August 2016

Despite the drumbeat of bad news that seems to surround newspapers the truth is that while the economics have changed and changes have had to be made, smaller papers like the West Seattle Herald/White Center News, Highline Times/Des Moines News, and Ballard News-Tribune are doing fine. In 2013 the Robinson Newspapers consolidated into a single brand, The Westside Weekly. Each paper is still represented inside and of course each has retained their online identity.

But a common question that comes up is, "Where can I get a copy of the paper"?

You can of course subscribe to the paper for only $38 for the full year. Senior discounts are available. But sometimes you just want to grab a copy.

Here's a list of the many retail and newsstand locations where you can find the Westside Weekly in Highline, West Seattle and Ballard.

HIGHLINE

• AM PM AMBAUM BLVD SW
• WAYNE’S SERVICE CENTER

Seattle Tutoring Services, a local company providing math tutoring and standardized test prep, has established a scholarship for high school and college students.

Schuyler Dunphy, the former salmon biologist turned tutor, says the scholarship is intended for students who have struggled in math. “I come across students with various challenges in math,” Dunphy says. “But even mathematicians can spend months stuck on a problem, and it’s the perseverance in navigating these challenges that can benefit students throughout their lives.”

The scholarship essay asks students to write about how they have overcome their challenges or are developing a plan to do so. The essay is due Dec. 31st with the winner receiving a $200 award. More details can be found at http://www.tutoringservicesseattle.com/seattle-tutoring-services-math-s… . 

Page 2 Books and the Burien branch of the King County Library System are cosponsoring a children's book festival, featuring five local authors, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday Aug. 20, at the library branch at 400 SW 152nd St.

     Each author will read from and talk about their books, answer questions about how they write the stories and create the characters and discuss what they’re working on next. They’ll also sign copies of their books.

     The five authors to be featured are:

     ■ Burien author Carol Hervin has just published a new picture book featuring the further adventures of Boots the cat (introduced in her first book) and the friendship with another cat, “Boots and Sam.”

     ■ Wendy Wahman is a nationally published illustrator whose picture books include “Don’t Lick the Dog,” “A Cat Like That” and “Snowboy 1, 2, 3,” a counting book written with her husband Joe.

Lutheran Community Services Northwest teamed with the City of SeaTac to gets kids fired up for school. Thousands of free backpacks filled with school supplies were given out to students attending SeaTac area schools.

SeaTac, WA – Thousands of children from a wide variety of backgrounds took part in the City of SeaTac’s Back to School Fair Thursday, July 11 at the Valley Ridge Park on 188th St.

“For the past 10 years the Back to School Fair has provided critical support to ensure all our students are given the tools they need to be successful,” said SeaTac City Council
Member Tony Anderson. “It’s great to see the City of SeaTac community working together to do great things for the children attending SeaTac area schools.”

The SeaTac Back to School Fair was started so children are ready to learn, even if their families face financial barriers. Participating organizations make sure students have proper vision, nutritional, medical, dental and academic resources to succeed. Services at the fair included free:
•Dental checkups and sealants by Kids Cavity Prevention.
•Haircuts by 10 stylists from the Gene Juarez Academy.
•Scoliosis exams by Collins Chiropractic.

Highline Public Schools today announced the launch of a new partnership supporting college and career readiness with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.

Through this collaboration, all K-12 classrooms districtwide will have access to engaging digital content through Discovery Education Streaming Plus, an award-winning, comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas. In addition, 35 teacher leaders and their principals, representing five elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school, will participate in Discovery Education’s Digital Leader Corps. A comprehensive professional development system, Digital Leader Corps develops teacher-leaders to propel the district's transition to modern digital learning environments.

King County’s Solid Waste Division announced that 112 local companies have been named to the 2016   Tenth Annual “Best Workplaces for Waste Prevention and Recycling” list, including 5 businesses/offices in SeaTac. The list recognizes businesses that have implemented exceptional recycling programs and highlights their commitment to reducing the amount of waste they produce. Last year, businesses in King County sent more than 276,000 tons of recyclable materials to the landfill.
 
This year’s innovative recycling and waste reduction strategies range from redesigning packaging to make less waste to facilitating an employee “water bottle competition.”  The press release from King County is included below. We can offer interviews with King County Solid Waste representatives about business waste reduction, as well as contacts for SeaTac businesses that made the list.
 
SeaTac honorees:
1.       City of SeaTac
2.       Carriage House Apartments
3.       Windsor Heights Apartments
4.       Alaska Airlines
5.       Port of Seattle/SeaTac International Airport

By Amanda Knox
 
“You should grab…that thing…that you know for sure…and put an exclamation mark…around it…and that’s the end…of that. Put the secret…around it…and whatever was…a secret…make it…for sure.”
 
This was the response my grandmother, Sylvia, murmured to me from her hospital bed when I asked her for a piece of winning advice. If it sounds cryptic, it’s because she was recovering from chemotherapy and a stroke. Each word came slowly, painstakingly, and there were drawn-out pauses that made me worry she had lost her train of thought.
 
This was very unlike the Sylvia I knew. The Sylvia I knew was gregarious, chatty, people-oriented, especially if those people were family. She knew the names of all the beauticians at the nail salon in the local strip mall. Her neighbors were intimate friends. To me, she was like all that’s good about a Hallmark card—sweet, sentimental, sincere, reliable, communicative, though lacking subtlety. Because she lives a seven-and-a-half-hour drive away in Montana, I even associate her with the holidays.
 

A smallish news article may have escaped your notice last week. It didn’t show up in many newspapers. In a four pager, it would have landed on page five. But it caught a friend’s notice and she sent it on to me saying, “This sounds like something you’d find interesting.” A compliment? Perhaps not. But she was right.
In a town not far from Atlantic City, N.J. called Egg Harbor Township, a fellow named Leroy ‘Blast’ Bill Black passed away a couple of weeks ago. The newspaper in Atlantic City dutifully published his obituary. In fact, there were two obituaries for him---appearing one on top of the other.

But it was not an accidental double printing. It was two different obits: one by “Blast’s” wife---and the other…by his girlfriend.

Awkward.

The newspaper decided that instead of fighting with the two women---who were already sad enough---they would just publish both versions.

The differences between the two obituaries are not very noticeable. Except that in the wife’s version, she is referred to as Mr. Black’s “loving wife.” The other obit mentions his “longtime girlfriend.”

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 Sarah Cecil

During your working years, your primary investment goal is generally growth – you need your money to grow so that you can eventually afford the comfortable retirement lifestyle you’ve envisioned. But when you retire, should you change course and adjust your investment strategy from “offense” to “defense”?