White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Got first word in a comment on an earlier story – then got a copy of the letter the commenter mentioned, and we have just spoken with the adviser to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn whose name is on the letter: Seattle wants White Center to vote on annexation this November. The process will start with senior adviser Kenny Pittman briefing the Seattle City Council next Monday. We’d heard from one councilmember, Jean Godden, just last week regarding the annexation issue. Pittman says of course other hearings and discussions will be involved – public meetings, the Boundary Review Board, etc. – but ideally, annexation of everything between the current Seattle city limits and the soon-to-be northernmost Burien border will be involved. Here’s the letter:

We have a message out to Burien City Manager Mike Martin for comment and will be contacting Seattle Council President Richard Conlin. While Burien, King County and former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels had agreed last year to a “memorandum of understanding” giving Seattle what amounted to first right of refusal on this area, the Seattle Council (with only Godden dissenting) had declined to approve it. ADDED 3:30 PM: Speaking for Seattle Council President Conlin, Rob Gala says, “(He) is ready to put this before the council – we’ll start talking about it right away. He’s been an advocate of annexation for a while, and we’re ready to put it before the people for a vote.”

Dubsea’s Joerael Elliott shares the poster:

Day after the White Center Community Development Association put up that hip-hop video about green job opportunities, a news release just in from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation includes word of a $200,000 grant for WCCDA’s “green jobs initiative” (and other nonprofit endeavors):

Providing foreclosure counseling for distressed homeowners in southern Oregon and supporting the development of a green jobs initiative for young adults in Seattle’s White Center neighborhood are among the grants recently awarded by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. These latest grants reflect the Foundation’s continued focus on strengthening the social safety net for those living on the financial edge as well as supporting longer-term initiatives to help low-income families and individuals achieve economic stability.

“During one of the most dramatic economic downturns in history, we remain committed to helping our nonprofit partners and the communities they support respond and adapt to these growing challenges,” said Susan M. Coliton, vice president of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “Our latest grants will help people build the long-term social and economic assets they need for economic stability in these uncertain times.”

As part of its latest round of grants awarded in 2009, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced $4.6 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. The Foundation awarded grants to 66 diverse non-profit organizations in the Pacific Northwest region (including 38 nonprofits in Washington, 18 in Oregon, four in Alaska, four in Idaho, and two in Montana).

Providing Economic Relief and Building Family Assets

The Foundation continues its focus on helping nonprofit organizations meet growing community needs during the current economic crisis. The latest grants include $50,000 to the Umpqua Community Development Corporation (Roseburg, Ore.) to help it meet increasing demand for foreclosure counseling, with the goal of assisting 700 Oregon homeowners facing foreclosure.

In addition to helping individuals in crisis, the Foundation’s latest grants will also help people build income streams and learn new skills to create long-term financial stability. The Foundation awarded $200,000 to Hacienda Community Development Corporation (Portland, Ore.) to expand its entrepreneurial micro-enterprise program called Micro Mercantes that provides mentoring to Latina women in becoming successful food vendors at local farmers’ markets; and $200,000 to White Center Community Development Association (Seattle, Wash.) to develop a green jobs initiative that will take advantage of federal stimulus funding to train young adults in home weatherization as a foundation for additional education, training, and employment security.

Expanding Educational Opportunities for Youth

The Foundation’s latest grants continue to support initiatives that test new models within the K-12 public education system and expand opportunities for youth to develop new interests, skills, and abilities. Grants include $400,000 to the Washington State STEM Education Foundation (Kennewick, Wash.) to support comprehensive professional development for teachers at Delta High School, a new high school focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the Tri-Cities region; $100,000 to the Portland Schools Foundation to support Ninth Grade Counts, a broad-based program to increase high school graduation rates and workforce readiness for Portland youth; $150,000 to Business Education Compact (Beaverton, Ore.) to increase capacity and facilitate expansion of their Proficiency-Based Teaching and Learning program to reach more than 1,300 educators; $50,000 to IslandWood (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) to support a two-year pilot program called Stewardship Stories in partnership with the Seattle Park and Recreation Department to provide hands-on environmental education programs for Seattle youth; and $60,000 to the National Wildlife Federation (Anchorage, Alaska) to expand a green jobs program for teens in rural Alaska.

Continuing a Longstanding Commitment to the Arts

Arts and culture grants in the latest round of giving include support for many of the Foundation’s longstanding nonprofit partners, including the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle and Perseverance Theatre, among others. The latest grants include support for annual arts programming as well as initiatives that help arts organizations strengthen their financial condition and sustain themselves during the recession and beyond.

Arts and culture grants include $75,000 to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise, Idaho) to support the Tessitura Consortium project, an initiative that creates a technology-sharing partnership with the Boise Contemporary Theater to integrate ticketing, donor, educational and financial data systems that improve operational efficiencies and customer service; $40,000 to the Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery (Portland, Ore.) to support the organization’s integration with the Pacific Northwest College of Art by providing improved infrastructure, training and staffing support.

Other key grants include $25,000 to the Seattle Chamber Music Festival for marketing initiatives to increase ticket sales and expand the organization’s 2010 Summer Festival audience base at its new Benaroya Hall location; $50,000 to the Northwest African American Museum (Seattle, Wash.) to develop a strategic marketing and outreach program to promote the museum’s exhibits, membership and services; $50,000 to the Holter Museum of Art (Helena, Mont.) to support a two-year audience and resource development project that honors the military and veteran community in Helena and greater Montana; and $75,000 to the Alaska Native Heritage Center (Anchorage, Alaska) to support the commissioning and presentation of four culturally significant works honoring Alaskan Native heritage and culture.

“Our commitment to supporting the continued vitality of the local arts sector has not changed,” said Coliton. “Like other nonprofits, arts and culture groups are grappling with new economic realities. It is encouraging that attendance at local museums and performing arts organizations remains strong. Clearly, even in challenging times, audiences find value and meaning in the creative work being developed and presented in our communities.”

Launched by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Jo Lynn Allen in 1988, the Allen family’s philanthropy is dedicated to transforming lives and strengthening communities by fostering innovation, creating knowledge and promoting social progress. Mr. Allen has contributed $378 million to the Foundation since its inception, benefitting over 1,370 diverse nonprofit groups to support and advance their critical charitable endeavors in the Pacific Northwest. A complete list of the Foundation’s latest grants is found at www.pgafamilyfoundation.org/grantlist.

In King County Superior Court on Monday, 8 years was the sentence for a White Center man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wheelchair-using girlfriend – who died after he hit her. The full story’s at seattlepi.com.

From the King County Department of Transportation:

The King County Road Service Division will close the South Park Bridge spanning the Duwamish River to both vehicle and marine traffic from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily Saturday Jan. 30 through Tuesday, Feb. 2. The four-day closure will allow engineers to perform noise and water quality testing and simulate vibration that might occur during bridge construction. During the closure, engineers will conduct pile driving to measure noise, vibration and take water quality samples. Data collected during the tests will assist the county in planning for construction of a new bridge when financing becomes available. During the closure, motorists can detour via the First Avenue South Bridge.

(click lower left of image to play slideshow, which includes audio)
By NICK FELDMAN
UW News Lab

“It’s a picture of my son,” the man in the chair said in Spanish. “Enrique is his name. When I came to the United States, I left him when he was 2 months old. It’s to have him with me all the time, to have a memory of him, because I don’t know if I’ll be able to see him again.”

Francisco Antonio Flores-Renteria came to the U.S. three years ago. When looking for a place to have the portrait done — his second tattoo — he looked no further than Dzul Studio — a place that was clean, where he trusted the quality of the art, and where he was able to converse in his own language.

The studio, run by brothers Alejandro (“Alex”) and Jacob (“Smiley”) as well as piercing-artist sisters Catalina and Elizabeth, takes the family name to heart: Dzul is a Mayan word meaning master or leader, one who stands above others in character or reputation. And that reputation has been built up over the last decade.

“I started to draw at an early age,” said Smiley, “and my friends from my neighborhood knew that I knew how to draw, so they were the ones who actually got me into it.” He sports seven tattoos himself: on his legs, right arm, collarbone, each shoulder, and his mother’s name on his back — his first, at age 16. “That’s how I started, just doing names for (friends) and their mom’s names and initials.”

After four years of doing airbrush art at weekend swap meets and homemade tattoos for friends on the side — and discovering fairs like Bite of Seattle, Bumbershoot, Hempfest and Portland’s Cinco de Mayo celebration — the brothers had amassed enough capital to open a studio.

“When we first moved out to the Northwest, there wasn’t a lot of art put out with our perspective or flavor,” said Alex. “We’re from the Southwest, and when we came in there were a lot of people who wanted art but they weren’t getting it. That’s one of the places where we come in and really shine, because we have a very unique style.”

Smiley, the studio’s resident tattoo expert, is a master of the more urban black-and-gray tattoo style, but is also a talented tribal and color artist. About 80 percent of the art done at Dzul is original, and while the brothers have “flash” designs premade — reusable and template art — they’ve found that people are more interested in art that speaks directly to them, and that both parties are often more excited to do unique work.

While the Dzuls cater to their culture, only 30 percent to 40 percent of their clientele is Hispanic. Instead, they draw on the many ethnic and age demographics that tattoo culture has infiltrated, as well as their clients from places as far away as Everett and Vancouver, B.C., who travel specifically to visit the White Center studio.

“A lot of people who speak Spanish feel good to be understood, but the population in Seattle is not heavily Hispanic,” said Alex. “We’re really pretty diverse when it comes to who walks through our doors. “

The siblings, all Queen Anne residents, are currently looking to either move or expand to a location somewhere closer to the center of Seattle. One of their main reasons for originally choosing the shop’s location was its affordability for young artist-entrepreneurs.

In addition to massive updates to the studio’s Web site — including an education-focused FAQ section — within the next year, Dzul also plans to launch a clothing line and sponsor an art exhibition with a Day of the Dead theme featuring original art, tattooing and photography.

“People come through, they get their work, it’s original,” said Alex. “They have a perspective and we just help them to make it look good. I thought it would be good to do portraits of them and their tattoos to tell their stories.”

In the words of Alex, who studied graphic design at the Art Institute of Seattle, artists always need a community of other people who share their passion. And, luckily for these four siblings, that artistic community is also blood.

“If there’s anyone you can trust the most,” Smiley said, “it’s your family.”

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(NICK FELDMAN is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)

White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition chair Sean Healy sends a reminder of the group’s next meeting – coming up in less than a week. As his note points out, the group’s gone through some changes; no official Seattle Neighborhood Group staffers now, so it’s entirely volunteer-run – executive committee members Healy, Angela Rambo and Barbara Liberache are in charge. The meeting location is new, too – instead of St. James Place, you’ll find the coalition at DSHS offices, 9650 15th SW (map). Regular meeting time/location remains 6 pm, fourth Thursday of the month – that’s next Thursday 1/28, and everybody’s welcome.

The topic of White Center annexation came up when we covered a brownbag lunch meeting with Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce offices today. WS business lawyer Jerome O. Cohen (at left with Godden) opened the subject by nothing that the WS Chamber, where he leads the board of directors, is trying to build stronger ties with White Center. Godden described WC as a “lively area” and mentioned a recent visit to Salvadorean Bakery. She then recalled last year’s vote in which a majority of councilmembers voted not to approve the Memorandum of Understanding that had been worked out by then-Mayor Greg Nickels as well as other parties interested in the area, giving Seattle a certain period for first right of refusal on White Center annexation. “I don’t often brag about the 8-1 votes where I’m the 1 – and there are few,” she said, indicating that one, in which she supported approving the MOU, was different – she believes her fellow councilmembers were trying to send a message, but not the one that she thinks the rest of the world drew from what happened. She says it’s up to new Mayor Mike McGinn, as well as the people of White Center, to indicate they would like to talk about annexation, but notes the legislation is still in effect with the tax changes Seattle wanted and needed for annexation to be possible. One sticking point right now, she indicated, is the South Park Bridge – if Seattle annexed all the unincorporated area to its immediate south, the bridge would become the city’s $110 million problem. But federal help might be on the way, she noted. (She is vice chair of the council’s Transportation Committee, now chaired by West Seattle’s Tom Rasmussen.) Overall, she said, White Center “seems like something that ought to be part of the city” – provided its residents agree.

From South End Neighbors for Peace:

Is military escalation the path to peace? What would victory in Afghanistan, look like? Come find out why one brave woman is stepping up her work educating Afghan boys and girls. Find out what she thinks of the troop surge. Julia Bolz will update us and show slides of the schools she’s built, the charming kids who attend them, and the village elders who work with her in rural Afghanistan. Friday evening at 7, January 22, at Saint Francis Parish Hall, on 152nd Street and 21st Avenue in Burien. Enter parking lot from 20th Ave. Refreshments will be served, and there’ll be a bake sale. More items for bake sale are welcome! (come early)…and bring ball-point pens, which are hard to get in Afghanistan, for us to mail to students there. Learn more about Julia’s work and how you can get involved: www.aynieducation.org. Donations are tax-deductible.

Contact: Annie Phillips, 206-275-1393
Sponsored by Southend Neighbors for Peace, and St Francis of Assisi Parish Social Justice

Liz sent us this with a reminder of the event coming up a week from tomorrow:

As we’ve said before, though we didn’t know Ms. Luxa for long, she was a tremendous help with coverage of complicated White Center/North Highline issues here on WCN, and while covering 34th District Democrats meetings for West Seattle Blog and WCN, we saw what a tremendous force she was there. So we appreciate her contributions as well as everything else for which she has been and will be feted.

(Cross-posted at partner site West Seattle Blog)

Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for White Center Now/West Seattle Blog

A joint event between the Southwest Boys and Girls Club, the Red Cross and HOPE worldwide at Greenbridge (map) combined messages of civil rights and disaster preparedness to honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

The event was kicked off by the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder drummers and an opening speech by North Highline Fire District Fire Chief Scott LaVielle. Chief LaVielle spoke about fire safety— which is being highlighted by the Red Cross — and quoted from speeches by John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy to highlight the importance of caring for our communities.

Red Cross Coordinator Beth Jusino notes that MLK Day is viewed by her organization as “A day on, not a day off” in service to the community. After the event, volunteers dispersed into the Greenbridge neighborhood to place door-hangers regarding fire safety and earthquake preparedness at the surrounding homes. The information is printed in both English and Spanish. (In case you’re not in the area flyered – here’s the Red Cross’s infopage on fire safety.)

Jusino adds that in light of the Haitian earthquake, people have opened their hearts to the world community; today, people are focusing on opening their hearts to their local community – and the volunteers who are spreading the word about helping each other, locally and globally.

First, crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog – a chance to volunteer Monday afternoon at WestSide Baby in White Center, offered by executive director Nancy Woodland:

WestSide Baby would love extra hands on MLK Day! We’ve received so many donations of clothes since the holidays, we could really use extra teen or adult hands to sort through all the donations. We inspect each article of clothing for cleanliness and condition before we shelve it by size so it’s ready for another volunteer to place it in an order for local children in need.

We will be open extra hours on Monday from 2-5pm for up to 15 volunteers! It’s a great opportunity for high schoolers looking for service hours on their day off. Please let us know you are coming by emailing sarah@westsidebaby.org.

We will also have our regular third Thursday Sorting Frenzy this Thursday evening from 7-9 pm!

WestSide Baby HQ is at 10032 15th SW (map).

Also, there’s an event Monday morning at the Southwest Boys and Girls Club at Greenbridge, including the American Red Cross and HOPE Worldwide Washington. They’re going to rally with volunteers at the club at 10 am, with Seahawks stars, Sea Gals cheering team members, and Blue Thunder on hand, then go out to canvass local neighborhoods with safety information including escaping from fires and safely heating homes – the info will be in English and Spanish.

An update from our first mention a couple days ago – Full Tilt Ice Cream will donate today’s profits from all three of its stores to Haiti earthquake relief, not just White Center. Track the day’s development by following Full Tilt on Twitter (@FTicecream).

Reminder of two events we mentioned here earlier: Saturday night, it’s the artist reception at Dubsea Coffee (full story here), 7-9 pm, and then you can move over to Full Tilt Ice Cream for the Steel Tigers of Death performance.

Just a heads-up – Monday, when the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is observed, Metro will be on “reduced weekday” service levels. Full details here.

From Twitter: The original White Center location of growing Full Tilt Ice Cream will donate profits this Sunday to the Red Cross relief fund for Haiti earthquake victims.

Working on the server at West Seattle Blog right now to see what’s up (or more like, what’s down) … meantime, we’ll post news here if anything big happens before it’s fixed.

An announcement from the King County Assessor’s Office:

The King County Assessor’s Office invites you to its first Open House!

Please join King County Assessor Lloyd Hara at the King County Administration Building, 7th floor conference room, on Thursday, January 28th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The open house provides a great opportunity for citizens to meet their County Assessor and his staff in an informal setting. Cake and coffee will be served. Please rsvp your attendance to Edna Shim, Special Assistant for Community Relations at edna.shim@kingcounty.gov by Monday, January 25th.

Who:
King County Assessor Lloyd Hara

What:
Inaugural Open House hosted by the King County Assessor’s Office

When:
Thursday, January 28, 2010
4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Where:
King County Assessor’s Office & Conference Room
King County Administration Building, 7th Floor
500 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104-2304

PLEASE REMEMBER TO RSVP BY MONDAY, JANUARY 25TH !

Full Tilt Ice Cream proprietor Justin just sent this out via Twitter – next Saturday’s live music slate at the White Center flagship of his growing chain (location #3 in the University District just opened last week).