February 2019

By Jean Godden

I got to know Howard Schultz -- on a professional level -- decades ago.

As most Seattleites know, Schultz arrived here in 1981 and went to work for Starbucks, then a modest purveyor of quality coffee beans. After disagreeing with Starbucks founders over whether to open espresso bars, he resigned. Later Schultz rounded up investors and in 1987 bought Starbucks, keeping the name and the mermaid. The rest is a Horatio Alger story.

In those days, I was writing slice-of-life columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (later the Seattle Times). I had just become aware of the city's coffee craze. I could see my co-workers skipping out midmorning to buy a $2 lattes. Imagine paying more than 50 cents for a cup of java.

By Peggy Sturdivant

Dear Gerry Hansen,

This is a fan letter, a farewell letter, a love letter to a woman who was born in Ballard and plans to die in Ballard, in her home, the same way that she was born. (Although not on the kitchen floor.)

My friend Gerry began saving her babysitting money when it was encouraged by her homeroom teacher at Ballard High School back in the 40s. She never stopped saving money and was able to buy a home in Ballard as a single woman in 1969, and own it to this day.

This is a thank you letter to a woman who has typed me letters for years on a manual typewriter, then signed her name in perfect Palmer Method cursive. We met only once in person but she has been in my life since she revealed herself to me, and I’ve been in hers since she started reading my column in then “Ballard News-Tribune.”

By Ken Robinson

Managing Editor

An over-caffeinated candidate

Watching Howard Schultz paw the ground to see if anyone wants to watch his dance in a bid for public office brings up notions of why anyone would want to be a politician these days.

Schultz, arguably the nation’s largest drug dealer, obviously has been bitten by the need for more attention. After selling the Sonics because we would not give him a stadium at our expense, he has kept his profile pretty low. But now that he has picked up a sword and says he wants to do battle with Trump, he is likely to be embarrassed on the battle field.

Trump does not play fair. Schultz will be vilified and shamed in some ways that will make him look like a buffoon whether deserved or not.

By Tomasz Biernacki

Being homeless is a miserable experience that most people, thankfully, never have to endure. For the percentage of our population that isn’t so fortunate, the outlook is dismal. There are currently more than 12,000 people experiencing homelessness in the Seattle region. Over half of them live in cars or tents, on park benches, in greenbelts, or on the sidewalk: seeking shelter wherever they can. 

From District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold

The Public Hearing on the  Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program will be on Thursday, February 21, at 5:30pm in the Council Chambers. This is your opportunity, and I encourage you, to come share your thoughts about this proposal with the Council and to comment on amendments you are interested in. The committee intends on voting on the legislation on February 25 after Full Council.

The snowstorm interrupted a lot of people's plans and put a lot of services on hold. Among them was regular garbage collection. Seattle Public Utilities has posted an update on when where and how your garbage will be picked up if it has not yet happened. Plus information on where you can drop it off yourself and a credit to be issued to folks who had two or more days missed.

information from SPU

Seattle’s recent unprecedented weather conditions presented significant challenges to collection garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste from 150,000 residential households and 6,000 multifamily accounts throughout Seattle. At every safe weather opportunity, drivers collected waste from as many customers as possible, including critical locations like hospitals, multi-family buildings and high-volume commercial customers.