January 2017

According to statistics, 80% of all caregiving for adults is done by unpaid family and friends!   Informal caregivers, estimated in 2015 at 66 million and growing, have long been the foundation of long term care in the U.S.  Supporting these unsung heroes is a mission of Lutheran Community Services Northwest, in conjunction with Alki United Church of Christ in West Seattle. 

Support U: Fostering Caregiver Wellness is a series of 3 classes developed by a geriatric social worker and author and delivered by trained volunteers in local congregations.  By providing information and emphasizing self-care, the curriculum prepares people for the role of caregiver along with raising community awareness and helping to prevent caregiver ‘burnout” and isolation.

by Peggy Sturdivant

Madison Thomas thought she wanted to go into medicine. Then she got a taste of government as a page for then-State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles and realized, instead of one patient at a time, she could help masses through legislation. Now she’s in truly in charge of organizing the masses, as college engagement coordinator for the January 21, 2017 Women’s March on Washington.

Thomas considers herself a citizen of two cities; her hometown of Seattle (Ballard), and her Georgetown University college town of Washington, D.C. Like many she watched the presidential election returns in shock, but unlike most she was shortly fielding thousands of phone calls as an intern in Senator Patty Murray’s D.C. office. “Citizens were worried about the future of the United States. ‘What do I do?’ they kept asking?’ I didn’t have an answer.”

By Amanda Knox
 
On Tuesday evening, as I watched President Obama make the final rounds with Michelle and Malia, waving at the crowd, I was flooded with dread. I was reminded of those rare occasions when I was very young, when Mom dropped Deanna and I off at a family member’s house so she could run a quick personal errand, and we cried and cried, pleading, “Please don’t goooooooo!” For the past eight years, I’ve found comfort in Obama’s patience, confidence, and compassion, in the fact that he, of all people, proved again and again to be honest, intelligent, steady, forceful, and kind in the face of both tragedy and achievement. I dreaded the void Obama was leaving behind, and how it shortly was going to be filled with someone already proven to be base, short-sighted, vindictive, and vain.
 
Indeed, when I reread the transcript of Obama’s speech the following morning, I realized how cautionary his message was. He enumerated a number of specific threats to our democracy that we need to confront with urgency and sincerity, lest we severely weaken ourselves from within.

He spoke about the threat of partisanship:

By Pat Cashman

He still cannot believe it was not a best seller.

Years ago, A longtime friend of mine had written and published a book---along with his wife---offering parenting tips intended to enlighten readers about how to do it right. The implication was, “Take advantage of our experience---and raise your kids like this.” The fact that he was the parent of his very first child---three months old---made his parenting book premature, if not outright ridiculous. (Although the chapter on colic was riveting.)

Wisdom is borne of experience, time---and reflection. But that did not stop Paris Hilton from writing a memoir at age 23; Britney Spears at 18; and Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber at age 16. If I had written a memoir at age 16 it would have about the length of a Taco Bell menu---with more cheese.

But now perhaps I have traveled far enough along in life to offer---authoritatively--- a few musings. Is it wisdom? That’s not for me to decide. But will it fill up space here? Yep.

Shoplifter caught in the act

Staff at a security office located on S.W. Barton Street saw a man grabbing items from their store and placing them in his backpack around 2:30 p.m. on Mon., Jan. 9. He tried to leave the store without paying. When the employees approached him and asked about the items in his bag, the suspect became aggressive and pushed them aside. Staff detained the suspect, and officers arrived to take him to jail.

Burglary of construction site trailer

Around 11:46 a.m. Mon., Jan. 9, officers were dispatched to a residential burglary on 44th Avenue S.W. The site was a construction work trailer. The victim arrived at work at 7:30 a.m. and discovered that six of his power tools had been stolen. Officers submitted a cut padlock into evidence, as well as three fingerprints found on the scene.

Security cameras alert homeowner of suspicious activity

The Duwamish tribe will hold an open house celebration Jan. 21 featuring new a Duwamish film, cultural program & reception. Celebrate the heritage of Greater Seattle's First People, Chief Seattle's Duwamish Tribe. Open house, 10-5, visit exhibit areas and art gallery.

Festivities include:
10am Duwamish Film—Promised Land, 1
2pm--Reception,
1-3pm Cultural Program with special guests & native storytelling.
Duwamish Heritage Group will invite friends to join in song and dance. Free admission & parking.

Duwamish Longhouse

By Gwen Davis

As previously reported by the Highline Times, the City of SeaTac was ordered to pay $18.3 million to Gerry and Kathy Kingen, after a judge ruled that the city cheated the couple out of a piece of land. The City of SeaTac was the loser and K&S Developments was the winner in the largest land use judgement in the history of Washington State on July 8. In addition the judge, made a recommendation that the in house counsel for the City of SeaTac be formally sanctioned in a case that involved years long deception and dishonesty by the City and its staff. The Kingen's are the owners of Salty's Seafood Grills in West Seattle, Redondo and Portland.

However, SeaTac did not pay and instead appealed the ruling.

(SeaTac City Manqger, Joseph Scorcio was contacted for comment and has not responded.)

But on Friday, the Times learned of a new development related to the case.

By Gwen Davis

As previously reported by the Highline Times, the City of SeaTac was ordered to pay $18.3 million to Gerry and Kathy Kingen, after a judge ruled that the city cheated the couple out of a piece of land. The City of SeaTac was the loser and K&S Developments was the winner in the largest land use judgement in the history of Washington State on July 8. In addition the judge, made a recommendation that the in house counsel for the City of SeaTac be formally sanctioned in a case that involved years long deception and dishonesty by the City and its staff. The Kingen's are the owners of Salty's Seafood Grills in West Seattle, Redondo and Portland.

However, SeaTac did not pay and instead appealed the ruling.

(SeaTac City Manqger, Joseph Scorcio was contacted for comment and has not responded.)

But on Friday, the Times learned of a new development related to the case.

The West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce applied for and have received a $20,000 grant help with marketing and in the words of Lora Swift answer the question, "Who is West Seattle now?"

Swift, Executive Director of the West Seattle Junction Merchants Association said she and Chamber CEO Lynn Dennis applied for a grant to move all West Seattle businesses in the right direction by getting some research done. Swift took over the job from Susan Melrose last summer, selling her Hotwire Online Coffeehouse to take the new job.

"The purpose is to begin the groundwork conversations between our business districts, to look for the commonality and what the scalability is for West Seattle," said Swift, "So we have a common, unified voice.

Grants offered by a partnership between the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development (OED), the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON), and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture (OAC) totalling approximately $1,400,000 were made available for the Only in Seattle Initiative in 2017.

White Center has a graffiti problem and as it has in the past, the community is coming together to address it. A special meeting was called on Jan. 12 to announce the early stage plans.

Chamber of Commerce President Bobby Beeman of Sky’s Barber Shop, led the discussion of how the issue will be addressed and sought more input from the community about cleanup, responses education and prevention.

“I’m proposing a three stage plan,” he said, “I believe that we have an emergency and this meeting and response is the first stage.”

That plan calls for an “Graffiti Response Team” that when graffiti is first seen, to have it painted over, hopefully within 24 hours. Citing several studies Beeman said that quick removal has shown to be an effective deterrent to the kind of “tagging” and graffiti art seen in many urban environments. To that end a deal has been worked out with McLendon's Hardware granting business owners a 30% discount on paint, in the shade they require, to allow rapid repainting.