December 2014

by Pat Cashman

My wife and I were looking at a beautiful sunset over Hawaii the other day. More specifically, we were looking at a photo of a beautiful sunset over Hawaii. There must be photos of beautiful sunsets over Covington, but they’re not as widely distributed.

“That sunset sure is neat,” I said.

“Neat? ”said my wife. “What century are you living in? Who says neat anymore?”

I replied loftily, “Guys who are cool cats and groovy hipsters---that’s who! Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go get something out of the icebox.”

Yea, it IS something I do---use words long after their expiration date---but mostly just to be ironic. I just think it’s sort of funny to say, “How’s it going, Daddio?”---as if I were a latter day beatnik dropped to earth.

My wife thinks it’s pathetic. “You are about as much of a beatnik as you are an NBA power forward,” she says. Remarks like that can cut deep into my 6’ 11” muscular frame.

Who gets to decide which words---or practices---are no longer relevant? Why do perfectly good,

By Kyra-lin Hom

The first most of us ever heard of virtual reality (VR) was Star Trek's 'holodeck' technology. The holodeck was a seemingly magic room where any reality could come to life via a fully immersive, all-five-senses-stimulating simulation. Somehow, Star Trek officers could relax in the 1700's, train against alien warriors, and skydive from 20th century airplanes with only the assistance of light-based holograms. In Star Trek: Voyager (a staple of my childhood), holograms could even gain their own autonomy, which raised some truly interesting questions about personhood.

Led by the one and only Mark Ufkes, former White Center Chamber of Commerce President, hundreds will like the beach on Alki for the annual Polar Bear Swim. It will start at 10am New Years Day. If you plan to participate in the very brief event (most swimmers are in and out of the water in less than 1 minute), bring some big towels and dry clothing to change into, likely in your car.

Ufkes said, "We line up all along the beach, have a count down, and at 10 am sharp, we hold hands and run into the water together. Each year, the swim gets bigger. Over 500 swimmers fanned out in a long line along the beach and joined us last year. It is a great way to wash away the complexities of the previous year, and celebrate the unlimited potential that awaits each of us in the new year. Year after year, Polar Bear swimmers declare that this ritual creates a sense of renewal, and helps make the new year be stronger and more positive.

2015, The year of the Sheep - a symbol pf peace, harmony, co-existence, and tranquility. A nurturing year, which the world can always use more of. "



By Dow Constantine
Special to the West Seattle Herald
 
Though I now represent more than 2 million people as King County Executive, my home is still West Seattle, where my family and life-long friends make plenty sure I stay grounded! This year Shirley and I were delighted to welcome a baby girl, Sabrina. I am so grateful that she will grow up right here in the neighborhood that raised me.

I wanted to take a moment here at year’s end to report back to our neighbors in Burien, White Center and West Seattle on my administration‘s work in 2014.

This year was one of significant accomplishment on behalf of the people of King County, with some items of special interest to the residents of the Duwamish Peninsula. We developed partnerships and led initiatives that directly benefit local communities in key areas – including public health, transportation, and the environment – that are critical to our quality of life.
 

information from ACUCC

The oldest church in West Seattle has recently called Andrew Conley-Holcom as its new pastor. Admiral Congregational United Church of Christ, located in North Admiral, was founded in 1899 as the West Seattle Congregational Church. Pastor Andrew, in his early thirties and a recent graduate of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, is the youngest pastor that Admiral has ever called.

The congregation voted to accept its Search Committee’s unanimous recommendation to call Andrew in mid-October, and he has been leading worship services since October 19th. He will be ordained on January 3, 2015 at his home church, First Congregational Church of Bellingham, and will be formally installed as Admiral’s pastor in the spring.

Andrew and his wife, Leann, are originally from the Tacoma area and currently reside in the Ravenna neighborhood. Leann is active as a professional singer, directs the Concert Choir of the Tacoma Youth Chorus, and is a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at the University of Washington.

Merry Christmas West Seattle! All of us at the West Seattle Herald, Highline Times, Ballard News Tribune and our print edition the Westside Weekly wish you the best this holiday season.

information from SDOT

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation plan to close a lane on California Way Southwest from Harbor Avenue Southwest to Ferry Avenue Southwest on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 29 to Dec. 31.

Traffic flaggers will assist drivers through the area. This will allow crews to clear vegetation from the retaining wall along California Way Southwest.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

AUBURN - Seamount League 2A Evergreen used suffocating defense to build a huge lead and stave off third quarter challenges to post a non league 63-53 girls basketball win at SPSL 3A Auburn on Mon., Dec. 22.

The Wolverines are in 5-0 Seamount first place tie with Kennedy Catholic and now stand at 6-1 overall. Auburn's overall record is 2-4.

"The team is learning and we have great bench support," said Evergreen head coach Natasha Hicks McCray, who was a standout athlete in her Auburn High School days. "Everyone played a role for us."

In the first quarter, the Evergreen defensive pressure yielded a multitude of steals that combined with efficient ball movement for a 14-0 scoring run and a 20-7 Wolverine lead with less than two minutes left. Marleisha Cox was pushing up 12 points in the quarter on the way to 15 first half points.

by Georgie Bright Kunkel

There are numerous appreciation days celebrated in this country--

Veterans Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day just to name a few. But in a society that reveres the fat cats of the world, it is unusual to appreciate the day to day worker who puts in eight or more hours to contribute their share to serve humanity. Just think of the hours that line workers put in after a storm, those who are on rescue crews in mountain areas, or those who police the highways especially during busy holiday time. It takes many people to keep our society running smoothly. It isn’t often that we stop and thank those who serve us in so many ways.

Just the other night a storm hit the northwest. While I was safe and warm in my bed there were many workers mopping up after downed trees and telephone poles. Many remember the times when areas of West Seattle were out of power. During one particularly long power outage I had even emptied my freezer and brought the contents over to my neighbor whose power was fortunately not affected by the outage.

information from SWSHS

Southwest Seattle Historical Society sponsors adult fantasy “Red and Grey” introduction at Jan. 2nd First Friday event

In her re-creation of the folktale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, Christine Brant constructs a mystical universe that contains a rich history and many layers of detail in “Red and Grey” (Darl Dragon Publishing, June 10, 2013). However, it is so much more than a simple retelling of the original; in this book Brant engages in “extensive world-building” and develops those worlds and the main characters to an end that brings color back to a monochromatic existence.

The public is invited to this FREE presentation on Friday, January 2nd from 5 to 7PM at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village.

In “Red and Grey” the author has created a plot full of surprises, changing a child's bedtime tale into an entertaining adult story by combining fairy tale lore with werewolf mythology, without werewolves. She won the Surrey International Storytellers Award in 2007 with her short story "A Decade of Scottsdale".