October 2009

The reconstruction of 16th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Findlay and Southwest Brandon streets is now substantially complete.

Crews working for the Seattle Department of Transportation rebuilt and slightly widened the road; made drainage improvements including a new storm drain and street drain inlets; repaved the walkway on the west side of the street; and rebuilt the concrete driveways.

They plan to finish striping along the roadway by mid month, according to the transportation department.

Repairing the 5400 block of 16th Avenue Southwest, at north end of South Seattle Community College, took about eight weeks and wrapped up on-schedule and on-budget. This project is part of the Bridging the Gap transportation levy approved by Seattle voters in November 2006.

Gov. Christine Gregoire will visit the Nordic Heritage Museum this Thursday, Oct. 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. to hear the museum's plans for its new facility to be located on Northwest Market Street.

Guests have been invited to learn about the cultural resources of the museum and its plans to sculpt a new international destination for Nordic culture. The afternoon will include presentations and a visit to the future site of the museum.

The museum shares Nordic and Nordic American culture through a range of educational, cultural, and artistic programs and exhibits.

Please contact Karen Hansen at (206) 789-5707 x25 for more information.

The Nordic Heritage Museum is located at 3014 N.W. 67th St.

TJ 5, Decatur 0

Thomas Jefferson remained undefeated with the Monday, Oct. 5 victory, running its South Puget Sound League Central Division record to 9-0 while knocking the Gators to 1-8.

Branden Muraki of the Raiders won the No. 1 singles match, 6-0, 6-0, over Matt Crayhan and James Lee defeated Josh Park, 6-0, 6-0 in No. 2 singles.

TJ's Joe Lee and Kainoa Rosa won the No. 1 doubles match, 6-0, 6-1, over Abishek Murali and Devin Murphy and the Raiders tandem of Makoa Rosa and Kyle Creek won No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 6-1, over Alex Eddy and Harry Choi.

The No. 3 doubles match had Brandyn Gomez and Sam Kim teamming up for a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Ryan Westerdahl and Darrel Belvin.

The West Seattle Junction Association is seeking a locally based photographer to provide stock, event and promotional photos.

The scope of work would include shots of Junction murals, event photos (Art Walk and Hometown Holidays), and action photos of people enjoying Junction shops, restaurants, entertainment and services.

Other work may be assigned to coordinate visuals with the soon-to-be-launched West Seattle Junction Association blog and Web site.

The position is funded through December 2009.

To apply, submit a letter of interest; standard fee schedule; three professional references; and, 10 jpeg images that show the range of your work to susan@wsjunction.org.

Deadline for applications is Oct. 12 by 5 p.m.

This week, Seattle Department of Transportation paving crews plan to start repairing part of a sidewalk on the western side of California Avenue Southwest between Southwest Hanford and Southwest Hinds streets that has been damaged by tree roots.

They plan to begin work on Thursday, Oct. 8 and expect to complete the work in approximately one week.

The parking lane in the construction area will be closed while they are working, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, and will be used for a pedestrian walkway at other times.

The Federal Way Arts Commission selected 19 artists and 35 pieces of art for the 17th Annual Arts Alive Juried Art Exhibit on display now at City Hall through Jan. 5, 2010.

The pieces range from watercolors and oils to mixed media.

The display is free and open to the public on the second floor of City Hall, 33325 8th Ave. S., Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

An independent jury selected Mari Zaffuto’s watercolor of “Illusion” for the Juror’s Choice Award.

Zaffuto, an Auburn resident, won $200 and the opportunity to display her art next year as a one-person exhibit in Federal Way City Hall.

The Commission’s Choice award is worth $150 and will be announced next week.

The public is invited to a reception for the artists at 6 p.m. on Oct. 20 at City Hall. Both the Juror's Choice and the Commission's Choice will be presented at the City Council meeting immediately following the reception at 7 p.m.

The public also is invited to vote for the People’s Choice award by selecting an artwork of their choice and filling out a ballot on site. The People’s Choice Award winner will receive $100. Voting will be available through Nov. 28.

My generation, identified as "The Greatest Generation," has lived through the best of times and worst of times; gone to bed hungry when food was scarce, wore hand-me-down clothes because money to buy new clothes was nonexistent, struggled to find jobs, helped neighbors, and only dreamed of a college education and music lessons.

We fought a world war to protect freedom and did it with camaraderie of faith, hope and charity in line with a then popular song titled, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition."

Respecting others was not by choice of, "Yes I will or No I won't," depending upon our mood, it was a required behavior learned early on.

Killing was not an action learned easily for this gentle generation and one wonders how they could fight, kill enemies in war, and maintain integrity of human kindness and love.

That folks, is a cherished mannerism of life.

Maybe it's because, Captain Earl Cole, my twin brother, will celebrate his 80th birthday Oct. 10th that my thoughts drift to when he was just 14 years old and serving as a deckhand on a military ship in the South Pacific Ocean during World War II.

The Ballard High School volleyball team lost 3-1 to Issaquah Oct. 5. It was the team's fourth loss in a row.

Issaquah (4-1 conference, 4-4 overall) took the first two games of the match easily, winning both by a score of 25-15.

The Beavers showed some life late in the match, winning the third game 25-22 and making things difficult for Issaquah in a 29-27 loss in the final game.

Lisa Day led Ballard (1-4 conference, 3-4 overall) with 22 kills and 10 digs.

The Beavers take on Newport (3-1 conference, 6-1 overall) at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Ballard High School.

The planned Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement was the hot topic at the Oct. 5 candidate forum sponsored by the Ballard and Magnolia/Queen Anne neighborhood councils.

All eight city council candidates as well as the two mayoral candidates were on hand to answer questions posed by the neighborhood councils and the 50 or so residents in attendance.

The evening started with the council candidates – Robert Rosencrantz, Mike O'Brien, Nick Licata, Jessie Israel, David Bloom, Sally Bagshaw, David Ginsberg and Richard Conlin – answering questions about the plan for a deep bore tunnel to replace the viaduct.

Mike O'Brien was the lone council candidate who voiced opposition to the tunnel plan, though the rest of the candidates agreed the plan needs work due in part to a lack of access from northwest Seattle and downtown.

O'Brien, running against Rosencrantz, said the city's goal should be to invest in freight and transit mobility, not build more highways.

"It doesn't meet our transportation needs," he said. "It certainly doesn't meet our transportation needs in this community."

(Editor's Note: This is the third and final column in a series entitled "Why Are You Running When You Haven't Learned to Walk?")

If I haven't been taught to use my multifidus, pelvic floor and transverse abdominal muscles in concert with each other and my hip flexors are tight from all the running I've been told is good for me, my low back is pulled into hyper-lordosis.

Perhaps my hamstrings are tight because I don't like to do the flexibility part of the wellness equation.

They may well be taut and don't need stretching at all, but strengthening.

If they're tight, my lumbar spine is also being flexed. If they're taut, my lumbar spine may be too extended.

Sometimes one side of the lumbar spine sports an anterior tilt while the other side is pulled posteriorly. The pelvis is also often rotated as well.

Women usually have little or no glute development and often run with a side-to- side shift or swing.

Is it any wonder orthopedic surgeons are seeing us in record numbers?

There is stress on the spine when walking, but not nearly as much. You can still incur chronic injuries from walking with a crooked spine, so beware.