November 2010

Of the 5,000 full time students at South Seattle Community College, hundreds, maybe more, are Muslim, adhere to Islamic dietary law, and consume only halal food. "Halal" means legal, or permitted, in Arabic. The halal menu has some similarities to "kashrut" or kosher food which means "fit" for consumption in Jewish dietary law.

The campus cafeteria includes two restaurants, a food court and bakery, but does not offer halal food. Muslim students must brown-bag it, dine off-campus, or select from limited options such as fruit, tuna, and snack foods.

"Enough!" say some students, both Muslim and non-Muslim, who believe it is unjust to accept a menu of foods that are "haraam" or forbidden, to their religious beliefs and will soon circulate a petition to collect signatures to present to faculty for SSCC to offer a halal menu option. Like kosher beef, halal beef must be slaughtered and bled in a specific way, and no pork, including gelatin from pig skin is allowed. That means no Rice Krispees Cereal or smores (marshmallows.) In addition, alcohol to drink and to cook with is taboo.

White Center Kiwanis Holiday Nut Sale
On Sale while nut supplies last - sometimes that’s Valentine Day. $20 for 3 lbs. of Gourmet Mixed Nuts or 2.25 lbs. of Chocolate Covered Nuts & Raisins. Proceeds support the White Center Food Bank, SW Boys & Girls Club, and other local groups. To place an order, please call Bill Tracy at 248-2441.

West Seattle Senior Center Needs Volunteers
4217 S.W. Oregon St.
Make a difference by getting involved! Rewarding volunteer opportunities available: kitchen assistant, cafe assistant, and Stop ‘N Shop assistant. Call Margie, Volunteer Coordinator - 206-932-4044 or email at margiew@seniorservices.org.

Arts and Crafts Fair
John F. Kennedy Catholic H.S.
140 S. 140th St.
Saturday, Dec. 4th, 9-4 p.m. Holiday gifts, bake sale, espresso, cafe, student art demo. Free admission.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly
Guadaloupe Church-Pastoral Care Center
7000 35th Ave. S.W.
Every Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. TOPS is an encouraging weight loss support group with weigh-ins every Tuesday. For information contact Peg at 206-932-2621.

GriefShare Class

In a love story from the north gone awry, on Nov. 16 around 1:45 p.m. a man heard a knock at the door at his home on the 4600 block of n.e. 103 St. The woman at the door told him she was hopelessly lost trying to figure out how to catch a bus to Northgate. The male told her where the nearest bus stop was and she asked if he could tell her when the next bus would arrive. Doing the neighborly thing, the man invited her in and went online to check the schedule. The woman thanked him for his time and asked for his phone number so they could “hook up” sometime. About 30 minutes later she gave him a call and said she was on the bus headed to Northgate Mall and that he should meet her there. He hopped in his car and sped to the mall, but could not find the woman anywhere. Instead, he ran into a friend and told him what had happened. His friend responded, “Dude, she’s probably robbing you right now.” They both took off back to his house and, sure enough, his house had been burglarized. He tried to call the phone number from which the woman had called and it rang as inactive.

In harsh contrast to the December, 2008 Seattle snow storm that not only blanketed West Seattle but seemed to place a pillow over the head of Alki residents, "snow preparedness" is the mantra this winter at METRO, SDOT, and the Office of Emergency Management. The complaints that stormed in by stranded citizens got so much traction that the low-salt diet of roads in winters past has been eliminated. Salt brine, granulated salt, and other salt products are now on the table.

"Salt is not as crucial as an environmental concern as we had thought," said Marybeth Turner of the Seattle Department of Transportation. "We've found the sand we used was more of an environmental concern. The city has 30 trucks to be used as snow plows, but they are not dedicated plows. These trucks are used for other things. When snow is forecast we mount plows on trucks.

Press Release:
With a winter weather advisory calling for snow throughout the day, Mayor Mike McGinn activated Seattle’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) this morning. The EOC will remain open as needed to monitor weather conditions and provide support and coordination with city departments.

The winter weather advisory is calling for unusually strong winds, with sustained winds at 25 mph, and gusts up to 40 mph. Temperatures are expected to remain at or below freezing all day. Snow flurries will continue this morning with snow at times this afternoon and early evening.

The Seattle Public Schools have announced that due to concern about weather conditions they are dismissing all middle and high schools in the district at 12:35 pm. today.

As posted on their website:

Monday, Nov. 22 - Middle and High Schools will Dismiss Early at 12:35 p.m.
Today middle and high schools will start at the regular time, but will dismiss early at 12:35 p.m. This is because snow is expected later in the afternoon. Seattle School District has canceled all activities after 12:35 p.m., including parent-teacher conferences at elementary and K-8 schools.

West Seattle Montessori is also closing early today.
As posted on their website:

West Seattle Montessori and West Seattle Academy will dismiss early today due to the snow.

Middle School Dismissals: 11:30am

Preschool-Fourth Grade Dismissals: 12pm

There will be no after-school care today.

When I first met writer/humorist David Volk in 2006 he was a man still obsessed with his mailbox at the Ballard Post Office. When he moved west in 1988, his Ballard mailbox was his first address. The mailing address used to be essential for business for the freelancer, enabling editors to return rejected manuscripts with envelopes and postage that he had provided for their abuse, but also for the occasional royalty payment.

At various stages of his professional life David has been a travel, coffee and humor writer. Now, he’s the author of “The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle” which combines all of the above plus much more.
It’s worth noting that the title isn’t his invention. He was hired by Globe Pequot Press to write the Seattle edition of an ongoing series. Although it might not have been what he’d call himself, David soon realized a self-employed writer like himself was born to be Seattle’s representative cheap bastard. However, he doesn’t like to use the word in front his young children, so Daddy has to work on his B-A-S-T-A-R-D project, then we can go to the park.

More than 5,000 people started off the holiday season in Scandinavian fashion this weekend at the Nordic Heritage Museum’s Yulefest.

The annual Scandinavian Christmas festival has been an organized event in Ballard for nearly thirty year and included dance and musical performances, hundreds of hand-crafted gifts and traditional Nordic cuisine.

Jolie Bergman started volunteering at Yulefest as a 14-year-old in 1994 and has been involved ever since.

“Yulefest is a great thing to maintain as it opens minds and taste buds to Nordic culture,” Bergman said.

Holiday revelers could indulge in the round Danish pancakes called Aebleskiver in one room, watch Finnish dancing in another, and listen to a Swedish accordion duo while drinking Glogg or Nordic beer in the Bodega.

Bergman said that this Yulefest is the largest festival in the Northwest which highlights all the Nordic countries.

“Music, food and dance are the entry points of an ethnicity,” said Ralph Koschi, a dancer who performed Finnish folk dance at the festival.

“So maintaining a tradition like Yulefest to showcase these dances and cuisine is huge," he said.

All buses in King County are now on reroute according to the King County Metro website.

CLICK THE MAP TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM AROUND WEST SEATTLE

Due to the potential for more snow during the Monday afternoon and evening commute, King County Metro Transit is keeping buses in all areas on snow routes.

Based on information from the National Weather Service, additional snowfall is expected in King County for the next several hours. Buses will continue to be chained and on snow routes. When the storm passes this evening, Metro will evaluate road conditions and make a decision about bus service for Tuesday morning.

Bus riders should check www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow for the most current status of Metro service before traveling on Monday.

Metro has these tips for winter bus travel:

Know the snow routing for your bus route. Check the timetables at www.kingcounty.gov/metro for snow route maps for each route. Not every bus route has snow routing, but most do. Two routes – 38 and 45 – don’t operate in these conditions. Special bus service between downtown and First Hill, the Route 90, is operating on Monday.

The Des Moines City Council was handed a petition Nov. 18 with over 4,000 signatures signed by people in 43 different countries calling for police accountability in the shooting of the two-year-old Newfoundland dog, Rosie.

"I know Des Moines feels they are under a microscope on this issue and quite frankly you are," Newfoundland Club of Seattle President Richard Jack said.

This was the first council meeting since Rosie was killed by police officers, giving people their first opportunity to officially address the council.

"This gives Des Moines a great opportunity to rise beyond this tragic occasion, which is all too common across America. You have the power, the motivation, and the opportunity to set an example for every small city that expects law enforcement officers to perform animal control responsibilities," Jack said.

Des Moines Animal Control was called on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 7, to capture a loose dog on 16th Avenue South and South 262nd Street. Rosie had escaped owners Deirdre and Chuck Wright's yard.

Des Moines lone animal control officer Jan Magnuson was not on duty at the time, so regular police officers were dispatched to the call.