Every neighborhood has its favorite local institutions. The folks in Madrona have one of Seattle’s long-time weekend brunch favorites: The Hi Spot Café. The weekday welcome is just as warm, but with the added bonus of being seated sooner. Owner Mike Walker believes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He keeps a close eye on everything—and everyone—to make sure he can follow this important principle. For the otherwise broke artist, Mike is also a good employer, with many long-term (and friendly) regulars among the staff as well as the customers. The generous patron encourages regulars to decorate his walls with their art—currently Sarah Banks and Rhoda Donkin are on display with Landscapes of Iberia . Watch the walls for changing exhibits by Banks & Donkin as well as other locals. With changing exhibits come Hi Spot Openings , all generously supported by Mike. This long-lived café is a living room for the neighborhood, and all are welcome. Along with the comfort-food staples, the Hi-Spot menu offers Hispanic specialties and the unique “Bengal Benedict,” for those willing to consider curry for breakfast. If you’re risk-averse, ask for the curry sauce on the side—one taste and you’ll want to take it home with you, to liven up your home cooking. Better still, just come back tomorrow for more! The Hi Spot 1410 34th Avenue, Seattle. Breakfast: daily 8am–2:30pm. Lunch: Mon–Fri, 11:30am–2:30pm. 206-325-7905, hispotcafe.com ~Matthew Harker Editor’s note: When you come back for more, try one of their delicious scones! Or take some home.

This month we celebrate the great state of Washington with 10 must try wines. From pioneers to newcomers, and from Wedgewood to Walla Walla, we’ve got you covered! Red Wine 2016 Quilceda Creek Red Wine “CVR” Columbia Valley ($56) “A combination of all of our vineyard sites and represents a great value. It is the best version of this wine to date displaying highly aromatic black and blue fruits with nuances of anise, smoke, forest floor and minerals. This blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot will be best enjoyed over the next 15 years.” –Paul Golitzin, Director of Winemaking. 2017 Mark Ryan’s BTR Cellars The Chief Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley ($24) “The 2017 Chief shows immense complexity, with Cabernet Sauvignon’s cedar aromatics and black currant at the forefront. Fresh violets combine with flavors of blackberry and silky vanilla, and subtle chocolate notes. It has a broad finish, with a balance of acidity and tannin.” –Winemaker notes. 2017 Elephant Seven Cosmic Revelation Red Walla Walla Valley ($21.99) An instant Best Seller at Leschi Market. This Mount Baker family is about as local as you can get, and they are making incredible Walla Walla wines. “Classic Mourvèdre characteristics of gaminess and meatiness accented with black raspberry and licorice. A dense bouquet of dried flowers, garrigue and white pepper with an iodine driven minerality. The finish is pure and lively with nice acidity and supple tannins. 61% XL Vineyard Mourvèdre, 39% Yellow Bird Vineyard Syrah.” –Winemaker notes. 2016 Lobo Hills Right Bank Blend Columbia Valley ($18.69) Tony Dollar visits Leschi via Wedgewood, and his wines are meticulously crafted. “The 2016 Right Bank Blend is 80% Merlot from two different vineyards, rounded out by 15% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc. The wine is meant to be a well-rounded pasta night wine! The wine was lees stirred for one year prior to being racked and aged entirely in old oak.” –Tony Dollar, Winemaker. 2015 Long Shadows Nine Hats Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley ($17.79) “A blend of Cab from The Benches in the Horse Heaven Hills and Weinbau on the warm Wahluke Slope, injecting some Syrah (15%). The nose is of toffee and coffee powder with blue fruit and a dusting of white pepper. There’s richness to the entry of plum and blueberry, backed by pomegranate juiciness that finishes with a long and strong tug of tannins.” –Great Northwest Wine. 2016 Novelty Hill ‘RSR’ Red Columbia Valley ($15.99) A delicious, medium-bodied wine loaded with sweet cherry and dark mocha aromas and flavors complemented by layers of wild blackberry, ripe plum and black cherry that echo across a fresh, fruit-forward finish that lasts. White Wine 2016 Abeja Chardonnay Washington State ($38.69) “Abeja Chardonnay has long been a benchmark white wine for Washington, and Walla Walla-based Dan Wampfler and Amy Alvarez-Wampfler keep the tradition going with this gorgeous vintage, apple and nectarine fruit. The seamless texture is seductive as can be.” –2018 Washington Wine Awards Winner. 2016 Buty Semillon/Sauvignon/Muscadelle Columbia Valley ($19.99) “One of our top Washington white wines each vintage is Buty’s ode to white Bordeaux. The nose shows lovely floral-accented lime and grapefruit while the palate is richly textured with honeyed citrus. Fresh acidity joins mineral and saline notes as this sings on a harmonious and refreshing finish.” –Northwest-Wine.com. 2017 Nefarious Cellars Defiance Vineyard Viognier Lake Chelan ($18.99) “Bursting with aromatics of pear, papaya, nectarine, and lime zest. It’s summer in a glass and one of our perennial favorites. A little seafood on the barbecue, a warm evening and a bottle of this is all we need. Styled to be a delicate wine; packed with apricot and grapefruit, a pretty side of floral notes, and just a hint of minerality.” –Winemaker notes. Rosé 2018 Cedergreen Cellars Viola Rosé Columbia Valley ($13.99) The very first pink of the season has arrived! The panel instantly loved this offering from our friend Kevin Cedergreen. “Our Viola Rosé is a classic blend of Gamay Noir and Cabernet Franc. We were smitten by the aromatics of this Rose’ and found examples of similar blends from the Loire. Great minds and all. Flavors reminiscent of bright crushed strawberries and raspberries combine with deep floral notes of lilac and violets. From the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Gold 2019. Enjoy!” –Kevin Cedergreen, Winemaker notes. Kenneth Benner, a Seattle area native, is a trained chef and has worked in such restaurants as Barbacoa, B.O.K.A. Kitchen + Bar, and Dahlia Lounge. Ken is the wine buyer at Leschi Market. He has a passion for learning, a meticulous palate, and a tenacity for searching out the best for his customers while offering some of the most highly coveted wines in the area. His wine column is intended to inspire and explore new choices in wine, learn about wine with his readers, and share his knowledge and experiences in the wine world. Check out the latest at www.LeschiMarket.com or request to be added to email updates or send questions, comments, or suggestions to ken@leschimarket.com and follow the wine department directly on twitter at twitter.com/leschimarket .

Race & Personal Narrative The book has a long history as a rich vessel for stories of the human condition. Amontaine Aurore and Kimisha Turner will present their artists’ book Reverie. They will be joined by Carletta Carrington Wilson, book artist. Works in this exhibit are from the book of the bound series, including the interactive piece chain letter of debtors and collage works. Pacific Lutheran University Art Gallery www.plu.edu/gallery/gallery-season February 20-March 20 Open Sesame: The Magic of Artists Books Revealed Open Sesame! The Magic of Artist’s Books Revealed is a major look into the special world of Artist’s Books. It includes special installations by artists including Diane Jacobs, Daniel Smith and Carletta Carrington Wilson. This exhibition is co-curated by BIMA’s Founder, Cynthia Sears, Amy Goldthwaite (BIMA Curatorial Associate) and Catherine Alice Michaelis (Artist). A selection of the pieces, those which include the entire poem, from the installation letter to a laundress will be on view. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art biartmuseum.org/exhibitions/open-sesame-the-magic-of-artists-books-revealed March 1–June 9 Sparks and Catalysts: Social Justice and the Role of Book Arts The graphic format and immersive, tactile quality of artist books make them a prime vehicle for sharing powerful information. This panel will explore the potential for this intimate art form to wrangle with critical and often poignant human issues. Panelists, including Fred Hagstrom, Carletta Carrington Wilson, Ellen Knudson and Jeffrey Morin, will share their perspectives and approaches to this important work. Moderated by Jane Carlin. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art biartmuseum.org/event/sparks-and-catalysts-social-justice-and-the-role-of-book-arts March 30, 7pm, Panel Discussion

In the last few weeks, our Grammy award-winning Seattle Symphony has outdone itself performing difficult contemporary music and presenting FOUR world premieres! The Chamber Music concert featured Tessa Lark in a preconcert (they always have a free recital before the main concert.) Lark is a violinist, but she played fiddle inspired violin music. Her humorous dialog explained the intersections of the blue grass music of Appalachia with classical music. She also played pieces of her own and an impossibly difficult contemporary work by John Corigiano. Then in the main concert the highlight was Leoš Janáček String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” led by Grammy award nominated violin player (and artistic director of the Seattle Chamber Music Festivals) James Ehnes. This intense piece of music featured crashing conflicts played by the two violins, cello and viola, inspired by a Tolstoy novella about infidelity sparked by a violinist falling in love with a pianist while performing Beethoven’s Kreutzer Violin Sonata. That was thrilling! We were so fortunate to go to “Celebrate Asia,” friends gave us their fabulous center of the orchestra tickets. It included a stunning succession of Asia related and/or composed pieces including a world premiere by Chia-Ying Lin, a 28 year old Chinese composer who won a competition for young composers sponsored by the Seattle Symphony. The highly experimental work Ascolsia , featured instruments and musical tones inspired by folk music of Taiwan. Shiyeon Sung, a South Korean born conductor, dynamically led the orchestra. A brilliant piano player, Seong-Jin Cho, also originally from Korea, played Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. It was stupendous. Katherine Kim then sang a wildly contemporary song cycle by Unsuk Chin, also Korean, based on Alice in Wonderland. Then the undauntable Symphony gave us Pubbanimitta for Orchestra by Thailand’s most famous composer, Narong Prangcharoen. Wow! But there is even more. Later that week we heard another amazing pianist, Jonathan Biss, who had commissioned contemporary composers to create works inspired by Beethoven concertos. First he played Beethoven’s third concerto and then a SECOND concerto, the World Premiere by Caroline Shaw, inspired by the Beethoven, but totally avant-garde of course. And last, and maybe the most thrilling of all, was the Silkroad Ensemble with Kinan Azmeh, a Syrian clarinetist, originally from Damascus. It was a truly international concert, inspired by “Beyond Borders,” a Seattle Symphony concert two years ago reacting to that original dreadful travel ban (Azmeh performed then also, barely able to get back in the country). Sandeep Das, from South Asia, gave us staggering drumming, and the world-renowned Chinese composer Wu Man performed several solos on the Pipa, a stringed instrument like a lute. Expanding our geography further, we heard the dynamic Venezuelan Christina Pato on Galician bagpipes, playing a fast moving “Latina 6/8 Suite” that included brilliant musicians from the symphony performing solos on the bass, viola, cello, and violin. Again, the Seattle Symphony had commissioned premieres, one by the award winning Chinese composer Chen Yi (she had been composer in residence at Seattle Symphony in 2002–03). Then Kinan Azmeh transported us as he played his own new work, a clarinet concerto with the Symphony. As he played, I felt the deep tragedy of Syria in his music, in his life. We are incredibly fortunate to have this amazing Symphony and its commitment to contemporary music. They are even launching a new venue Octave Nine, at Second and Union, which will feature an acoustic system that uses 42 speakers and 30 microphones, modular surround screens and movable panels that will immerse the audience. March 3 features an open house, followed by another on Thu, March 7. The Family Open House is Sat, March 9, and on March 23–24, there will be a 24-hour marathon featuring what is described as “multidisciplinary new music”! Incredible. Try to get to part of it. It will expand your idea of music and your life. ~Susan Platt

When I saw Edgar Arceneaux’s installation at the Henry Gallery on the UW campus, the image of Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin came to mind immediately. Before I could digest, wonder or analyze that thought, Donald Trump’s slatted fence popped into my head. There was no way I could have known what I was doing exactly—what did the artist Arceneaux want me to do upon viewing his work? James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom came to mind. No one can read each of the more than 15,000 books written about Abraham Lincoln, but the longtime Gettysburg bookstore employee did not hesitate to tell me McPherson’s book is the best one book there is on the Civil War, the Civil War book with the most truths I have seen. Then I walked around to the cabin entrance. Suddenly I stopped as I viewed the walls, looking like mirrors, covered with Mylar. Reflections and shadows filled the little space occupied with shelves of books. I was glad no one was behind me, as I must have been standing in one place at least three minutes when I remembered the introduction to the exhibit explains that the inside of the cabin is not a maze “which is designed to disorient,” but a labyrinth that is “circuitous but ultimately leads to a center, and is intended to be a vehicle of spirituality, a meditative journey mapped into the bodily experience.” Arceneaux wants a visitor to get out but simultaneously leave with truths that may be new, truths that contradict what the visitor “knows” about a book, a book of lies, lies that may not have been known at the publication of the book. Most of the “books” are unread newspapers dipped in black acrylic paint. Despite newspaper editors routinely apologizing for errors that appeared in their papers, many lies are not retracted; other retractions appear buried in the paper though the subject might have been first-page news; still other untruths appear unwittingly. The papers printed thus spread lies. Emmett Till’s accuser admitting sixty-two years later that Till had not insulted her and she had “no idea they [husband and friends] would harm him;” she wanted not to work in the store. The Groveland Four were accused of a crime in 1949, and then exonerated posthumously in 2017. A rape victim misidentified Steve Titus as the criminal; a year later The Seattle Times investigative reporter Paul Henderson proved the convicted Titus innocent, framed by policeman Ronald Parker who manipulated the timeline of the crime. I remembered the case and Titus’ name, but I was sure he drove a blue Mustang not a Chevette as the fact-check stated. One article says the police officer that fabricated evidence died six months after the case; another said a year later. I remember a quotation one way, but checking shows it somewhat different: a lie can travel around the world before the truth can put on its pants—the quote, or some version of it, is attributed to several persons, and some speakers use halfway around the world and shoes! Some of these lies are intentional; others are not. Arceneaux takes the adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” to extremes. Legitimate titles lie next to his trumped-up titles. Titles are sometimes obscured by being partially covered, often with crystals of sugar reminiscent of candy some of us love. The content may have been true as far as authors and some readers knew at the time of publication. Titles are partially covered although the literate of a certain age can most likely guess them. Wart Debt and Fart Poverty, or Rene De’Cart rather than Michel Foucault as author of Discourse on Madness may momentarily, at least, startle. One shelf holds a stack of books on Bill Cosby, for instance. Are books written on Cosby before his sexual assault convictions lies? I did not think award-winning “The Cosby Show” reruns should be removed from television. Also present is a set of The Bible Story. John Hope Franklin’s From Slavery to Freedom and Ed Guerrero’s Framing Blackness have a place. The exhibit is Library of BLACK Lies; it makes me think of the many lies so many of us have been told and, worse, believe. Genocide and slavery always come to mind when I think of lies, how they were the norm for such a long time in this country. It took years before I understood “Manifest Destiny” is a huge lie. I wonder how many people in the United States know how many Mexicans were living in what became the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. I can’t help wondering what Nazis were taught. What are Neo-Nazis taught? How can someone say the Holocaust is a lie? What would Lyndon B. Johnson say about his generals and Vietnam? Remember Trump’s comments about the five black and Latino young men accused of raping the jogger in Central Park—and then exonerated? I hear some folks say Sandy Hook never happened. Have you heard Michelle Obama talk about her feelings when Donald Trump so often said Barack Obama was born in Kenya? How many people have been killed, are being killed because of weapons of mass destruction? Who hears the lies? Who believes the lies? Who acts because of the lies? Who suffers because of the lies? We are born with no prejudices. We learn, sometimes directly, but more often, indirectly. We sometimes knowingly and unknowingly pass the prejudices to others. All of us feel pain, some more than others. Be careful. Know that every person nor every thing trusted and believed in is not necessarily true; regardless of the amount of time you have “known the truth.” It certainly may not be true for all time, says Arceneaux. My friend’s statement at the bottom of each of his emails says, “Half of the facts you read on the Internet are untrue.” –Abraham Lincoln. Arceneaux is preoccupied with duality, usually truth on one side and lies on the other. Unlike Chimamanda Adichie’s Ted Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” Arceneaux’s exhibit, though it leads us to a center, puts us on guard, makes us examine everything, leaves little space for our accepting anything. Lies told to one person or group are invariably on another person or group and, therefore, may be more harmful than the perpetrator could ever imagine or, worse, may be exactly what is wanted. The less information we have, the more precarious our stance. Though the optimist in me hates this, the realist recognizes and acknowledges what Arceneaux’s exhibit says. Henry Art Gallery at the UW Mon & Tue: closed. Wed & Fri–Sun: 11am–4pm. Thurs: 11am–9pm. Free admission for Henry members, faculty and staff, students, and children. $10 general admission, $6 Seniors (62+). Free admission Sundays and first Thursday. 206-543-2280, henryart.org ~Georgia McDade

We apologize for the late delivery of the February issue. Two issues out of our control disrupted the usual flow. First, our talented layout artist, Kirsten Hopperstad, had unavoidable family obligations, and we urged her to take care of herself and family first. The newsletter was ready on February 1 and after the labeling and sorting by zip code, it was delivered to the bulk mail center on February 2. The second issue was the snow interference. We had no mail delivery on Monday the February 4 and one other day that week. Our paper arrived on Thursday, February 7, too late for the Frink Work party. In addition to these woes, we needed to cancel the wine tasting party due to the weather. Although we rescheduled for March 22 and with great optimism renamed the event as the SPRING Wine Tasting Party, we did lose our scheduled jazz band, The Rio Thing. However, we are happy to report that a jazz trio from Garfield’s renowned jazz band will provide the music! We hope to see you there to support the Senior Center with your admission price and sip good wines, nibble on appetizers and groove to good jazz! ~Diane Snell

If you told me a month ago that February, 2019 would be Seattle’s snowiest month in 50 years, I would have told you that you were crazy. November, December, and January were all significantly warmer than normal, and apart from the fast-moving, compact “Epiphany Storm” of January 5–6, there weren’t any noteworthy windstorms or floods to keep meteorologists busy. The 2018–19 winter had been a dud through January 31, and I didn’t think February would be any different. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The first snowstorm of the month began soon after Tom Brady won his sixth Super Bowl and continued through Monday, Feb. 4. This storm was initially predicted to be nothing more than a few scattered snow showers for most of Western Washington, with notable accumulations largely staying above 500 feet. Instead, a persistent band of snow formed over Puget Sound late Sunday night and persisted through much of Monday, giving most locations north of Olympia a major lowland snowstorm. My mom measured around 5.5 inches at our house just north of the Madrona bus turnaround on Lake Washington Blvd. Some of my friends in the Cascade foothills saw well over a foot! This snow was also accompanied by extremely strong and cold northeasterly winds over the Northern Interior. Exposed locations in Whatcom and San Juan Counties saw gusts in the 50–60 mph range with sub-zero wind chills on Monday, and while that might be shorts weather for the Chicagoans who survived -52 degree wind chills a month ago, it’s pretty rare for February in the Pacific Northwest. Tuesday through Thursday was dry and chilly, but snow returned with a vengeance on Friday, Feb. 8 and persisted through Saturday morning. This storm was like the Super Bowl Sunday–Monday storm but was far better forecast, with 3–8 inches across Puget Sound common. Because temperatures were right on the fringe for snow, folks by the water got less than during the previous storm. My parents are only at 40 feet elevation and measured three inches, but I’d guess that the tops of Madrona and Leschi saw closer to 4–5 inches. The Cascade foothills were clobbered once again; with roughly a foot of snowfall, and some locations along the Strait of Juan de Fuca experienced a true “Snowmageddon,” with a report of 21 inches near Port Angeles. And the Northern Interior saw even stronger winds and colder wind chills than they did on Monday, with Bellingham experiencing winds gusting to 67 mph. Another brief shot of snow occurred on Sunday, the 10th. My parents measured an inch of wet snow with this system, but once again, higher elevations—particularly in the Cascade foothills—saw significantly more. Our fourth and final system arrived on Monday, the 11th, and although this storm was much stronger than the previous three, it was significantly warmer as well, and we only saw a brief period of wet snow before switching to a messy rain/snow mix and eventually all rain. Again, there was a significant increase in snowfall with elevation; Sea-Tac Airport, which is located at 433’, saw 6 inches of snow before switching to rain. By the end of Monday, Sea-Tac Airport had recorded 20.2 inches of snow for the month, making February 2019 the snowiest month since January 1969. The winter of 1968–1969 was the snowiest on record for Seattle, and my mom always talks about her epic sledding adventures down Clyde Hill in Bellevue that winter. We even had six more inches of snow this month than we did back during the legendary snowstorms of December 2008, when I was able to comfortably ski down Alder St. for the better half of a week. We can thank warmer temperatures and the Seattle Dept. of Transportation’s use of rock salt for clearer roads this time around. ~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 .

We are fortunate to have two great movie theaters near us: Ark Lodge right on Rainier Avenue as you enter Columbia City shows first run movies, lots of them at the same time, and their prices are incredibly reasonable ($8 for seniors). Plus parking near by is not difficult; the worst you will pay is $2 at a lot. Ark is comfortable, lots of leg room, a great wheel chair set up, and even their popcorn is a good deal. I don’t know how they manage to book all those first run movies. I have seen Vice (a must see about Vice President Cheney), Mary Poppins Returns, Green Book, and On the Basis of Sex about Ruth Bader Ginsberg. And I missed seeing If Beale Street Could Talk and The Favorite! All of these were playing almost at the same time, in rotation. Check out their current shows at arklodgecinemas.com. Second, and with a different focus is Central Cinema, just off Union and 21st. This community cinema saves a lot of money by booking older movies, many of them great classics. (I recently saw The Sound of Music and Casablanca there.) They have a Thursday afternoon at 5pm happy hour cartoons for children and they also throw the annual Central District Christmas party that features a type of variety show of local talent, such as the children at the nearby Meter Music School or junior high school children in a jazz ensemble. I couldn’t believe how many families with children showed up. Check out their current shows on their website central-cinema.com . Here is how they describe themselves: “Here at Central Cinema we bring it all to you. Full menu service is available at all shows. We take care of you in the theater with Waiter service and Sofa seating. Everything is made fresh to order in our kitchen with our own hands. Organic Popcorn (Thanks Central Co-op!) with Real Butter is available for movie time munching. You can have a Draft Beer from NW Brewers, a nice glass of Wine or a fun Cocktail from our Bar. We have Stone Oven Pizzas, hot Appetizers and a Seasonal selection of Entrées to choose from on our Menu. Have dessert & coffee or just play Scrabble after the show at Cafe Noir in our lobby, open 5:30 till 10pm weeknights, and 1pm till 10pm weekends. HAPPY HOUR 5:30 till 6:30 Monday thru Friday with a different theme each day of the week.” There’s no need to go anywhere else. Support these local businesses, save money, driving and help them to thrive! ~Susan Platt

Questions about the fate of our local post office abound on NextDoor Leschi. The post office has a long and illustrious history of meeting the needs of the citizens to move their mail, later their packages and even helping them to bank for many decades. Our first postmaster was the genius, Benjamin Franklin, who had been appointed postmaster of Philadelphia by the crown a few years earlier. He sped up mail service by improving the routes and then by sending out mail riders both day and night. He also mandated that the mail riders carry newspapers for a fee, thus improving communications between the colonies as well as the people. Probably this did him in, as the newspapers were more critical in the days before the revolution than the Dear Mom letters. He was removed from this position about a year after his appointment as “being too sympathetic to the colonists.” Postal inspectors went to great lengths to improve mail service: mail steamboats, pony express, boats, sleds, snowshoes, mule trains in the Grand Canyon, flat-bottomed boats in the Louisiana bayous, dog sleds in Alaska until 1963 and now mail is dropped by parachute there. Snowmobiles are used in heavy snow country…should Seattle consider one or more of these? RFD (rural free delivery) was started in 1891 with the current postmaster declaring that it “made more sense for one person to deliver mail than for 50 folks to come in to town to the local post office.” Parcel Post was authorized in 1912 when citizens became “enraged by the exorbitant prices charged by the private companies.” (Congress listened to the people in those olden days.) In 1911, the Postal Savings program was begun with deposits earning 2% interest. It wasn’t until after World War II that banks raised their interest rates and Postal savings declined. The program ended in 1967. The minimum deposit was only $1; try that at your local bank. “Mr. Zip” was initiated in 1962, which helped to better sort mail for quicker delivery. There have been attempts in later years to privatize the post office. When Nixon was President, a study showed that it would be too expensive and plans were dropped. But under the Bush II presidency the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was passed in 2003. This requires the post office to save health benefit costs for retired employees but due to the amount required, the postal service is paying for future employees that have not yet been born. No other agency has been required to do this. What private companies do this? So, even though the post office makes a profit these days, the money is sucked into this fund and doesn’t appear as profit on their books. I have always suspected this was a device to bring about the privatization of the post office which means a private company would do only what is profitable. Goodbye rural free delivery! If one chooses to live in a remote area, just deal with it—just as you have dealt with the disappearance of the Greyhound bus from your community. One comment on NextDoor Leschi echoed my own experience. This writer had used a private mail service to mail a package of a size he had frequently sent at the now defunct post office. The cost was much more. My experience was similar; I mailed a large envelope with reading material and the quoted price was so much that I must have looked at the clerk in disbelief. She said, “Let me try something else” and offered me a lower price, which was still double what I had been paying at the post office. I begrudgingly went ahead with the transaction but wished I had my post office back. The P.O. has strict regulations and I always felt confident that I was paying what everyone else was paying; as I am not a haggler, it was comforting. I have called Rep. Adam Smith’s office and they are well aware of the problem but have found it difficult trying to negotiate with the post office and with Lake Union Partners as well. His office is also aware that trying to divert us to the Broadway Post office is a losing proposition…no parking. Smith’s office is drafting a letter of concern to the post office and promised to keep us informed on any progress, which we will note in our future newsletters. ~Diane Snell Editor’s note: The facts and quotes that appear in this editorial come from an 84-page history of the post office I found online. The snarky comments are mine alone. The history is a little disconcerting. It has been divided into chapters, which cover certain topics so you may finish one chapter in modern times and jump back to 1860 in the next chapter. There is exciting stuff on the robberies by outlaw gangs but I had the feeling that I saw more of those at the Saturday afternoon matinées than actually happened.

Hello my ‘tired of snow’ Leschi friends and neighbors, What an amazing couple of weeks! I personally had not purchased salt for our condo building, but I lucked out with a hardware store at the top of Queen Anne. As I write this column, I am just about to catch a plane to return from New Orleans where Mardi Gras is underway. Celebrations are everywhere—a great city if you ever get the chance to visit. Our wine tasting event was postponed due to the snow and is re-scheduled for March 22 at the Central Area Senior Center. Steve from Grocery Outlet will be offering a 20% discount for purchases of six bottles or more. We will have amazing music provided by a trio of jazz musicians from the renowned Garfield Jazz Orchestra! You can purchase your tickets on Brown Bag Tickets (event titled “Spring Wine Tasting”) for $30.00 each. It should be a very fun time and maybe spring will have arrived by then. Your admission price benefits the Senior Center. Our March program for earthquake preparedness will be on March 19 at 7pm. Leschi and Madrona Community Councils are collaborating on this program and have invited Diane Moore from Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management to speak. With the weather we have had, it forced some of us to slow down and reflect. Others looked after their neighbors to make certain their well-being was handled. Spring is upon us, and John Barber and the members of the volunteer landscape group will have ongoing projects. It is so wonderful to have such a dedicated nature lover who oversees the care taking of our little village spots of foliage. The Seattle Parks Department is underfunded and understaffed, so we so appreciate his work. Volunteer if you can, or if you see John, thank him. Leschi is a unique, in-city world that really is away from it all. It is a jewel to nurture and protect. And we look forward to seeing you at the March 19 event and the March 22 Wine Tasting. Warm regards, Janice Merrill Brown President, LCC

The dump of snow on our area forced the cancellation of our Valentine’s Wine Tasting and in setting a new date, we lost our Brazilian jazz band, but we are forging ahead because this is a benefit for the Senior Center, after all! New date: March 22, 6:30–9pm. New music: Jazz Trio from Garfield’s illustrious jazz band. Admission: $30, 21 and older. Purchase tickets through Brown Paper tickets for event: Spring Wine Tasting. Hosts: Grocery Outlet (the wine) and Leschi Community Council (the refreshments). Join us at the Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. S in the dining hall at 6:30pm on March 22!

Let’s admit it. Many of us who live in Seattle know that it’s only a matter of time before we experience a severe earthquake. At our previous meeting, we learned about the likelihood and the extent of the devastation. This meeting we will learn about how to prepare for a catastrophic event. Our speaker is Diane Moore, trainer and consultant, City of Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management. Sponsored by Leschi and Madrona Community Councils. Join your neighbors on Tue, March 19 at the Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. S, one block south of Jackson. Meet in the dining hall at 7pm. Refreshments provided.