September 2013

With the retrial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito now underway in Italian court, local experts hope to provide more background and insight into their case.

A panel of experts will address congressional members and staff on the third trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito during “Update and Briefing on the Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito Case,” a congressional briefing hosted by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA9) at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Room SVC 203, on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The trial is scheduled to begin on September 30, 2013 in Florence, Italy.

Update, Oct. 2

The owners of the boat, Bill Soderberg and Julie Tallino, are trying to save their tugboat, which is also their home, according to a fundraiser website created to gather support.

Yesterday, the Foss 300, a giant crane, came to attempt to lift the boat off the bottom, but as soon as the boat was lifted, she started sinking again. After hours of troubleshooting, they got the boat out of the water and onto a drydock at the Fisherman's Terminal. There were no obvious clues as to why it sank in the first place, but the owners believe it was due to the storm overnight. There was a plank that popped out, likely due to pressure of the water inside the hull.

Rotary Club of West Seattle press release:

ROTARY CLUB OF WEST SEATTLE CELEBRATES ITS 3RD WINE & CHOCOLATE GALA AUCTION

We are throwing a PARTY. It’s time for our annual Premium Wine and Chocolate Gala.

West Seattle Rotary
When: Friday, October 11th
Where: The Sanctuary at Admiral
Time: 5:00pm Cost: $95 for auction and food/beverages; $115 for auction and casino night.

To register, please go to www.westseattlerotary.org and click on events. Then click on Wine and Chocolate Gala Auction. Or go directly to Brown Paper Tickets website.

Men and women living with mental illness need help to lead more meaningful lives. Transitional Resources is to make that possible through recovery oriented mental health services, permanent affordable housing and by seeking opportunities for employment.

On Oct. 3 the organization is presenting An Evening of Inspiration at the Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California Ave. SW) from 6:00pm to 8:30pm.

Reception from 6 to 7pm, will be followed by a three course meal, with wine and music from the Garfield Jazz Combo.

At the dinner you'll hear remarks from CEO Darcell Slovek-Walker. A Community Citizenship Award will be presented, and a 10 minute video telling the story of the clients will be shown.

This is a fundraising event. Tickets are $75 or $525 for a table of 8 but the event may near sold out. Some tickets are still available by emailing info@transitionalresources.org.

Who’s going to live there? Where’s all the traffic going to go? Where are people going to park?

These are all concerns that are being brought up over a controversial new development at 1715 NW 58th St.

The building, which one could classify as an aPodment building, or microhousing, will have 43 one-bedroom units with shared kitchens for every eight or so units. No parking will be provided and there will be space for 12 bicycles. It will take the place of what was once a striking, old blue and pink single-family house.

Neighbors are shocked to see that what once housed a family will now house 43 people.

These aPodment-type developments have brought much controversy in the Capitol Hill, Eastlake and University District neighborhoods. Now, with a few similar projects landing in Ballard, neighbors are banding together to fight back.

“We’re going to end up with a mess in Ballard and it’s going to completely change the character of Ballard,” says Bruce Meyers, a neighbor of the project who hails from Arizona. “Who’s to say who’s gonna come and go in this space? I would say this neighborhood has been for generally quiet families.”

Dear Editor,

As a parent with children in Seattle Public Schools, I've seen firsthand how deeply teachers care about students. My son’s teacher starts each day working at 5:30 a.m., the doors for school do not open until 9 a.m.! Yet, like most public school parents, what we experience is top-heavy district system that doesn't care about the students, expects the PTA to fund basics, doesn't value or pay our teachers well- and the latest, forcing elementary children in to "Mega" school. Only 59 cents of every education dollar reaches the classroom, and during layoffs the youngest teachers are fired first.

Every school parent knows "The List," the lengthy catalog of items you must buy each year for your local school. These are only examples. The district's problems go far beyond simple oversight. The news of mismanagement of pubic funds at Seattle Public School is so achingly familiar it doesn’t even make headlines. It recalls 2011 when school officials couldn't account for $35 million, and an earlier superintendent resigned in disgrace.

Dangerous start to the day
On Sept. 23 – a Monday morning around 6:25 a.m. – a woman was waiting for her bus at intersection of 46th Ave. S.W. and S.W. Admiral Way when she noticed a man walk past her. Suddenly, he was back and produced a black handgun that he pointed at her chest. The suspect demanded the victim’s “stuff” and she handed over her laptop bag (full of books) and purse containing home keys and cash. The suspect, described as wearing all black with a mask covering most of his face, instructed the victim not to call the police because he knew where she lived (turns out the victim’s ID card with her address was on her person and not stolen). After the suspect ran off the victim waited five minutes before running to a nearby 7-11 to call 911. She suffered a twisted ankle running to call for help.

Two too many

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The Southwest Seattle Historical Society Presents “Words, Writers & West Seattle
Barnes & Noble, Westwood Village
2600 S.W. Barton St.
First Friday of each month, starting Oct. 4, 4-6 p.m. In this series, West Seattle-based authors will be speaking about their recently published books. first in the series is Stephanie Guerra, author of the young-adult books “Torn” and “Billy the Kid is Not Crazy.” Admission and parking are free. More information: www.loghousemuseum.info

GriefShare Support Group
Grace Church
10323 28th Ave. S.W.
Saturdays, starting Sept. 7th for 13 weeks, 10 a.m.—noon. This international grief recovery support group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one to death. You can start at anytime and it doesn’t matter how long ago the death occurred. There is a one time cost of $15 for a journal. Contact: Barb at 206-932-7459 or Grace Church 206-937-8400.

African Dinner and Drums Event
St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church
3050 California Ave. S.W. - Parish Hall

With the State sanctioning marijuana and Costco influencing the vote to sell liquor, I am reminded of my own years of living with an alcoholic father and why I became a pipe smoker, albeit with some amphora tobacco and not the mind altering seeds of hashish buds.

Of course I did not have much trouble buying tobacco then. It was everywhere.

I can't say for certain my own mind was not altered by the sweet taste of my tobacco or even that of my own dad's Granger rough cut, that lingered in the air, as he worked his crossword puzzle.

 My dad smoked a pipe for most of his 86 years and was not  into fancy shapes like I was. I never saw him change tobacco brands.  

He brought home a cigar now and then but never smoked them. Somebody probably gave them to him. Mom never ever complained of smelly pipes and that might have  been because we kids were hired to clean them each night and maybe get a nickel each. 

I still have about thirty of my old pipes . Many of them quite unique and expensive when I bought them, like a beautiful Meerschaum that cost me 50 bucks in Denmark.

By Kyra-lin Hom

TIME Magazine's most recent issue (October 7, 2013) sports a rather creepy cover of three children wearing black college caps and gowns with the headline “Class of 2025: How they'll learn and what they'll pay” by Jon Meacham. The concern is over not just what undergraduate students are learning but if they're learning at all. Especially with tuition prices skyrocketing into mortgage territory, parents, employers, educators, economists, politicians – pretty much everyone is understandably worried we're falling behind our international competitors.