Seattle, Past to Present, by Roger Sale, introduction by Knute Berger University of Washington Press (December 15, 2019) I will apologize for writing about a book that I have not yet read but have been awaiting its publication. I like to read about the history of the place where I live and have read a number of books about Seattle and even Leschi. This book is on my Christmas list, despite our vow not to buy any more books but just borrow from our wonderful library. This description is from the University of Washington Press publication of new books. “Roger Sale’s Seattle, Past to Present has become a beloved reflection of Seattle’s history and its possible futures as imagined in 1976, when the book was first published. Drawing on demographic analysis, residential surveys, portraiture, and personal observation and reflection, Sale provides his take on what was most important in each of Seattle’s main periods, from the city’s founding, when settlers built a city great enough that the railroads eventually had to come; down to the post-Boeing Seattle of the 1970s, when the city was coming to terms with itself based on lessons from its past. Along the way, Sale touches on the economic diversity of late nineteenth-century Seattle that allowed it to grow; describes the major achievements of the first boom years in parks, boulevards, and neighborhoods of quiet elegance; and draws portraits of people like Vernon Parrington, Nellie Cornish, and Mark Tobey, who came to Seattle and flourished. The result is a powerful assessment of Seattle’s vitality, the result of old-timers and newcomers mixing both in harmony and in antagonism. With a new introduction by Seattle journalist Knute Berger, this edition invites today’s readers to revisit Sale’s time capsule of Seattle—and perhaps learn something unexpected about this ever-changing city.” Roger Sale was a critic and journalist. Until 1999, he was Professor of English at the University of Washington. His books include Modern Heroism: Essays on D. H. Lawrence, William Empson and J.R.R. Tolkien and On Not Being Good Enough: Writings of a Working Critic. Sale died in 2017. ~Diane Snell

For the holiday and winter season here is Betty Shabazz X (Malcolm X’s wife): “We can say ‘Peace on Earth’ We can sing about it, preach about it, or pray about it, but if we have not internalized the mythology to make it happen inside us, then it will not be.” Betty Shabazz X is included in a dual portrait with Coretta Scott King as one work in the riveting exhibition by Hiawatha D. at the Northwest African American Museum. Iconic Black Women: Ain’t I A Woman? (until March 15) features famous Black women in sports, politics and culture. The exhibition begins with Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth and ends with Simone Bile, Olympic Gold Medalist. Paired with each portrait is a powerful quotation by each woman. Uniting all of the women is the idea that they succeeded against incredible odds and if you want to enough you can too. For example, Simone Bile writes “I would say to always follow your dream. And dream big because my whole career, including any of the things that I’ve accomplished, I never thought in a million years that I would be here. So, it just proves that once you believe in yourself, and you put your mind to something, you can do it.” Hiawatha D., Maya , Acrylic on 48 x 48 foot museum canvas, Collection of the Artist, photograph courtesy Susan Platt The poets, performers politicians, and sports stars are all familiar names: Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Oprah, Toni Morrison, Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz X, Angela Davis, Serena Williams, Lupita, Maxine Waters, Shirley Chisolm, Michelle Obama and her daughters. Across one wall are the young victims from the Birmingham Church bombings, and across another long wall, the Ain’t I A Woman series of six works on Black women in general as survivors and providers, and truth tellers. Almost all of the paintings focus on posture, gesture and clothes to identify these famous women; only a few of them include feet, hands and facial features. At first that is disconcerting, but Hiawatha D’s simplified spatial relationships and abstract blocks of color set off the figures so effectively that we see the personality and power of each woman. We know them immediately. The absence of those details strengthens their presence and makes them more universal. The addition of potent quotations enriches our experience. A second exhibition at the Northwest African American Museum by Christopher Shaw called Algorithm: Archetype is harder to explain, but easy to appreciate. Here is a quote from the artist “...at the root of the concept for Algorithm: Archetype is an understanding that the way which we participate and propagate culture is based on systems of energy exchange... Archetypes exist in narrative and myth. Often these forms define the parameters of the space where knowledge exists. We have it within our power to shape, reject or recreate or own archetypes. In so doing, we can claim sovereignty over our own lives and cultures. We can rewrite the sequences that code our futures.” You probably need to read that again. As you can see Christopher is an advanced thinker! He is a mathematician, engineer and clay artist. But when you see his work, you don’t feel overwhelmed by those abstract ideas, but by the beauty of his works. The installation of the minimalist clay and mixed media works is subtle, with several groupings of repeated shapes. Their unexpected relationships lead to meditation. Ebony G. Patterson, ...they were filled with hope, desire, and beauty... (...when they grow up...). 2016 (detail), Mixed media on hand-cut paper with beads, appliqués, embellishments, brooches, plastic glitter, fabric, handmade shoes, papier mâché, balloons and fabric wallpaper, photograph courtesy Susan Platt The Arts at King Street Station is once again offering an extravaganza in their beautiful big space. Brighter Future...to be heard, to be seen, to be free, organized through the City Hall collective Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery (until January 11), includes over fifty artists in all media. The show is an opportunity to experience a wide range of artists of color and discover new people. I was familiar with about five of them!! But I was repeatedly excited by the work of a painter or sculptor or ceramist I had never seen before. Shamim M. Momin, Senior Curator at the Henry Art Gallery filled the entire museum with In Plain Sight, (until April 26). Fourteen rising stars expose often invisible topics, communities, and stories. I loved Ebony Patterson’s fifty ornamented coffins and stunning large-scale collages created in mourning and celebration of black youth who have been killed. Exciting in an entirely different way is Oscar Tuazon’s Water School, examining water issues from the perspective of the past, present and future with an emphasis on indigenous rights. Tom Burr’s installations, quietly written in corners, list the names of locations for gay men to meet up that he cut out of Spartacus, an International Gay Guide. Finally, Nigerian-American artist Jite Agbro’s exhibition Deserving, (until February 26) at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art features a stunning mixed media print installation. She draws on patterns and indigo colors from Nigerian traditions that are hundreds of years old, and like so much else on the planet under threat in our current world. On January 19 at 3pm Agbro is giving a lecture about her work. ~Susan N. Platt www.artandpoliticsnow.com

The Leschi Community Council Board is now accepting applications for Leschi Stars. Applications must be submitted by April 20th to be considered; winners will be presented with the prestigious star at our annual May meeting. Once a year we honor Leschi Stars, those folks or groups who have made a big difference in Leschi. Please follow the instructions below. Example of an individual nomination: Henrietta Price who has been a crossing guard at Leschi Elementary School for more than two decades and encourages the children to do their best as she safely guides them across the street. Group example: Keller Williams staff who sent 60 folks to Leschi Park to weed, mulch, prune for their day of community service. 2020 LESCHI STAR NOMINATION FORM Who are you nominating? Include their contact info. Tell us why this person is a STAR! Be specific. How do these activities enrich life in Leschi? Your name and contact information Email to Leschinews@comcast.net or mail to LCC, 140 Lakeside Ave. Suite A, #2, Seattle 98122

We had a peaceful beautiful event on 12/14/2019 setting out around 1100 little white bags with sand and candles all along Lake Washington Blvd. Folks walked along from the Seward Park entrance past the Lakewood Marina up to the Hydro Pit Beach, even up to Mt. Baker beach: 3.4 miles in all! WOW! This year I was helped by several volunteers from Lakewood Seward Park Neighborhood Association. No wind and lots of energy; one young girl set out 100’s all around the parking lot and even heart shaped on the lawn. Fantastic! 2019 Luminaria, photo courtesy Brogan Thomsen I started this 27 years ago with the simple idea to copy Greenlake and ‘split the crowd’ bringing the pathway of lights to our south end. The Parks department thought I was nuts to try this, but over the years we have developed a good system; they even provide the sand. Our event is always the same night as the Christmas Ships visit Ferdinand Street Boat Launch. Lots of people said they always enjoy our efforts; even got feedback from joggers the next morning as I was cleaning up. A few neighbors even pitched in by gathering 25 bags into a group, made for easier loading into my van; good work, thanks. Please let me and Seattle Parks know any feedback. I want to see this continue! Join in next year if you like, check schedule and pics on our Facebook group “Seward Park Luminaria.” Just come early and I’ll give you a lighter. Whoo hoo! Backstory links: https://vimeo.com/194932174 And the PI article: www.seattlepi.com/local/article/One-man-s-gift-to-the-city-for-more-than-a-decade-1190172.php ~Brogan Thomas

This is my least favorite season the older I get. There were high points in my youth. I remember teenage years in a Detroit suburb when we would get our first snowfall and it called for a walk even at night as one could enjoy the quiet and the beauty before all the traffic turned the pristine white into a sad gray mess. Years later I remember those rare times in California when we would get snow on Mt. Diablo and take the kids to see it, but it was sparse and fleeting. When we moved to Maryland for ten years, we got our fill of winter, snow and ice. I just remember the commute hassles and the problems for working parents when schools were closed. I remember the first year there when my husband had a business trip to Atlanta and we (the kids and I) woke up to snow; our VW Beetle was completely covered, not even recognizable as a car! And of course, having moved from California, we had no snow boots, no snow shovel and no really warm clothing. I hiked to the store in my tennis shoes to get enough food to ride it out. We moved back to the Pacific coast but this time to Seattle; our first Thanksgiving was a snowy weekend and we gradually became accustomed to the inevitable shutdowns as hills were impassable and the city tried to recover from a deluge with one (?) snowplow! Now I am at high risk for falls and so I can’t even enjoy that first pristine snowfall. I tend to hunker down in winter and try to read my way through. There are times when I want only comfy English village mysteries without too much blood and please, no abductions or torture. Just a gentlemanly murder or two. Recently a book by MFK Fisher fell into my hands: As They Were. I once read a short story by her that told of a special meal when she ate one of those endangered birds (the ortolan) that are so prized; I was appalled! Since that time, I have been a little afraid of MFK Fisher. However, this book is quite readable. (Although I still cannot forgive her for eating the ortolan.) It is a series of articles from her various homes in California and her travels in France, primarily in Provence. She has a deep interest in place and describes her current place in all aspects; the sounds (even overheard conversations!), the smells, the sights and, especially the food. Her vivid descriptions will evoke memories of places you have been. I was especially intrigued by her chapter on noise when she was living on a narrow street in Aix. Her description of an unidentifiable motor bike that seemed put together with baling wire and packing tape and miscellaneous parts reminded me of our stay in Florence. The excessive noise reverberated between the tall buildings on the narrow street and one sighed a deep thankful blessing when it finally faded into the distance. Noise is a part of modern life; I find it humorous twice a month in the middle of the night when The Monsoon comes down Lake Dell and E Alder St; it’s the huge street cleaning device that does no good on our part of E Alder. We have the only street parking on the length of Lake Dell and E Alder, and it is completely full at night, but The Monsoon dutifully makes not one, but two swipes at street cleaning. If only they came in the afternoon, they might have more luck! I find the noise of the bus struggling up the hill comforting and not annoying; I like the fact that I live in a civilized city that has some public transportation. I remember trying to sleep at my folks when we would visit; they lived at the top of one of the mountains in the Coast range of California and one could not hear cars or buses or even planes, just the occasional coyote. It was frightening and sleep was hard to come by... So much, too much quiet! So, I hunker down with my books trying the escape the cold and the grey skies and the fact that I wake up in the dark and it is dark again by 4:30pm. I long for Spring when there is proof that there is still life on earth; the daffodils will poke through the snow saying it’s our time now! ~Diane Snell

Happy Holidays to all of my Leschi friends, Here we are at the brink of a new decade. Amazing to me, as I remember waiting at the turn of the century, 20 years ago, all the unknown fretting about the computers shutting down around the world. Then as we watched the New Year dawn around the world in each time zone, nothing happened. I have lived in Leschi for over 16 years and we have changed, grown, expanded and become more vibrant in our little village. We really live in a little jewel within the City of Seattle and I am grateful every day to be part of this community. Ahead of us (I write this letter around the 16th of any month for printing deadlines) is a mid-week Christmas and New Year. Many of our community members have reached out to help the Leschi Elementary School students have a happier Christmas. A special shout out to Bart from BluWater Leschi for the notices and donation opportunities very visible to his patrons. Thanks to readers’ donations, Leschi CC was able to donate $300 in grocery gift cards to the school for their Giving Garland. The LCC Council Board attended the Central Area Senior Center Saturday night for the holiday celebration. With wonderful music, excellent food and a very festive mood, the bonus was in excess of $11,000 which was raised for the purchase fund of the CASC building. We have a special presentation to the community on January 15th at 7:30 with a discussion of a proposed mural on the southwest retaining wall at 31st and Jackson. We welcome your attendance and thoughts or concerns about the potential mural. I wish you a splendid holiday season, when all but the most disciplined of us, pay no attention to what the bevy of holiday treats do to our waistlines. May you embrace each other, your families, friends, neighbors, old acquaintances and most of all hug yourself. May you find yourself feeling full of love for yourself and your fellow human travelers. Warm regards, Janice Merrill Brown President, Leschi Community Council Board

November 11, 2019—Present: Janice Merrill Brown, Janet Oliver, John Barber, Tracy Bier, Diane Snell. Janet: treasury report. Two increases in annual bills: the fee for using the plot of ground where the Brenton Memorial went up from $170 to $176. The cost of renting the postal box at Park Postal went up from $180 per year to $190. Janice: Holiday Party update: she will be contacting the Friends of Garfield Orchestra tomorrow to engage a quartet and she will be buying the food for the event. Diane agreed to contact Yousef for wine and to obtain the state license for serving alcohol. Janice will arrange a coffee date with Randy and Bud to present their Star awards as neither could attend the annual meeting. January program: should we skip, as the 1st is on Wednesday. Diane said we usually don’t meet in January for that reason, but she thinks there is a need for a special meeting which she will discuss when it is her turn. Diane is term-limited and cannot run again so we need to look for a person who would like to be secretary before the annual meeting in May. Trevor: Suggested Tax assessor John Wilson for speaker at general meeting. Diane suggested February when we have no speaker and households will have rec’d that valuation card and may have questions. Agreement. John and Diane: presented their proposal for the Flo Ware event. Due to the length of the meeting, it was not discussed but comments will be requested by email. Katie Busby has approved the draft. John said that Diane Morris was on the Senior Center Board but did not want to go to the meetings. John Barber is willing to take her place, but we don’t know the process. Diane will draft a letter for Janice to sign broaching the subject. John and Mark (neighbor) have been battling a big stand of blackberries at the Dearborn street end. It is on a slope and there is not enough room for more than two workers at a time, so he has not put out the word for more volunteers; they are slowly making progress. Both the Leschi Natural Area and Frink Park are getting more plants and will need volunteer help to plant them. Tracy: There is an uptick in car prowls, and they are not being reported; this is data which the police dept. needs. She would like to have another meeting on Crime Prevention with our community resource person, Joseph Elenbaas. April is an open meeting month. Janice asked about a follow-up on emergency preparedness; June is the next open meeting as May is the annual meeting for elections and Star awards. Diane: She and Tracy have concerns about the proposal for a mural at Jackson and 31st on the big curved retaining wall. Few people know about this in the community and they think that we need to have a public meeting. January is proposed. Janice will contact Dian Ferguson about a good date for that meeting and Diane S will contact the artist. Tracy is willing to distribute flyers in the neighborhood and Mt. Baker should also be invited. Newsletter issues: the new format is saving us the $200 in trimming and stapling fees, but other costs have risen: the postage is about $20 more and Kirsten is charging $50 more as it is taking her longer with the new format. This might resolve itself as she gets more familiar with the new format. The big advantage is that we get the newsletter earlier as it is ready right off the press and should get mailed in time to be in home before the scheduled meeting. Diane needs help picking up paper and going to BMC. Janice offered to do it again and John said he could be back-up. Deadline: Nov. 18 for the December issue. Douglas Barnett, son of Powell Barnett and father of Maisha Barnett died and John Barber did get to the service on Sunday. He spoke of all the talented people there as Douglas Barnett had been a leader in the Black Arts groups. Resources PublicSpace@seattle.gov (contact them when you are wanting info on a project in the public space) PRC@seattle.gov (contact them if you are requesting a meeting on a topic of importance to the community) Flo Ware Event Draft Write to Rev. Manaway to explain the event and invite the children of Tabernacle to participate. Efforts to work through the church’s outreach worker have been unproductive. Try to coordinate time of event with the church letting out. Ask if there is an elderly church member who knew Flor Ware and have that person speak BRIEFLY. Produce flyers which should be posted in this community (small stores, church etc. Girls School). Resume putting a Flo Ware bio in that month’s newsletter, so folks understand the importance of the event. Have a Leschi Community Council presence at the park and warmly welcome guests from the church. Possible small presentation: John Barber could explain the renovation project of the park and the efforts to recognize the activist part of Flo Ware. Perhaps some children could read her words inscribed in the tiles; I thought if we just had two children each read one inscription, maybe others would pay attention and start reading them. Keep all presentations BRIEF as the day is for kids and they will not have long attention spans. Consider giving a Small Sparks grant to pay for kids’ activities. We now have a reliable face painter and our cotton candy person if we catch her soon enough! We need to know the date early on to write a grant. Enlist local merchants in getting food for event. Try to get some kids’ music from Meter Music School. Katie reviewed the draft and felt it was a good start. She wondered if Odessa Brown has an outreach person as they do a lot for both Leschi and Madrona schools. Katie suggested June 14 as the date for the 2020 event. ~Respectfully submitted by Diane Snell

Holiday Wine There is no wine column this month due to family illness. The December column helps us find gifts of wine for both a hostess gift and a seasonal gift. Leschi Market’s knowledgeable staff is well positioned to help you find that perfect gift so don’t despair! We will focus on FOOD this month. A busy holiday season often means less time for cooking and more eating out; fortunately, we have a plethora of reviews and recommendations for you to choose from. Arosa In the Arboretum Court, Arosa, The Waffle Café features delicious small waffles which can stand on their own or be topped with delicious specialty syrups. I had the pumpkin spice topping in honor of the fall, but there will be a seasonal topping for the Christmas Season and there are lots of other choices. The waffles are unique, rich in content with eggs and vanilla as well as pearl sugar that gives it a special flavor and texture, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. It is an old family recipe and makes a full breakfast with a cup of coffee. But in case you want more protein they also serve breakfast sandwiches, delicious panini-like mozzarella artichoke or grilled eggplant for example. At lunchtime, on another day, I had a fabulous homemade soup Coconut Curry and another day Roasted Corn Tortilla Soup, an entire meal in itself. Another of their specialties is their signature mocha latte. Cesar and Adriana Santangelo are originally from Venezuela but have been in Seattle for seventeen years. Arosa realizes their dream from when they lived in Venezuela. The café is very much a family scene. Until recently, their baby Luciana was there every day, but now she is old enough for day care. They also have a 7-year-old boy, Alexandro. An entire wall is filled with wonderful photographs of family and friends. Don’t miss the delicious food as well as the delightful atmosphere. Arosa 3121 E Madison St Ste 101 M–F, 6:30am–3pm; Sat 7:30am–3pm arosacafe.com ~Diane Snell Simply Soulful I also want to briefly mention another family-run restaurant in Madison Valley, Simply Soulful. It features wonderful soul food with breakfast served all day. I had dinner there with friends. My Catfish Dinner Special (with a great $6.95 price for seniors and children) featured two pieces of delicious breaded fish cooked to order, and two sides, along with the exceptional corn muffins. I had collard greens, my favorite when cooked “soul” style, and my friends had candied yams and mac and cheese. All delicious. Simply Soulful 2915B E Madison St. Tue–Fri, 9am–8pm; Sat 9am–7pm; Sun 10am–5pm simplysoulfulcafe.com ~Susan Platt From Karen Daubert I was on a mission this fall to visit a couple neighborhood restaurants representing various cultures and have this to report: Café Selam on Cherry and 24th is a small Ethiopian restaurant where I enjoyed the traditional meat platter but would return to try the vegetarian. Lan Hue Bakery at the Pacific Rim shopping center on Jackson and 9th is a Vietnamese take out that makes excellent (maybe best in the city) Bahn mi sandwiches. I enjoyed half the first day and half the second with great results. Harbor City at 707 S King St. next to the Wing Luke Museum is known for its Dim Sum and specializes in barbecue chicken and pork. ~Karen Daubert And from the Snell family Too busy to make cookies? Go to Lowrider Baking Co. at 2407 Union; opens at 11am (closed Mon & Tues). These cookies are buttery and sweet the way a self-respecting cookie should be. Family favorites: the Salted Pecan and the Lemon Cranberry. And they are not tiny bakery cookies; they are the size Grandma always made… good for sharing! ~Diane Snell

Part I “Donald Byrd: The America That Is to Be” at the Frye Art Museum, Oct 12–Jan 26 Donald Byrd transforms movement into resonant art. The world-renowned choreographer Donald Bryd has been based here in Seattle since 2002. In March 2016, I wrote here about his humble base in the Madrona Bath house. A groundbreaking retrospective of Donald Byrd’s career, curated by Thomas F. DeFrantz, Professor of Dance, Duke University, successfully overcomes the challenge of exhibiting dance in a venue designed for visual art. Videos from the 1970s to the present (from tiny to huge), as well as photographs from throughout Bryd’s astonishing career, mesmerize us as we witness his extraordinary creativity. In addition, on a low stage inside the gallery we can enjoy intimate performances by the Spectrum Dancers on Tuesday and Wednesday at noon and Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. Johan Elbers. Donald Byrd in his choreographic work P-HP, 1983. Photograph. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Photo © Johan Elbers. Donald Byrd has been radical from his first performances in Los Angeles as early as 1978, when he challenged racism, gender, and bourgeois sensibilities with a classical pas de deux that paired a “disaffected” black man and “blasé cigarette smoking” white woman. His choreography has deep classical roots, but he has consistently expanded the ways that he can confront us with deep social issues through music, movement, gesture, and settings. He deeply believes that dance can trigger social transformation. His main inspirations are the giants of twentieth century dance George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham and Alvin Ailey, but he also explores popular traditions ranging from punk and funk to Irish jigs. His encyclopedic vocabulary of movement (as well as music) becomes his own as he embodies challenging social issues. Earlier in his career he aimed to shock: we see him in beauty pageant drag, singing an exaggerated “God Bless America” in American Dream, 1995 in a performance that includes “a phantasmagoric patchwork of terror and display.” You will have to see it to know what this means! In addition to confronting bourgeois race and gender clichés, Bryd rewrote classics. In his Harlem Nutcracker, 1997, Clara now an African American matriarch, welcomes her well-to-do family for Kwanzaa and Christmas in Harlem. The choreography parodies traditional ballet while it also celebrates African American dance traditions. Another even bolder retelling is The Minstrel Show, Revisited, 2016: it confronts us with the ongoing existence of the racist blackface. At the center of the exhibition at the Frye is a gallery with four large walls filled with A CRUEL NEW WORLD/the new normal, 2013. Performed in the orange jump suits worn by prisoners and detainees, and inside a hurricane fence, with an American Flag falling on the ground, it explores, through extreme movements, the anguish of being trapped with no way out. Also included are excerpts from the WOKENESS festival last fall that featured intense performances by his extraordinary dancers on lynching and the killing of African American men. Finally, don’t miss Donald Byrd performing Sweltering Son only two years ago! Part II: “Immigration: South Asian Perspectives” In this era of prejudice toward immigrants, we cannot be reminded often enough of the huge contributions that all immigrants make to the US. Enter the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)’s new exhibition “Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation.” (Nov 2–Jan 26). The exhibition spans from the early twentieth century to the present with events that sometimes parallel the experiences of other ethnic groups, such as Indian American farmers making good from nothing and mobs driving them out, as happened to the Sikhs in Bellingham in 1907. Photo No. 2 Installation view, “Beyond Bollywood”, photo by Susan Platt The Smithsonian organized the exhibition, but Dr. Amy Bhatt, co-author of Roots and Reflections: South Asians in the Pacific Northwest provided a Northwest component. I found it more compelling, perhaps because I personally knew some of the people featured such as Farah Nousheen from the radical cultural group TASVEER. I have been friends with her since the aftermath of 9/11 when she made her first film on prejudice against Muslims. Don’t miss her articulate interview. Highlighting the press preview and the exhibition itself were ways to don saris through complex manipulations of huge lengths of fabric. The stunning silks created a dramatic accent near the beginning of the exhibition, and we learned that each pattern contains stories. You can learn more about this in the MOHAI program “Sari Stories,” on December 15. Other segments featured tech, engineering, food, film, dance and music. On December 3, MOHAI screens Vellai Pookai, a Tamil language movie thriller set in the Northwest at 630 and followed by a conversation with the director. Vivek Elangovan. Another not to miss program is Dancing Peacock Puppet Theater, Saturday December 21 from 2:30pm. I want to honor here the impressive Vic Bhatia, who died in 2003. Bhatia helped to create and run the Honors Program at Washington State University from 1964 to 1993. He also was the director of International Education. Hundreds of students from all over the world have been deeply impacted by these two programs. I wish the programming also included readings from some of the amazing local authors of South Asian descent such as Indu Sundaresan and Sonora Jha, to name only two. But I was particularly happy to see the emphasis on activism and politics in the last part of the exhibition. How fitting that our District 3 representative Kshama Sawant pulled off her election while this exhibition was going on! ~Susan Noyes Platt www.artandpolitics.com

Every year as autumn transitions to winter, we are bombarded with a seemingly endless supply of “winter weather outlooks.” The “Farmer’s Almanac” outlooks may be the most well-known; the 2020 Farmer’s Almanac gives us “Chilly, Normal Precipitation” this winter, while the Old Farmer’s Almanac (a separate company) says the 2019–20 winter will be “Wet (Or Worse!)” for the Pacific Northwest. Of course, most people acknowledge that both Almanac forecasts should be treated as a source of entertainment, as they use their own “proprietary formulas” (mainly based off solar activity) to make their outlooks and are, on-average, less accurate than a simple coin flip. Seasonal forecasting is a tremendously desirable skill. If you are a hydrologist and can forecast how much snow will fall in the Columbia River watershed during the winter, you’ll help people plan accordingly for spring runoff season. If you are a natural gas trader and see the potential for a much colder-than-average winter, you can buy gas options ahead of time at a lower price and sell them at a higher price when the cold weather hits and heating demand skyrockets. But unfortunately, even NOAA’s state-of-the-art climate models have little skill forecasting temperature and no consistent precipitation skill. However, just because we can’t forecast the temperature or precipitation months in advance doesn’t mean we can’t at least have a few insights into what the winter might hold. One of the best seasonal predictors is whether the Tropical Pacific is in an El Niño (warmer-than-average), La Niña (cooler-than-average), or “Neutral” state. El Niño years typically give us warmer and calmer-than-average weather and La Niñas tend to give us cooler/wetter-than-average weather with heavy mountain snow. Neutral years, on the other hand, are really a mixed bag. They bring normal temperatures and precipitation on average, but they can run the gamut from cold and snowy to warm and boring, and of course everything in between. Interestingly, many of our biggest windstorms and floods—including the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 and Hanukkah Eve Storm of 2006—occurred in Neutral years. It’s impossible to forecast individual storms weeks ahead of time but having a Neutral winter may slightly increase the probability of a significant weather event. Regardless of whether we end up warmer, wetter, calmer or snowier than normal, I’m fairly certain that the next few months will be dark and gloomy. A healthy diet and the occasional bit of fresh air go a long way towards improving your mood and energy when there is so little light in the sky, and I’ve found that Vitamin D supplements can be a big help as well. Have a great rest of 2019, and I’ll catch you in 2020! ~Charlie Phillips Charlie Phillips, a Madrona resident, received his B.S. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington and works in Portland as a meteorologist. Check out his weather website at to charlie.weathertogether.net.

Early community outreach—what could be more sensitive to the people’s concerns? For those who follow development issues in the City of Seattle, the Design Review program is a familiar part of the building permit application process, a response generated in the late ‘90s to widespread discontent with the overall quality of built projects, intended to “promote designs that fit into and relate to the surrounding neighborhoods”. What may be less familiar are the recent changes to the program directed at improving the end result, as well as minimizing the cost of construction to building types dedicated to the public good (i.e., low income housing). In mid-2018, a new rule was passed by the City, Early Community Outreach for Design Review, “…requir(ing) developers to begin conversation with community members before building project designs are complete.” Once the early community engagement requirement is met, the project can then begin the Design Review process. The department charged with issuing building permits and operating the Design Review program, SDCI (Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections) partners with the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) to administer this new outreach process. An applicant (developer and their design team) is required to put together a plan for engaging residents, ostensibly before an architect’s pen hits paper. The intent is to garner input before design decisions are baked into the proposal, so that the team can hear what the community’s concerns are and do so at a stage in the process where they might be incorporated into the design. The key word here is “might.” While some in the design and development spheres feel the requirement to perform this outreach is onerous, there is no obligation to actually incorporate the input expressed in these forums into the design. Rather, the requirement is just to prove that the outreach occurred, and to summarize what was heard. As stated in the Director’s Rule describing the program states: While a collaborative approach is encouraged between the applicant and the community, the applicant is not required to incorporate any specific community feedback into the project’s design. Comments and discussion presented at the Design Review meetings should focus on compliance with the established design guidelines. Applicants may, at their discretion, respond directly to the community about any feedback that is not related to Design Review. So, while you may have taken the time to express your concerns at an Early Community Outreach event, there is no guarantee that it will have any influence on the design. The City seems to look at this as a baby step toward a more inclusive design process, an improvement over a condition where a development seems to spring out of nowhere. Merely fostering dialogue is deemed a positive, albeit small step. As stated in a meeting between LURC members and DON administrators this past summer, we were told that DON is “walking a tightrope” and wants to be very careful not to be seen as favoring the interests or concerns of neighborhood residents as opposed to developers. The scope of the Design Review program is limited, directed primarily at the exterior character of a building, with a nod to the functional considerations of pedestrian and vehicular access to a site. This excludes many of the concerns people in the community have about new development, including affordability and housing unit type (e.g., the preponderance of tiny studios vs the relative dearth of two- and three-bedroom units). Bring up any of these topics at a Design Review Board meeting, and you will be politely reminded that this is not the place for that conversation. Discussion at an Early Community Outreach meeting on the other hand, is allowed to stray into whatever topic the community members care to bring up. For many attending the Early Community Outreach events, the lack of documentation presented by the design team can be frustrating. While on the one hand, it can be rewarding to say something prior to any design commitments have occurred, the response can also be, what am I supposed to comment on? There is a conundrum here, which the City seems to acknowledge, but having both early input and a design proposal to react to, can’t occur simultaneously. The biggest hurdle right now to the success of the Outreach process is actually from the other side: Us. You and I and all our concerned neighbors are not showing up in droves to these events. Despite the required notice reaching hundreds of residents, it is actually quite common that only one or two people show up to an Outreach event, even those held on evenings and weekends. So, while there are some embedded oddities and tweaks necessary with the Outreach program, its full potential won’t be realized until the public decides to sit at the table. If you find the topic of development and the future of our built environment interesting, consider attending a Central Area LURC meeting. We convene on the fourth Monday of every month (holidays excepted) at Byrd Barr Place. Visit our web page at centralarealurc.org for up-to-date information. ~Jeff Floor (Full disclosure: the author is a member of the Central Area Design Review Board, the volunteer program administered by the City of Seattle as part of the building permit process, and a member of the Central Area Land Use Review Committee (LURC).

Last month’s article supplied some information about this neighborhood’s namesake, Chief Leschi. Leschi was a leader of the Nisqually people who resisted Washington territorial Governor Isaac Stevens’ program of removing Native people from their homelands to make room for white settlers. [You can find more information about how the Nisqually people were affected by white settlement in the November issue of the Leschi News; website: Leschi News.] In a series of battles known as the Puget Sound Indian Wars, Leschi and his fellow resisters, who were far outnumbered by settler militias and US soldiers, fought bravely for almost a year (Oct 1855–Aug 1856). Eventually, the resisters ran out of food and ammunition and were unable to continue fighting. Though they did not defeat the settlers who sought to displace them, they won a victory for Native people. After the fighting ended, Governor Stevens offered better reservations to several tribes, including the Nisqually. The original reservation offered to the Nisqually was two square miles of uninhabitable land on a bluff above Puget Sound. The new Nisqually reservation was larger than the one that the governor had originally proposed and, importantly, was next to the Nisqually River. Leschi Executed After the war, Governor Stevens arrested Leschi for the murder of Benton Moses, a white settler who fought against the Native resisters. Even though the death happened during a war, and even though there was no evidence that Leschi killed Moses, Leschi was tried for Moses’ murder. Leschi’s first trial ended in a hung jury. In the second trial, he was convicted. Leschi’s supporters appealed the case to the Territorial Supreme Court, but the conviction was upheld. On February 15, 1858, Leschi was hanged as punishment for the murder. It is said that these were his last words to his people: “Whatever the future holds, do not forget who you are. Teach your children, teach your children’s children, and then teach their children also. Teach them the pride of a great people.” Nisqually Displaced Again In 1887, US Congress passed the Dawes Act, which changed US policy toward reservation land. Many tribal lands, including the Nisqually reservation, were converted to pieces of private property (called allotments) and divided up among individual Native people. In 1917, only 50 years after the Nisqually reservation was granted, a group of settlers in Tacoma convinced the US government to build an army base in Pierce County. The army called the base Camp Lewis, which later became Fort Lewis. Fort Lewis would eventually cover 90,000 acres, 3,500 of which were the eastern two thirds of the Nisqually reservation. At the time, the land was held by 25 Nisqually allottees. The government forced the Nisqually to sell their land at below market value to make room for the base. The Nisqually people were again displaced. Many graves, including Leschi’s had to be moved. Today, Fort Lewis, which merged with McChord Airforce Base in 2010, is known as Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). An Injustice Reexamined In the early 2000s, a group of people, led by Leschi’s great niece and Nisqually tribal chair Cynthia Iyall, began a campaign to correct the injustice of Leschi’s hanging. In 2004, the group convinced the Washington State Legislature to formally request that the State Supreme Court revisit Leschi’s case. Though then-chief justice Gerry Alexander believed that the state court could not reopen cases that were decided by a territorial court, he agreed to form an historical court, formed of volunteer judges, to revisit the case. 146 years after Leschi’s execution, the historical court overturned his conviction. Nisqually Resilience Despite the horrors they have endured as a result of white settlement, the Nisqually people have continued to fight for their land and river—and for their human dignity. In the 1960s and 70s, Billy Frank, Jr., a Nisqually, led the struggle to protect and preserve Native fishing rights. Today, the Nisqually tribe actively participates in restoring habitat for salmon and other species that depend on healthy ecosystems. Every year on January 29th, they close their tribal offices to celebrate Chief Leschi Day. Further reading Framing Chief Leschi , by Lisa Blee Leschi, Last Chief of the Nisquallies , by Cecelia Carpenter Nisqually Indian Tribe , by Cecelia Carpenter Tears of Internment , by Cecelia Carpenter The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek , by Richard Kluger Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank, Jr. , by Trova Heffernan Where the Waters Begin: The Traditional Nisqually History of Mount Rainier , by Cecelia Carpenter ~Carla Saulter