December 2011

Arguing with knives and a machete
On Sunday morning, Nov. 27, police responded to an assault involving a machete on the 9400 block of Olson Pl. S.W. The victim told police he heard two acquaintances arguing in the living room, including what sounded like knives being thrown against the wall. Attempting to stop the fight, the victim encountered one of the men standing in the living room holding a machete. Unscathed by profanity-ridden tirades and a swinging machete, the victim said he forced the suspect out of his house and suffered lacerations to his arm and nose in the process. An area check for the suspect was unsuccessful, but the machete was recovered outside the home and placed into evidence.

A strange encounter at McDonald’s

Burien Little Theatre announces auditions for the comedy-drama “reasons to be pretty,” written by Neal LaBute. Characters are two men and two women in their early to mid-20s.

Synopsis: This incendiary comedy-drama involving four friends was an Off-Broadway hit that later moved to Broadway as a Tony-nominated Best Play. Greg, who adores his girlfriend Steph, is overheard admitting that she is no beauty. When Steph finds out, all hell breaks loose.

Best friends Carly and Kent, who are struggling with their marriage, are there to take sides, provide support and light the match on the powder keg of their relationship. As both relationships crumble, the friends are forced to confront deceit, infidelity and betrayed trust in their journey to answer that oh-so-American question, "How much is 'pretty' worth?" Contains liberal but appropriate use of profanity.

"LaBute has exchanged misanthropy for empathy, reaping unexpected dividends ... some of the freshest and most illuminating American dialogue to be heard anywhere." The New York Times
Performances are at Burien Little Theatre in Burien from April 20 through May 13, 2012. Rehearsals begin in March.

Woodland Park Zoo and a visiting expert in elephant reproduction performed an artificial insemination procedure last night on Chai, the zoo’s 32-year-old Asian elephant.

This is the third artificial insemination attempt on Chai this year and 59th time total, according to animal-activists organization, Friends of the Woodland Park Zoo Elephants.

Semen for the procedure was contributed by a 13-year-old bull at ABQ BioPark Zoo in Albuquerque, N.M. With no offspring to date, the bull is genetically valuable to the North American population of elephants.

“It will be approximately 15 to 16 weeks before we can confirm a pregnancy by ultrasound and through hormonal changes in Chai,” explained Dr. Nancy Hawkes, the zoo’s general curator and resident expert in elephant reproduction. The gestation period for elephants is 22 months. “If Chai is pregnant, we would expect her to give birth in late 2013.”

Dr. Dennis Schmitt, a leading expert in elephant reproductive physiology and a professor of animal science at Missouri State University, joined the zoo’s elephant management and animal health staff in performing the artificial insemination.

By Krista Lindgren

On Sunday, Dec 4, children from the Swedish School in Ballard, along with other local Scandinavian families gathered at the Nordic Heritage Museum for the Children’s Christmas in Scandinavia.

The event began with the Swedish school’s Santa Lucia Pageant. The performance hall was darkened while children marched in a processional with lit candles, singing traditional Swedish holiday songs. The pageant was followed by Christmas crafts, live Nordic music performed by the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag musicians, dancing for children and a visit from Santa.

CLICK IN PHOTO TO START SLIDESHOW.

The Sound Transit Executive Committee voted late last week to amend their 2012 budget to include $2 million to study of high-capacity transit from downtown to Ballard.

Approved by the region's voters in the Sound Transit 2 vote, this planning money, along with a $900,000 federal grant awarded to Seattle in October and City matching funds, will allow the City and Sound Transit to conduct a detailed analysis of alignments and technologies that will enable the city to meet the longer-term demand for transit between some of the fastest growing neighborhoods and downtown.

The West Seattle Junction Association gave the holiday season an especially warm start on Sunday Dec. 4 by collecting $1500 for local charities Westside Baby, West Seattle Food Bank and West Seattle Helpline through their Santa photos. Santa was greeting families and posing for photos at City Mouse and store at 4218 s.w. Alaska Street.

The event is produced by the organization and the $15 photo fee is donated 100% to charity. Donna Ryan Photography and Santa's helpers (including members of the Hi-Yu Junior court managed to photograph 85 families in four hours.

Santa and crew will be back next Sunday from 11am to 3pm. The Hometown Holidays Headquarters booth in front of Key Bank will be open for treats and prizes – and mule drawn carriage rides next Sunday too.

The final Junction Santa will be on Sunday, December 18, 11-3. A professional photographer will NOT be on site that day. However Santa and his helpers will be ready for your kids, and the photography studio will be set up for you to take your own pictures. If you have not had a chance as yet to help a suggested donation of $15 will be given to charities helping local children in need.

Update for 10:30 pm, Dec. 5
A grandmother, her daughter and the daughter's 18-month old son escaped injury as bullets flew through windows and walls, sending drywall and glass debris throughout their 8th Ave S. home on Dec. 4, according to Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff's Office.

The mother initially reported her son was hit with glass debris, but later found he escaped injury, West said.

Around 2 p.m. on Sunday the suspects drove a white SUV or four-door truck into the 14200 block of 8th, a small private drive. According to West, the vehicle made a u-turn and opened fire on the home.

"We are investigating if this house was specifically targeted," she added.

Original post
Around 2 p.m. on Dec. 4 unknown suspects opened fire on a Burien home in the 14200 block of 8 Ave S., according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

No one was seriously injured, although glass debris hit an 18-month-old child as bullets entered the home.

December 11: Kids Self-Defense Class at Lee’s Martial Arts (http://www.lmawestseattle.com/), 2-4 p.m. This class is designed to inform and empower children ages 6-11 on the basics of self-defense. The class includes a highly rated film, role playing and physical self-defense skills. Material is presented in an age-appropriate way and is taught by Lisa Skvarla, chairwoman of American Women’s Self-Defense Advancement (http://www.awsda.org/), a national nonprofit educational organization, and a third-degree black belt in taekwondo.
Cost: $30 / advance registration and payment are required. (Please arrive 15 minutes early so the class can start on time.)
Contact: 206-938-3375 / LMAWestSeattle@aol.com / 3270-A California Ave. S.W.

Stop ‘N Shop Thrift Store Sales
4504 California Ave. S.W.
Dec. 9-12: 50% off last marked price on Christmas decorations.
Dec. 13: West Seattle Senior Center Members get 50% off on almost everything in the store.

Parents Nite Out - Rainbow Girls Babysitting Fundraiser

In May, Ballardites Eric Thomas and Alexandra Salmon announced the construction of their new home. They envisioned a spacious home with big windows that would not only be highly efficient, but also produce more energy than it uses. And they were going to do it all on a budget.

Less than seven months later the couple invited me over to tour their new home. Not only did the construction stay on budget, it finished one month ahead of schedule.

While at first glance the burned orange single-family house on 612 NW 60th Street looks like any other newly constructed house, it’s a one-of-a-kind home.

With its air-tight shell, structural insulated panel (SIP) construction, numerous south-facing windows, highly efficient heat pump, and 6,000-watt solar panel array on the roof, this house is the first zero-energy home in Seattle. Designed by Ted L. Clifton, the house has no electrical bills and costs nothing to heat. No oil, natural gas, or other fuels are used.

The Great Depression hit Portland, Oregon in 1929,and like many other cities it had its struggles. Jobs were scarce and sometimes common sense was more scarce.

I was about nine and standing in line with my mom at the Pay n' Take-It grocery store on Lombard street. An angry man was shouting at the clerk at the cash register. He was holding up an open can of spinach and demanding his money back because the label showed a fried egg resting on the green contents.

The customer was irate because there was no egg in the can like the label showed. The clerk was trying to explain that it was just a drawing to show what an egg would look like if the spinach was on a plate and if the man had an egg he could fry it and put it on top of the spinach and it would go well together.

The clerk apologized but would not give the man his money back.

We watched him stalk out of the store and I thought about offering him one of my eggs from my Banty hens but knew my dad planned on having those eggs for Sunday breakfast.