August 2013

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Gators, Sharks and Maddogs were among those gathered at the Gregory Seahurst pool in Burien for the annual Southern Division swimming meet Thursday, Aug. 1.

The meet held at the Gregory Seahurst Gators' home facility gave athletes one final tuneup -- and one final chance to qualify -- for Tuesday's Seattle Summer Swim League All-City Meet.

Swimmers and divers will be taking aim at individual and relay wins -- and SSSL records -- at the All-City action for ages 6-18 from teams all the way from Federal Way to North Seattle.

The All-City competition will take place at the Sand Point Country Club in North Seattle this year, with the gates opening at 12:30 p.m. for swimmers, coaches and onlookers alike for a meet that will get underway at 4 p.m.

Sand Point is located at 8333 55th Ave. N.E.

Warm ups will be all that is featured before 4 p.m.

The Normandy Park Sharks will be joined by Gregory Seahurst of Burien and Arbor Heights of West Seattle and White Center in the 2-2:20 p.m. session as the Olympic View Maddogs of Normandy Park await the 2:20-2:40 time slot.

West Seattle icon Morey Skaret was feted Friday, Aug. 2 at his 100th birthday by scores of friends.

They stopped by Morey's favorite haunt, Roxbury Lanes, where he dines daily. Skaret is a former Seattle cop. He has lots of stories and is always willing to regale anyone who is willing to listen. With his sly grin he'll tell you the secret to long life is to have a good woman by your side. His secret is his long time companion Elsie Freeland. 

Morey and Elsie are regulars at the bowling lanes. They know everybody and everybody knows them. Morey has regaled them all with stories from the great depression, riding the rails to the Southwest, sailing with the coast guard to the Phillipines and later fighting crime in Seattle for many years. The captain was born in Canada and moved to the Northwest with his family as a boy.

Younger brother Al Skaret (93) is also well known to West Seattle-ites as a war hero from the U.S.S. Bunker Hill during WWII. 

Happy Birthday Morey!

UPDATE Aug. 3 5:15am
The fundraising effort on behalf of a West Seattle woman runner who was a victim of a hit and run driver has reached its first goal of $10,000 thanks to local donors. Organizer Ed Lorah shared, "We made our goal tonight! Very excited! I'm going to keep the site up until the marathon October 13th but plan to be a little less 'in your face' about it. I really hate asking people for money. It's not my nature, but this is such an important thing."

Original Post Aug. 2
Just after 7 a.m. on June 8, a 53-year-old woman went out for a jog on the 2300 block of Fairmount Ave. S.W. when she was struck by an unknown driver and left alone with life threatening injuries.

A friend and coworker of the victim has set up an online donation site at www.gofundme.com to help pay for her extensive medical bills as she recovers from her injuries.

As of 4 p.m. on August 2, the donation drive is at $9592 of its $10,000 goal.

To donate, please go here.

Junction True Value 60th Anniversary Celebration
4747 44th Ave. S.W.

Junction True Value Hardware will celebrate its 60th anniversary as a family owned and operated hardware store beginning Mon., Aug. 5 through Sat., Aug. 11. All week there will be daily drawings giving away merchandise and gift cards. Saturday will see hourly drawings, vendor demonstrations, free balloons, free face painting, and free popcorn.

Hot dogs and drinks at 1960’s prices will be served by the Seattle Lion’s Club from 10-3 p.m.

Sunday concludes the celebration with drawings for merchandise and gift cards, free popcorn, free balloons, and the grand prize drawing of a Weber gas grill.

You can enter the Facebook sweepstakes for a chance to win a $100 Junction True Value Gift Card.

By Brad Chrisman

In the annals of Seattle history, he’ll be remembered as the city’s 51st mayor, the Honorable Gregory J. Nickels. Or, as they say in the dialect of his native Chicago, “Hizzoner Da Mare.”

File photo by Patrick Robinson

But as the owner of a century-old house in West Seattle’s Admiral district, Nickels is not so different from the rest of the citizens who populate his tree-shaded neighborhood.

He’s a paintbrush-wielding, dandelion-pulling homeowner who, with his wife, Sharon, has invested countless hours caring for their historic home and striving to restore it to its original Craftsman-style glory.

Photo by Sharon Nickels

Friday, August 2, was a victory for marine wildlife (and those who love to watch them) in the Puget Sound as feds announced the Puget Sound Orca/Killer Whale population will continue to have Endangered Species Act protection, and the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission decided to protect seven new popular dives spots from Giant Pacific Octopus harvest, including several spots along West Seattle’s shores.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that orcas who frequent Puget Sound waters in the summer “are a distinct population group and will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act,” according to Associated Press writer Doug Esser.

Esser wrote NOAA reviewed a petition to delist the killer whales brought by “California farmers who faced water restrictions to protect salmon the orcas eat.”

NOAA rejected the petition, with spokesman Brian Gorman telling Esser, “We have decided these killer whales are a distinct population group … they have their own language, own food source. They don’t interbreed with other groups of killer whales. They meet the legal standards for a distinct population group.”

By Tim Takechi

Along the idyllic beaches of Spain, where fantasy and reality are often indistinguishable, a long-needed reunion between a father and daughter from two different worlds opens deep wounds and unearths unspoken feelings.

“Beauty of the Father,” the newest joint production by Latino Theatre Projects and Burien Little Theatre is a fervently written character-driven drama by Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz (who also penned “Anna in the Tropics,” a production LTP and BLT produced last year).

The story centers around a young American student named Marina (Emily Feliciano) who visits Spain to be reunited with her estranged father, Emiliano (Fernando Luna, who delivers a touching performance), a painter who is an “artist” in every sense of the word.

As if Marina and Emiliano’s relationship were not thorny enough, Marina falls in love with Karim (Matt Aguayo), a young Moroccan man who lives with Emiliano and also shares a complicated relationship with him. Rounding out this family is Paquita (Heather Ward), a woman who is Emiliano’s companion but not necessarily his lover.

West Seattle resident chef, writer, food photographer and instructor Erin Coopey has a big day coming up on Aug. 7 when she launches her first cookbook: The Kitchen Pantry Cookbook.

Coopey, who teaches the art of cooking at South Seattle Community College, PCC Natural Markets, and other locales, said in a press release “the book focuses on how to prepare everyday kitchen staples from scratch including fresh mayonnaise, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustards, dips, chips, nut butters, pickels, spreads and more.”

She said the cookbook is 99 percent gluten free (with the exception of a pita chip recipe), a skill she needed to develop after realizing she had developed a grain allergy years ago.

Her book launch party is at PCC in West Seattle on Wednesday, August 7, 5-7 p.m. Details can be found at http://www.glorifiedhomechef.com/Events.html

Here’s her official press release
LOCAL CHEF RELEASES THE KITCHEN PANTRY COOKBOOK; 97 NATURALLY GLUTEN FREE RECIPES
Make your own condiments and pantry essentials

The 3rd annual Luna Park Block Party will celebrate the neighborhood on Thursday, August 15, 2013 from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm. It is centered around the area Avalon Way and Harbor Ave. SW in West Seattle.

The event will support two neighborhood nonprofits: Transitional Resources, a neighborhood mental health center, and Kitty Harbor, a cat rescue, rehabilitation and adoption center. Those attending will have a chance to get a taste of the new West Seattle Brewing Company’s offerings. That business is still under construction at 4415 Fauntleroy Way SW. (The former Tervo's Deli location).

Ola Salon will be offering 30-minute mini-services of some of their favorite offerings, including facials, lash and brow tinting, bang trims, facial waxing and blowouts for a suggested $30 donation, which will go toward supporting Transitional Resources. They will also have live music from local musician Sid Law.

Burglar makes off with expensive electronics

July 26, 5:15 p.m., 9200 Block of 6th Ave NW -- When a man returned to his home in the evening, he found that his door was kicked in, a garage door was half open and several expensive electronics had been stolen from his home. A neighbor said the dog outside was barking between noon and 1 p.m.

Several fingerprints were found around the house, as the burglar took his dear sweet time going through everything, even pay stubs and mortgage information. The owner also said he would provide serial numbers to the electronics that were stolen.

Some of the big items that were stolen include:

• XBOX 360 $250.00
• Clearwire Modem $50.00
• IPod Touch black in color 32G $400.00
• Sound Dock System by "Sharp"
• Canon Camera 5D with 3 lenses $2500.00 (the camera was inside a black case)
• Sony Nex6 with 1 lens $1000.00
• Passports for and his
• Check book from Wells Fargo (20 checks in one book)
• "Apple" desk computer G4 white in color $4000.00