February 2017

By Peggy Sturdivant

“He’s everything you could ever want in a dog,” Tony Cunningham said on what would be Major’s last day as shop dog at Johnny’s Ballard Shoe Service on 22nd Avenue NW. Since 2005, Major, the Weimaraner rescue dog has been one of the most photographed dogs in downtown Ballard, a constant presence in the doorway of the shoe repair shop.

Cunningham, Major’s owner, and for 26 years the owner of Johnny’s Shoe Repair learned in December that Major’s cancer had spread significantly. Through a photo tribute and poster in the shop window he has been giving the community time to say goodbye. “I don’t have a list of customers,” he said. “I just want people to know so they’re not shocked. He’s a community dog.”

By Peggy Sturdivant

In January 1990 the “It’s About Time Writers’ Reading Series” was created by Esther Altshul Helfgott in Seattle. It was dedicated, then and now, “to an end of racism, homophobia, antisemitism, homelessness & war.” Unfortunately there has been no end to racism, homophobia, antisemetism, homelessness or war. As recently profiled on HistoryLink.org it’s the longest continuously running program of its kind in Seattle.

I curate programs for this 6 p.m. every second Thursday of the month series, and I’m proud of its ongoing ability to respond to current events. The readings are in the meeting room of the Ballard Branch of the Seattle Public Library; the only thing that cancels the reading is an emergency library closure. There are times when readers and audience gather while still in shock, as after a school shooting, or another type of local or international tragedy.

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED HERE FOR FREE. IT MUST BE A NON-PROFIT EVENT. SEND IT TO CALENDAR@ROBINSONNEWS.COM

Sweet, Sweet Music
Fauntleroy Church 9140 California Ave. S.W.

Friday, Feb. 10, 7:30 - 9:30 pm. - A wide variety of local talent will warm this winter evening for all ages. $10 adult admission at the door (kids free) includes beverage and dessert. Fellowship Hall.

Bystander Intervention
Fauntleroy Church 9140 California Ave. SW

Thursday, Feb. 23, 6:30 - 8 pm. - Learn practical, safe alternatives to doing nothing when witnessing bullying or harassment. Free in Fellowship Hall.

SWEETEN YOUR VALENTINE WEEKEND WITH LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
(JUST DON’T STEP ON MY BLUE SUEDE SHOES!)
Join ELVIS for dinner and music at The Kenney on Saturday, February 11th from 6:00 - 9:00 pm.

7125 Fauntleroy Way SW, Seattle.
Tickets: $45.00 per person before 2/1/17. $60.00 per person after 2/1/17. Registration deadline: February 9. All proceeds benefit The Kenney Foundation. For more info or to register, call 206-937-2800. Ask for Ellen.

By Katy G. Wilkens

Until last year, I had no luck growing bok choy, also called pak choi (white cabbage). Every spring it would send up flowers before I could harvest it. Once it bolted in this way, it wasn’t edible.

After reading about this great veggie, I learned that bok choy is perfect for Pacific Northwest gardens. It needs only three to five hours of sun a day to produce leaves high in vitamin C and beta carotene. I moved my plants out of the direct sun to a partially shaded bed and I was rewarded with more bok choy than my family could eat.

If you garden, now is the time to think about planting these great veggies. Start them indoors about a month before your last frost date; or if outdoors, start two weeks before that date. Wait to transplant seedlings until the nights are above 50 degrees or they will flower right away.

If you don’t have a garden, Asian produce markets carry bok choy year round, often fresher and cheaper than you’ll find in regular grocery store. Choose bok choy or the more tender baby bok choy, and you have the makings for several healthy and delicious dishes.

Shoplifter arrested after threatening security with gas can

A shoplifter was arrested on Jan. 29 after threatening security personal with a MAP gas canister at a sporting goods store located on N.W. 45th Street. Police arrived at the store where the manager and security officers told police what happen. The suspect, a known shoplifter, entered the store and picked up a large box containing a cargo lock for a vehicle roof basket. As the suspect moved toward the door, security personnel asked the man to put the box down. The suspect resisted. There was a struggle, and the suspect “squirmed” to the floor and kicked at security personnel. Then he ran to a different part of the store and picked up a MAP gas canister. He held it over his head. Security officers thought the man would strike them, and they brought the man to the ground. The man got up and fled the scene. Police later found the man and brought him back to the store for a positive identification. He was later booked at King County Jail.

Car chase and assault after attempted vehicle prowl

The Woodland Park Zoo announced Feb. 3 that the four otter pups born at the zoo received their first veterinary examination and that the pups have a “clean bill of health.”

The pups underwent the Zoo’s standard examination, which included vaccinations, assessment of overall health, measuring and weighing. The exam concluded that the pups are in good health and of the litter there are three males and one female weighing 1.3 to 1.5 pounds.

“We’re pleased to report all four pups are robust and healthy. They have fully round bellies and are within normal growth range at this age,” said Dr. Darin Collins, who administered the examination.

“All pups have healthy appetites, are gaining increased mobility and are socializing with their family members, all good signs they’re thriving.”

The four Asian small-clawed otters born were born at the zoo to otter parents, Teratai (age seven) and Guntur (age 11), last December. The parents have successfully raised two litters previously before the four.

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Brought to you by Sarah Cecil Financial Advisor with Edwards Jones Investments.

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By Amanda Knox
 
I remember how Don Saulo, the chaplain at Capanne prison, visited every cell each morning and greeted every prisoner by name. He brought in movies for us to watch, and each one—Kung Fu Panda, Avatar—made him cry. He told the prison staff that he needed me to spend a few hours a week in his office helping him prepare for mass, when really he let me pass the time singing and playing Beatles songs on the guitar. When I crocheted him a bracelet, he took it, thanked me, and said, “White. The color of resurrection…” When we first met, I was freshly imprisoned and afraid and surrounded by strangers, and I told him I was innocent and I knew he, like everyone else, didn’t believe me. He replied, “I can’t say if you are innocent, but I believe you are sincere when you tell me you are innocent.”
 
Which is to say that, from the moment we met, Don Saulo was always a man of kindness and integrity. That very first day, he showed me his brutal, compassionate honesty, and it was because of this honesty that I knew it was true when he eventually told me he believed me, years later.