November 2010

Press Release:
Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D. and the Seattle Council PTSA invite parents, guardians and family members to attend a regional meeting to discuss School Reports, which along with the second annual District Scorecard will be released on November 9. The West Seattle meeting will take place Dec. 9 at West Seattle High School.

School Reports will provide detailed information on how each school is performing and the progress being made. Factors include academic growth and student outcomes; student/family engagement; and school leadership, instruction and environment. The reports also provide an overview of what each school, with district support, is doing to increase academic performance and close the achievement gap.
Publication of School Reports means that the district is taking another step towards delivering on a promise made to the community as part of the strategic plan – to be transparent about and accountable for school and Districtwide achievement.

Press release

West Seattle Democratic Women hosts "Iron Jawed Angels" at the Admiral Theater

CELEBRATING THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE IN WASHINGTON STATE

On Sunday, November 7th from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M WSDW will present "Iron Jawed Angels" at the Admiral Theatre. "Iron Jawed Angels" was directed by Katja von Garnier, starred Hillary Swank and Angelica Houston and tells the story about a group of fiery young suffragettes who banded together from 1912 to 1920 to wheedle the United States into adapting a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. There will be a discussion afterwards of the movie.

Tickets are $10.00 and can be bought at the door the day of the , through the WSDW or through Brown Paper Tickets

Press Release:

A contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will partially close the intersection of Airport Way South and Sixth Avenue South this weekend, weather permitting, to reconstruct a portion of the roadway. This work was scheduled for last weekend but was cancelled due to unfavorable weather. The crews plan to begin 7 a.m. Saturday, November 6 and complete work by 4 p.m. Sunday, November 7. Traffic detours and restrictions are as follows:

Southbound lanes on Airport Way South will be closed between South Dearborn Avenue and Maynard Avenue South from 7 a.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday. One lane northbound will remain open.

Sixth Avenue South will be closed at South Royal Brougham Way to general purpose traffic from 7 a.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday. Local access maintained between Airport Way South and South Royal Brougham Way.

The 2nd Annual Chief Sealth Seahawk Spirit Dinner & Auction is being held Thursday, Nov. 18 in the Chief Sealth Galleria on campus. It is presented by Chief Sealth PTSA, Friends of Sealth, and Chief Sealth Performing Arts, and will benefit the Students of Chief Sealth International High School.

Chief Sealth International High School is located at 2600 SW Thistle Street in West Seattle.

Program:

• 4:30 p.m. Student Guided Tours of the Remodeled Facility
• 5:30 p.m. Doors Open for Silent Auction, Appetizers and Beverages
• 7:00 p.m. Buffet Dinner
• 7:30 p.m. Dessert Dash and Program
• 8:00 p.m. Live Auction Raise the Paddle for Funded Items in support of Academics, Arts, Athletics and Activities at CSIHS

  Special Presentation of Chief Sealth International High School Community Partner Award
  The Friends of Sealth
  Our Latino Community Partners.

Tickets:
$35 for CSIHS Staff; $45 Individual; $75 Patron; $360 Table for 8

1:48 a.m. Oct. 31, 300 Block of N. 36th St.

Police found themselves in hot pursuit of a man dressed as a dog early Halloween morning after an officer was flagged down in Fremont and told, "This guy just assaulted my friend. He went that way."

After following a chain of witnesses southbound on Phinney Avenue North, police found the suspect in a brown dog costume. His speech was slurred, his eyes were red and watery, and he seemed very intoxicated, according to the police report.

Fido told officers that a man had cut in front of him in the line to get into LTD Bar & Grill, called his girlfriend fat and threw a pitcher of beer on him. After those offenses, Fido punched the other man. The suspect agreed with police that it was strange for the man to have a pitcher of beer to throw while waiting in line to get into the bar.

The victim of the paw to the face, who had blood coming out of his nose and a possible jaw fracture, told police the fight happened inside the bar. Other witnesses confirmed that fact.

Though Ballard's trio of Democratic representatives to the state legislature were all reelected easily, celebrations were kept in check as concerns over what the rest of the results from the Nov. 2 election mean for the 36th District replaced the thrill of victory.

State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, though happy to be reelected in such a great district, said her win was bittersweet because she knows the initiative results coupled with a $4.7 billion deficit will force severe cuts in services while leaving the legislature without the tools to deal with them.

State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles said she is not feeling too good about the election results overall and is worried about the brutal cuts that are coming to state services.

"I'm very concerned about the effect on the low-income, the elderly and people with disabilities," she said.

Dickerson said she is disappointed Initiative 1053, which requires a two-third majority in the legislature to raise taxes, passed. It takes away the state's ability to deal with the current financial crisis, she said.

Frank Chopp, Speaker of the Washington House, recently suggested that the continued financial “crisis” that we are facing will require the State to re-examine what the State can, and cannot, do for the citizens and called this a “Reset.” The “Seattle Times” has also used this term when discussing the recent election.

We have just voted on several tax measures and the results are pretty clear that the voters have indicated that they are not presently interested in raising their taxes. Why is this the case? I would like to suggest that we may have discovered that the government isn’t always the most effective way to address problems in the State.

I would like to suggest that there are at least two reasons for this government ineffectiveness. We soon allow “mission creep” to enter into the best of intentions, and we find that there are “compassionate reasons” to redefine the objectives that we wish to accomplish.

Photographer Kurt Howard captured these images of Todd Beamer's 0-1 loss to Tahoma on November 3.

SLIDESHOW: CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO PLAY SLIDESHOW.

Eighteen people are seeking Kathy Keene's seat on the Burien City Council.

Keene has submitted her resignation because she will be retiring in Florida. She has also served as a Water District 20 commissioner.

When she announced her resignation, she suggested that her council colleagues consider someone from the newly annexed north Burien area to replace her.

Each council member ranks the candidates and five finalists will be chosen. They will be interviewed prior to council meetings.

Lawmakers are planning to name the top candidate at their Dec. 6 regular meeting. They will formally vote on the candidate at the Jan. 3 meeting and swear him or her in that night.

Keene resignation is effective Dec. 31.

The new lawmaker will fill out the one year left on Keene's term and will have to successfully run for election in November 2011 to retain the seat.

The applicants are:

• John "Jeb" Binns-Highline High soccer coach
• Len Boscarine-Burien Planning Commission member
• Duane D. Camerota-Doug's Garden Patch owner
• Ed Dacy-Burien Parks board vice chairman

The Electric Train Shop, a Junction staple for hobbyists and children’s imaginations for 12 years, faces an uncertain future with news that the liquor store sharing its building will be moving out in spring of 2011.

“The trains are stalled in the station waiting to find out what happens to the track,” Electric Train Shop owner Scott Law said of his predicament.

After nearly 20 years at its Junction location, the current ten-year lease for the liquor store ends on March 30, 2011, according to building landlord Mark Braseth.

Since the liquor store is on the move, possibly to Jefferson Square according to Braseth, the future of the Electric Train Shop hangs in the balance of the open market.

Braseth has a “For Lease” sign up advertising that the entire space (including Law’s store) is available, so it is possible that Electric Train will be forced to move out if a new tenant wants the whole building, Law said.

The other possibility, if a new tenant does not need the entire building, is that Law’s space gets reconfigured to create more storefront space for the incoming tenant, Braseth said.