February 2017

In her newsletter to constituents District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold offered an update on the Mandatory Housing Affordability timeline:

Herbold wrote "I wanted to make sure that you heard from me first that the office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) is amending the schedule for release of the draft EIS for the proposed citywide MHA zoning changes and now it is anticipated to come out in May. This will give the community an additional two months to provide feedback before the draft EIS is published. The Department of Neighborhoods (DON) plans to door knock all of the single family homes that are part of the potential upzones. Also, DON and OPCD will conduct another series of meetings in May and June. In addition, depending on how well the Draft EIS identifies and addresses the issues raised in public comment, which the Council has been compiling, I will consider whether there is a need for additional time for public comment on the Draft EIS. "

Upcoming meetings in District 1 neighborhoods:

By Lindsay Peyton

All the seats were full at a meeting discussing “Camp Second Chance,” the new homeless encampment at Myers Way.

The line-up of speakers at the Joint Training Facility, 9401 Myers Way South, on Wednesday night, Feb. 1, included Captain Pierre Davis representing the Southwest Precinct of the Seattle Police Department who addressed safety concerns and Mike Ashbrook, director of facility operations, who explained plans to protect wetlands and prevent contamination on the property.

Rodney Maxie with the Seattle Department of Transportation, discussed infrastructure improvements planned for the area.

George Scarola, the city’s director of homelessness, explained that this was the second community conversation about the plan. The first was held in December.

“We listened carefully to the questions raised at that meeting,” he said. “This meeting is about trying to answer as many of those questions raised at that initial meeting as we possibly can.”

By Gwen Davis

It has begun: the Port of Seattle started cutting down trees. Nearly 3,000 trees will be removed from SeaTac and surrounding areas by 2018.

During this first phase of the project, the Port will cut trees on Port of Seattle property only. It will last until March 1. Replanting efforts — made up of dwarf tree specifies and shrubs — will begin shortly thereafter.

The tree-cutting is part of the Port’s “Flight Corridor Safety Program”, which is to ensure that planes land safely. The Port says that if the trees are not removed, the Port could be fined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the airport can be shutdown.

On Wednesday evening, the Port of Seattle hosted another open house at SeaTac Community Center to inform residents about current and future plans. About 85 people attended. As in previous open houses, booths were set up throughout the facility, featuring large diagrams and charts. Port staffers manned each station to answer people’s questions.

The Port also launched an online version of the open house.

Visit: http://seasafecorridor.infocommunity.org/ and provide your input.

By Gwen Davis

It has begun: the Port of Seattle started cutting down trees. Nearly 3,000 trees will be removed from SeaTac and surrounding areas by 2018.

During this first phase of the project, the Port will cut trees on Port of Seattle property only. It will last until March 1. Replanting efforts — made up of dwarf tree specifies and shrubs — will begin shortly thereafter.

The tree-cutting is part of the Port’s “Flight Corridor Safety Program”, which is to ensure that planes land safely. The Port says that if the trees are not removed, the Port could be fined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the airport can be shutdown.

On Wednesday evening, the Port of Seattle hosted another open house at SeaTac Community Center to inform residents about current and future plans. About 85 people attended. As in previous open houses, booths were set up throughout the facility, featuring large diagrams and charts. Port staffers manned each station to answer people’s questions.

The Port also launched an online version of the open house.

Visit: http://seasafecorridor.infocommunity.org/ and provide your input.

West Seattle, White Center and surrounding communities neighbors, future students and teachers joined Summit Public Schools in a groundbreaking ceremony for their new charter public school, Summit Atlas on Feb.2 at the new home at the corner of 35th SW and SW Roxbury Street.

The school will open in August for the 2017-2018 school year to its first class of 6th graders and 9th graders. The school will grow each year to eventually serve 6th - 12th grades. The plan involves two phases with phase one beginning next week to build out the former grocery store/church to have approximately eight class rooms. Phase two if approved by the City of Seattle will begin next December adding a second story and doubling the class room space to around 16 classrooms. Some of the rooms are flex spaces.

“Summit Atlas is an opportunity for our community to come together to help students achieve their dreams and close opportunity gaps,” said longtime West Seattle resident and Summit Public Schools Washington board member Shirline Wilson. “This school brings high quality, personalized education programs that will put students on the pathway to success in college, career and life.”

Dear Editor,

The past weeks have been a difficult time for refugees and immigrants in our community and their loved ones. Some of the families that WestSide Baby serves face unprecedented fear and disruption in their lives.  As such we would like to state our continued support of the United States' long history of welcoming refugees, immigrants, and those seeking asylum. We are dedicated to uphold the human rights of these individuals, families and communities.

 In 2017, WestSide Baby will be guided by the vision of helping families by practicing inclusion, showing compassion and breaking down barriers to increase access to those very important items that keep children safe, warm and dry. As a nonprofit we provide essential items for children in need across Western King County through over 120 social service agencies – our “provider partners”. These simple necessities, diapers, clothing, strollers or car seats, are a gateway to healthier babies and caregivers because they give families the ability to focus on growth beyond the day-to-day. 

With the changes made to 35th SW (and more coming) and Roxbury Street SW, and the future changes planned for the Fauntleroy Boulevard project the Seattle Department of Transportation is seeking public opinion on what is known as "Traffic Calming" which involves physical design (such as limiting the number of traffic lanes) and other measures such as reduced speed limits, friction strips or speed bumps to control speed to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. These measures aim to encourage safer, more responsible driving and potentially reduce traffic flow.

They have a survey they'd like you to fill out here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NeighborhoodTrafficCalming

And if you have feelings about their efforts there are places to express yourself.

You can learn more about the SDOT Traffic Calming Program here.

By Chef Jeremy Maclachlan

In the spirit of February Valentines, it is the perfect opportunity to talk about foods that go well together. All foods that go well together are because of the way your palate tastes food. Whenever I create a new dish I always make sure it is balanced: Does it have enough fat vs. acidity? The reason peanut butter and jelly pair so well is because the peanut butter is full of good fat and the jelly has sweetness balanced with acidity. These matches work because your palate gets cleansed with every bite and you are ready for more and more and more! Think about having a triple chocolate cake with no raspberry sauce, it gets heavy and weighs on your palate something fierce. For more on this subject, read my buddy Kathy's blog which dives into Matches Made in Heaven.

My favorite seafood pairing is bacon and scallops. The lean clean flavor of the scallop holds up nicely to the salty smoke of the bacon. This dish really makes my heart sing like when I come into my house and my boys yell "DADDY!" and run to the door greeting me with big hugs.

By Chef Jeremy Maclachlan

In the spirit of February Valentines, it is the perfect opportunity to talk about foods that go well together. All foods that go well together are because of the way your palate tastes food. Whenever I create a new dish I always make sure it is balanced: Does it have enough fat vs. acidity? The reason peanut butter and jelly pair so well is because the peanut butter is full of good fat and the jelly has sweetness balanced with acidity. These matches work because your palate gets cleansed with every bite and you are ready for more and more and more! Think about having a triple chocolate cake with no raspberry sauce, it gets heavy and weighs on your palate something fierce. For more on this subject, read my buddy Kathy's blog which dives into Matches Made in Heaven.

My favorite seafood pairing is bacon and scallops. The lean clean flavor of the scallop holds up nicely to the salty smoke of the bacon. This dish really makes my heart sing like when I come into my house and my boys yell "DADDY!" and run to the door greeting me with big hugs.

By Kathryn Kingen

When it comes to great matches, I immediately think of my mom and dad. Naturally, I'm biased, but all six of us kids unanimously agree, they were a great complement, with one enhancing the other. Sigh! Another great combo, 34 years strong, is me and my guy Ger; we are a different sort of duo. We are better together because we contrast. He has attributes that I don't have and I have others he doesn't. It's amazing how even though different, both types of couples are better together.

The complement or contrast combination is also the rule of thumb when making great food and wine pairings. Take for example the lovely complement of a crisp Pinot Gris served with a delicate fresh fish versus the contrast of the dry tannins of a cabernet cutting the fat of a delicious steak. In either combination you are "marrying up" and what we get when we combine these lovely ingredients is called delicious.