February 2010

Bob Estep takes on life one step at a time

When you get older stairs can be a problem. But not for Bob Estep. At the age of 78 Estep is incredibly active, walking every day and working out at the YMCA most days. In the last few weeks he decided to walk all the stairs in West Seattle. He was inspired by a report he heard of someone who had done this in Queen Anne neighborhood and since he is in such great physical shape, he thought he'd take on the same challenge here.

If you doubt for a minute whether a 78 year old can do this you should know that he also rides one mile for every year of his life on or around his birthday. That's right,

Table 35 at 4752 California Ave SW has added some special entertainment to it's schedule.
Tue and Wed eve - Solo Sax and Accoustic Guitar.
Thur, Fri, Sat and Sun - Piano and Trumpet.
March 14 - 6.00 pm Opera Show
March 18 - 7.00pm Wine Maker Dinner by Goose Ridge wines:
Five course meal paired with five delicious wines - $50 per person + tax & gratuity

Whistle Workwear is now open and having a grand opening sale. The store is located at 3408 1st Avenue South. It carries many famous brands of work clothing like Carhartt (with the largest selection in Puget Sound), and joins the six other Whistle Workwear stores in Western Washington.

The Tully's at Fauntleroy and California in the Morgan Junction is scheduled to close March 28.

If you've been looking for one place to find all kinds of work related clothing, Whistle Workwear has now opened at 3408 1st Avenue South. The store carries many famous brands of work clothing like Carhartt (with the largest selection in Puget Sound), and joins the six other Whistle Workwear stores in Western Washington. One focus of the company is on boots including Danner, Wolverine, Timberland, Merrell, and Georgia Boot.
Also featured in the store is safety gear like Surveyor's vests, safety glasses and hardhats.
Their grand opening sale is on now through March 7.

Whose governor are you?
We should all take note of the fact that the Governor of the State of Washington has at every opportunity to cut spending and forestall tax increases, failed in her responsibilities. She always places her cronies and pet people projects above the will and good of the rest of our state’s people. She panders to the Democratic bastions in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. It is obvious that the rest of the state doesn’t count, the votes aren’t there. When we look at the cities and counties with the biggest financial problems we find that they are Democrat controlled and also have the highest taxes on their citizens. The idea that government can do all for everyone is finally falling apart. We see now, as many conservative leaders have said, fiscal balance and restraint are a necessary part of all government.

A closer look at our state’s entitlement programs from the top down show that fiscal restraint could have made a huge difference in today’s economy.

My name is Kirk Prindle, and I am writing because I am running for the King
Conservation District Board of Supervisors and I want to ensure that you
help to spread the word about the importance of turning out West Seattle
residents to vote in the election on March 16th.

The King Conservation District provides funds and direct assistance to
individuals, families and communities throughout King County to help with
all sorts of projects and programs related to conservation and
sustainability - from promotion of sustainable farming to assistance with
environmental restoration. See http://www.kingcd.org/.

As a passionate conservationist - and a passionate West Seattlelite - I want
to make sure our great community gets help from KCD when and where it
matters most. We have an amazing farmer's market that could use additional
support; we have a community enthusiastic about gardening and the value of
sustainable urban agriculture; and, of course, we have streams, forested
habitat, and our beautiful Puget Sound shoreline in need of additional
attention. I intend to represent the West Seattle community consistent with

I must admit, I was an adult before I tasted parsnips. When I finally tasted my first parsnip, I was amazed. I have been growing them in my garden ever since.

Below are some low-salt ways to introduce these wonderful vegetables to your family.

Winter Harvest Casserole

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 pound parsnips
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup half and half, or yoghurt thinned with milk
• 1 pound tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 ½ cups grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350°F. Slice parsnips into ¼ inch slices. If slices are really large, cut in half. Cook in a skillet with oil, thyme and sugar for about 5-7 minutes or until golden and softened.

Use a non-stick cooking spray to grease a small casserole or baking pan. Spread half the parsnips over the bottom of the dish. Put half the tomatoes in the next layer. Sprinkle with cheese. Add another layer of parsnips and tomatoes, then the rest of the cheese.

The Admiral Theater is holding a one night only screening of a documentary film called "Running the Sahara" on March 10 at 6:30 pm.
The film is produced and narrated by Matt Damon and is a story about 3 athletes who did something no one else had ever done or likely do again – literally run the equivalent of two marathons a day for 111 days to become the first modern runners to cross the Sahara Desert's grueling 4,000 miles.

Charlie Engle, Canadian Ray Zahab, and Kevin Lin, of Taiwan, ran the final stretch of their journey that took them through the Giza pyramids and Cairo to the mouth of Suez Canal on four hours of sleep. Once they hit the Red Sea, they put their hands in the water to signify crossing the finish line.

Engle will be on hand for the event to conduct a post screening Q&A. The price of admission also includes a copy of the DVD.

"We touched the water in Senegal at the beginning, and we touched the water in the Red Sea at the end. They were the bookends of our journey," Engle said on the telephone from a hotel room in Cairo.

South King Fire & Rescue is taking several steps to save energy and taxpayer dollars.

The fire department has received a grant totaling more than $37,000 for energy-efficiency upgrades from Puget Sound Energy to provide about 285,000 kilowatt hours of savings per year, translating to an estimated savings of nearly $23,000 annually.

The grant will pay for Green Energy Management to retrofit all the fluorescent lighting fixtures in seven of the department’s facilities.

The contractor will replace older oil filled ballast and bulb fixtures with more efficient electronic ballasts and energy efficient bulbs. South King Fire & Rescue will spend only $8,750 to upgrade the seven facilities on top of the grant.

“The payback on the project should be felt within the first year. It will save the department a considerable amount of money relating to energy expenses, while updating our lighting systems with a more energy-efficient product,” said Deputy Chief Mike Knorr. “It’s a great savings for our department and our citizens.”

With less than two weeks left in the current state legislative session, the 2010 budget is taking center stage.

The senate and the house of representatives released their supplemental operating budget proposals Feb. 23.

State legislators will spend the bulk of the rest of the session, which ends March 11, on passing the budget, 36th District Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles said.

The senate's proposal attempts to make up for the $2.6 billion revenue shortfall since the 2009 session with $1.1 billion in federal funds and fund transfers, Kohl-Welles said.

In addition, the proposal cuts services and public employee compensation by $838 million and raises $918 million in new revenue, she said.

Kohl-Welles said even if the senate's budget is passed as is, it would still bring the total to $5 billion in cuts, the most in state history, with only $918 million in new revenue over a two-year period.

"These cuts have a major impact on our students in our public schools and colleges and those in need of essential services," she said.

Federal Way celebrated its 20th birthday Friday night when hundreds gathered at City Hall for cupcakes and speeches.

Laird Thornton leads the Federal Way Chorale in "America The Beautiful" after Keith Eldridge (KOMO TV) introduced several dignataries including current city manager and police chief Brian Wilson, first mayor(s) Debra Ertel, Mary Gates, retired judge Bob Stead and current mayor Linda Kochmar.

A video from first city manager Brent McFall was followed by a visit from Senator Tracy Eide and former city manager David Moseley.