January 2017

Sponsored by Sarah Cecil

If you are a “millennial” – a member of the age cohort born anywhere from the early 1980s to the late 1990s – then you’re still in the early chapters of your career, so it may be a stretch for you to envision the end of it. But since you do have so many years until you retire, you’ve got the luxury of putting time on your side as you save and plan for retirement.

Here are some suggestions for making the best use of that time:

Invest early – and often. Even if you are at the very beginning of your career, make investing a priority. At first, you might only be able to contribute a small amount each month, but something is far better than nothing – and after a year or so, you might be surprised at how much you’ve actually put away.

Take advantage of your employer’s retirement plan. If your employer offers a 401(k) or similar plan, contribute as much as you can afford. At the least, put in enough to earn your employer’s match, if one is offered. Your contributions can lower your taxable income, and your earnings can grow on a tax-deferred basis.

Sponsored by Sarah Cecil

If you are a “millennial” – a member of the age cohort born anywhere from the early 1980s to the late 1990s – then you’re still in the early chapters of your career, so it may be a stretch for you to envision the end of it. But since you do have so many years until you retire, you’ve got the luxury of putting time on your side as you save and plan for retirement.

Here are some suggestions for making the best use of that time:

Invest early – and often. Even if you are at the very beginning of your career, make investing a priority. At first, you might only be able to contribute a small amount each month, but something is far better than nothing – and after a year or so, you might be surprised at how much you’ve actually put away.

Take advantage of your employer’s retirement plan. If your employer offers a 401(k) or similar plan, contribute as much as you can afford. At the least, put in enough to earn your employer’s match, if one is offered. Your contributions can lower your taxable income, and your earnings can grow on a tax-deferred basis.

West Seattle's first charter school, Summit Atlas will open, starting with sixth- and ninth-grade classes in August 2017 at 9601 35th Ave SW. The groundbreaking for expansion of the existing building is coming up Thursday, February 2 at 5:30-6:30 pm.

Speakers at the event include:
A Summit Sierra student talking about why they are excited for the students of West Seattle, White Center and surrounding communities to have this public school choice.

A community member on how they are helping shape the culture of Summit Atlas.

Katie Bubalo, Founding Principal of Summit Atlas

The school has filed a land use application for a two story, 23,881 sq. ft. addition to the existing 23,772 sq. ft. building. Parking for 116 spaces will be re-configured to provide 63 parking spaces. The building was once a Safeway store and most recently was home to The Jesus Center Home of Freedom Church of Seattle.

Summit is part of a chain of free public charter schools with nine now open in Calfornia, and two others in Washington, one, Summit Olympus in Tacoma and the other Summit Sierra in Seattle's International District.

One person has died in an early morning fire that consumed an RV parked under the West Seattle Bridge near 1st Ave South.

First noticed by Port of Seattle Police, the call to 911 came in at 3:17am.

Seattle Fire crews responded but were unable to save the life of the victim inside. The unidentifiable person was so badly burned the gender has not yet been determined. No cause for the fire has been deternined as yet but the incident is under investigation.

By Gwen Davis

The city aims to plow ahead with its new Housing and Livability Agenda (HALA) which will primarily require all multifamily and commercial development to contribute to affordable housing. New residential properties will need to accommodate more people, and apartment buildings must have subsidized units for those who fall below a certain income bracket. Over the next 10 years, city officials expect tens of thousands of new families to relocate to the region, and HALA was designed to ensure that all people can afford to live in Seattle. Read our previous coverage of HALA.

However, the plan has been criticized. Some residents fear that upping residential density would drastically change the character of neighborhoods.

On Jan. 4, Rene Commons, the director of the West Seattle Junction Neighborhood Organization: JuNO, wrote a letter to Mayor Ed Murray, asking for a six-month delay for HALA's first environmental impact study (EIS). Typically, large projects such as HALA need an EIS completed before the project begins, in order to make sure the project won't harm the environment.

information from SDOT

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle City Light will be working on the Fauntleroy Expressway (West Seattle Freeway) over two nights next week to make repairs to the street lights.

Sunday night, January 8, the curb lane for eastbound traffic will be closed from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. Monday morning, January 9. The lane closure will extend eastbound from approximately where the roadway turns in and out of West Seattle to the Delridge Way onramp. The other eastbound travel lane will remain open; motorists are not likely to experience any delay.

On Monday night, January 9, the westbound exit at Admiral Way will be closed from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, January 10. Motorists who would use this exit are asked to instead consider taking the Harbor Avenue SW/Avalon Way SW exit.

Coming to ArtsWest Theater in the West Seattle Junction starting Jan. 19 is Mothers and Sons
The play runs from Jan 19 – Feb 11 2017

Written by Terrence McNally it is the 2014 Tony Award Nominated Best Play and 2014 Drama League Nominated Outstanding Play.

By turns smartly funny and powerfully resonant, this latest play from acclaimed dramatist Terrence McNally (Love! Valour! Compassion!, Corpus Christi, Master Class) portrays a woman who pays an unexpected visit to the New York apartment of her late son’s partner, who is now married to another man and has a young son. Challenged to face how society has changed around her, generations collide as she revisits the past and begins to see the life her son might have led.
The play takes place 20 years after the events in McNally's 1990 television play Andre's Mother.

Tickets
Adults – $37.50
Seniors – $33 – 65+
Students – $17 – with valid school ID

Ready to get healthier? That process starts with education and what better place than South Seattle College?
The 11th annual Health Fair is set for Jan. 10 in the Jerry Brockey Student Center, Room A/B, Room 140 and Room 148 from 11am to 2pm

At the fair you'll find information on massage therapy, meditation, Hepatitis C testing, yoga, and be able to talk with people from the American Lung Association, Seattle Counseling, Asian Counseling and Referral Services, King County Public Health and Gay City Health. Plus enjoy some Chaco Canyon cafe smoothies.

For more information on the fair send an email to Sol Mendez, Program Manager, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. SolDamaris.Mendez@seattlecolleges.edu

The college is located at 6000 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106.
Visit them on Facebook here http://www.southseattle.edu/facebook

The Ballard Natural Drainage System project, in the works for the past three years is complete according to Seattle Public Utilities. The work done will help prevent an average of 1 million gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater per year from entering the Ship Canal and Salmon Bay.

In a press release from Seattle Public Utilities they outlined how the infrastructure will be maintained and what the public can do to help.

Thanks to a very generous grant from the Employees Community Fund of Boeing/Puget Sound, the West Seattle Food Bank now has a second van. With this second van the Mobile Food Bank can set up distribution in four different locations around West Seattle that house many homebound or disabled clients that can’t make it to the Food Bank. WSFB can be more efficient in getting food to these individuals that rely on that service and the organization is now able to pick up addition donations when their other van is in use.

Judi Yazzolino, WSFB Development Director said of the new vehicle, "It has low operating costs, is a safe vehicle to operate, and we can fit a lot of food in the vehicle, which makes it efficient for our operations. The problem? We only had one van. Because our van was in constant use during operating hours we have been renting a van for two days per week for the past 10 months so we could bring food to the Mobile Food Bank off-site distributions."