July 2007

The Greenwood Senior Center's long awaited remodeling project is set to begin soon with changes coming to the main room and other areas. Work is expected to take about three weeks.

Most visitors to the center know the main room as "The Greenwood Room," because of the distinctive glass panel over the doorway, painted with that name. The walls will be renovated and new curtains installed.

Classes like tai chi, support groups, beauty and health services will move downstairs while the work is done on the Greenwood Room.

Some believe the extension of the new Burke-Gilman Trail from Northwest 60th Street to Golden Gardens Park can cause traffic problems while a another says some trail signs are not consistent.

The comments came at a meeting last week where residents voiced their concerns and questions.

A large segment of the trail runs along Seaview Avenue to Golden Gardens Park. Sharon Briggs, Recreational Boating Manager for the Port of Seattle, expressed concern that construction traffic will negatively impact nearby businesses.

Contractor Steve Murdoch, of C.A.

Woodland Park Zoo's premier fundraiser, Bank of America Presents: Jungle Party was a roaring success with more than 1,000 civic, community and philanthropic leaders attended the fundraiser, and contributes over $1,965,000 million dollars to support the zoo's animal care, education and wildlife conservation projects.

Proceeds also included more than $575,000 in contributions toward this year's beneficiary of the Fund-Our-Future: Project Northwest, which will enable Woodland Park Zoo to enhance experiences for visitors and help us to realize our role as the premiere institut

Colleen E. Wilson, chief of police in Sumner for nearly five years, will take over as chief of the 130-person Port of Seattle police department around August 1.

"Colleen Wilson is exactly the right leader to make our police department one of the best in the country," said Port CEO Tay Yoshitani.

Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon for academic semester and year homestay programs, and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families.

The students are anxiously awaiting news of their new families.

Voters will have the opportunity to reauthorize funding for the regional system of paramedic and ambulance services that saves lives throughout the region, as the Metropolitan King County Council unanimously placed the six-year Medic One and Emergency Medical Services levy on the November general election ballot.

Founded in 1970 as a Seattle Fire Department program, Medic One was an innovator in bringing physician-level assistance to cardiac victims at the scene of a heart attack.

Voters who cast their ballots by mail will be assured their vote will be preserved, under a new policy adopted by the King County Council.

"The Washington State Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to cast a secret ballot," said Councilmember Dow Constantine, prime sponsor of the motion.

Three daily openings of the Fremont Bridge from now until the Fremont Bridge project is completed early next year, will take 15 minutes, instead of the usual 3 to 5 minutes.

These longer openings will take place at 5 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 11 p.m.

The Seattle Department of Transportations says drivers headed over the bridge may want to schedule their trips accordingly, or take an alternate route at these times.

These longer openings are due to opening both halves of the bridge using a temporary winch.

In two weeks and two days we will get a good idea of what total grid lock might look like when the state closes multiple lanes and ramps on northbound Interstate 5 between Spokane Street and I-90 around the clock for 19 days to perform extensive rehabilitation work on the freeway.

The closure will dramatically affect traffic and divert thousands of vehicles onto city streets on Aug.

The Burke-Gilman Trail along the Ship Canal through the Fremont neighborhood will remain closed until summer 2008.

The Seattle Department of Transportation had planned to reopen the trail section over the next few weeks after it had closed Burke-Gilman Trail through Fremont for construction work on the Fremont Bridge Approach Replacement Project.