June 2008

The weekend fires destroyed more than just apartments. They were homes where people created cherished memories. I know, because once upon a time when my son was a toddler, I was struggling. The lower east side apartment of one of the buildings was our home. At the time, it was just cheap housing. It didn't seem like much to an outsider, but it was ours. I worked hard to make it our clean, well furnished home. Within the walls, we built a safe, peaceful home. We dreamed there. We played there.

Restore government vision

By Jonathan Bechtle

Do you see any problem with our state's ban on smoking in public places? What about Seattle's prohibition on restaurants using trans fats? These laws may make us feel more comfortable or healthy, but is it the role of government to micro-manage our personal health choices?

Or what about the now-defunct Monorail's use of eminent domain to take a large parcel of property in Seattle's Pioneer Square, most of which it planned to sell for a profit?

Restore government vision

By Jonathan Bechtle

Do you see any problem with our state's ban on smoking in public places? What about Seattle's prohibition on restaurants using trans fats? These laws may make us feel more comfortable or healthy, but is it the role of government to micro-manage our personal health choices?

Or what about the now-defunct Monorail's use of eminent domain to take a large parcel of property in Seattle's Pioneer Square, most of which it planned to sell for a profit?

Summer has finally returned, and so has the Charlestown Street Cafe. The popular family diner and meeting place reopened Monday at 6am to the delight of its loyal customers and servers, some who have worked there since it opened 19 years ago.

The cafe was forced to close after a kitchen fire February 4. Insurance, landlord-tenant issues, and autocracy delayed the reopening.

"They can't believe it's really happening," said server Hesper Guerra, who was there since the restaurant opened the first time.

"I had Mickey Mouse pancakes.

Fireworks arrived a week early as residents from Highland Park, South Park - and other communities - clashed with city representatives over two city jail sites being considered nearby.

The city sponsored a forum at the Aerospace Machinists Union Hall in South Park last Thursday night to give concerned residents the chance to speak - but some shouted.

Seattle, as many cities in the county do, pays the county for space for misdemeanor prisoners at the two King County Jail sites, downtown and in Kent.

But Seattle's nonrenewable contract is up in December 2012.

It won't be a retrofit.

The Elliott Bay bridge is off the table too.

The Washington State Department of Transportation also eliminated a six-lane surface highway to replace the viaduct on the waterfront.

At the monthly meeting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Stakeholder Advisory Committee last Thursday, Jim Parsons, who is the lead independent project manager advising the Department of Transportation, first described the options still being considered.

But he saved the hardest news for last: which options did not make the cut.

The retrofit was

Mayor Greg signed an executive order in March to end the city's pactice of buying bottled water for city employees and for public events because he says Seattle's water is reported to be "amongst the best in any major city in North America."

The Seattle Public Utilities regularly tests its water for 179 compounds, including metals, chemical contaminants and disease-causing organisms, none.

To help promote food and fitness the King County Food and Fitness Initiative was formed in 2006 after Seattle was chosen as one of nine communities participating in a $3 million, 10-year initiative financed by the W.K.

As our economy goes down it only means employment goes down along with it.

On 7th Ave. S, a rock went through an office window. But before it came to rest on a desktop, it bounced off a ceiling panel, hit a wall switch, and triggered an alarm bell.

Two teens were seriously assaulted by three strangers who ran them off the road in the 700 block of S. Kenyon. One was stabbed in the back of the head while the other was punched in the nose and face. Many witnesses had seen three cars full of ?Latino gang members? driving in the area trying to get people to fight.