September 2009

Federal Way girls soccer used to shine. Making it to the postseason was a given in the 1990s and early to mid 2000s, including a 4A state championship even back into the mid-80s (1986), as well as the early 90s (‘91, ‘92) and playoff appearances numerously when they weren’t winning state championships.

But lately, that last 3 to 4 years, it’s not been so good to be an Eagle in girls' soccer.
“I have been here since my freshman year,” said Molly Campbell, a senior and one of three Eagles captains this season. “Every year, my junior, sophomore, and freshman years, we have lost the game before districts (making the playoffs).”

So it’s gone for the Eagles.
Hopefully, that’s gone, a memory. The Eagles will now be on the move in a new direction, one of up and up.
And now in comes a new coach that might be a good upper, one who is fired up and ready to lead these girls back to the promised playoff land that was theirs for the taking year in and year out for so many years of what seems so long ago now. The one is Adam Ladage, the Eagles’ new head coach.

Couple argues over wife’s gambling problem
1. Federal Way police arrived at the scene of a domestic dispute that became heated. The incident took place at a residence on the 31300 block of 13th Avenue South. According to the report, Andres and Wendy Pantoja are in a relationship, and the two began to argue around 2:30 a.m. on the morning of September 1. The argument became heated, but did not turn physical, the couple told police. The report states that the Pantojas were arguing because of Wendy’s gambling problem. Both parties stated nothing physical occurred and neither showed any signs of injury nor did they complain of any pain or injury. There is no additional information listed in the report.

Vandals light fireworks on windshield, causing damage

If you have been a Federal Way resident for more than a decade, you have probably been in Joe Asahara’s store.

The Oriental Garden Center has been on the corner of 306th and Pacific Highway South since Joe and his brother-in-law first opened the front door for business in 1960.

If you needed any landscaping plants or the tools to do it, the Oriental Garden Center was the only place in town.

Joe is 83 now, but he shows few signs of slowing down.

“Old Customers come in, the first thing they say, ‘You’re still here!’” Joe laughs, but he admits that the garden supply business has been challenging. “We just finished up our anniversary sale last month, we did pretty good, but with the economy...the nursery has been trailing down.”

Competition from the box stores in town is another reason, Joe says, but along with his son David and daughter Joan, they were able to diversify and begin carrying brand name maintenance equipment like Honda mowers, Shindaiwa trimmers and Stihl chainsaws.

“My son David, he runs the repair shop too.”

My recent article on how to survive Middle School has prompted several responses from both students and parents.
Just today I was visiting a friend who has a 7th grader. He was busy in his room with his computer. When I asked the child his favorite website, he responded, “My-Space.”
This is a perfect example of how not to succeed in middle school, in his room on My-Space!
I cannot imagine that hours spent on this site will produce any increase in the knowledge base of this child.
On my way to this visit I happened to be in one of our public libraries, and decided to stroll by the banks of computers to see what was being viewed.
Among the children using them there were not many, perhaps any, who appeared be on sites that one could have called “research,” but games were very popular.

At first I thought, that’s a big dog,” Barbara Barney admitted. Her surprised response mimics what other urban-dwellers have said when they’ve encountered wildlife in the city limits of Federal Way.
“But then I realized,” she said, “that’s a coyote.”
“I can’t believe there are coyotes right here in Steel Lake,” Barney said.
Yes, it’s true. These predators and scavengers, known more for living in the dry, open areas of the undeveloped west, seem to enjoy taking up residence in our greenbelts and forested parks.
The first-time encounter always surprises people who didn’t know these opportunistic feeders make a pretty good living in our city, feasting on rats, mice, rabbits, blackberries, as well as the occasional small pet.
In fact, the further one ventures out into the natural areas of Federal Way, the easier it is to hear and spot them. Just stand along South 348th Street near the West Hylebos Wetlands Park and listen to the coyotes howl back at the sirens of passing fire engines and police cars.

After hearing public comment from meetings on the Kitsap Peninsula, in the San Juan Islands and on Vashon Island, the Washington State Transportation Commission decided today at the Puget Sound Regional Council to increase fares on state ferries, including the Fauntleroy Ferry.

View the proposal here. A proposal for a 10 percent summer surcharge that would be charged for the months of July and August was rejected.

New fares and policies go into effect Oct. 11. The commission is designated as the state tolling authority and sets all state highway and bridge tolls, as well as setting fares for Washington State Ferries.

The proposal includes these elements:

- Applying a 2.5 percent across-the-board general fare increase.

- Making the in-need organization discount permanent (now a pilot program).

- Allowing Washington State Ferries to collect between 25 to 100 percent of the applicable fare as a non-refundable deposit for advance vehicle reservations on routes with a reservation system. This would be a pre-payment of a portion of or the entire fare and is not an additional fee.

King County Sheriff's detectives are looking for the man who robbed a Chase Bank Friday, Sept. 4, who they are calling "low key."

According to the sheriff's office, the man was so low key, other employees and customers didn’t know the bank was robbed until the teller called 911.

The robber came into the bank, located at 1616 S.W. 100th St. in White Center at about 2:30 p.m. He walked up to a teller and said he wanted to make “a withdrawal." The teller said he would need a withdrawal slip and directed him to the forms table.

The man went to the table and appeared to be filling out the slip. The suspect got back in line and eventually made his way to the original teller. This time he leaned into the teller’s window, and said in a deep, soft voice that this was a robbery, according to the sheriff's office.

The man was given cash and he quietly left the bank. No gun was seen and there was no note.

The robber is a black male about 45 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 175 lbs. He had a mustache and goatee and wore jeans, a brown fleece-type zippered coat and a brown fabric hat with a short bill.

As the clouds and the rain return, and our neighborhood streets are suddenly devoid of teenagers, it can mean only one thing – the fall high school sports season is upon us.

This fall, the Ballard High School teams have a lot to prove, both to themselves and to the league.

Out of the gate first was the Ballard football team under second-year coach John Bowers. The Beavers opened their season with a 38-0 loss to Liberty High School on Sept. 4.

Despite the final score, Bowers said he saw a lot of positives, especially work ethic, during the game from a team that was outscored by 200 points last season on the way to a 1-8 record.

Bowers said the goal for the team this year is to play hard, play better and get respect.

The Beaver's schedule isn't going to make that easy for them. Liberty was the fourth-ranked team in the state and a matchup against Skyline, the eighth-ranked team in the nation, is looming on Thursday.

"I might have to talk to the schedule maker," Bowers said.

The Woodland Park Zoo is once again organizing for its annual Fall Fecal Fest, when garden enthusiasts and Zoo Doo loyalists, get ready to enter a drawing to purchase the highly coveted Zoo Doo.

The piles of waste make up the richest, highly aromatic, most exotic compost in the Pacific Northwest, according to a release from the zoo. This year, the zoo has less Zoo Doo to go around, making the lottery more competitive.
 
Also available is Bedspread, a composted mulch made from the manures and bedding of the zoo’s non-primate herbivores.

Bedspread is like Zoo Doo but contains higher amounts of wood chips and sawdust. It is excellent fertile mulch for perennial beds and woody landscapes, such as native gardens, rose beds, shrubs, tree rings or pathways, and is a good mulch and soil builder for Northwest gardens.
 
The zoo is accepting entry cards for Zoo Doo or Bedspread from Sept. 11 through Sept. 25 only. Entry cards will be randomly selected according to supply and demand. The zoo will contact the drawn entries only.

The Fecal Fest traditionally sells out.
 

Currently, the tax-credit statute requires buyers to fully close on their purchases no later than Nov. 30. The whole process of negotiating offers, signing sales contracts, applying for a loan and completing the closing can easily extend for two months or more.

Given the rapidly approaching deadline, what's the likelihood that Congress will allow at least a little extra time? Will the tax credit be extended for another six to 12 months, continuing to stimulate the housing market recovery and economy?

This year, the two biggest housing trade groups: the 1.2 million-member National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders, are spending the month mounting unusually intense grass-roots lobbying campaigns to make the case for extending the credit, and maybe even expanding it.

According to economists at the National Association of Realtors, anywhere from 300,000 to 350,000 additional sales of houses nationwide will be stimulated this year by the credit. Each home sale generates approximately $63,000 in downstream ripple effects elsewhere in the economy.