February 2011

Businesses along s.w. Avalon Way, commonly referred to as Luna Park, have been in conversation with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and King County Metro (KCM) officials since July of 2010 over the implementation of a RapidRide C bus line, scheduled for completion in 2012.

Tuesday, Feb. 2 was the latest meeting between concerned business owners and city officials. SDOT and Metro officials told business owners where the plan stands now: 15 parking spaces will be removed from Avalon Way’s east side (north of s.w. Bradford St.) to make room for a BAT (business access and transit) lane. After peak transit times (from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.) parking will be allowed in the area. In addition, a center turn lane will be added north of Bradford. South of Bradford to s.w. Yancy St. 15 parking spots along the east side of Avalon will be maintained.

That part of the plan, according to Paul Roybal with KCM, is set in stone.

Press Release:
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen will spend two upcoming Saturdays in the community at Seattle Public Library locations, listening to residents. These informal conversations are in response to the outpouring of Seattleites who attended similar gatherings last fall. All topics are on the table.

"I'm looking forward to visiting all areas of our City to speak with residents about their concerns and help answer their questions," said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. "I'd like to hear people's thoughts regarding transportation issues, as well as other topics relevant to Seattleites."

Councilmember Rasmussen will be available this Saturday at the High Point Branch of the Seattle Public Library.
Saturday, February 5, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
High Point Branch Library, 3411 S.W. Raymond St.

Press Release:
Starting Saturday, Feb. 5, King County Metro Transit is updating its bus service.

This includes routing and bus stop revisions for approximately two dozen routes.

Metro updates its routes and scheduling three times a year to improve service and keep up with the changing needs of transit customers.

Service revisions in downtown Seattle and SODO starting on Saturday are designed to keep people moving during long-term construction along the Seattle waterfront. Metro is diverting much of its downtown service away from First Avenue S and First Avenue between Edgar Martinez Dr S & Broad St.

Metro representatives are available at many downtown bus stops during the next several days to help bus riders with the changes.

Highlights for different areas of the county are below. In almost all areas, some bus trips are being cut and schedule revisions made in order to achieve cost savings.

An open house for the No Boundaries exhibition "Metamorphosis" will be held
Thursday, Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m., at Normandy Park City Council chambers, 801 S.W. 174th St.
The celebration includes conversations with some of the artists and refreshments.
The traveling arts exhibition, which showcases artwork of established and emerging artists with disabilities, is on display in the council chambers through Feb. 28.
The exhibition is sponsored locally by the City of Normandy Park Arts Commission with a financial contribution by commission member Robert Frey.
Open house planners are asking those that plan to attend the event to reserve a spot by calling 206-248-8248 or by logging on to artscomm@ci.normandy-park.wa.us.

An open house for the No Boundaries exhibition "Metamorphosis" will be held
Thursday, Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m., at Normandy Park City Council chambers, 801 S.W. 174th St.
The celebration includes conversations with some of the artists and refreshments.
The traveling arts exhibition, which showcases artwork of established and emerging artists with disabilities, is on display in the council chambers through Feb. 28.
The exhibition is sponsored locally by the City of Normandy Park Arts Commission with a financial contribution by commission member Robert Frey.
Open house planners are asking those that plan to attend the event to reserve a spot by calling 206-248-8248 or by logging on to artscomm@ci.normandy-park.wa.us.

Press Release:
Robert Glennon, author of the New York Times bestseller “Unquenchable” and a University of Arizona Professor of Law and Public Policy, will be among the featured speakers during World Water Week, presented by Chief Sealth International High School students at the school March 21-25.

Congressman Jay Inslee will introduce the festival, which will include a dedication by representatives of the Duwamish Tribe. Famed global water activist Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau, will deliver a pre-recorded video message for the audience.

The weeklong event will include lectures and workshops promoting local conservation and global action related to global water awareness, starting with Glennon’s free public lecture in the Chief Sealth auditorium on Monday and culminating in a school-wide service project on Friday.

The World Water Week schedule includes: 

How many times have I expounded about the animal kingdom of which we humans are all a part. Not only am I allergic to many, but I have rigid opinions about our relationship to what we sometimes term as the lower animals. In ancient China dogs were highly trained and over time dogs have served not only as pets but as work dogs to herd sheep or even to follow the trail of a killer. As city environments developed, small dogs or cats that could fit easily into a little apartment became people companions. When I insist that pets are owned and not allowed to live with animals of their own kind, I am told, “My cat owns me.” Yeah right. When I see a poodle in the purse of a human being I joke about having a surgeon make my bulging stomach skin into a pouch for a poodle. Just kidding of course.

By Katy Westlund, UW News Lab Student

The Ballard High School gymnastics team has been performing a balancing act, and not just on the beam.

Health issues and injuries have plagued the team in recent weeks. And the pressure is always on to improve overall team performance. With the upcoming Kingco championships scheduled at Ballard High School on Saturday, Feb. 5, the gymnasts know that they have things to work on, but the possibility of success is exciting.

“Every year we’ve gone a little bit farther and a little bit farther and each record that we set we’ve gotten really excited about,” said senior and co-captain Ashley Hart. “It’s been so genuine, and for us to go to state as a team would be the most amazing thing imaginable.”

Molly Barnes, another senior and co-captain, believes that the mood of the team has been a huge influence on their performance this year.

Yesterday Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell announced the launch of a new public engagement and customer service website called My.Seattle.Gov. The City invites the public to make it their new personalized home page as the website allows Seattle’s residents to create and customize their own unique homepage with a selection of widgets.

The website is intended to make it easier to receive information from the City and do business with the City. Users can add a widget to receive important crime stats for their neighborhood, have quick access to multiple news feeds, see what events are occurring in their community, and view Seattle Channel videos.

“Last Saturday we held an open house at City Hall to express our commitment to open effective government and to better connect the public with their government. Today we launch My.Seattle.Gov as the latest step in the process of making government more accessible through technology,” said Mayor Mike McGinn.

“This tool gives users the power to customize their experience of the services and information available through the City’s website.”

From his quiet Ballard apartment Ed Diaz is the mastermind of a Black History Conference in Seattle that draw presenters and attendees from across the United States (and a few other countries). For the better part of the last year he has been pulling together every detail of the February 5th conference originally created “to give local people information about local African-Americans.”

An independent historian, Diaz founded the Association for African American Historical Research in 2000 and has been putting on the conferences since 2004. Attorney Monique Law, a board member and one-time Keynote Speaker, says of Diaz. “He is an asset to the world in terms of preserving black history.”

Ed Diaz has a passion for the revealing and sharing the past, but over coffee at Blue Dog on 15th NW he will give away virtually nothing about himself, other than to claim, “I’m still a New Yorker” (despite having only visited on leave since adulthood). Born and raised in Haarlem; Diaz won’t reveal his age even to his closest friends or say how long he’s lived in Seattle since retiring from the U.S. Navy as Master Chief Petty Officer.