Aging and Disability Services, a division of the Seattle Human Services Department, collaborated with the city’s Department of Information Technology to promote walking organizations, events, and resources for older adults. The page includes links to local walks and hikes, neighborhood walking maps, and volunteer opportunities like shelter dog walking as well as a selection of 5Ks and 10Ks by month.

“As part of Encore, Seattle’s Web portal for people age 50+, the walking campaign is meant to encourage older people to get moving and stay connected,” said Rosemary Cunningham, interim Aging and Disability Services director. “But all ages can use this site. The sooner someone gets into a walking habit, the healthier they’ll be when they get older.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33.8 percent of U.S. adults and 17 percent of children and youth are obese, a growing trend. In King County, 54 percent of adults are overweight or obese, 20 percent are obese, and 5.4 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes.

“The benefits of physical activity are well-documented,” said Cunningham. “You can control your weight, strengthen your bones and muscles, reduce your risk of chronic disease and some cancers, improve your mental health, prevent falls, and increase your chances of living longer. And walking is a level playing field—people can walk regardless of income and any extra walking is beneficial.”

Aging and Disability Services and the Seattle Department of Information Technology created Encore three years ago to give boomers 24/7 access to information about programs and services that interest them, both within city departments and the community at large. The portal provides older adults with access to thousands of resources, under broad headings such as Work & Money, Arts & Recreation, and Health & Fitness. For more information, visit www.seattle.gov/encore.

Aging and Disability Services is designated by the State of Washington as the Area Agency on Aging for King County. For more information, visit www.agingkingcounty.gov.

CURRENT ODDS: 1 in 50

On February 21st, 2012, Sustainable West Seattle will be giving away 2 roundtrip tickets* good for anywhere Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air fly.  Raffle tickets will be awarded to all those who complete any of the following before the date of the drawing:

• Join Sustainable West Seattle or renew your membership with a $20 donation;
• Join The West Seattle Tool Library or renew your membership with a $20 donation;
• Join The West Seattle Tool Library or renew your membership with a $40 donation (2 tickets);
• Purchase a West Seattle Tool Library Gift Membership with a $40 donation (2 tickets);
• Take a West Seattle Tool Library Class at The Community Workshop; or
• Attend any SWS-sponsored activity and purchase a raffle ticket for $20.

Raffle tickets can also be purchased at The West Seattle Tool Library during open hours.  Those who sign up or renew their memberships on the web will automatically be entered in the drawing.  There is no limit to the number of times any individual can enter, through whichever means.  SWS Board Members and their relatives are ineligible to participate.

Sustainable West Seattle and The West Seattle Tool Library sincerely thank Alaska Airlines for this kind donation as well as its continued commitment to advancing environmental responsibility in commercial aviation.  Visit here to learn more about Alaska Airline’s environmental and corporate responsibility commitments.

*These tickets are unrestricted, nonexpiring and valued at up to $1,500. They can be used on a flight anywhere Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air fly. Alaska and Horizon now fly directly to four Hawaiian Islands, several cities in Mexico, Newark, Boston, Wash. DC, Florida, Canada and, of course, almost anywhere in the state of Alaska. See a full route map here.

In 2008 the Green-Duwamish Map first edition was printed and released at the April Earth Day “Duwamish Alive” celebration. Since then, the partner organizations who helped create the map have handed out nearly 30,000 maps to volunteers, visitors, school groups, and other interested parties.

In 2009, the Green-Duwamish map won the prestigious Exhibit Award from the Association of King County Historical Organizations.

In April 2011, we printed another 30,000 maps, and included all recent updates, including new bike routes and trails, heritage sites, parks, habitat restoration areas, as well as new photos and images.

For more information, or to order maps, please click here!

Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to assist DRCC/TAG with the map’s distribution. We want to provide maps for free to school children, local libraries, community centers, tour participants, and other visitors to the Duwamish River.

Click here to donate to the map project, in any amount.

Urban soil samples were collected and analyzed for dioxin/furans and cPAHs in the following six Seattle neighborhoods:

• South Park
• Georgetown
• West Seattle
• Capitol Hill
• Ballard
• Ravenna

The neighborhoods selected were intended to represent the range of historical conditions likely to be found in Seattle residential areas. Neighborhoods were selected based on presumed differences in land use history (industrial, non-industrial) and factors affecting deposition or accumulation.

The immediate take-away from this report is that residents of West Seattle have the least-toxic (dioxin and PAH) soils of these neighborhoods.  See abstract graphic from report below:

The awards will be presented at the seventh annual recognition ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, 719 S King St.

The Denny Awards acknowledge and honor the crucial role volunteers play in neighborhood parks, community centers, and recreation programs throughout the city. In 2010, more than 43,000 volunteers donated over 360,000 hours of service to Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Volunteers do everything from pulling invasive ivy and planting native trees in our parks to coaching kids’ sports to working as docents at selected parks to serving on various advisory councils and boards.

“Volunteers are one of our most important resources,” said Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams. “Without the help of the community, we could not run the first rate park and recreation system that Seattle-ites depend on.”

The name of the awards reflects the early commitment by the Denny family to the preservation of parkland and open space for public use and enjoyment. David Denny donated land that became the first Seattle park, Denny Park, in 1864.

Denny Awards nominees should meet the following minimum qualifications. The nominee must have:

• Demonstrated exceptional stewardship to parks and/or recreation;
• Provided stellar leadership related to enhancing and preserving parks and/or recreation programs;
• Demonstrated a significant personal commitment of time and effort to assist Seattle Parks and Recreation, and
• Gained respect of community peers for efforts to help Seattle Parks and Recreation.

The nomination form for the award, specific criteria and related information (included with this news release) are available by contacting Adrienne Caver-Hall, Seattle Parks and Recreation, 206-684-7710, or Adrienne.caver-hall@seattle.gov. To download an electronic version of the nomination form, visit: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/denny_awards.

The 2010 recipients are:

• Patrick Jones
• Mike Hemion
• Paul Kurose
• Natalie “Wolfy” Whithan
• Heron Habitat Helpers
• Darrell Glover
• Seward Park Playground Improvement Foundation (featured in photo)
• Fran & Bunny Wood
• Freeway Park Neighborhood Association

Ecofreek.com is a search engine that searches the web for free and ‘for swap/trade’ items people no longer need from over 45+ sources, 10,000 libraries, real estate, agricultural/seed swap sources and more-providing the most diverse and accurate results anywhere in the world. Also included are items for trade like books, sports equipment, antiques, automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, CDs/DVDs, computers, property, seeds/gardening supplies, and lots more.

Ecofreek’s mission is to provide a means for people to find items they need while reducing landfill waste.

Ecofreek encourages people to exchange and re-use items though their search engine and also their ‘places to give things away’ section. Feel free to recommend new resources as well.

Enjoy your experience and let Ecofreek know what they can do to improve the service.
View our frequently asked questions here.  Visit their donation page for some great merchandise in exchange for a monetary donation.

For more information, contact the ecofreek team at info@ecofreek.com or call 510-962-4385 or contact  Nicole Boivin – Founder, at nicole@ecofreek.com.

The Coordinating Council is looking for new members for 2012. If you think your talents would contribute to our efforts, please let a current CC officer know or send an e-mail to info@sustainablewestseattle.org.  For a current list of Coordinating Council members and officers, see http://www.sustainablewestseattle.org/about/

Requirements, how to apply and duties:

• Requirements: You must be a voting member of SWS, meaning you share the aims of SWS and agree to and demonstrate a commitment to work together in harmony with the organization.
• Procedure: Nominations for CC shall be accepted by the SWS Secretary up to the start of the annual meeting. After all nominees have addressed the membership, election votes will be cast and tallied.
• Duties: CC members serve a minimum term of one year, need to attend board meetings on the first Monday of every month, and need to give their volunteer time, which varies from about 10 to 40 hours a month, depending on the level of involvement. Board members shape the face of SWS and have diverse duties including the following: Deciding on and organizing the monthly forums, representing SWS in meetings with other groups, keeping the web site up-to-date, recruiting volunteers, welcoming new members, leading existing projects or spearheading new ones, designing and distributing posters and flyers and more.

Sustainable West Seattle is also proposing changes to our bylaws

The Coordinating Council recently approved a change to the bylaws. All members who are in good standing will be asked to vote on the bylaw change at this month’s forum. Members who attend the meeting can vote by filling out a current membership form, if they haven’t already done so.

Members may also vote by proxy up to the beginning of the meeting by sending or handing your proxy vote to the Secretary, reachable at amanda@sustainablewestseattle.org The change is highlighted below:

3.1 Membership – The Coordinating Council (herein “CC”) shall have at least five members, comprised of voting members who shall be elected by the voting membership at the annual meeting. CC members shall serve for a one-year term. The term of new CC members shall commence at the first CC meeting following the annual meeting, whereupon they shall choose new officers.

 The number of CC members may be increased or decreased from time to time by resolution of the CC provided that no decrease shall shorten the term of any incumbent. Members may serve on the CC for any number of years, with a maximum of three years consecutively. If a situation arises in which more than 60 percent of the CC will not be returning in any one year, an exception may be made to the three-year limit to allow departing CC members to serve an additional year. In no cases may any CC member serve more than four years consecutively.

There are between nine and 13 sites that will receive improvements that may include signs, benches, bicycle racks and minor landscaping. The first three sites to receive minor improvements to further open these spaces for public use are located in southwest Seattle at:

• SW Bronson Way – Existing large parking lot next to Salty’s Restaurant with outstanding views of Elliott Bay and the City skyline. Needed improvements include separating parking from pedestrian/view area, a hard surface for benches and bicycle racks and landscaping;
• S Fidalgo St. – Located in the Georgetown neighborhood between industrial uses, this street end is adjacent to the Duwamish River. Improvements could include clear signage from nearby streets, simple bench/table and minor landscaping; and
• Spokane St. E on the east side of East Waterway - Located under the West Seattle Bridge, the area is flat and dirt-covered. Needed improvements include clear signage, benches, minimal landscaping and a potential stairway/path to the water’s edge.

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy provides funding planning, design, permitting and construction for these projects. Seattle Parks is currently in the design phase and anticipates construction starting this fall.

Seattle voters passed the Parks and Green Spaces Levy in November 2008. The $146 million Levy provides improvements to neighborhood play areas, improved playfields, reservoir lid parks, community gardens, safety upgrades at city owned cultural facilities and funding for a healthy ecosystem for Seattle. This “green” funding has three types of projects: Forest and stream restoration, community gardens and shoreline access.

For more information, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/levy/environment.htm or contact Cheryl Eastberg at 206-386-4381 or cheryl.eastberg@seattle.gov. For more information on Levy funded projects in your neighborhood, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/Shoreline%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Make sure your voice is heard as Seattle Public Utilities updates its long-term solid waste plan. SPU is looking for customer input on many proposed recommendations, including recycling goals, waste reduction initiatives, and service costs.

Read the plan - and then tell SPU what you think by taking a five-minute survey – use this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/spusolidwasteplan.

Let’s make sure we are well represented in SPU’s outreach process!

Mark your calendars as the celebrations begin in both venues on October 20 with details to be forthcoming from SIFF.

The theater, which was most recently operated as AMC Uptown 3 Theater, closed last November 28 (2010).

An AMC representative announced at that time that the company systematically updates its theatres by upgrading and adding new screens, and “disposing of older screens through closures and sales.” The representative stated that “unfortunately, the AMC Uptown 3 has been identified as a theatre that no longer competes effectively in the marketplace and will close at the end of business on Nov. 28.”

SIFF will use the theater as one of their venues for both the annual International Film Festival, as well as additional special showing opportunities that SIFF runs throughout the year.