April 2009

Dear Editor,

Torture is inhumane, and it should be well known by now that it is counterproductive. Those being tortured will tell what the torturers what they want to hear, not necessarily the truth.

We Americans are far, far better than that - let us put to an end once and for the policies of the Bush Administration (of which those officials are trying to justify).

I strongly urge all Americans to support President Barack Obama'a policy of transparency - we deserve nothing less than the truth about such an Unamerican, immoral and disgraceful chapter in American history so that it never repeats itself.

Patricia Agostino

P.S.: I am writing this from Florence, Italy where I have found that the Italian people are extremely pleased with the election of President Barack Obama. They say that once again they can -and will - look to the USA for leadership that values all people. Bravo President Obama!

Patricia Agostino
West Seattle

Most fitness classes are serious affairs, with lots of grimacing, panting, and suffering as the instructor barks out commands and students struggle to keep up.

An Exuberant Animal class turns this approach on its head. It puts a completely different spin on fitness, one that’s “primal, playful, and practical,” said Exuberant Animal trainer Steven Stanfield.

At a recent class at Studio 122 in Magnolia, all three elements were on display. Although the several newcomers to the class appeared a little nervous at first, not knowing what would be expected of them, within ten minutes everyone was giggling and laughing and smiling like children at a birthday party.

By the end of the hour-long session, after a series of deceptively simple movements and games, students were sweaty and fatigued. They’d been introduced to a revolutionary set of fitness ideas designed to make “exercise” less onerous and more fun, stimulating, sociable, and effective.

So how is it “primal, playful, and practical?" Take one of the warm-up movements Stanfield introduced. He called it “pretend jump rope,” where students skip an imaginary rope.

In the past 30 years, comic books have evolved from stories about superheroes into a new and exciting form of literature. Much of this transformation is due to the work of alternative comics, whose creators have told a wide variety of stories and showed the world the possibilities of their genre. One of the major figures in this field, Peter Bagge, has called Ballard home for more than 15 years.

Bagge, a self-described “alternative cartoonist,” writes and draws all of his comics. His most famous comic series, “Hate,” chronicles the misadventures of Buddy Bradley, a misanthropic young man making his way around Seattle in the early to mid-1990s.

Bagge, who moved to Seattle in 1985, loosely based the character on his experiences living in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Bagge set “Hate” in Seattle because he “likes to look out the window and draw what I see.” What he saw was a Seattle that was “full of Buddy Bradleys.”

In the freakish off chance that we happen to have one of those teaser, sunny days during our normally rainy spring season, let’s maximize our use of that glowing ball of light in the sky. Cheers! to an evening of enjoying the beauty of Ballard on Seaview Avenue.

Even non-Ballardites trek to our neck of the woods to visit Ray’s Boathouse, Café and Catering for its scenic location and proximity to Golden Gardens. At the bar of the café is one of the city’s most favored happy hours. Arrive on time, as on nice days Ray’s happy hour is popular and seating is in high demand.

The happy hour menu applies to only the bar area, and the regular café menu is served outside on the deck. However, seated inside, the opening and closing of doors bring in a drift from the sound – cool, breezy wind and light shines through. Everyone is merrily chattering and eating.

If you’re ready to move on from seafood appetizers, walk across the street to Paseo. The tasty Fremont Cuban sandwich shop opened a Ballard location, a small cash-only sandwich shack. The most popular sandwich is the Cuban Roast, a delicious pulled pork sandwich.

Two West Seattle women have joined together, with the help of many friends to launch a unique product with a decidedly "green" bent.

Called "ReUsies," the reusable cloth bags for snacks and sandwiches are the brainchild and product of Becky Harper and Karen Whorton. So far they have sold more than 700 of them and now have their Web site set up and are on the verge of choosing a manufacturer.

Up to now they've all been made by hand by Harper in her basement using a sewing machine and serger.

"I approached Becky because she knows how to sew," said Whorton.

Both women came up with parts of the design and evolved the concept over a three month period.

Harper and Whorton are part of the "Green Team" at Lafayette Elementary School in the Admiral District and made the bags initialy as part of that effort.

"We sold everything we made," said Harper.

The pair plan to give back 20 percent of all sales to the Green Team.

If your idea of a coach is someone who stands on the sidelines during a game then you need to know more about Chieko Watanabe. She is a business and life coach.

"My job as a life coach," she said, " is to hold the vision for my clients... and what that means is I hold their end goal, their highest potential self and help them track towards it."

Chieko herself could have used this kind of coaching earlier in her life. She was born in Japan and came to the United States as a young girl, first living in Everett.

"At the time, Everett was very homogenous, so I was one of the few minority kids in my school," she said.

This bi-cultural environment and strict parents made for a very confusing and difficult life for her, so by her teenage years she had no decision making skills, and little life skills. Frustrated, she dropped out of high school and went out on her own.

“Do you know Victor?” I asked a man waiting for his drink at The Scoop on 32nd Northwest, his dog waiting outside.

“Everybody knows Victor,” he replied.

Why didn’t I know Victor?

I’ve heard of Victor for years, dating back to his 100th birthday, except that he was only turning 90. They couldn’t make the party a surprise so the surprise was adding 10 years to his life.

As his daughter Karen says, “Everyone knows Pop. Everyone always knew him in the neighborhood because he walked everywhere.”

Victor Manarolla is just 92 years old now. He is still plying the streets of Ballard but now he’s behind the wheel of a shiny silver Volkswagen bug instead of on foot.

Victor is a regular at the The Scoop. He calls it the coffee shop even though he always orders tea. He’s a retired barber after 50 years in the business. He does errands in Ballard, purchases books of poetry at Abraxus books. He loves poetry because every poem tells a story.

GreenGo Food
5402 20th Ave. N.W.
206-783-1402
http://greengofood.com/
Tues & Wed 11:00 - 7:00;
Thurs. & Fri. 11:00 - 9:00;
Sat. 11:00 - 7:00 (until May, then later)
Sun. 11:00 - 3:00, closed Monday

How can we not like a cute little non-chain establishment like this, where one can get a big ol' natural juicy burger, where the emphasis is on organic, local and sustainable foods, and where an advertising blitz means extra chalk writing on the sidewalk?

Indeed, GreenGo Food (a Japan- sounding business name if ever there was one) is all of things and more. And less. But mostly more.

Billing itself as "Fast food with a conscience in the heart of Ballard," GreenGo Food has been open since February in the spot most recently occupied by Patty Pan Grill, which has now moved their focus entirely to farmer's market fare.

At GreenGo, organic cheeseburgers ($8.5) rule the roost, along with a smallish menu dotted soup, a small salad, a few hot-non-sando items (like the cheesy Polenta Royale). But competing for top dog on the menu is something not even listed on the regular menu, which is the fried egg sandwich ($5).

Denny Field hosted a competative, but not too vicious, flag football competition Saturday, April 18 to promote positive interaction between at-risk youth, and also interaction between the kids and law enforcement.

More than 100 players, including 98 boys, and two girls, participated in the joint King County Police Athletic League, or PAL, and City of Seattle Late Night Teen Recreation Program. Teams represented included the Southwest (Community Center) Team from Chief Sealth High School, South Park Community Center, Victory Outreach Church in White Center, Kent High School and teen members of the Tulalip and Muckelshoot tribes.

"I wanted to see first hand how many kids came to interact in a positive way," said King County Sheriff Sue Rahr. "These teens get to know cops better and kid around and have fun with them. (Officers coached and served food to the teens.) Kids had the chance to relate to the cops and watch cops react in a non-power position. They will have a better relationship with law enforcement down the road. Plus, we are always interested in recruitment."

The 29th Annual Carkeek Park and Piper's Creek Watershed Earth Day celebration took place Saturday, April 18 and dozens of volunteers, including boy scouts, canvassed the park and nearby neighborhood for trash to pick up and watershed resident outreach.

They returned to tour the onsite King County Weather Treatment Plant and Pumping Station. Some kids released baby salmon into an "imprint" pond.

"Small fry salmon learn the taste and smell of the water in Piper's Creek and return in four years because they will then recognize their address here," said Bill Hagen, Carkeek Park Salmon team leader. "They're hatched at the Suquamish Tribe's Grovers Creek Salmon Hatchery. They stay here for 10 days and then go off into Piper's Creek. "

Area environmentalist and activist Nancy Malmgren organized the event.

Said Hagen, "The Malmgrens created this whole hatchery system."

Contact Nancy Malmgren for more information: (206) 363-4116.