June 2016

By Pat Cashman

“Get over yourself. Not everyone wants to be you.”

“When the center of the universe is discovered, a lot of people are going to be surprised it’s not them.”

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized that they seldom do.”

Those are just a few of the withering quotes I found regarding self. That last one was from Eleanor Roosevelt. I wonder what she would think about the exponential speed in which a relatively new form of human self-admiration is growing.

In just the time it takes you to finish reading this sentence---approximately a gazillion phone photos will be taken in the Puget Sound. Some of them will be of family gatherings. Some will be of kittens, puppies---and maybe a horned toad or two. Far too many will be of restaurant food---from Canlis to Dick’s.
But most will be taken by a person…of their self.

If so-called selfie photography were an epidemic right now, we would be in the midst of a worldwide black plague. Where did this all start?

By Amanda Knox

Dawndra Budd’s photography is like a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. She captures dark, whimsical scenes that are rich with symbolism, and within those scenes, ethereal protagonists: Ophelia drowned in a bird’s nest brimming with milk; Pandora curled up sleeping in a suitcase; a pensive debutante looking out over the sea; the White Lady obliterated by smoke, haunting a farmhouse.

What will Dawndra make of me?

I felt a twinge of nervousness at the prospect of entrusting my physical form to the vision of a stranger. But I also felt a twinge of nostalgia. My friend Madison often used to use me as a model in her photography projects. She also tended to have something elaborate in mind, involving costumes, props and, occasionally, some yoga prowess. Madison photographed me playing musical instruments on the roof of her apartment building, contorted into the crannies of a neighboring apartment undergoing renovation, asleep over a game of Scrabble in a deserted intersection in the middle of the night, to name just a few.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Semipro
Highline Bears
The Bears semiprofessional baseball team will be at home at Mel Olson Stadium at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center for a 7:05 p.m. game Friday, taking on the NWCL Emeralds of Lacey.
Highline visits the Emeralds at Saint Martin's College at a time to be announced Saturday before coming back home to face the South Sound Sox at 7:05 p.m. Sunday.

Pros
Mariners
Seattle hosts the Cleveland Indians for 7:10 p.m. action at Safeco Field on Wednesday and Thursday before the Texas Rangers come to town for an important series this coming weekend.
The action starts at 7:10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1:10 p.m. Sunday.
Then the Mariners take Monday off to fly to Tampa Bay, playing the Rays at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday.
All Mariners games can be seen on ROOT Sports cable television.

Rainiers
Tacoma, the Mariners' Class AAA Pacific Coast League farm team, hosts the Reno Aces at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Cheney Stadium, followed by a 5:05 p.m. game Saturday and 1:35 p.m. action Sunday.

A major callout to the 4800 block of Beach Drive SW brought fireboats, Coast Guard and rescue crews to help rescue two kayakers whose blue kayak had begun listing, forcing them out of it. They were rescued by Seattle Fire Dept. emergency crews but the kayak kept floating out to mid channel between Fauntleroy and Vashon Island.

It was finally spotted by the Coast Guard and towed back to Seacrest Park.

The two male kayakers who spent some time in the water two were being checked out for possible hypothermia.

Nearly 800 school kids from three elementary schools took part in a "Group Hug" Friday morning in front of the historic Admiral Theater.

The event was organized and sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Clay Eals, its Executive Director, led a group of dignitaries in the ceremony which was highlighted by a photograph and video of the attendees.

The thrust of the event was a celebration of the renovation of the 74-year-old theater.

Dignitaries in attendance included school principals Shannon Hobbs-Beckley, Alki Elementary; Gerrit Kischner, Schmitz Park Elementary; Robert Gallagher, Lafayette Elementary; Jim Kelly, Executive Director, 4-Culture; Shannon Braddock, Chief of Staff for Joe McDermott, King Council Council; Sol Baron, Faraway Entertainment, owner of the Admiral Theater and former Seattle Mayors Greg Nickels and Norm Rice.

Eals thanked his board of trustees for their behind-the-scenes work to help stage the event. They are: : Marcy Johnsen, Peder Nelson, Ron Arant, Tia Hallberg, Esther Armstrong, Jenni Bodnar, Crystal Dean, Bonnie Gromlich, Dora-Faye Hendricks, Kerry Korsgaard, Tasha Miller, Karen Sisson and Nancy Sorensen.

The West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA hosted a groundbreaking ceremony and celebration on Thursday, June 2, to kick off construction of an expanded West Seattle facility. 
 
The expanded and renovated West Seattle YMCA will include:
• A dedicated Family Wing with age-appropriate spaces where infants to young teens can play, connect with peers, explore new activities and develop skills on their way to reaching their full potential.
• More than 9,500 square feet for fitness classes, strength/weight training and cardio equipment – nearly doubling the current space for Y members to be active and stay healthy.
• A new Community Meeting Room where youth, neighbors, service organizations and other groups can gather together to work on local issues, learn new skills and explore shared interests. 
• A Healthy Eating Kitchen in the Community Meeting Room, supporting Y members and participants, especially youth, to develop healthier eating habits through nutrition and cooking classes and free monthly cooking demonstrations

We are ecstatic to announce that the Taste of West Seattle 2016 was our most successful ever! This year’s Taste featured 41 local food and drink providers, had a sellout crowd of over 500 people for the third year in a row and raised a new Taste all-time record of over $63,000 to support the West Seattle Helpline!

We are incredibly grateful to the local West Seattle restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, wineries, bakeries, and chocolatiers who served up delicious tastes all throughout the night. Congratulations to the winners of our Best Taste contest!

Best Taste: Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes
Best Pour: Beveridge Place Pub
Best Sweet: Stuffed Cakes

Our amazing volunteers helped us with all aspects of the event and made it possible to add new features such as the Balloon Pop (where attendees won gift cards to local restaurants) and a photo booth (photos available on the West Seattle Helpline Facebook page). Official event photographs courtesy of our wonderful West Seattle neighbor, Gail Wodzin of Gail Ann Photography, are available for download on her Event Photos NW page.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is in the early stages of design to build a bridge over South Lander Street between 1st Avenue South and 4th Avenue South in Seattle’s SODO district to improve traffic, freight mobility, and safety in that neighborhood.

SDOT is currently revisiting the overall project design to ensure the safest, most effective solution and is seeking input on early design elements. SDOT is committed to engaging adjacent businesses, area stakeholders, and the broader community in these initial project design conversations. SDOT is reactivating the project design thanks to the voter-approved Levy to Move Seattle and appropriations from the state Legislature.

To learn more about the project and provide input on key elements of early design:

Attend the project open house on Wednesday, June 8, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Metropolist, located at 2931 1st Ave South in Seattle.
Visit the online open house from June 6 to June 17 at http://landerbridge.participate.online.
Send an email to lander_bridge@seattle.gov and join the project email list or call 206-684-0178.
Visit www.seattle.gov/transportation/lander_bridge.htm for more information.

Eager customers waiting in lines for Korean fried chicken yesterday at the opening of Bok A Bok Fried Chicken (1521 SW 98th St, Suite D.) in White Center.

Former Skillet and Roux chef, Brian O'Connor, opened the restaurant with partners that include Jael DeLeonardis with hopes to make their mark in the growing White Center restaurant revitalization.

By mark, O’Connor means the “Crunchiest Korean fried chicken you've ever tasted.” His chicken is air dried after it’s drenched in cornstarch then set in Tempura style batter before the fryer. Thighs, wings, drumsticks and breast strips are all served with four chili hot sauces, sesame soy garlic sauce, Bok A Bok Ranch and Korean BBQ.

But chicken is not all O’Connor is offering, per se. Chef O’Connor is classically trained in French cooking, but has worked with many different cuisines, and he brings that to the table with four sandwiches, two of which are the Sesame Soy Garlic Chicken Sandwich and the Yuzu Green Chile Chicken Sandwich. A fan favorite is the Korean BBQ Chicken Sandwich, which is gochujang BBQ sauce, ginger cabbage slaw, and fresh herbs over chicken on a soft bun.

Update:

New photos show blojjers in action. These images captured by a Ballard News-Tribune reporter while investigating in the the Green Lake area show joggers in the bicycle lane at all hours, day and night, with complete disregard for traffic laws and the safety of others.

Original post:

We’ve all seen them, the morning joggers who grab their lives by the short nylon shorts, rising with the sun to make impact with asphalt, turf and mud.