise, would ever be restored to me. Because that’s life.

By Peggy Sturdivant

“This is what Medicare looks like,” Mary Jean Gilman said while digging the south slope of the Ballard P-Patch. She was on high ground by an apple tree while below other P-Patch volunteers wrestled a stump into a wheelbarrow. No one paused. The 15th Annual Art in the Garden party is a week away with too much to do first.

The Ballard P-Patch at 8527 25th Avenue NW by Our Redeemer’s is one of Seattle’s oldest but as the party on July 30th will reveal, it is “realigned.” The P-Patch has moved and re-framed its plots and is now ADA accessible. Just as with negotiating who gets parking or the window office the realignment requested by the Department of Neighborhoods has not been without its bumps. All the more reason to stand by the new 2’ foot concrete wall and admire the efforts of the last 20 months.

information from City of Seattle

Mayor Murray’s Find It, Fix It Community Walks provide a unique opportunity for community members to identify neighborhood needs and discuss challenges directly with City leaders. The third walk this year will be held in the Roxhill/Westwood neighborhoods on Monday, July 25.

Roxhill/Westwood Find It, Fix It Community Walk

Monday, July 25, 2016

Sign-in and refreshments provided by Starbucks from 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Program and walk from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Meet at the Longfellow Creek P-Patch at SW Thistle St & 25th Ave SW

Schedule

6:00 p.m. – 6:30p.m.

· Sign-in and refreshments at the Longfellow Creek P-Patch

6:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

· Welcome remarks from Mayor Ed Murray

6:45 p.m. – 7:55 p.m.

· Walk commences along the following route (map):

o West on SW Thistle St

o South on 26th Ave SW

o South on 24th Ave SW

o South on 25th Ave SW

o West on SW Barton St

7:55pm – 8:00 p.m.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Little League
Big League
The PacWest Senior Little League baseball all-star team that is playing up at the Big League level is involved in Western Regional action at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in Bremerton this week.
Pool play continues Wednesday, with PacWest playing the champions from Southern California at 9 a.m.
PacWest then plays Nevada at 12 p.m. Thursday.
Single-elimination action for high pool finishers starts Friday and concludes with the championship Saturday.
The regional champion goes on to the Big League World Series in South Carolina.

Majors
The West Seattle Majors age 10-12 Little League baseball all-star team opens state tournament play Sunday at the Hidden Valley complex in Bellevue.
West Seattle meets the winner of the previous day's opener between District 11 and District 5 at 12 p.m., with the winner playing again at 6 p.m. Wednesday and the loser playing at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Age 10-11

Squatter say to homeowner: ‘I don’t care’

A Ballard man was surprised to find a squatter at his newly purchased home located on the 1400 block of N.W. 80th Street on July 7. The complainant said that he had been making repairs to the home and that no one lived there. He came by to do some work and discovered the main door was kicked in. He heard some noise upstairs. He went up and found the suspect— a black male in his 30s, around 220 pounds and six feet tall—in the upstairs bedroom. He told the suspect to leave and that he was going to call police. The suspect said, “I don’t care.” This scared the complainant, and he went out to his truck to make the call. When officers arrived the suspect had already fled. They scoured the area but did not locate the suspect.

Man beats another man with thermos, arrested

To the editor:

The city delayed the development causing financial duress and then hired a phantom buyer to go behind the property owner's back to make an agreement with thier lenders to buy the notes? Then, had the phantom buyer threaten the owners with personal bankruptcy and take everything they have to force the owners to sign over the property to the City of SeaTac?

That is wrong on so many levels.

The 12 member jury and Judge McDermott agreed that this is wrong and awarded the property owners a total of $18.3 million.

Mary Mirante Bartolo, the SeaTac City Attorney, who oversaw the process should submit her resignation and the City of SeaTac should profoundly apologize to the Kingens.

There is something wrong with how government employees are viewing their role. This needs to be analyzed and the proper role of government more clearly defined.

D. Tapio

Two men shot in Tukwila after fight breaks out
Two men are being treated for gunshot wounds after a fight broke out in the parking lot of a Kentucky Fried Chicken on International Boulevard in Tukwila. The fight started about 9:30 p.m. on the 15000 block of Tukwila International Boulevard on July 14. According to police, two groups of young men in the parking lot began to fight. The fight quickly escalated into shooting. Witnesses told police that once the gunfire started, the group quickly scattered but two bystanders had been hit. The first victim collapsed in the Taco Time parking lot across the street. Emergency responders rushed him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with critical injuries. The second victim’s wounds were non-life-threatening. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police are now investigating who was involved in the shooting and what it was over. They are asking anyone with possible information to contact the King County Sheriff’s Office. 

$105K in stolen jewelry recovered in Des Moines and Burien

Two men shot in Tukwila after fight breaks out
Two men are being treated for gunshot wounds after a fight broke out in the parking lot of a Kentucky Fried Chicken on International Boulevard in Tukwila. The fight started about 9:30 p.m. on the 15000 block of Tukwila International Boulevard on July 14. According to police, two groups of young men in the parking lot began to fight. The fight quickly escalated into shooting. Witnesses told police that once the gunfire started, the group quickly scattered but two bystanders had been hit. The first victim collapsed in the Taco Time parking lot across the street. Emergency responders rushed him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with critical injuries. The second victim’s wounds were non-life-threatening. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police are now investigating who was involved in the shooting and what it was over. They are asking anyone with possible information to contact the King County Sheriff’s Office. 

$105K in stolen jewelry recovered in Des Moines and Burien

by Clara McMichael

A year and a half ago, Don Carmignani and his wife, Bev, moved into an apartment in Wesley Gardens. Their home in SeaTac – which they had occupied for 43 years – was too much to maintain once Don was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

“At our age, it’s very difficult to move,” Carmignani said.

But it was ultimately worthwhile. According to a letter written by Carmignani, Wesley Gardens was “a peaceful, serene environment perfect for spending one’s sunset years!”

Last November, Carmignani first received notice that they would need to move again. He did not receive a projected date for the move.

“We had no idea what they had in store for this,” Carmignani said.

The move is part of Wesley Garden’s extensive renovation plan, where the whole campus will be replaced.

Burien, WA–The Elementary School Principals Association of Washington  named North Hill Elementary Principal Nancy Melius as the South King Region Elementary Principal of the Year for 2016. Melius just completed her ninth year as principal of North Hill Elementary. 
 
Melius was recognized as a regional distinguished principal on June 27 at the summer conference of the Association of Washington School Principals and the Washington Association of School Administrators.
 
"Congratulations on this well-deserved honor," said Highline Superintendent Susan Enfield. "Nancy is an effective leader who maintains high expectations and enables staff and students to achieve their potential. Her genuine care for our students, staff, and families is inspiring."
 
She was nominated by staff and selected by her peers as one of 24 principals recognized statewide as distinguished principals for their regions. A resident of her community for more than 30 years, Melius is beloved by staff and families for her calm demeanor and sense of humor, according to her nomination.