March 2021

Gov. Jay Inslee announced at a press conference Thursday that the State of Washington is moving to Phase 3 of the state's Healthy Washington pandemic reopening plan starting March 22.

Phase 3 will allow outdoor events with permanent seating (think Mariner's games) to have up to 25 percent capacity. This includes professional teams, high school sports, rodeos and other similar events.

On March 18, the state will increase the number of people who can attend high school and youth sports events.

The new guidelines also allow up to 50 percent occupancy for indoor spaces and up to 400 people for indoor and outdoor events. Physical distancing and masks are required. 

By Patrick Robinson

You’ve been seeing or hearing news stories about statues, books, people and their past statements all being used to in effect “cancel” them. The motivation behind these efforts makes sense. Statues celebrating heroes of the Confederacy, which was based on and dedicated to the enslavement of other human beings are a terrible thing to present as worthy of admiration. They are from a time and way of thinking we as a culture rejected long ago. The echoes of that horrible time continue to this day.

The recent removal of certain Dr. Seuss books from publication too made sense since the cartoons he drew in the late 1940’s were racial stereotypes and not reflective of how potentially hurtful they might be or how they might serve to perpetuate a way of thinking.

information from King County Sheriff

Illegal dumping cannot be tolerated. It's not only unsightly but can also pose a public safety and health hazard. When a SeaTac woman saw it happening in her neighborhood, she jumped into action with her trusty camera.

The witness called 911 on 03/06/2021 at 10:21am, to report she had just witnessed a male and female, in their 50's, unloading furniture onto a sidewalk at the 13600 block of 24th Avenue South. They were driving a blue Infiniti SUV.

The witness managed to take a series of photos, including the SUV (with the license plate), the female suspect, and the furniture dumped on the sidewalk.

When a deputy examined the photos, he was able to pull up the registration of the SUV based on the license plate. The registered owner’s photo clearly matched the female suspect in the photo.

Update March 10

The repeated requests from the businesses near the South Delridge homeless encampment regarding garbage cleanup after what appears to have been a 3 week delay got some attention last week and a commitment from the city for ongoing attention.

"Mac" McElroy, owner of Mac's Triangle Pub formed a simple working group of business owners including Abby Fisher of White Center Glass, Tom Salle of The Live Butcher, Doug Stevens of Center Tool, and Christine Nasatka of Lee's Produce to speak as one voice regarding issues with the encampment.

McElroy personally purchased two large capacity "sharps" containers and dropped them off at the encampment which is now comprised of around 9 to 11 tents. Others in the group said they have given the homeless folks food and have tried to be tolerant.

information from Woodland Park Zoo

Over the past year, you’ve been watching Hazel and her cubs Tián and Zan learn and grow. Now, the cubs are as big as mom and are ready to have some more time on their own! Hazel, who has delighted zoo guests for years, will be moving on to her new home at Memphis Zoo at the end of March. Make sure you come visit her before then! 

Hazel arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2017 to be paired with Yukiko under the Red Panda Species Survival Plan , a conservation breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of red pandas. When Hazel arrives at Memphis Zoo, she will be introduced to a new mate to breed with, under a recommendation from the Species Survival Plan. 

information from the City of Seattle

by Tim Robinson 

All through elementary, junior and senior high school, I dreaded report cards. Student achievement was based on letter grades. A for excellent work and B for pretty damn good. C was average, while D was below average and F was failing. 

I wasn’t a bad student. I thought I had good skills in all areas. But I had a great fear of failing. If I had drawn a simple vertical line to  change an “F” to make it an "A" on my midterm card., it would have earned me $5 from my parents .  

I had plenty of "C" grades, a number of "B" grades in classes I truly enjoyed, like biology and speech. 

I was very excited about wood and metal shop. I made some odd things, like a shoebox for dad,  a wood duck with aluminum wings. Metal chains and rings, etc. I received a "C" in both iclasses. My brother Ken made an elaborate  table that ws put on display at the school in his wood shop class.   He got an "A".

information from Highline Public Schools

Highline Public Schools have reached an agreement with teachers to begin hybrid instruction on March 11. Superintendent Susan Enfield sent this message to Highline families this morning. 

Dear Highline Families,

I am very happy to share that we have an agreement with our teachers to begin the next phase of hybrid instruction on March 11. The membership of the Highline Education Association (HEA), the union that represents our teachers, ratified the agreement Monday night. The start dates for in-person instruction are: