December 2020

By Hannah Krieg

In late February, Henny Phillips turned 90 years old. 

Family flew in from as far as Maine, but for Phillips it was just a short trip from her apartment at Ballard Landmark (one of the six GenCare assisted living communities in the Seattle area) to her daughter's house in Wallingford. There, her children and grandchildren spent the evening celebrating the matriarch of their family with a party Phillips described as “enormous” and “marvelous”. 

information from the City of Burien

The City of Burien and Discover Burien are announcing the launch of two new resources to support local restaurants and retail businesses. The City of Burien has launched Burien Eat Streets, a hyperlocal comprehensive online restaurant directory that makes it easy to support local Burien restaurants. Discover Burien is also announcing the launch of their virtual shopping directory linking to independently owned Burien retail shops that offer online shopping. The City of Burien and Discover Burien are working together to help Burien’s businesses adapt to changing economic and public health realities in order to ensure the safety of their employees and customers.

To the editor:

I am on Next-door app as a resident of West Seattle.  Someone on comment mentioned that you would be interested in hearing the views of people who violate dog leash laws on Alki Beach/Lincoln Park.  If this is true, please read my comments on the subject. 

By Jean Godden

As we sit down to smaller than usual holiday celebrations, Seattleites are confronting an interesting dilemma. Who's going to be leading our city in future years?

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, after a tumultuous three years at the helm, decided not to run for a second term. In announcing her Dec. 7 decision, the mayor said she wanted to serve her final year restoring the city economy after months of being buffeted by riots, violence, hate crimes and ravages of the covid-19 crisis.

That makes Durkan the city's fourth mayor out of the last five to serve only one term. King County Executive Dow Constantine acknowledged that Durkan "was handed a mess that no one could have foreseen." It has been chaotic: a pandemic, homelessness, nightly demonstrations and unrest. Dow's conclusion: "The job chews people up."

By Brendan Kolding

       In 1982, Harvard social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling introduced the broken windows theory.  “Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken…one un-repaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing,” they wrote.  Dealing with seemingly minor problems prevents them from turning into more significant issues and communicates the social norms and expectations of the community.  Quickly replacing a broken window sends a message that the community does not tolerate vandalism and other forms of lawlessness, whereas neglecting the window invites escalated mischief.