July 2007

The last vestige of the former Park Lake-now Greenbridge neighborhood is the Jim Wiley Community Center, which officially reopened Friday after a $5 million remodeling job.

The pyramid-like building is the only structure in the Greenbridge neighborhood left from the Park Lake days. It's been closed for months as construction crews renovated the building.

The building is home to the Southwest branch of the Boys and Girls Club. It's also where the Greenbridge office of Neighborhood House is located.

Des Moines residents have been interested in an arts commission for quite some time and city officials have taken that interest to heart.

Nancy Warren, co-chairwoman of the recently created Des Moines Arts Commission, said last week, "Des Moines was ripe for an art commission and it had been too long without one."

Warren noted "the reestablishment of the commission is important because it is concerned with how art can make our community better and bring more people into it."

And the difference that an art commission can make was readily apparent during the city

Highline Community College is embarking on its first "viral marketing campaign."

The college is reaching out to the teen and young adult populations, especially to males, with a new ad campaign: Don't be an Obert.

"Our research shows that the younger male population is foregoing college.

Summer will sizzle with diversions both quirky and wonderful, from jugglers to a sausage-eating contest, during the Olde Burien Block Party on Saturday, July 14.

Among the amusements planned from noon to midnight are performers of every sort, live music, the Bubble Man, a variety of contests, irresistible store specials and a $500 Olde Burien shopping spree.

New this year for the younger set are inflatable rides, sponsored by Burien Honda.

Also on the entertainment lineup for the first time are a karaoke contest on the event's main stage and an olive-tossi

We were invited to sit in at the dedication of the Jim Wiley Activity Center.

It's funny how important pets can become in one's life.

I've been thinking more about this crazy obsession the last few weeks after Marge and I had to have our beloved Blackie put to sleep.

She was in our family for 17 years.

Getting all the way to the championship is good, of course.

According to the June 27 Times/News, the new Berk & Associates financial analysis program will enable our Council to make realistic financial projections regarding annexation. Let me hasten to throw cold water on that notion: it will not do any such thing.

This program is flawed in the same way that the prior Burien budget analysis was flawed. It omits the Capital Budget. The budget is the sum of two roughly equal components, the General Fund and the Capital Fund.

Projected budget deficits for annexation reside largely (90 percent) in the Capital Fund.

I would like to thank our entire Highline legislative delegation for their unanimous support of the new domestic partnership law and the new law to ensure medically accurate sexual health education.

A recent letter to the editor by James Fatton provided false and inaccurate information about the new laws.

The new domestic partnership law simply provides a limited number of protections, such as the ability to visit a loved one in the hospital or make funeral arrangements, to same-sex couples or to seniors over age 62 who choose to register with the state as domestic partne

The bigotry of James Fatton's views about domestic partnership (Letters, June 20) was so amazing I could hardly get through his letter.

I know many people and religions that find drinking alcohol to be immoral and a sin. They firmly believe the state government should not encourage such behavior (in the same fashion Mr. Fatton sees homosexuality).

Using Mr.