Photo courtesy of the CWB

The exhibit is titled “Persistent Work: Images of Industry on Lake Union and Salmon Bay.” The CWB says it, “combines historic pictures of Jenson Motor Boat Company, Pacific Fishermen’s Shipyard, and the George Broom & Son building with new images of the buildings using high density large format photography.”

Photographer Abby Inpanbutr and curator Shelly Leavens have gathered stories and images representing the significance of the buildings’ past and present uses.  It shows our region’s maritime industrial heritage, and shows that it is still alive and continues to provide jobs and the tools that men and women use daily on our waterfront.

The photography exhibit is free, and is open to the public through July 2012.

Wallingford, or “Friday North” as referred to in the challenge, has a solid lead over the nine other areas in for the win.  The challenge encourages Seattle communities to reduce their overall waste by decreasing garbage and increasing their efforts to recycle and compost. The one that reduces the most waste will win a $50,000 grant to give their community a “Main Street Makeover.” Grant money will be spent on improvement projects within the winning community. The competition runs through the end of March 2012.

The winning neighborhood will be determined by the highest diversion rate, which increases as recycling and composting increase and garbage decreases. The six-month competition began in October 2011.

Continue reading“Groupon Fever”

The organizers have decided to make each walk a different theme. February’s walk, not surprisingly, is “Love.” They’ve asked Wallingfordians to create “Art Hearts” to “show their love for Wallingford,” and will display those hearts at the Wallingford QFC for the month of February.

Here is a full list of artists and venues:

The City of Seattle expects the liaisons will typically deal with issues surrounding nightlife regulations, liquor licenses, medical marijuana dispensaries, and, “helping neighborhoods rid themselves of chronic nuisance properties.” The liaison to the Wallingford area will be Jana Jorgensen, who says she, “looks forward to opportunities to develop new relationships, improve old ones and work for a better Seattle.”

From the City of Seattle:

“It’s an opportune time to launch a completely reengineered Precinct Liaison Program 2.0,” said City Attorney Pete Holmes, “simultaneously bringing closer together SPD’s five precincts, the City Attorney’s Office and Seattle’s diverse communities to better address local problems and concerns.

With the city petitioning the state to allow longer hours for liquor service, Holmes said the liaison attorneys will likely play a role in drafting good-neighbor agreements with clubs seeking the extended hours or new liquor licenses. Noise, disorderly conduct, over-service, service and criminal activity can all be addressed in agreements drafted by the liaisons.

The boundary change is part of a short-term capacity management plan that addresses Seattle Public Schools’ enrollment growth. According to Seattle Schools, “the plan, which outlines how the School District will accommodate the projected increasing enrollment, was developed following input from the Facilities and Capital Management Advisory Committee (FACMAC). Input was considered from about 300 attendees at six community meetings held between September and December 2010, and also included 550 written comments.”  It was approved 7-0 by the Seattle School Board on Jan. 25. To read the full plan, see the Board action report.

Photo courtesy Seattle Public Schools

“Seattle has been very progressive with changing the way we offer meals, offering fruits and vegetables every day, as well as whole grain-rich foods,” said Wendy Weyer, Director of Nutrition Services for Seattle Public Schools. “There is a new requirement that we only offer fat-free or low-fat milk varieties, which we are already doing in Seattle.”

The new menus also set maximums for calories and cut sodium and trans fat, a contributor to high cholesterol levels. The standards will be phased in over a three-year period, starting in the 2012-13 school year. “During the first year of the three-year adoption, I do not see many changes for us. The biggest challenge in the longer-term targets will be looking at how to reduce sodium content, while keeping the meals palatable for our students,” Weyer said.

Here are the guidelines from the USDA’s Healthy Meals and Healthy Kids site:

• Ensuring students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week;
• Substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods;
• Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties;
• Limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size; and
• Increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium.

The school district expects a cost increase with the new standards, as it mandates a fruit or vegetable on every tray, regardless of whether the student chooses it. Schools across the country will receive an extra 6 cents a meal for lunches from federal funding. Seattle Schools currently receive $2.79 for every lunch served to a student eligible for a free lunch, $2.39 for a reduced-price lunch, and 28 cents for a full-price lunch.

However, guidelines will still allow french fries and pizza. Back in November, lawmakers insisted that pizza counted as a vegetable because of its tomato paste. To take a look at current menus and nutrition standards for Seattle Public Schools, visit their Nutrition Services site.

After the kick-off event, the real training gets started on Saturday, February 4 at 9 a.m. The training is free, and volunteers will lead groups from Jefferson Community Center (3801 Beacon Ave S.), Ballard Senior Center (5429 32nd Ave. NW) and Ravenna Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave. NE).

To learn more about the training, visit the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Lifelong Recreation site.

Photo courtesy of KapKa School

Chris Park, a current KapKa parent, says the school believes in, “educating the whole child; taking care to support each child’s academic, social and emotional growth.”

From Park:

KapKa provides an experience-centered, integrated curriculum. With strong involvement and support of our parents, passionate teachers and staff, our students are challenged to develop the academic and social skills necessary to be inquisitive, thoughtful, caring and contributing members of our community.

This fall, KapKa moved three blocks from our eleven-year home at the “Little Red Schoolhouse” on Linden Avenue to our current location within the Emmanuel Bible Church complex near Woodland Park. Doubling our previous square footage, we now have more classroom space, a larger library, larger mixed-use space for music and art, an outdoor play yard as well as a full-size indoor gym.

Students in Seattle Public Schools will make up one of this week’s snow days on Friday, January 27th. That date was scheduled as a professional development day for the staff, so kids were supposed to have the day off.

“It is important to get our students back in the classroom next week,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield. “We know some families may have made out-of-town plans for next Friday, and we apologize for any inconvenience this causes.”

Next Tuesday is a three-hour early dismissal day and can’t be used as a snow make-up day. School officials will decide next week when to make up the additional two snow days – possibly tacked onto the end of the year.