Audition call: Oliver! The Musical at EDGE Performing Arts & Dance

Monday, March 10, 2014

This is an open casting call for performers of all ages and levels from the EDGE Performing Arts and Dance in North City.

The musical adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic tale is of an orphan boy, Oliver, who runs away from the orphanage and hooks up with a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.

Director Ian Stratton and Musical Director: Jordyn Palmer Meeker are casting all parts. Children’s parts are open to both male and female, including Oliver and the Artful Dodger.

Performance Dates are July 18 and 19 at the Shoreline Conference Center Theatre.

Call or email for an audition slot:
  • March 17th  from 6:00pm to 9:30pm and 
  • March 23rd  from 6:00pm to 9:30pm. 
Audition requirements:
  • One song, 16-32 bars in the style of Oliver! Please bring accompaniment track via mp3 player or sheet music in your key.  If you require an accompanist, please let us know in your audition email so we can schedule the pianist accordingly.
  • One Monologue, memorized from a musical, play or movie.
Each audition slot is 5 minutes. You may be asked to cold-read or to sing something from the show. Younger participants may feel free to sing “America the Beautiful”.

Rehearsals start in April, once to twice weekly through June. No rehearsals June 31 through July 7. July 7 through show date, daily weekday rehearsals.

This is considered a teaching program for those participants under 18 who will be participating in a learning program that teaches stage direction, stage etiquette, dancing, acting direction and more! 

The cost of this program is $300 per student. Adult participants are FREE though may opt into classes. Payment plans are available if needed. Cast size is 30+.

Call 206-747-7380 or email for an audition slot or for any questions you may have.


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Town Hall meeting with Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-32 on Saturday

Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, will host a town hall meeting from 12:30 to 2:30pm Saturday, March 15 at the Mountlake Terrace Community Senior Center at Ballinger Park at 23000 Lakeview Drive in Mountlake Terrace.

“These kinds of meetings are terrific venues for candid discussions of the issues and priorities important to the 32nd District and our state,” Chase said. “The March 15 date is particularly timely because the 2014 legislative session will have just ended and the issues of this session should be fresh on people’s minds.”

Chase said the meeting would include an update of legislation action during the session along with questions and answers to constituents’ concerns.

“I always want to energetically represent the needs of our district, and I can do that best by keeping up to speed on everyone’s priorities for our district and our state,” she said. “I look forward to a lively, back-and-forth discussion in real time.”


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Shadow Seals swim beyond disabilities at the Shoreline Pool

Shadow Seals club swimmers and coaches

By Quint Turner

Kiko Van Zandt was a nurse at Children’s Hospital twenty years ago when she met two active patients in wheelchairs. The youths wanted to exercise and were looking for more ways to do so. “They wheelchair-raced outside of Children’s and asked me to help them swim,” said Van Zandt. The nurse agreed to be their coach and that connection started the Shadow Seals swimming program. 

The Shadow Seals program was revolutionary then and now. It is the only independent swim team in the United States focusing solely on swimmers with disabilities. 

“The wheelchair race group called themselves Team Shadow and we got the name Shadow Seals from there,” said Van Zandt, who is still a nurse at Children’s. Each of the Shadow Seals has a disability, which can be either mental or physical, but Van Zandt’s goal for the team is to make sure every member trains as though on an able-bodied swim team.

“The premise of this team is to provide kids with physical disabilities the same things we got growing up,” said Van Zandt. “My goal was to have the swimmers love swimming so much that they want to swim year round on an able-bodied team.” She modeled the program based on her days as a competitive swimmer at the University of Washington in the 1970s.

Today Van Zandt coaches the Shadow Seals team with the help of permanent coaches Guillermo Romano and Justin Fleming, who oversee volunteer student-coaches Nathan Ives and Maddie Maider from Roosevelt High School. The five coaches design workouts and drills for the swimmers who range in age from 8 to 22 years. In addition to the 12 swimmers registered with the club there are an additional 5 athletes certified by other USA-swimming clubs to practice with the team. Practices alternate between Shoreline Pool in Shoreline and Lindbergh Pool in Renton. 

Before swimming in regional or national competitions, each swimmer has to be classified based on a disability range of S10 to S1. Swimmers compete only against people in the same ranking.

A swimmer who is S1 ranked is the most disabled which includes those with only one arm like Kayla Wheeler. Wheeler, a Mountlake Terrace Senior, is a celebrated Shadow Seal. Born missing three limbs, she swims with her left arm, and holds four world records and countless national records. She has been named to the Scholastic All-American team two years in a row for maintaining a 4.0 in core high school classes while also meeting Paralympic Championship standards. Though she was originally classified as an S4 swimmer, she was S3 for four-and-a-half years and S1 for 18 months, but is currently classified as S2. Three of her world records are in the 50 butterfly in classes 1, 2, and 3.

“Kayla likes it when people don’t think she can do it,” said Kayla’s mom, Joyce Wheeler. Kayla loves to swim every event except for backstroke, which is unfortunate because she hopes to compete at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and the only event there for S2 swimmers is the backstroke. A strong competitor, Kayla plans to continue to train despite pain in her left shoulder from the repetitive backstroke motion.

One of Kayla’s teammates, Anita Braitmayer, suffers the effects of paraplegic residual to polio and joined Shadow Seals in the fall of 2009 because her mother made her do so. “Seriously,” said Anita, “my mom encouraged me to join.” 

Anita’s mom, Karen Braitmayer, wanted her daughter to learn more than swimming. “I felt Anita would benefit from the camaraderie of other kids who shared her experience of being a person with disability in our community,” said Karen Braitmayer. “Most of these kids are ‘onlies’ – the only kid with a physical disability in their school environment. It is tiring being the one everyone notices. Having fun and getting faster in her swimming was just icing on the cake.”

During an extended stay in Children’s Hospital, Anita learned to swim using just her arms. She is ranked S6. According to Karen Braitmayer, Anita’s biggest challenge “was that she got chilled very easily without the warmth of muscle moving in her lower limbs.” 

Like her teammates, Anita perseveres beyond obstacles.

Permanent Coach Justin Fleming has a long-term connection to the program. He was born with multiple birth defects in his right leg and had to have it amputated while just a week old. The operation took place at Children’s Hospital. “I met Kiko when I was seven days old,” said Coach Fleming. He joined the Shadow Seals when he was in grade school and has enjoyed a long career. 

The practices helped propel Fleming to the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, where he raced in the 400 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly events in the S8 classification. He finished seventh overall in both events. Fleming became a coach with the Shadow Seals in order to make sure more kids get the same chance he did and also to give back to the community.

Coach Romano’s route to the team was different. He and Coach Fleming swam on the same able-bodied team in high school. “[Fleming] pulled one of my friends on to the Shadow Seals,” said Romano, “and then he pulled me in.” He assisted the team the same way both Coach Ives and Coach Maider do now, giving workouts to lanes of swimmers, before heading off to college. “I lost track of Kiko,” said Romano, “but then I saw her at a master’s championship meet and reconnected with her.” He rejoined the Shadow Seals as a permanent coach. “Coaching is my greatest passion,” said Romano. “Coaching people with disabilities presents a challenge you won't find with able bodied teams. It allows and forces me to constantly create new strokes or adaptations that I wouldn't do elsewhere.”

But all three of the coaches don’t just help the Shadow Seals, the coaches also travel to teach more kids with disabilities. Romano even went to Mexico in February to train coaches to work with kids with disabilities. 

The club attracts swimmers outside the Seattle area. “We draw (swimmers) from Camano Island and from all over,” said Coach Romano. “We had a kid from Arkansas swim with our team once. Because there are so few meets, most swimmers need to travel a long distance to compete. Most teams can’t afford to send a coach with them and we pick up a few swimmers during a meet and give them feedback.” 

When not everyone can get together, the coaches encourage the athletes to practice individually. “We email or text workouts [to swimmers] and do one-on-one workouts with athletes not on an able-bodied team,” said Coach Romano. And the coaches rotate so they can work with everybody. 

The public even has an opportunity to support the swimmers. The Shadow Seals are holding a Swim-A-Thon on Sun., March 9, at Lindbergh Pool in Renton. This annual fundraiser has each athlete swim for either two hours or 200 pool lengths. People who want to donate can either pledge a dollar amount per lengths a swimmer will do in two hours or a total amount up front.

The team is also preparing for the Fifth Annual Marin Morrison Memorial Meet on May 3 and 4. The meet is named after former Shadow Seal Marin Morrison, who went on to compete in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. She died the following year due to a brain tumor. Since there are no other clubs like the Shadow Seals to compete against, the Shadow Seals host their own event every year. The Memorial Meet is open to all swimmers who are registered with USA Swimming. If you’re looking to see impressive swimmers, this is the meet to watch.

For more information on the Shadow Seals, see their website

This article was originally published in My Edmonds News


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Ridgecrest Elementary returns to normal

Ridgecrest Elementary returns to normal on Monday, after police track down the teenaged boy who was responsible for the threatening emails sent to the principal and some teachers.

Using the name "spirit walker" he used language which alarmed the staff, including "threatening a raid". The school district and the Shoreline police took the threats very seriously and took precautions, including a full lockdown of the school and then a partial lockdown as they began to close in on the sender.

The mother of the teenaged boy has been cooperating with authorities.

The school is back to normal operation, including outdoor recess. Science Night, which had been cancelled as a precaution, is back on the calendar, scheduled for Tuesday night, March 18.


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WSP Reminds Drivers – Move Left for Stopped Emergency Vehicles

The Washington State Patrol is reminding drivers that state law requires them to slow down, and move left if safe, when passing emergency vehicles stopped beside the roadway.

Emergency vehicles include police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, tow trucks and highway maintenance vehicles with emergency lights activated.

The law went into effect in 2011, after a series of incidents involving not only police cars, but other emergency vehicles and the death of a tow truck driver.

“This law couldn’t be easier to comply with,” said State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste. “All you have to do is ease off the gas and, if it’s safe, ease to the left.”

Batiste added a caution, however, about sudden maneuvers intended to comply with the law. He stressed that simply slowing down and easing left is sufficient.

“We don’t want people making sudden maneuvers that could be even more dangerous,” he said.

Since the law went into effect, State Troopers have contacted more than 10,000 violators using a mix of education and enforcement to win compliance. Troopers report that most drivers understand the reason for the law once it’s explained to them.

Although failure to move left is a traffic violation, if the behavior is egregious enough to endanger emergency workers the conduct becomes criminal, and can result in a jail sentence.

Over the next few weeks, troopers statewide will be making an extra effort to contact violators they might observe in the course of other routine work.

“We’ve asked them to keep a watchful eye on their fellow emergency workers, and take action when they observe a violation,” Batiste said.


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Shorecrest Hip Hop Team takes first place at District 1 Championships

Shorecrest Hip Hop Team - District 1 Champions

The Shorecrest Hip Hop Team took First Place at the District 1 Championships at Kamiak High School on Saturday March 8. They received the highest score of the day out of 20 routines which included the hip hop category. This the team's 9th straight district title in the category!

As the defending State Champions from the 2012-2013 season, Shorecrest goes to Yakima with an undefeated record for the past two seasons and will attempt to repeat that success again this year.

The WIAA State Dance/Drill Championships will be held at the Yakima Sun Dome on March 28-29.

The team is lead by Co-Captains Fayth Harris and Dinah Romero with coaching and choreography by Rex Kinney.


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Come One - Come All to a Fundraiser at Menchie’s Gateway

Shorewood High School Class of 2014 Senior Spree is holding a fundraiser at Menchie’s on Friday March 14, at the Menchie’s Gateway, 18336 Aurora Ave N., from 9pm – 11pm.

This is set up to follow the SWHS Talent Show performances in the Shorewood Theater that evening. Senior Spree will receive a portion of the proceeds of sales during this two hour window of time. These proceeds will be used for scholarships to Spree. 

Mention Shorewood when you come in!

Senior spree is an all-night, parent chaperoned, drug and alcohol free graduation party at two secret locations with tons of outrageous activities. It provides a positive, enjoyable celebration for graduating seniors.


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The Senior Center needs a new commercial freezer

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Commercial freezer needed for Senior Center

The Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Center had an unexpected loss: their commercial freezer died. The items inside were shared with the community, but the freezer itself is a complete loss.

A replacement will cost the Center around $5,000. They run on a tight budget under any circumstances and a major piece of equipment was not in their planning this year.

The Center, which provides services to Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, and north Seattle, provides lunch Monday to Friday, catering, and cooking classes. A good freezer is central to their mission.

If you can help the Senior Center by donating to the Freezer Fund, send your check to: Shoreline-LFP Senior Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Suite 1, Shoreline, WA 98155, and mark the check, “Freezer Fund”.  You can also drop off your check in person at the Center.

If you have questions, call 206-365-1536 and ask for Bob or Janice.


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March 18 Workshop for artists: Marketing and prepping for shows

Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council is hosting the second of three workshops to help artists who are interested in selling their work at festivals. These workshops are appropriate for both first time festival artists, or seasoned festival sellers who would like to increase sales and learn some new tricks.

Workshops will be held at the Shoreline Center Arden Room and will start at 6:30pm. The workshops are $10 each.

March 18, 6:30pm
Shoreline Center: Arden Room
Art/Business Workshop: Session 2
Laying the Groundwork for Success: Marketing and prepping for your shows

Preshow Prep:  Laying groundwork for a great festival using social media and word of mouth to market your events; Effective booth set-up and display. Marketing for a show (social and word-of-mouth), effective booth design, equipment prep (money, packaging, booth set-up, emergencies).

Are you new to the art of art festivals (or returning and want to learn a few new tricks)? Want to get a better handle on balancing your art and your business in a festival venue? As we near the start of the 2014 summer festival season, the coordinators for the Shoreline Arts Festival's Artist Marketplace, Jody McCrain and Sella Rush, offer their perspective on the festival scene, share their successes and secrets, and hopefully spark new ideas for you.

Shoreline Lake Forest Park Arts Council Marketer Lorie Hoffman will be on hand to answer any questions specific to the Shoreline Arts Festival.

About the Instructors:

Jody McCrain
Co-founder of McCrain Photography, Jody McCrain has been involved with the art festival world for the past nine years. She and her husband, Phil McCrain, have participated in many local and regional festivals throughout the Northwest. She has also served as co-director of the Shoreline Artists' Market for the past six years (last five with Sella Rush).  She is a member of the Northwest Art Alliance (Best of the Northwest) Board, and she recently accepted the position of Artist Selection and Jury Pool Coordinator.  Having experienced festivals from both the artist and business side, Jody is excited to share with other artists the highs and lows of this journey.

Sella Rush
Shoreline-based jewelry artist Sella Rush (of Shi-Shi Design) has been selling her handmade pieces in the Pacific NW for eight years. During that time, she's been accepted, wait-listed, and--shockingly--rejected for festivals and markets throughout the area. Sella has also served as co-coordinator (with Jody McCrain) of the Shoreline Arts Festival's Artist Marketplace for the past five years. As an active artist and festival organizer, Sella is very happy to share with her fellow artists the lessons she's learned on both sides of the glass.

Lorie Hoffman
Marketer for the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council, Hoffman knows the ins and outs of putting your best foot forward. She has sat on the Board of Directors for the Sweet Pea Arts Festival which boasts an annual audience of over 15,000, has directed three art galleries, has sat on countless juries, and has owned and operated her own Fine Art Business for the last 10 years.  In addition to being on staff with the Arts Council, Hoffman does business consulting with artists ready to increase their level of professional polish and make their art their business.


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Don't kill the ump: Umpire training and Rules Clinics for Little League parents

Learn the rules - help the play be fun and safe

The 2014 Season is well underway, and while players are practicing, Richmond Little League, along with other leagues in District 8, is putting on a couple of events to give parents and volunteers some in-depth information on how the games are played.

Rules Clinic: Have you ever watched a little league game and wondered about the rules governing the game? Come listen to highly experienced experts discuss the rules and talk about how to keep the play fun and safe. If you are interested in helping out your league, even occasionally, this is a good event to attend.

The three-part clinic will be held at the new Shorewood High School cafeteria. Monday March 10, Wednesday March 12, and Thursday March 13. 5:45pm to 9pm each night.

Umpire Field Mechanics: You want to make the call? Come find out how from some of the best umpires in the world. If you are a new umpire volunteer, or if you simply want to brush up on your skills, come to the field mechanics training on Saturday, March 22 at the Loyal Heights Playfield in north Seattle.
  • The 60’ field training runs from 9am to 1pm.
  • The 90’ field training runs from 1pm to 4pm.
If you have any questions, contact Tod Carlson, Umpire in Chief



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February home sales in Shoreline

These sales are typical of homes sold in their price range in Shoreline during February 2014.

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Crime in Shoreline A-Z: Kind of a goofy week

Shoreline Police Station
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Crime in Shoreline A - Z
2-17 to 2-23-2014

Every week - death investigations, suicide attempts, domestic violence, violent people with mental issues, suicide attempts, arrest warrants, drivers with suspended license, credit card identify theft, runaway kids, wandering seniors, well-being checks, natural deaths, driving violations with DUI drivers, tracking sex offenders - and here's the rest:

A - Burglars used the garage door opener stolen in a previous car prowl to open garage door and steal items from the garage

Alcohol, Drugs - picked up a drunk at Aurora Village Starbucks / Drunk at Ballinger Thriftway / Drunk picked up from his residence 

Arrest - Picked up a man on Aurora who was wanted on a felony warrant as a fugitive from justice in Allentown PA - Allentown will extradite / Picked up a person with a misdemeanor warrant and a concealed meat cleaver

Assault - Person spit on someone at the E Line bus stop, then hit another person on the bus

Burglary - Forced entry to front door 172xx Dayton N / Suspect pounded door open of occupied home at 18xx N 205

Car prowl - Medical supplies and equipment taken from back seat of vehicle at 25xx NW 194th Pl / Theft from unsecured vehicle at 25xx NW 192nd / Handgun stolen from car at Shoreview Park / Unlocked car in Ballinger Commons parking lot / 4 unlocked cars in driveway at 194xx Richmond Beach Rd / Man found items from his wife's car alongside their house 10xx NE 182nd / Windows rolled down and sunroof open on vehicle at Maplewood Court Apts / Car was unlocked but in secured parking at Echo Lake Apts / Knife and GPS from car at 12xx NE 184th / Locked car at Ballinger Commons / 23xx N 180th

Cars and parts stolen – Car stolen from Briarwood Apts on Midvale / Truck stolen from work site at 167xx Whitman / Car stolen from Shay's Restaurant / Honda stolen from Aurora Village Park n Ride / Auto theft from Autumn Ridge Apts / Auto stolen from Echo Cove Apts / Ford Explorer from Chateau Apts

Fraud - Scammers continue to try to get money from victim previously targeted in lottery scam / Male tries to pass counterfeit $20 at AM/PM 1901 NE 205th 

Larceny - Shoplifting - Stole a cord from Radio Shack on Aurora / Shoplift from Goodwill / Alcohol from North City Safeway / Fred Meyer shoplifter was Trespassed / Sears shoplifter had an accomplice in a waiting vehicle / Arrested after taking $134 in electrical parts from Home Depot / Took alcohol from Aurora Safeway - booked on previous warrant / Person steals two CO2 detectors from Sears, flees, is arrested / Shoplift from North City Safeway

Mail theft - Mail stolen from 200xx Meridian - victim not willing to assist in prosecution

Mental - Mentally ill man going through the rooms at the Carmelite Monastery was removed by police

Suspicious - Woman who was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs refused to come out of a tanning room at Desert Sun on Aurora

Trespass - Man Trespassed from Rodeway Inn after refusing to leave / Known shoplifter, previously Trespassed, was seen inside Home Depot

Vandalism - Drift On Inn patron was asked to leave, made a scene, threw the cash register to the ground and peeled out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed

Vandalism, parks - Graffiti in women's restroom at Echo Lake Park / Picnic tables marked at Twin Ponds Park / Graffiti on retaining wall at Ridgecrest Park / Graffiti in women's room at Richmond Highlands Park

Z - Two drunk males - each accused the other of stealing his wallet - no evidence or witnesses - one was booked on a previous theft warrant

For other weeks of Crime in Shoreline, see the Features section on the front page.



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Shoreline Community College delighted with assistance from Lake Forest Park Rotary

Sneakers were the footwear of choice at the
March 1, 2014 Lake Forest Park Rotary Sneaker Ball.
Photo courtesy Shoreline Community College
Thanks to the Lake Forest Park Rotary, veterans in financial need at Shoreline Community College now have a lot more resources available to help.

At the chapter’s Sneaker Ball, held March 1, 2014 at Inglewood Golf Club, attendees raised $13,000 in just seven minutes at the fund-raising dinner and auction.

“Our ‘raise-the-paddle’ event this honored our veterans who may be living with financial uncertainty,” Sally Renn, club president said. “To accomplish this goal, we are contributing funds to the Veterans Emergency Assistance Fund at the Shoreline Community College Foundation.”

Foundation President Mark McVeety said he was gratified at Rotary’s offer to help.
“This is how community works; identify needs and then come together to meet those needs,” McVeety said. “The college has a great Veterans Resource Center and terrific support, but some veterans need help that the college can’t provide. That’s where the Foundation comes in with programs like the emergency fund to help these men and women get the assistance they need when they need it."

Shoreline Community College and Foundation officials and friends
at the March 1, 2014 Lake Forest Park Rotary “Sneaker Ball”
that raised $13,000 for the Foundation’s Veterans emergency Fund.
Photo courtesy Shoreline Community College

Dean of Students Kim Thompson was overwhelmed by the response of the donors at the Sneaker Ball. Thompson oversees Shoreline’s veterans program and led the effort to secure a federal grant that established the Veterans Resource Center.

“This was just beyond my wildest dreams,” Thompson said. “We work closely with the college Foundation and this money will definitely make a difference for many veterans who trying to move on to the next phase of their lives.”

Shoreline Interim President Daryl Campbell attended the event and thanked Rotary and the many donors.

“Rotary and the college are foundational pieces of our community,” Campbell said. “By working together, we’re making that community a better place to live.”


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Farewell from reporter Devon Vose Rickabaugh

Dear Readers of the Shoreline Area News,

I’ve decided to move on from my job as reporter for the Shoreline City Council meetings for the past several years. I’ve observed the council members doing the city’s work: struggling with economic conditions and trying to balance sidewalk safety with available funds, and successfully applying for many grants to help with big projects like the Aurora Corridor improvements and sidewalks near schools.

I’ve been gratified to see city residents come before the council meetings to voice their opinions on items close to their lives like the city’s plastic bag ban and building setback rulings. I’ve enjoyed shaping the important agenda items into what I hope have been informative articles. Also it’s been a thrill to be recognized by Shoreline residents and complimented on my work, or criticized for not covering an event from their perspective.

As a poet and an artist I plan to explore new areas like auditing art history classes at UW and as always playing with my grandbabies. Should any of you want to see my poetry and art I’ve made a small book blog.

Shoreline has been a great place to raise my family and be part of covering the news.

Sincerely,

Devon Vose Rickabaugh


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Shoreline's Running Man runs to inspire

Lamont Thomas in 2010
Lamont Thomas has been running in Shoreline for seven years. At seven days and 84 miles a week, he is a familiar sight to Richmond Beach residents.

Brad Berryman posted a video interview with Thomas, which you can see here.


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Have you seen the TV ads? Faux rappers champion health care to the younger crowd

Photo courtesy Seattle-King County Public Health
By Britt Olson 

If you're intrigued by the rappers in a fresh round of TV ads from Washington Healthplanfinder, sorry, don't expect an album any time soon.

They're fictitious. But like real rappers, they're flashy and they draw attention. They're meant to hook viewers -- while also revealing true stories of Washington residents who've signed up for insurance.

“We knew we wanted to use real people and to show the tangible value of this health resource in Washington. But we wanted to avoid the typical government looking ad where someone is just talking about their experience,” said Bethany Frey, senior communications specialist for Healthplanfinder and Washington Health Benefit Exchange. 
“We wanted to catch people's attention, especially that younger audience who we need to keep attracting.”

Washington Healthplanfinder worked closely with its ad agency to develop a strategy appealing to 18-34-year-olds--those young adults who make up the largest portion of the uninsured. Research showed three things in particular resonate with this audience: 
  • humor 
  • brevity 
  • music 
"We were trying to reach a group that speaks in 140 characters," Frey explains. And music also seemed a great unifier for Washington state.

The ads follow a duo with the wink-wink names of "I-V" and "De-Fib" (two actors) as they interview real Washingtonians who have enrolled in insurance via Healthplanfinder. The real people -- Rian, Patricia and Jon -- have stories that serve as source material for the rappers’ parody songs, “Baby Bird” and “Hospital Billz."

Viewers see I-V as he coos into a mic stand that resembles a gilded I-V pole. De-Fib, with a golden defibrillator around his neck, drops random rhymes.

“It is meant to appeal to one demographic. We don't expect everyone to get it,” explains Frey, acknowledging not everyone loves the ads.

They do seem to be working. Enrollment has been up 10 percent among 18-34-year-olds since the ads first aired. On YouTube, the videos have amassed over 10,000 views in only a few weeks.

By the numbers alone, they sound like a hit.


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Shoreline Special Needs PTSA hosts panel discussion Wednesday

Our Mission: Fostering communication and collaboration among parents, students, teachers, schools and the community to support students with special needs.

Shoreline Special Needs PTSA Announces “Come meet our Special Ed Administrators” for their special event on Wednesday, March 12 in the Spartan Room at the north end of the Shoreline Center, 18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline 98155.

The community is invited.

6:30 pm           Sign-in, Mingle and Connect with other parents
7:00 pm           Meet our Panel
  • Amy Vujovich - Director of Student Services
  • Hillery Clark - Director of Early Childhood Program, Fircrest, and PT & OT
  • Ellen Kaje - Director of Title 1, LAP, ELL, and Highly Capable Programs
  • Holly Eigenbrood - Special Education Coordinator
  • Karena Valiquette - Student Services Coordinator
They will discuss their roles in the district and participate in a moderated panel discussion. The meeting will adjourn at 8:30pm.

A moderated panel format will allow the submission of written questions.

Shoreline Special Needs PTSA member questions will be given priority (Join today or at the meeting) and may be submitted at the meeting or via the online survey

If time allows, general community questions will also be presented.

To stay informed of future events and notifications for the Special Needs PTSA LIKE their Facebook page and visit their new website. Online membership sign-ups are available.

Memberships are $12 for an individual and $10 for each additional household member. Forms will be available at the meeting. Donations are always welcome.

Future General Member Meeting Dates are April 17th and June 3, 2014.

You can email them for more information.


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Rep. Pollet cancels district ‘Traveling Town Hall’ meeting Saturday

Democratic 46th District State Rep. Gerry Pollet has canceled his district ‘Traveling Town Hall" meeting for Saturday.

Pollet has been holding weekly events in Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and northeast Seattle.

He said Friday that legislative business would keep him in Olympia Saturday.

Pollet said that he would continue holding the meetings around the district after the current session ends, including at least one at the Lake Forest Park Town Center.

Pollet said that when he held a meeting in Lake Forest Park early in the session he met about 20 constituents who, he said, asked good questions.

Pollet said that, when he, Democratic 46th District State Rep. Jessyn Farrell and State Sen. David Frocht held a telephone town hall meeting Feb. 25, they got about 900 listeners but ran out of time before getting to all of their questions.



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Tech Talk: Making Email work best in a mobile world

Email used to be simple. Connect, access your email and disconnect. However as more of my clients access email between their PC, and newly purchased smartphones and tablets, they are discovering that the email access methods that worked well for their single PC or Mac are no longer adequate. What do we need to do to adjust? 

Let’s start with a little history of email access.


The “Dial-up” Days

For many users in the 80’s and early 90’s, “connect time” meant either inconveniently tying up a phone line or expensive per-minute charges. So, Email servers used a “store and forward approach” to make connection time more efficient.

You would load an email application to retrieve email and store it locally on your computer. Any replies or new communication would also be stored locally and then passed to the email server then the next dial-up connection was made.

The process was pretty efficient with an online connection lasting only the period of time necessary to retrieve new messages from the server and send your outgoing messages.

This process is not unlike how “snail mail” is delivered from or sent to your local post office. Given that, it’s not surprising that this method become known as the Post Office Protocol (POP). Technically, POP only handles received email. To send email, we use another protocol, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), a topic for another time.


The latest version, POP3, is a very simple retrieval method that downloads your mail, deleting it from the server. Virtually all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and major email services like Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Hotmail/Outlook.com support POP email access. 

The downside of POP today is that it is designed for a single computer to collect your email. A Harris/Teamview study in 2011 found that 63% of people surveyed “use at least two computing devices” a week. The chance of losing mail between two computing devices is irritatingly high.

While POP lets you leave a copy of email messages on the server for another device to collect, that lays the burden on you to manage a lot of duplicate mail. 

Always Connected and On the Web

“Webmail” eliminated local storage of email and allowed multiple computers to access messages through their web browsers. Hotmail’s and Gmail’s email web sites became a major draw for users, competing for awhile on how much web storage of email they offered.

Today, Outlook.com offers 5 gigabytes (GB) of storage initially but provides for unlimited expansion. Gmail combines email storage with Google+ Photo on the 15 GB offered free through their Google Drive cloud service.

The popularity of webmail as a service has lead ISPs to offer it for their own email accounts. Unfortunately, using webmail requires you to stay online all the time, something not be possible on wireless-only tablets between Wi-Fi hotspots. Smartphones can still stay connected through cellular data plans, it can be an expensive proposition for plans with limits on data usage,. Also, webmail sites are challenged by the need to accommodate a wide range of screen sizes…and users are often challenged by the results!

The Online/Offline Mobile Experience

Today’s email access needs the flexibility of being offline periodically and still be able view email, while creating new mail that can sent while online or held for the next online opportunity. It also needs to accommodate different screen sizes and be able to synchronize changes with the email server that other devices can see emails previously read/written. The most common solution is to reach back into the past and use IMAP.

IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol has been around nearly as long as POP but uses a model that duplicates the email found on the server and then synchronizes any additions or changes made. Since IMAP or its latest version, IMAP4, is just a protocol, you need a IMAP-aware email program installed to handle your local mail management. Fortunately, there are many free or low-cost programs to handle this task on virtually any desktop or mobile device.


While IMAP is well-supported by email service like Outlook.com, Yahoo, and Gmail, it is less common among Internet service providers. Earthlink and Frontier don’t provide support. Through Comcast doesn’t promote it, they do have a sign-up site to convert your account to IMAP.

Syncing with EAS

Microsoft Exchange and Outlook.com email users have another email alternative, EAS. Exchange Account Service is the protocol originally designed for mobile devices but is now also being used in desktop.

EAS allows these users to not only synchronize email but also calendar and contact information. Users of Office Outlook may not know the name of the protocol but they may be familiar with the “Outlook Connector. ” The Connector uses EAS to connect with the Microsoft email addresses like @hotmail.com.



Google used to also directly support their Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts through their EAS-based Google Sync service. That changed last year when they restricted usage to Google Apps for Business, Government, and Education customers.

Windows 8 and 8.1 shipped with the Mail, Calendar and People apps that make use of EAS to connect Microsoft domain users. If you have an outlook.com, msn.com, hotmail.com or live.com user account, it is automatically used as a Microsoft Account in Windows, connecting you not only to mail, contacts, and calendar items but backup your account settings, and other information.

Mix and Match Your Email Options

What you choose to use with your PCs, Macs and mobile devices can be pretty individual, especially for the major email services. For example, you might use IMAP in the Mac’s Mail program to access Google Gmail. For your iPad, you can choose either the built-in Mail program or the official Gmail app in the in App Store.

The mix ultimately depends on your email provider and the email access they support, the devices you intend to use, and the email applications you prefer to use.The nice thing is that once you make set up these choices, email across your computing devices can work remarkably well…and accessing your electronic can become “simple” again.

Do you have a follow up on this topic or technical question on that needs to be answered or explored? Please share it with me at brian@bostonlegacyworks.com. Your question may show up here on Tech Talk.

Brian Boston supported Microsoft products during his 18+ years with the company and now teaches, consults, and troubleshoots a wide range of software and hardware devices for Boston Legacyworks.


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Richmond Beach Congregational Church Lenten Lecture Series

Starting this Wednesday, March 12, and each Wednesday until April 9, Richmond Beach Congregational Church will be holding a series of lenten lectures titled Beyond Band-Aids: Next Steps to Compassion.
Each week we will explore ways that we as individuals or groups can act with compassion in our community. Discussions will be led by people with real life experience in developing a compassionate approach to life.

Members of the community are welcome to attend any or all of the presentations. 

  • March 12, Jon Ramer of Compassionate Seattle will talk about the Charter for Compassion and how it might be implemented in our community.
  • March 19,  Elizabeth Nunes, a member of the congregation, will describe her day-to-day experiences as the principal of an elementary school in Everett and ways that she encourages teachers and students to work toward greater compassion in the school, with special emphasis on the problem of bullying.
  • March 26, Pastor Paul Ashby will lead a discussion of the Buddhist approach to compassion.
  • April 2, Peter Qualliotine of the Organization of Prostitution Survivors will do a follow up to his presentation of last year on sex trafficking in the the Seattle area.
  • April 9, Kevin Osborn, a local representative of the North Urban Human Services Alliance, will talk about homelessness in the Shoreline area and work that the Alliance has been doing in partnership with the City of Shoreline, social service agencies and churches.

The Adult Faith Formation Board has organized this series to use the preparation time of Lent to reflect on ways we can act, and react, with a greater level of compassion in addressing situations that need our attention, care and love.

Consider attending one or all of the discussions at 7 pm in the Lena Voreis Room. Richmond Beach Congregational Church is located at the intersection of Richmond Beach Road and 15th NW.  The parking lot for the Lena Voreis Room is on 15th NW.


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Final, certified results from February School election

King County officials certified, on Feb. 25, final results of the Feb. 11 special election in the Shoreline School District and other districts around the county.

Certified results confirmed that the district’s maintenance-and operations levy and the technology levy each passed with more than 72 percent of the vote. Since neither involved long-term bonds, neither required more than a simple majority to pass.

Final, certified results:  
Shoreline School District No. 412
Feb. 11 Special Election

Voter Turnout = 30.24%
Proposition 1 – Replacement of expiring levy for educational programs, maintenance and operations
Yes         9,869 votes         72.74%
No         3,699 votes          27.26%

Proposition 2 – Replacement of expiring capital levy for technology improvements and support
Yes              10,006 votes       73.73%
No               3,566 votes        26.27%



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Preventing mudslides onto rail lines

Joni Earl, CEO
Sound Transit
By Joni Earl, CEO Sound Transit

This wet week is the perfect time to be talking about mudslides. Early Thursday, a slide near Mukilteo forced us to cancel Sounder trains on the north line between Everett and Seattle. And later that same day, we briefed the Sound Transit Operations Committee on the Washington Department of Transportation’s recently completed Landslide Mitigation Action Plan.

That plan, which the state DOT developed in coordination with the BNSF Railway Co., Amtrak, Sound Transit and local jurisdictions, includes short, intermediate and long-term strategies for reducing slides in the north line.

Short-term strategies include reaching out to property owners on the bluffs overlooking the tracks to help reduce slides by controlling their vegetation and drainage. Other short-term strategies involve increased maintenance of slide fences, ditches and other drainage improvements.

Intermediate strategies consist of include six construction projects to improve conditions in high-slide areas. Two of those projects were completed last year. Using a $16 million federal grant, BNSF recently finished a 700-foot-long 10-foot-high slope retaining wall north of Mukilteo and a 200-foot-long wall north of Edmonds.

Long-term strategies include removing debris, restoring slopes, optimizing structures and evaluating the effectiveness of these stabilization projects.

We realize that the slides are an inconvenience for our north line Sounder riders and we appreciate their patience. To help make the commute easier during train cancellations, we run special buses directly to and from the stations in Everett, Mukilteo and Edmonds.


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Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday



The Lake Forest Park City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting on March 10, 2014 will review and revise the governance manual, draft council goals, and discuss commission liaisons. 

Call to order at 6:30pm in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 17425 Ballinger Way NE, in the northeast corner of the Town Center property.

The meeting is expected to adjourn at 8pm.


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February home sales in Lake Forest Park

The homes shown are representative of the homes in their price range which sold in Lake Forest Park in February 2014.



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Great Decisions series at SCC Global Affairs Center


Shoreline Community College Global Affairs Center will again host the popular Great Discussions series. Great Discussions 2014 series will begin on April 10, from 6:30 - 8pm.

There are eight topics this year, with a 90 minute session for each. Participants receive all briefing papers, additional background and glossary material in advance. Each week the group will watch a short video and discuss a particular issue.

As in past years, group size will be limited. If you are interested, sign up quickly (you can do it online).  Email questions to Larry Fuell.

Enrollment limited. Register Now!

$35 includes all briefing and background materials.

There are two ways to sign up:
  1. Online (via the SCC Foundation)
  2. By check, payable to “SCC Foundation/GAC.”  Send payment to SCC Foundation, 16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133
Enrollment for a single event is possible, depending on space being available. The cost is $8 per session. Contact Larry Fuell BEFORE signing up.


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$440,000 for Kenmore Navigation Channel in Army Corps of Engineers 2014 Work Plan

Friday, March 7, 2014


On Tuesday, March 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2014 and it includes good news for Kenmore. The Corps’ Work Plan includes $440,000 to take key steps, including important environmental assessments that are required to prepare for maintenance dredging of the Kenmore Navigation Kenmore Navigation Channel. The Corps developed the Work Plan following passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (HR 3547), the budget agreement approved by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in January.

The Kenmore Navigation Channel is a critical conduit for commerce and the regional economy and is in need of maintenance dredging, as barging operations serving CalPortland’s concrete plant, Kenmore Air’s commercial seaplane operations, and other water-dependent businesses are being affected by the diminished lake depth. The most recent maintenance dredging by the Corps of Engineers was in 1997. Maintenance dredging is at least six years overdue.

The City of Kenmore has been working for several years to bring attention to the need for maintenance dredging of the navigation channel. U.S. Senator Patty Murray, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell and U.S. Representative Suzan DelBene urged the Administration and US Army Corps of Engineers to support this proposal. The budget legislation for FY 2014 included $40 million in the Corps budget to be directed to small harbors and ports, which typically have difficulty competing with large port facilities for maintenance funding, but are often instrumental for local economies and public safety.

“This is wonderful news,” said Kenmore Mayor David Baker. “This is an essential step toward maintenance dredging of the navigation channel and we greatly appreciate the leadership and support of Representative DelBene, Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell in advocating for funding to maintain this Corps of Engineers facility. We also value the role that King County officials, particularly Councilmember Rod Dembowski, have played in making the case for this project.” Baker continued, “We have developed a good dialogue with the Army Corps of Engineers and look forward to working with the Seattle District as they proceed with this work.”


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Change Your Clocks / Change Your Batteries

Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend, as we Spring Ahead an hour on Sunday morning at 2am. You can wait up for it, but most people set their clocks ahead an hour before they go to bed on Saturday night.

Our fire departments particularly want us to do a few things to save our lives:
  • Change the batteries in our smoke alarms
  • Replace the alarms every ten years
  • Install carbon monoxide alarms and check them monthly
Northshore Fire Marshal Jeff LaFlam says “Saving your life can be as simple as changing your smoke alarm batteries once a year and replacing smoke alarms every 10 years”.  Special smoke alarms are even available for those who are deaf or hearing-impaired.  


The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half. Smoke alarms should be installed in every bedroom, in the area outside of every bedroom and on each floor of your home. With the early warning that smoke alarms provide, people have more time to safely escape a burning structure and call 9-1-1.

“You should also install carbon monoxide alarms in your home and check them once a month,” says PIO Wendy Booth.  Carbon monoxide fumes are poisonous and will increase the intensity of a fire if ignited. 

About those clocks. the National Geographic says that Daylight Saving Time is not mandatory for states.
But the federal government doesn't require U.S. states or territories to observe daylight saving time, which is why residents of Arizona (except for residents of the Navajo Indian Reservation), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands won't need to change their clocks this weekend. 

Everything you ever wanted to know about Daylight Saving Times is in the National Geographic article.


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Werewolf packs, tragedy and secrets: author events at Third Place Books this weekend

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Rhiannon Held continues the secret lives of the werewolf packs that live and hunt alongside human society in Reflected (Tor Books), the third book of the series that began with her debut novel, Silver.

Friday, March 7 at 6:30pm

A novel about two mothers and one daughter who are linked by tragedy and bound by secrets, from the acclaimed author of Heart Like Mine. Local author Amy Hatvany explores controversial and timely issues with astonishing emotional complexity in her novel Safe with Me published by Washington Square Press.

Saturday, March 8 at 6:30pm

Author events at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park Town Center, upper level. Town Center is located at the intersection of Bothell Way and Ballinger Way.


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Lake Forest Park Garden Club meets Tuesday

The next meeting of the Lake Forest Park Garden Club is Tuesday March 11 at 9:15am at the Third Place Commons upper level by the stage. 

Club member Candy Richards will be giving a PowerPoint presentation on her recent trip to Japan.

Third Place Commons is on the upper level of Lake Forest Park Town Center at the intersection of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way.

Visitors are welcome.


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Shoreline City Council meeting cancelled

The workshop dinner and regular meetings of the Shoreline City Council for Monday, March 10, 2014 have been cancelled.


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Tent City 3 residents walk the plank in Shoreline

Walking the plank to keep out of the mud
Photo copyright Marc Weinberg

The only way the Tent City 3 residents have to avoid tracking mud in to tents and public areas is to walk the planks at St. Dunstan's, where they continue to reside until April 5.

Their next location has yet to be determined. In any case, put that date on your calendar and plan to stop by to assist with the move. Your support will be appreciated.


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Clay day in the Commons on Saturday

Northwest Polymer Clay Guild
see them in action Saturday at the Commons

Members of NW Polymer Clay Guild invite you to watch them in action and learn about this versatile, colorful medium, as they ply their art all day in the Commons on Saturday, March 8, 9am to 5pm.


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