This corner of the park has its own forest steward who is asking the Council to release the funds to cut down 3 trees that that are non-native and were designated as needing to be removed about a decade ago. We have approved the funds pending receipt of documentation from Parks that indeed they do want them removed. In situations like this, the request should go to the Greenspace Chair, John Barber, who would check with the treasurer to confirm available funds and then to the board for determination.

September 10, 2018 New Business Janet—Treasury report: Diane added that ArtWalk fund would grow once the grant was completed and there should be a surplus for next year. Follow up—Frink Park request for tree removal. Janet has not rec’d the requested documentation. Janice—It does not look at though anyone reported the Nuisance property 1126 29th Ave. S to EastPAC yet. John—Parks: the mowing is still an issue. Marina—Marine Mgmt. has agreed to speak at the November meeting. John wanted to create a list of questions. It was felt that we needed someone from the city to speak about the breakwater as Marine Mgmt. says they are waiting for that to be completed before beginning any work. We need to involve current tenants of the marina as well. John to check with Dragon Boat folks. Tracy—LCC earthquake preparedness meeting: Tracy says not enough time to pull something together by Oct meeting. She will connect with Madrona folks and collaborate on a spring program that shows how to prepare. Madrona doing the same awareness program that we did last November. Diane—ArtWalk recap: Voters’ reg. table ecstatic about their success. Many new residents this summer; more turnover in the neighborhood than usual. Nice feedback on music, especially the Brazilian jazz. Newsletter deadline: Sept. 17 October Meeting—many ideas discussed and many assignments. Tracy to contact Bob Hasagawa about the public bank. Janice to go to MOHAI and speak to librarian about old pictures of Leschi. Is there anyone there who could do a talk? John to talk to Olmsted group about presenting a history of the Olmsteds and our parks. Diane to speak to NWAAM about the CD program they are doing at the Senior Center on the 19th; any options for bringing it to our meeting in Oct.? Monthly programs for the rest of the year will be added to the October agenda per Janice’s request. CANDC meetings—info not coming back to LCC. Karen Ko asked for list of officers from each council in May, but this was not communicated. Should be on letterhead. ArtWalk date given was wrong (9th give instead of 8th) Old Business Tracy—Upzoning: she is still concerned and feels people are not aware of the plan to upzone. Trevor said there had been numerous Town Halls, including one at Langston Hughes. Diane asked if Trevor had enough info to write something for the October newsletter. Tracy offered to write it if she could get the facts. Diane—Leschi Diary: John found an email from Sharon Vaughn that she had found a library to digitize the book. He also had a phone number for her. Diane called and left a message but no response yet. ~Respectfully submitted, Diane Snell

I have had the pleasure of tasting food from this local catering company for several years. Chef Kristi Brown’s cuisine centers around a spicy hummus dip made from black-eyed peas and seasoned with Berbere, an Ethiopian blend of spices that she calls “Slow Burn.” For those who fear “hot” foods, do not be afraid. I call this a gentle heat (Full disclosure: I don’t do habanero peppers!) Her food was featured at the NWAAM’s exhibit of their current show about the CD at the Senior Center on Wednesday, Sept. 19, following the Member meeting. She serves the hummus with triangles of pita that are baked and sprinkled with a flavorful spice. The hummus was there to also grace the chicken patties and even the platter of roasted veggies, if one desired. The roasted cauliflower and segments of corn on the cob were my favorites from this assortment. Her hummus is sold at PCC, Central Coop, Whole Foods and Bert’s Red Apple in Madison Park. For catering, check out her website at thatbrowngirl.com and submit a request. ~Diane Snell

RED 2014 Gramercy Cellars Syrah Columbia Valley ($29) “Under the leadership of Greg Harrington and Brandon Moss, Gramercy Cellars is unquestionably in the top handful of producers in Washington. This Syrah is medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated and beautifully textured. It’s another smoking wine from this estate that has real character and depth.” ~Wine Advocate, 93-points. 2010 Vina Sastre Crianza Ribera del Duero ($27) “Spicy, high-pitched aromas of blueberry, violet pastille, licorice, cola and black pepper. Very concentrated but lively and precise, offering palate-staining dark berry and floral flavors and suggestions of mocha and smoky minerals. Finishes with excellent clarity and power, smooth tannins and lingering florality.” ~Josh Raynolds, Vinous, 92-points. 2014 Efeste ‘Final Final’ Red Columbia Valley ($24) “Juicy flavors of black cherry, blackberry and cinnamon convey a lovely light touch. Still a bit tight but finishes very long and ripely tannic, with the structure to support a graceful evolution in bottle.” ~Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, 92+ points. 2016 Fattoria di Felsina Chianti Classico Berardenga ($23) Along with 2015, Fèlsina will recall 2016 as one of the most beautiful vintages in the last decade. This Chianti has a perfumed nose of wild red berries, cherries and nuances of mixed spices. On the palate, the fruit is forward, supported by supple tannins. This finish is long. WHITE 2016 Château Grand Boise Blanc Côtes de Provence ($27) Our high altitude is unique in Provence. It gives us fruitiness, depth and well-balanced wines. The typical profile of Château Grand Boise is its freshness. The vines are mainly planted on North facing slopes, on limestone, clay and pink marble soils. To preserve this delicate balance, our vines and wines are Certified Organic. 2015 Tranche Pape Blanc Estate Blue Mountain Vineyard Walla Walla ($20) “Vibrant melon and stone fruit aromas are complemented by notes of honeysuckle, citrus, white tea and baking spice. The wine is fresh and tactile on the palate with flavors of cantaloupe, white peach and nectarine, enhanced by flint and lightly toasted notes. A blend of 29% Viognier, 22% Roussanne, 16% Grenache Blanc, 15% Marsanne, 10% Clairette Blanche and 8% Picpoul Blanche. 489 cases produced.” ~Winemaker notes. 2017 Lobo Hills Sauvignon Blanc Yakima Valley ($14) “Owner and winemaker Tony Dollar ferments and ages this wine in stainless steel tanks that include rocks from the vineyard, trying to capture a little something else from the terroir. Does it work? Well, there’s an unexpected mineral edge to a wine that’s loaded with kiwi and white grapefruit flavors, as well as far more acid than you typically see in a Washington Sauvignon Blanc. How much do I love this wine? I bought six bottles.” ~“The 30 Most Exciting Wines in Washington,” Seattle Met Magazine, September 2018. 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 the Dahlia Lounge, and currently 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.

Granny Can’t Remember Me is a children’s picture book recently published by long-time Madrona resident, Susan McCormick. The book is a positive and helpful story about a young boy and his relationship with his grandmother who has Alzheimer’s. The idea for the story came to Susan as she watched her children’s relationship with her mother change as the Alzheimer’s disease progressed. Before Alzheimer’s, Susan’s mother was sharp as a tack, especially when it came to finding the perfect word to describe something or a better way to organize a sentence. She was the one her sons turned to for help with homework since she always had the answer. But, when she developed Alzheimer’s, she could no longer remember which grandson was which. This was confusing to Peter and James (ages eight and eleven when she started to decline). Susan, who works as a gastroenterologist at Virginia Mason and is a master at research, looked into ways to help her family relate to someone with memory loss. She discovered a few tricks that are illustrated in her book that helped her sons have happy visits with their grandmother and show that Alzheimer’s need not dim the powerful relationship between grandparent and grandchild. For example, in the book, when the boys greeted their grandmother, they made sure to mention their names. This can help the person with Alzheimer’s avoid the need to ask, “Which one are you?” or “Who are you?” Another trick for conversing with someone with Alzheimer’s is to never question what the person with Alzheimer’s is saying. In the book, the grandmother tells her grandson, Joey, that she has a fabulous dog named Pickles. Joey knows that Pickles died before he was even born, but he doesn’t mention this to his grandmother. Doing so would embarrass her or even cause her to argue. Joey just lets his grandmother tell him stories about Pickles. And then she continues with stories about the past — about his mother and uncle when they were young and what they enjoyed doing as children. The third trick illustrated in the book is to not ask someone with Alzheimer’s a question. For example, it’s best not to say, “How was your day?” The person with Alzheimer’s may not quite remember their day and feel put on the spot. It’s best to say something like “Today is Friday and it’s bingo and milkshakes day.” Then, the person with Alzheimer’s can simply join in with, “I love ice cream.” The story contains humor and warmth and can help a child who has a grandparent with Alzheimer’s understand that the behaviors associated with the disease are not uncommon and that there are ways to be able to continue and have fun with their confused grandparent. The book ends with some excellent sources of information for people who have someone in their life with Alzheimer’s. The examples of how to relate to a grandparent with Alzheimer’s in Granny Can’t Remember Me are remarkably simple, sweet, humorous and effective, as is the book itself. Susan and her husband Matt McCormick, live in Madrona with their two sons, James and Peter and their giant dog, Albert. ~Jennie Grant

As we approach the hundredth anniversary of Armistice Day for World War I on November 11, our very own Museum of History and Industry is hosting the only exhibition on that subject on the entire West Coast. Armistice Day began as a protest against the horrors of war. It has evolved into a celebration of veterans, a very different purpose. This exhibition covers the full range of the issues raised by war, emphasizing the massive changes in US society. First organized by the Minnesota History Center in partnership with the National Constitution Center and other institutions, MOHAI has added a significant Seattle component. Leonard Garfield, the dynamic Director of the Museum, commented at the opening, much of what we see in today’s Seattle began during World War I. I was happy to see the anti-war movements, led by women like Jane Addams, at the beginning of the exhibition. Addams led an outcry with other women against the war as well as founding the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom after the war, an organization that is still in existence today. Delegates to the Peace Conference at the Hague,1915 with label from exhibition fyi. Photo Courtesy of Minnesota History Center. Women are prominent throughout the exhibition: Seattle Mayor Bertha Knight Landes organized women’s clubs to support the war; Alice Paul, a leader of women’s suffrage, protested in front of the White House, was imprisoned and then went on hunger strike. Madam C. J. Walker, the first female self-made millionaire through her famous hair care empire, supported the African American troops and spoke out for Civil Rights. Women also volunteered with the Red Cross as ambulance drivers and nurses and joined the workforce here. Other themes were massive industrialized war machinery, home front consumerism, conscription (with an emphasis on African Americans here), the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, popular culture such as newly invented sound recordings, Charlie Chaplin’s movies and Houdini. Prosthetics appear as new treatments for veterans with disabilities (300,000 documented cases.) The show concludes with anti-immigrant furor, the Red Scare and the Seattle General Strike of 1919. The exhibition adopts the new techniques for exhibiting historical artifacts that incorporate our input with touch screens, and other tricks. For example, we are asked to judge punishment based on the 1917 Sedition Act that was applied to Edward Snowden. But, looking at an artifact like a gas mask, cannot convey the feeling of a young soldier when a call goes out to don the mask as a green cloud of poisonous gas descended. Not to mention that we cannot possibly grasp the horrors of war. Members of World War I famed 369th Infantry aka the Harlem Hellfighters, Courtesy of Minneesota History Center. I got a distant sense of the horrors because my father fought in World War I and wrote up the history of his “Battery F 323rd Field Artillery.” It details their movements and actions in training, traveling to France, their participation in the battle of the Meuse-Argonne and Verdun (Sept–Nov 1918) in which half of the deaths of American soldiers occurred. He and his fellow soldiers in Battery F were fortunate in being held in reserve most of the time, although they did experience frequent fire fights and constant shelling, a traumatic experience that often went on for days and meant instant death if a soldier took a direct hit. The book frequently refers to the caring and condition of the hundreds of horses who hauled the equipment up and down muddy hills, and uneven roads. Although we may have seen War Horse, the dramatic play about one World War I horse, we forget how many thousands of horses were in the war and how many died. Aerial warfare was a newly destructive force in 1918 that the book dramatically describes, juxtaposed to the now archaic observation balloons that were frequently strafed by airplanes. The chaotic communications, endless hours spent standing ready and waiting for the next order to move, and the ever-present mud, lack of sleep and food, and anxiety, are true of all war experiences. Following the armistice, Battery F marched for two months through Germany, and then finally returned home in May. My father never talked about his war experiences. And of course, many US soldiers lost their lives in 1917–1918, but it cannot be compared to the horrific slaughter of young men from Great Britain, Germany and other countries. My British husband’s father and all but one of his uncles (who was a conscientious objector) fought in the war, one died, all were traumatized. His uncle, Charles Carrington, spoke and wrote of his experiences as a 20 year old officer, giving us minute detail on the huge challenges (such as silently carrying rolls of barbed wire in a zigzag trench at night), the horrific sound of the war with the newly created industrial guns, and his training of young men to be sent off to die as late as September 1918. But the greatest loss of life occurred after the war with the Influenza epidemic. Seattle again is featured as proactive in preventing its spread. Leonard Garfield declared, “WWI America tells a huge story—with consequences that continue to ripple through our world and our community today.” How true that is! We are now in permanent war, and permanent anti-war movements. Boeing is one of the largest military contractors in the world and of course, anti-immigrant hysteria escalates with each passing day. Our environmental catastrophe started escalating in World War I and the military continues to emit tons of toxic chemicals and pollution. WWI America Museum of History and Industry 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, www.mohai.org Sept 1, 2018 to Feb 10, 2019 MOHAI will be hosting these important events: October 3 “Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases: The Spanish Flu Epidemic,” October 20 “Fashion during World War I” October 20, and December 5 “Dissent: Patriotism or Treason?” On the weekend of November 11, the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, Bells for Peace will ring nationwide at 11am. MOHAI will have a series of events from Saturday to Monday. See mohai.org/exhibits/ww1-america/ for more details. ~Susan N. Platt www.artandpoliticsnow.com

Thanks to a much-needed period of cooler and wetter than normal weather this past month, the hellishly hazy skies and suffocating heat of summer 2018 are now a distant memory. But while we welcomed the crisp mornings and occasional afternoon downpours that September brought, the arrival of autumn on the 22nd was a sober reminder that our days will be shorter than our nights for the next six months. We will have shaved an hour and 42 minutes of day length by the time next month’s Leschi News comes out, and after Daylight Savings Time ends on the first Sunday of November, the sun won’t set after 5 PM until January 26. Hey, at least we’re all in this together. As a lifelong weather geek, I’ve always been fascinated by how quickly our weather worsens in the autumn, particularly compared to how slow it improves in the spring. In my experience, it’s the first week of November when the weather suddenly switches from cool and crisp to wet and windy, and we only have to get halfway through the month until the potential for major arctic outbreaks and lowland snow arises. Take November 2010 as an example: I clearly remember playing Frisbee at Garfield High School on the 3rd under bluebird skies and a record high of 74 degrees, but three weeks later on the 24th, the low plummeted to a record 14 degrees after 2–3 inches of snow blanketed the city at rush hour on the 22nd It tickles me to think that we are just a month and a half away here in Seattle from the beginning of our lowland snow chances, and we are only a few weeks away from such potential up in the Northern Interior, which saw accumulating snow to kick off November last year. The reason why we experience such a dramatic shift in our climate in late autumn is because the north-south temperature gradient increases substantially, with dramatic cooling near and over the poles while the tropics and subtropics remain relatively unchanged. This causes the “jet stream”—the current of high-altitude winds that determines the strength and track of our storms, to suddenly become much larger and stronger. The Pacific Northwest can rapidly transition from tranquil leaf-raking weather to downright stormy conditions when this jet stream decides to take aim at the Pacific Northwest, particularly if it picks up some tropical moisture from the Western Pacific in the process. Seattle is painfully slow to warm in the spring for two main reasons. First, snow and ice over northern latitudes reflect incoming radiation back out to space and slow warming, and second, we in the Pacific Northwest often see cool, onshore flow persisting through June before we finally break out into our gorgeous summertime pattern. While springtime heat waves do happen, they aren’t too common and are hardly as memorable as a big windstorm, flood or Seattle snowstorm. In the meantime, enjoy your October! This will likely be the warmest month until May 2019, so be sure to get outside and make the most of it! Charlie Phillips, a Madrona resident, received his B.S. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington and works in Portland as a meteorologist forecasting wind energy along the Columbia River Gorge. Check out his weather website at: charlie.weathertogether.net

September’s clearing of vegetation by the Parks Department along Lake Washington Boulevard through Frink and Leschi Parks was a mixed bag. The Park Department’s clearing of blackberries along Lake Washington Boulevard has had mixed results. The Department does not allow volunteers to do roadside maintenance due to liability concerns, so that now roadside maintenance is the responsibility of the Department. The work of the hired contractor whose crew cut back invasive blackberries in most of the newly cleared areas was excellent. The sightline for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists going south and approaching the stop sign at Frink Place South/South Jackson Street is much improved. It is more evident that the natural slope of the hill is a limiting factor for the view ahead. Work by hand is the best practice for landscape care. By cutting the blackberries and dabbing the cut stubs with herbicide, the blackberries will be severely discouraged and the underlying native plants will have a better chance of thriving. However, Parks also sent out a mowing machine for the part of the work on the western edge of the Boulevard at the north end of Leschi Park. By slashing through the vegetation, the mower destroyed or seriously injured native plants that were installed by volunteers and were mixed with blackberries. The native plants were installed in order to discourage people from parking along the road edges and to beautify the park. Instead, with the mowing, there is parking for at least six vehicles. The mowing is actually a double whammy. Not only are the new native plants damaged, but for years, nearby neighbors have been affected by nighttime use of the parking lot next to the tennis courts. Now, people can park along the Boulevard at night. The mowing is in direct conflict with the Olmsted prescription for roadside planting in natural areas and in direct conflict with the Frink/Upper Leschi Plan that was an effort of the Leschi Community Council collaborating with the Park Department in 1998 to 2000. The current mowing is much the result of the current Park Department maintenance policy to use citizen complaints as the basis for much of the official maintenance work. The resulting clash of opinions: the stewards of Frink Park and support from the Leschi Greenspace Committee of LCC were on one side. Complaining neighbors were on the other. Parks took the political way and listened to the loudest and hence, we had the destructive mowing. To his credit, Darrell Howe, Frink Park Steward, successfully negotiated to secure the work of the natural area’s contractor for the cutting of blackberries by hand in most of the affected area. Over all this, the Park Department’s representatives tell us that the Department does not have funds to replant the cleared areas or to install bollards that would discourage parking. We may be in for more roadside mowing in the future years, instead of landscape edges. John’s concern about this pattern of mowing and whacking was expressed in a letter to the Olmsted Legacy group: To the Olmsted Legacy Task Force: It is truly urgent, if you have not done so already, to express the needs for better care of the Olmsted parks and boulevards. The City is in the process of preparing the budget for the second six-year period for the Seattle Park District. At present, the District seriously lacks the funding commitment to responsibly manage and maintain the parks and boulevards. Staff is so stressed that the fallback method for maintaining the landscape next to boulevards is machine mowing/thrashing. This year the boulevards are characterized by sections of landscape mowed to the ground, ugly brown scabs. There are virtually no plans for re-vegetating these gaps. The coming years will see repeated mowings and continuing uglification. Staff claims that it operates on a “complaint” basis—not a schedule of regular maintenance care—basically not a system at all. They wait for complaints, and then they prioritize when to send in garden or natural areas crew, or too frequently, the machine mowers. Staff suggests that they need to operate this way because there are not the resources committed to do otherwise. Parks maintenance should be working according to a calendar of landscape care that meets the needs of each park and boulevard. Approved landscape maintenance plans are frequently skirted by Parks employees with the result of discouraging volunteer stewards who sacrificed to raise money for planning and to clear landscape areas, plant, and maintain them by approved plans. An example is Frink Park, which has a vegetation management plan that was approved by the Parks Board in 2001; also Colman Park which had an even earlier plan. Repeatedly, Parks staff has destroyed, by weed whacking and mowing, native ground cover and shrubs that were planted by volunteers. Besides the roadway edges, the edges of trails are subjected to harsh hacking of plants. Clearly, Parks needs to increase its staff with additional gardeners, assistant gardeners, ecologists, and landscape and natural areas crews. Management also must be staffed to oversee a professional system of landscape maintenance. A planning effort should be undertaken to analyze and clarify the landscape treatment of the edges of parks and boulevards. The edges are where the great majority of City residents experience the boulevards, parks and natural areas. Edge treatment defines an experience of the landscape. As the Olmsteds noted, there are differences along the way of traveling on the boulevards through residential areas, “passive” parks, and natural areas deserve appropriate landscape design and care. Through Frink Park and Colman, for example, the natural area is defined by bringing native ground cover to the edge of the pavement, and care should be to control the plants from intruding into the traffic areas or obstructing views for safety. Over the years, mowing and weed whacking forays have destroyed native landscape ground covers Funds are needed to re-think the transportation elements of the parks and boulevard system. Some boulevards have become major carriers of commuter traffic—a use that was not anticipated by the Olmsteds and out of keeping with the intended experience for park users. In some sections of the boulevards, the pedestrians are taking over by walking in the roadway due much to the lack of alternative paths along the sides. Lake Washington Boulevard between intersections with Lakeside Avenue has become a de facto woonerf. Perhaps sections of the boulevards should be woonerfs, and perhaps some sections where space and topography permit should have paths and separate bike lanes. We should not wait another six years to correct these conflicts of use. In the overall universe of City needs, these do not require huge expenditures, but with the growing population, changes in recreational lifestyles and the stress of urban life, a little bit of budget commitment can go a long way. ~John Barber

Our third district councilmember, Kshama Sawant, attended our September meeting using her outside voice! One might have thought we had gone to a Westlake rally instead of our monthly meeting in the small solarium at the Senior Center. She did not answer our submitted questions, but did make it clear that she felt that property owners were taxed to the max, especially our seniors who will find it hard to stay in their homes and keep up with property taxes. She sees affordable housing as our number one problem; 30% of income should be the maximum one pays for shelter. She talked about Washington’s regressive tax system, which unfairly burdens property owners. She did mention that Bernie Sanders is sponsoring a bill that would require that employers pay for the public services that their employees qualify for due to low wages. As for questions, she and her assistant, Ted Virdone (policy analyst), did take down all our questions, most of which were local. There was a question about getting corporate heads together to discuss possible solutions to this housing problem; apparently, County Executive Dow Constantine did this and there was acknowledgment of the problem and how much might be needed to solve it, but no money was attached to the group’s report! She mentioned that we could contact our County Council representative and ask that they vote to give money to housing needs rather than stadium repair. Sawant gave an example of housing that could help: social housing as exists in Vienna is publicly owned and rent controlled. LCC President Janice Brown mentioned a similar development in southern California where the condominiums cannot be sold at more than a small percent over original price, rather than market price, thus perpetuating the lower purchase price originally offered. Ted Virdone (Sawant’s policy analyst) has gotten back to us with some answers on our local questions. Our questions are in bold print and their answers are in regular print. Questions/concerns Met Park District: I think this was passed so they would have enough money to take care of business, but we see LESS maintenance in our parks! There is no citizen oversight; city council is supposed to provide oversight but is it? Perhaps our concerns could be passed onto Debra Juarez and the Mayor from Sawant’s office. Maybe other districts are hearing the same issues. Sawant’s office could at least bring up these concerns when they ever do come to the council. I suspect the extra funds have padded some upper admin salaries but it’s all so secret, how can one know? The entire City budget is far more opaque than it should be. When Council votes on the City and MPD budget, there is very little detail of exactly how that money will be spent. For example, the 2018 budget has the following detail about park maintenance that is accessible to Council and the public. I am providing it in full to demonstrate how only limited information is often included: The Department of Parks and Recreation, under the direction of the Mayor then decides how to spend that nearly $40 million. Seattle has a substantial amount of parkland, and we are sure that much of that money is well spent. However, the funding is not adequate, and there are equity issues in terms of distribution of parkland. And as you point out, executive salaries are unnecessarily high, and regular people should have more access to how priorities are set for what park maintenance is most needed. Through the People’s Budget movement, my office has pointed out repeatedly that City executive salaries should be capped at a reasonable level. In fact, virtually every year, my office has tried to bring such a proposal forward from the People’s Budget, but no other Councilmember has supported the proposal to date. Next Monday, the Mayor will unveil her proposed budget for 2019. On October 6, my office, along with other activists and organizations, will hold the People’s Budget 2019 Conference. We will organize the grassroots movement to try to win funding from the political establishment for programs for which regular people care. I would urge that community members who are concerned about how parks funding is distributed join us in the People’s Budget movement. Tree problem: Parks and SDOT do not maintain their trees on undeveloped land owned by them but the cost falls on the homeowner where the tree falls. Seeing we are not allowed to maintain trees on steep slopes, it seems unfair to be responsible for the ultimate bill when the tree fails. We posed this question to the Parks Department. They sent the following reply: “Generally, an adjoining property owner is responsible for maintaining access on a sidewalk or other pedestrian path. However, there are certainly many situations where we’ll remove a tree that’s blocking a critical pedestrian pathway and sort out responsibility later. Really, the best thing a constituent can do is not worry about which department is responsible but instead go right to the City’s Customer Service Bureau. A City resident can submit a request by phone 206.684.CITY (2489), or through an on-line form, or the Find-it Fix-it App. What’s great about these tools is that every request gets a case number and, therefore, can easily be tracked through to its resolution. And, again, the constituent doesn’t have to worry about which department is responsible.” Marina problems: do we have any say here now that it is supposed to be managed by a private owner (Marina Management). They say they won’t start repairs until the city installs the new breakwater at the South Marina but what is the status for this? Can you find this out? I do not yet know the status of the new breakwater, but will let you know when my office has more information. You are right to be concerned about the lack of democratic oversight into the marina management, now that the city has signed away those powers to a private company. Resident bike rider complained about the separated bike lanes. We overwhelmingly hear from bike riders who want more separated or dedicated bike lanes, because they have seen fatal bike accidents in the roads. As you say, Leschi resident did not agree with separated bike lanes, and said he personally prefers to bike in the roads. Public Bank: when will it come off the “study table”? It seems like that is where ideas go to die! We have Bob Hasagawa coming to our October meeting to speak about this. I’ll let you know when I hear news about this. You are right to continue demanding action on it. 1st Ave. Streetcar: is it stopped was the question. I guess that is in the Mayor’s in-basket. The Mayor decides this. ~Diane Snell

Judging from happy faces, full tummies and well-behaved doggies, the Seventh Annual Leschi ArtWalk was a success. Despite early morning rain which washed away the chalk marks numbering the booths, Yousef Shulman and Ann Conroy rose to the challenge and found a booth for every vendor. The stage was well positioned this year; we could hear the music across Lakeside Ave. S. Visitors especially mentioned The Rio Thing band of Brazilian jazz. We saw many painted faces as we staffed the Leschi Community Council table and many children sporting bead bracelets, thanks to Sarah Howes, our talented craft instructor. Many prime rib sandwiches were sold and there were chocolates to nibble on from Herman Lanier, the Candy Man, who is making the world a little sweeter! And our cotton candy girl was there, spinning away as she produced sugary clouds of fluff! There was a new event this year: a Doggie Contest! Although we told each dog that passed our table, only four made it to the park at 2pm. But Sally Wagner reports “Leschi dogs charmed the ArtWalk crowd with their costumes and tricks. Among the four pawed participants were a ballerina dog, a doctor dog, a Sea Hawk dog and a Seattle Sounder clad dog. Tricks entertained the crowd of dog lovers and every dog won a very nice prize, courtesy of the Leschi Mart and Meet the Moon restaurant. A special thanks to all the dogs and their owners and to the dog MC Carlos Arriola. See you all next year!” (Sally was the creator of this new ArtWalk feature. My dog didn’t make it; we were at the doggy iced treat booth at the time!) We had a nice variety of art and crafts this year: the polished wood bowls, a painted pottery artist along with the beautiful handmade jewelry, soft leather bags and exquisite prints. Graphic artist Janis Howes concentrates on nature from bugs to birds! She had an exhibit at the Burke Museum a year ago and it was impressive. John Morgan also does prints, some whimsical and some a little ominous or at least brooding. I remembered his work from the Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair years ago and appreciated his presence in our community event. The Leschi Community table saw lots of traffic; folks seem fascinated by our history and the Leschi Diary gets much attention. We hope to get it reprinted so residents may purchase the book; it has so many old photos from both the MOHAI and the UW Suzzallo Library collections that are more or less hidden from the general public. And last but not least, the folks at the Voter Registration table were delighted to be so busy! Often that job can be tedious but they had a steady flow of folks who needed to register or change their address so we can only hope this means a greater percentage of voters will participate in the midterm elections! To quote German artist Käthe Kollwitz, “I am in the world to change the world.” ~Diane Snell

In our September issue, we chronicled your editor’s bout with Parks and SDOT over a fallen tree; here is Chapter 2 by another homeowner next to the ill-fated undeveloped street: Aldine Place. ~Diane Snell, Editor In the 19th century, artist and philosopher William Blake wrote, “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way… As a man is, so he sees.” Well, one woman, me, who is fortunate to live bordered by green space off of E. Alder, appreciates Blake’s joyful sentiments although she has come to discover that a tree that falls brings tears of despair, not joy. The disillusionment began in February on a still, windless morning when, after a thunderous explosion, I looked up to see the forest moving, quickly, downward toward our front door, a nightmarish vision worthy of Macbeth and one that was followed by the thud of maple titans on our roof. A large maple on Parks green space property had failed and hit two neighboring maples growing on SDOT (Seattle Department of Transportation) land. It was the latter two, which wrapped themselves up, over and around our house. I phoned in quick succession my husband, Seattle Parks and my home insurance company. As many readers know, once a tree lands on your property it is, typically, now your problem. The two city agencies refused to help. Our insurance company covered (less deductible) the removal of the trees that were on our property, a new roof and the smashed barbecue. Unfortunately, lost garden plants could not be reimbursed. And we were now surrounded by a tangle of remaining limbs that rested on public right of way. Fast forward to August when the process was repeated: a tree from the same stand came down—this time missing the house but taking a number of branches from other trees with it, blocking our pathway and sole egress to the street. Lost in the green carnage was a 20-foot magnificent rhododendron. Once again, Parks and SDOT refused to help. Parks debris was all over SDOT property but, per city law, property owners bordering an undeveloped roadway are responsible for maintaining the half of the roadway closest to their property. Never mind that I had been maintaining it and that magnificent rhododendron—now smashed to smithereens—was part of that work! Realizing that public resources are limited, I suggested we meet half way and offered that my family would get all the debris from fallen city trees down to the street, asking just that the city pick up the pile. No go. There was a recent article on the front page of the Seattle Times about the unexplained deaths of large maples in the state: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/some-of-washingtons-biggest-trees-are-dying-and-scientists-dont-know-why/. And with climate change, increased development, pollution, the deleterious effects of invasive species, more large trees will be coming down. City policy is often in “the gray area” on this matter. I am currently making my way through the various ordinances. But I would suggest most tree owners and those concerned by neighboring trees check out an interview with Victor Merullo, a lawyer who specializes in trees. It is from the Seattle Times (2004). One excerpt: Q: My neighbor’s two Douglas fir trees are very tall and sway terribly during storms. I fear they could fall on my house. What are my rights to demand this neighbor cut these trees down? A: “In common law, people living in an urban area have a duty to inspect each and every tree on their property to determine if it’s a hazard, and if they determine it is a hazard they have a duty to remove it,” explains Merullo. So, the onus is on your neighbor. If the trees are healthy, you have no right to demand their removal. However, if you suspect otherwise, your best course of action is to hire a certified arborist to examine the firs and write a report. If this report finds that the trees are unhealthy, mail a copy to your neighbor along with a letter stating that these trees are hazardous and need to be removed. You might also point out that insurance companies won’t pay for damage that results from negligence. Merullo says that message usually does the trick. For more on trees and the law, go to: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040711&slug=homercol11 We will file a claim with the city to help pay for clean up. Stay tuned. And pay attention to your trees—appreciate their glory but know your rights and responsibilities. ~Anne Depue

Fall is upon us. Sometimes it is hard to believe how quickly time goes by. As you receive this newsletter, it will be October. Many exciting events are on the horizon. I want to give a shout out to our artists, contributors, vendors and all the helpers who make our Seventh Annual Leschi ArtWalk a great success. Our competition was the first Husky game of the year at the UW stadium with its immense fan base. Nonetheless, we have a wonderful turnout and the participation keeps evolving. Our October meeting on the Wednesday, October 3, we are excited to have the State Senator for the 11th District, Bob Hasagawa. He will be speaking about a public bank and its possibilities in the State of Washington. This idea has been raised by various entities and we are excited to hear more details. A state-owned bank would invest in infrastructure and student loans, increasing access to capital for small businesses and generate new revenue without raising taxes. North Dakota has had a public bank for 99 years and it has just reported its 13th consecutive year of record profits. We think this idea deserves a serious consideration. And Bob is a delightful speaker and this should prove to be an exciting evening. October also has our Halloween Spectacular! We need volunteers to help set up and take down the big tent! Come at 3:30pm to help set up and then again at 6pm to take it down. Email leschinews@comcast.net if you can help or just tell Yousef when you are in Leschi Market. The kids love it; they pose for photos in their costumes and get a snack to fortify themselves for the treasure hunt ahead that starts right here in the Leschi business district. Pick up a map to find participating businesses! Make plans to attend November’s meeting on the 7th. We will have a presentation by Marine Management on the status and plans for the remodel of our marinas. Join us and become acquainted with your neighbors. We live in such a unique part of Seattle that has its own personality and great history. I encourage you to continue to reach out to your neighbors, check on them, make sure someone knows to check on you, as well. With the change of season, it is always a good time to reflect, discard old ideas and take a risk. Don’t forget to vote! One cannot complain about the system with any credence if you do not vote. Let’s make this a banner mid-term. Warm regards, Janice Merrill Brown, President, Leschi Community Council 206-679-4004