October 2011

Highline Medical Center Urgent Care opened in West Seattle on Monday, October 3 in the space adjacent to Highline Medical Group’s West Seattle Family Medicine in the Alaska Junction business district at 4744 41st Ave SW, Suite 101. It offers comprehensive urgent care services, including x-ray, and will be open on weeknights until nine and weekends until five.

Another office will open in Des Moines on Tuesday, November 1, adjacent to Des Moines Family Medicine on Marine View Drive.

Urgent care centers typically treat a variety of minor illnesses and injuries, from colds and flu to sprains and strains. Urgent care isn’t a replacement for your regular doctor. But if you don’t have a doctor, or yours isn’t available, and you want to be seen right away, it can be a great solution.

If it is a life-threatening emergency, remember you need to call 9-1-1 or get to the nearest ER. Highline’s state-of-the-art ER in Burien provides emergency services around the clock.

Seattle Police reports that on Saturday, October 1, at approximately 11:50 p.m. a couple was assaulted by eight or nine male suspects and their 1996 Acura Integra was taken.

The theft occurred at 7700 block of 34th Avenue NW and minutes later the suspect was seen racing the stolen vehicle on NW 80th Street.

At approximately 12:05 a.m. the suspect collided into a tree on the corner of 1st Avenue NW and NW 82nd Street. A witness saw a male suspect run from the crash scene and get into a white Lincoln 4-door sedan.

The Lincoln drove away and both the suspect vehicle (Lincoln) and the suspect(s) remain at large.

The stolen Acura Integra was recovered and taken to the evidence garage for processing and fingerprinting.

This remains an active and on-going investigation.

A worthwhile use of city vehicles
A real estate agent was walking down the 5000 block of California Ave with a cell phone in one hand and two briefcases in the other around 11 a.m. on Sept 21 when a man walked up and punched her forcefully in the side of the head. As she fell to the ground, the aggressor tried to grab her phone but missed and ran away. Seattle Department of Transportation workers saw the robbery attempt unfold, jumped into their work truck and followed the suspect. They caught him on 46th Ave SW and detained him until police arrived. While shaken up, the victim declined medical attention. While being arrested, the suspect told police was hearing voices and “acting out” to get the police attention. He admitted to punching the woman and said his “hands just did it … as a result of all his rage and pent up anger.”

Caught in the act

press release:
Julie Trout, a former art teacher at B.F. Day Elementary School, and now a teacher at Gatewood Elementary, is one of nine finalists for Washington state’s 2012 Teacher of the Year award to be announced Oct. 3.

Puget Sound Educational Service District selected Trout as its Puget Sound Regional Teacher of the Year in June which made her eligible for consideration as the state’s teacher of the year.

Trout, a visual arts specialist, created and implemented a thriving visual arts program while at B.F. Day Elementary that included instruction in all mediums – with an emphasis on world cultures and integration of core subjects with visual arts.

In her Teacher of the Year application a retired principal wrote, "Julie's instructional practice is creative and grounded in best practice. She gets results! Yet her greatest power as an educator is her ability to shine light and love in the classroom. She instills confidence in children and supports them in taking safe risks in their thinking and learning. Julie consistently holds students accountable to wise, respectful behavior by modeling it herself and fearlessly coaching them to be their best."

By Theresa Edwards, Intern

Ballard author Jeffrey David Payne made his publishing debut in mid-September with a novel titled "Far From the War".

Aimed at young adults, the book chronicles the adventures of a teenage girl who finds herself caught in a futuristic American civil war fueled by a sinking economy and political rancor.

Payne said that the idea for the story came a few years ago when he and his wife were on a trip to Orcas Island, where they stayed in a cottage very close to the ferry landing.

“We saw the ferry come and go all day and I began to wonder what would happen if the ferry stopped coming. That led me to wonder about how the island would cope if power and communications were cut off,” he said.

After considering several different scenarios in which the island could lose contact with the mainland, he settled on civil war as the most compelling explanation because it had the potential to make for a story with modern day relevance.

Interviewee: Bob Anderton

Occupation: Attorney

Riding style: Commuting

His ride: One of his six bikes is a Dutch Azor "Opa" bike.
"People are a lot nicer to you when you are on one of these bikes."

A photo frame made out of a bicycle chain, a crankset wall clock, a bicycle wire sculpture, and a burly Dutch "Opa" bike in the corner. These are hardly the items one would expect to find in an attorney's office but Bob Anderton's office on Pioneer Square is filled with them.

A long time bike-commuter himself, Anderton is Seattle's premier bike lawyer who represents cyclists in and around the Seattle area.

In relation to the number of bicycle accidents and fatalities we've seen in Seattle lately, I became curious about the city's bicycle laws. When I learned that there are specialized "bicycle lawyers", I contacted Anderton from Washington Bike Law to learn more about this niche practice.

Anderton agreed to let me join him on his daily bike commute from downtown Seattle to his West Seattle home.

UPDATE 12:55
Amanda Knox was declared not guilty of murder in the conclusion of a four year ordeal. She was declared guilty of defamation of Patrick Lamumba and ordered to pay 22,000 Euros. See our wrap up story here. Updates will follow there.

UPDATE: 11:20 a.m.
Amanda Knox is headed back to court at this hour with the verdict expected to happen at 12:45 pm PDT.

UPDATE: 9:a.m.

Amanda Knox: "I have not killed. I have not raped"

Although we in West Seattle were bathed in sun and warmth today, the winter snow is just around the corner. Mountain to Sound Outfitters, 3602 SW Alaska St., celebrated its expansion, from 1800 square feet to 3800 square feet, this weekend, and is now heavily promoting skis and other winter items. The new space used to belong to Westside Auto Repair. See the West Seattle Herald article about the expansion here.

They offered a free BBQ with veggies donated by West Seattle Produce Company.

Ski pro Molly Baker, based in Glacier, Washington at Mount Baker, was on hand to talk shop, sign autographs, and help shop owner Greg Whittaker promote Atomic skis and accessories.

"It's supposed to be a big winter, La Nina again, and lots of snow," enthused Whittaker, whose Alki Kayak Tours & Adventure Center by the Alki Water Taxi remains open through Halloween. "I met Molly while skiing at Crystal Mountain, at the Atomic Tour De Shred," Whittaker recalled. "It was a bluebird pow day."

That's ski lingo for "blue skies and fresh powder".

By David Rosen

The Mobile Chowdown kicked off this morning in the West Seattle Junction from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm on October 2.

There was an estimated 6000 people who showed up to chow down on some great tasting food.

23 mobile food trucks from all over the Seattle area, including one from Walla Walla, lined up down the middle of California Avenue between SW Oregon St and SW Edmunds St. There was a lot of different food to choose from ranging from mexican, indian, vietnamese, and of course the all american burger and pizza.

For many people the lines were long with waits as long as 45 minutes but the wait was totally worth it.

One food truck, A Lunch in Hand, ran out of food in the first 45 minutes of opening and had to call for more food due to the popularity.

Another truck, Buns on Wheels was serving up flame broiled burgers voted among Seattle's Top 5 Burgers on the Thrillist.comwhich caused waits of over an hour to get burgers by the name of Fancy, Cheesey and Ferrari.

by Kyle Howard

The Hazen Highlanders took on the Evergreen Wolverines in a Seamount match up at Highline Stadium Friday night. Both teams had been winless in league play so far this season.

Hazen got things started early by putting together a 58 yard drive that ended in a 19 yard touchdown reception from Tony Nipert to J.D. Peterson. On Evergreen's next possession a bad snap was recovered by Hazen to set up great field position and Hazen capitalized by scoring on a 30 yard touchdown run by Frankie Johnson to increase their lead 14-0.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

Everything continued to go Hazen’s way in the 2nd quarter as they put together an 89 yard drive that was topped off with quarterback Tony Nipert rushing for the touchdown.

Hazen continued to roll into the 2nd half putting together another impressive march down field to make it 27-0 on another touchdown run, this time by Tray Brown. Evergreen was able to get things going and got the ball down to the 25 yard line, but a pass was picked off by Hazen’s Cody Moorhead and was returned 75 yards for the touchdown.