July 2006

West Seattleites nominated Fauntleroy Way, 16th Avenue and the Spokane Street Viaduct for Mayor Greg Nickels' "dirty dozen" list of city streets in greatest need of repair.

The mayor received 700 nominations for the list of Seattle's worst roads. The final 12 streets haven't been determined yet because the e-mail messages and letters are still being categorized.

The dirty dozen gimmick is part of Nickels' push for voters to approve a 20-year transportation investment program.

At one of the first site-specific public meetings to discuss the latest Seattle Public Schools closure recommendations, many spoke in favor of the school-generated proposal that would merge Fairmount Park students at High Point Elementary School.

Based on a community advisory committee's findings, schools Superintendent Raj Manhas has recommended closing nine school buildings, including Fairmount Park.

After stirring worry in Alki and the Admiral District with their purchase of the Alki Homestead restaurant and Hainsworth House, along with announcing plans for various commercial ventures in Alki, business partners Tom Lin and Patrick Henley backed off.

They announced plans in the spring to refurbish Hainsworth House, one of West Seattle's oldest homes, into an event center for weddings and large parties. But many people living in the surrounding Belvidere area objected.

First graders create cards for residents at Providence Mount St. Vincent, fourth graders spend their recess every Friday cleaning the church, while seventh graders prepare monthly lunches for homeless women at Angeline's Day Center. For students at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School, helping others isn't a matter of when or if, it is a matter of what and how.

What these students do to help depends on their age. Each grade has service learning projects built into the curriculum.

King County Elections is hiring translation service providers to translate election materials including the local voters' pamphlets. A translation corps of 25 translators will be needed to work for 15-consecutive-day segments from July to October.

Applicants will be evaluated and qualified based on their ability to meet mandatory requirements which include: ownership and operation of hardware and software, education, the availability to work during the specified time period, and a thorough understanding of local government and the U.S. election processes.

On July 11, depending on the weather, the Seattle Department of Transportation street maintenance crews will begin resealing approximately 38 miles of surface streets in the West Seattle, Northgate and Northeast Seattle neighborhoods with a process called chip sealing.

Renewing the chip seal surface preserves the condition of the streets and creates a highly skid-resistant surface preventing water penetration of the road's subsurface.