Our April meeting on Moorage was lively; attendee questions addressed environmental concerns, a very different perspective from an earlier meeting with the boat owners, where concerns about individual boat safety were more prevalent. It will be interesting to see how the public is given more access to the water while the public is prevented from getting close to the boats… but this dilemma belongs to Foss and Parks. We hope that many neighbors were able to attend the April 30 Grand Opening of the new outdoor exercise equipment at Powell Barnett Park. Once the fence came down, we saw active use of the various stations. Thanks to Group Health for fitting kids with bicycle helmets. And a big thank you to John Barber, who worked with Parks Foundation folks and others to make this all happen. We will elect new officers at our May meeting, except for a representative to the Seattle Community Council Federation. That group has not met for over a year and we need to suspend that part of the by-laws until we know if the organization will regroup. There is still time to come forward for the other positions! We will award Leschi Stars to community members who have made a difference! There are many hard-working folks in this community and we like to extend our thanks! Past winners have been Allan Fink who created our website, Kim Murillo and Ann Conroy who worked tirelessly to put on our first Art Walk, Liz Ohlsson who spearheaded the renovation of Peppi’s Park and John Barber who put on a smashing 10 year anniversary celebration at Flo Ware Park a few years ago and actually spearheaded the whole renovation project 10 years before that. We two Dianes feel privileged to live in a community where folks give back. And speaking of privilege, it has been a privilege for the two Dianes to represent Leschi as your co-presidents since 2012. We were elected at a time when it looked as though the LCC might not survive and we kept our focus on putting this council (which has been in existence since 1958), on a strong fiscal foundation. We have been able to pay our printing costs with ad revenue, we found a less expensive printer, and we worked with a postal expert to streamline our mailing (the postal costs are paid for through neighbors’ dues as are many events and community donations). We have been fortunate to have a strong Board that works well together and a supportive community. One of our last acts was to create an Events Chair position and appoint Kim Murillo to that position. Kim is stepping down from the Treasurer position and as the Events Chair, will assist those who wish to plan an event with the permits and give advice on available grants. It has been our wish to expand our events to more of our parks during our glorious summers. Be the change you want to see in the world. ~Gandhi ~Diane Morris & Diane Snell

While we informed you that June 1 was the planned operations transition day, Schober disputed Parks’ termination of the lease and requested an extended termination date. While we disagree with Schober’s legal position, we are currently in discussions to see if there is a way to give Schober a little more time for transition in a way that recognizes the value of Schober’s experience with the moorages and avoids legal action. In the meantime, Schober will continue on for at least one more month, and you should continue to make any payments that are due under your moorage rental agreement in June directly to Schober. We realize this impacts you, the tenants, and will update you as soon as more information is available. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns for Seattle Parks and Recreation, or just want to reach Peggy Tosdal, the incoming moorage manager, she can be reached at 206 708-4619, or via email at peggy.tosdal@seattle.gov . We will continue to update you as more information becomes available. Paula Hoff Strategic Advisor, Superintendent’s Office Seattle Parks and Recreation 100 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle WA 98109 206-615-0368, www.seattle.gov/parks

For the summer, I offer a quick tour of a few of the special exhibitions in our region. I have not yet seen many of these myself, but I will give you a short description to whet your appetite and remind you of some destinations while you are traveling around for other reasons. Perhaps the most unexpected exhibition is “Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration” at the Schack Art Center in Everett (until September 5, 2016.) Chuck Close has been a world-renowned artist since the early 1970s, when he first showed nine-foot-high portraits in black and white. Close was born in Everett, Washington, and this exhibition marks the first time his works have been shown there. It has been traveling the world since 2003, constantly updated with new work. The Schack Art Center version spans from 1972 –2014. Although the exhibition appears to be a series of portraits, actually, the focus of Close’s art is process, experimentation and collaboration. The portraits, all of celebrity friends in the art world, form the starting point for a dizzying array of techniques. Dive into his first mezzotint, Keith, 1972, at the beginning of the exhibition. Right next to it are details of the mouth, and other fragments, which demonstrate how rich the detail is in each part of the print. Included in the exhibition are wood cuts, silkscreens, lithographs, a few paintings, and dazzling tapestries, as well as test charts, woodblocks, pulp paper samples, linoleum, paper samples, and a brass “shim” used to create a paper pulp print. But be sure to go to the back of the last wall upstairs to see the Woodbury prints, a luscious black and white process that predates photography. Now for our quick tour of other exhibitions. First, go to the Frye Art Museum’s “Young Blood,” because it closes on June 19. It features art by two brothers both nationally known, both raised in Seattle. Noah Davis, painter, and Kahlil Joseph, filmmaker. The exhibition is also homage to Noah Davis, who died in 2015, so it is tinged with that sadness but Davis had a groundbreaking career as both an artist and a pioneer in creating alternative spaces in Los Angeles. Jen Graves of the Stranger claims “I Haven’t Seen an Art Show This Good in Seattle in a Long Time.” Go and decide for yourself. On June 18, from 2–3 pm, there will be a gallery talk by curator, Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes. Before July 4, see “Martha Rosler, Below the Surface” at the Seattle Art Museum. Two collage/photographic series by the globally renowned Rosler brilliantly collage consumerism and our brutal wars. The first series dates to the Vietnam War, the second to the Iraq war forty years later. The cold fact is that we are still consuming at home and destroying abroad. No one says it better than Rosler. The summer show at the Seattle Art Museum will be a good partner to the Chuck Close exhibition: “Graphic Masters: Durer, Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Picasso, and, the unexpected, R. Crumb. You may not have heard of Crumb, best known for his role in underground comics, but you will see that he holds his own against these old masters with his amazing illustrations from the book of Genesis. If you like books as art and/or classical mythology, go to the University of Washington Special Collections, in the basement of Allen Library South for “Just One Look” (until July 29). Thirty-two new artist books inspired by classical stories such as Medea, Scheherazade, or Cupid and Psyche. About one third of the exhibition is in the lobby and easily accessible, including one of my favorite artists, Carletta Carrington Wilson. Her encaustic/mixed media book is based on the story of Thisbe. Two thirds of the exhibition is inside the Special Collections, so you need to pay attention to their hours. (10 to 4:45, closed on weekends). At the Northwest African American Museum, the renowned curator Deborah Willis created the exhibition “Posing Beauty in African American Culture” (until September 4). Well-known photographers, over the last century and up to the present, expand our understanding of “how we see ourselves and are seen by others.” Willis has been curating astute photography exhibitions for decades. (Lauren Kelley, Pickin’ , 2007, color-coupler print 23” x 23 1/8”, Courtesy of Northwest African American Museum, on view in “Posing Beauty in African American Culture”) The Wing Luke Museum presents, as always, unique exhibitions. “Khmer Americans: Naga Sheds Its Skin” reveals new perspectives on Cambodia “so much more than the Killing Fields.” “Tatau/Tattoo, Embodying Resistance” explores political aspects of tattoos in the Philippines and Pacific Islands in the context of opposing colonialism. “Do You Know Bruce: Breaking Barriers”, (part II of a three part series) provides perspective on the ways Bruce Lee countered racism as a film star/martial artist. The major exhibition in the George Tsutakawa gallery upstairs “Everything has Been Material for Scissors to Shape,” pairs the work of three contemporary Asian Pacific American artists with objects in the Museum collection and archives in order to “highlight identity, appropriation and labor.” (Stephanie Syjuco, Cargo Cult , one of a series, 2013, digital print on outdoor vinyl, 48 x 63”. Courtesy of the artist. On view at Wing Luke Museum in “Everything has Been Material for Scissors to Shape.”) At the Tacoma Art Museum see “Edvard Munch and the Sea” (until July 17), an appropriate Northwest topic with brooding Norwegian overtones, and “(Re)presenting Native Americans” (to October 30), a selection of depictions of Native American from the last century, an intriguing partner to “Posing Beauty.” If you are eager to see what artists in our region are doing today, visit “Northwest Art Now” until Sept 4. This rebranded Northwest Biennial includes 24 artists from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho who create installation, video, audio, paintings and sculptures, something for everyone. On to Portland! Inside the Portland Art Museum, the Center for Contemporary Native Art, features “Dene bāhī Naabaahii”, two contemporary native artists Demian DinéYazhi’ (Diné) and Kali Spitzer (Kaska Dena/Jewish). They offer us “a transdisciplinary and multimedia space that reaffirms their dedication to cultural revitalization through language and social engagement—a contemporary and radical act of survivance” (referring to nourishing Native culture beyond simple survival). This exhibition closes on August 28, but CCNA will have another contemporary Native art show opening in the fall. Also not to be missed at the Portland Art Museum: “Native Fashion Now” (until September 4) from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, a pioneering small museum near Boston. The Native “maverick” fashion designers span 50 years with almost 100 works. Of course, there is much more to see! Go and Explore! But don’t miss the Friday Films in Volunteer Park on July 15, 22 and 29 that partner with the exhibition “Mood Indigo.” Music will start at 8:15pm and the film at 9pm. And then of course we have our free Shakespeare in the Park. I will leave you to find those on your own. By Susan Noyes Platt, www.artandpoliticsnow.com

Editor’s Note: We wrote about this plan in the November issue of the Leschi News; the tiny homes have come together quickly. A new Tiny House Village will be opening at 22nd Ave and E Union St. in Seattle’s Central Area at the end of December. Property owner, the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, in partnership with the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and Nickelsville will host the tiny house community on church-owned land. The village will contain 15 tiny houses, a toilet pavilion, a shower pavilion, a kitchen/dining tent and a donation tent to be located at 1419-22nd Avenue. The village provides safe housing for individuals and families currently experiencing homelessness. The village will be managed by Nickelsville, a self managed community, in partnership with LIHI, who will provide social workers and assistance to move the residents into permanent housing. The village was developed as an innovative crisis response to homelessness by moving people into tiny houses instead of tents. Nickelsville will still maintain its two tent encampments, currently located at 1010 S. Dearborn St. and 2826 NW Market Street. “Joining hands with the homeless is a vital part of our mission of reaching out to ALL of our neighbors,” says Pastor Steven Olsen. “Our congregation has cherished its partnership with Nickelsville over the past six years, especially as we have been privileged to welcome the camp to our property for a year, and to continue as their church host in their present location. We are overjoyed to see that partnership expand to include LIHI, Sawhorse Revolution, the Tulalip Tribes and many others who are working together to create this beautiful new village. To us it is a powerful sign of justice, community and healing in a city where the harmful effects of gentrification have largely been allowed to continue unchecked and unchallenged.” ~Melinda Nichols, Low Income Housing Institute

In our March issue, we featured the plight of the business owners on 23rd Ave. during the long construction project. Madrona newsletter editor, Barbara Parker, detailed the obstacles in running a business when no one could safely reach your business due to torn up streets and huge equipment. Re-routing buses eliminated would-be traffic as well. For long periods, one could not bus, drive or even walk to these businesses. We interviewed Sarah Berentson, owner of 701 Coffee; this is a relatively new business that came to 23rd when the plan for a 23rd Ave. “road diet” was already made. When I arrived at the coffee shop, Sarah was discussing the possibility of sharing yard waste, recycling and garbage containers with the other small businesses in the building. Her landlord seemed to agree that no one business filled the containers. This is just one example of Sarah‘s attention to expenses and detail. She has been the most vocal voice in the protests from the embattled business owners and the person who has urged them to organize. Sarah said she had been in business for one year on the date we talked (3/17/16.) I asked if she had known about the plan and she said, “Yes, the original plan.” (The original plan was to fully complete the section of 23rd between Jackson and Cherry before moving on to section 2 between Cherry and Union.) She felt she could handle disruption on the south side and when that was re-opened, the disruption would move to the north side of the business. But SDOT and SPU began tearing up 23rd from Jackson to Union and even beyond to Madison. She said she had been in negotiations to rent the retail space for nine months before the actual opening. She was proud of the fact that she was debt-free for many months; by September, she had 80 customers a day and met her expenses easily. It was in October that the business collapsed. The re-routing of the 48 had a big impact on business; Garfield students would wait across the street for the northbound 48 and the crowd was as much as 50 students. Many would dash across the street for an after-school snack. Since the students have limited time during school hours to purchase outside the school, any obstacles that keep them from reaching the café quickly, discourages the attempt. Sarah said that even Ezell’s right across the street from the school has seen a loss of business. Sarah said she was behind a few months in rent and they had sold their vehicle to stay afloat. Her family of six (with two high school and two middle school students) is living in a studio apartment. She even had to return their Vitamix to pay other bills; this was a blow as Fruit Smoothies are a popular item on the menu. She has since been able to replace the Vitamix. Sarah has completed a couple of inches of paperwork in an effort to obtain some financial help from the city, but has heard nothing yet. She feels that the gas explosion in the Greenwood area has changed the city’s focus. She still feels strongly that the business owners need to stay organized. We shared stories on “planned gentrification” of the area. I had been told by a local activist that the demise of the small minority-owned businesses was part of the 23rd Ave. plan. Sarah said she had seen drawings of the area where her small building was replaced by a multi-story apartment building with retail at street level. It would be too bad to lose the small businesses that exist and have them be replaced by big chain operations. Let’s support these small businesses and try to keep them open! Sarah takes pride in her ability to serve vegan food that even carnivores like! When mangoes are in season, she serves a delicious mango salad. She gets her croissants, pastries and bagels from the local Golden Wheat Bakery (reviewed in this issue by a Madrona resident.) The owner, Angel, was able to use her suggestions for a butter substitute to create delectable bakery items. I want to go back for lunch and try the cashew butter that she puts on bagels! ~Diane Snell

Award-winning and nationally known poet Judith Roche lives in the heart of Leschi. I almost missed her unassuming house on a steep forested hill that descends down to the lake, but once inside, I immediately felt her poetic sensibility in the subtle aesthetic details of her home. She opened our conversation with the declaration that she loves living in a house with a view of the woods that is ten minutes from downtown. That partnership of nature and culture fills her poetry, but never peacefully. Her acute perceptions pierce into our hearts. Even as a child growing up in Detroit, Michigan, in the midst of a radical family of union organizers, Judith Roche spontaneously loved poetry: she read Longfellow, Wordsworth, Edna St. Vincent Millay. Later she got a BA in English literature and an MA at the New College of California, studying with Robert Duncan and Diane de Prima, and began her career as a high school English teacher. But her activist family roots emerged as she taught poetry to children in correctional facilities and to adults in federal and state prisons. She deeply believes in “teaching incarcerated youth to write poetry as a way of finding out the best of who they are.” Rather than enumerate her many accomplishments and awards, I want to suggest here why her poetry breaks through traditional aesthetic restraints to speak so directly to us. As a writer focused mainly on visual art, I first responded to the vivid imagery such as “Sunday morning sun flaring through/my kitchen window, /sun-struck tulips/ on my breakfast table/ have spread themselves wide open/showing everything they’ve got inside/ which they’ve kept/hidden for days.” Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings come to mind in the sexual innuendos of the lines. She told me that poems find their own rhythms, they are a type of music; she feels where it ought to break, emphasize, stick out. Reading poetry out loud reveals those qualities more quickly, but you can also experience the music of her poetry reading silently and alone. Roche’s fourth book, All Fire All Water (Black Heron Press, 2015) has four sections, with titles that concisely correspond to her life lived fully, but not easily, and her current preoccupations: “Rivers Have Memories” unrelentingly gives us the sounds and scars of nature; “A Bird Caught in the Throat” speaks of the realities of our contemporary political life, (“Another word for terror is a bird caught in the throat”); “The Husbands Sweet” invokes the pains and pleasures of marriage (“the bitter bundled in the honey’s swarm”); “We are Stardust” meditates on life and death: (“how do we know where we are when the stars we navigate by no longer exist”). For each poem, Roche selects painfully precise words evoking deep emotions that move inexorably toward a final line that can leave us breathless, uncomfortable, or shocked. Sometimes she invokes Walt Whitman’s style, or the rhythms of a folk song, or a nursery rhyme, or Dante or Homer (as in her excruciating “The Face of War”: “With polyphonic voices, we sing/the horror of these mutilated cities/where immortal cruelty roams”). The content-laden lines have complex poetic forms. For example, “Bee Villanelle” pays homage to the disappearing bee. “Villanelle” refers to a nineteen-line poem with specific patterns. But we never sense constraints in the flow of the ideas and feelings, so carefully expressing the tragedy of the bee. “They were with us so long./Heavy with gold dusted bodies they go. / We’ll miss their sibilant song.” The villanelle repeats the first and third line throughout in a fixed pattern, but as we read it the first time, we feel that we want to hear it again and again, just as the bees have always been there every summer. The form perfectly fits the subject of the poem, and the words perfectly fit the tragedy. The last part of the book “We are Stardust” speaks of aging and death, both specifically as in the case of a poem dedicated to two women who have died, “Pat and Mary” (“In this dream, the dead girls are alive.”) and literally in the poem about the ghats of Varanasi, the city on the Ganges in India where Hindus cremate their dead (“It’s all fire and water here.”) The poem “Metaphors of Dust” perfectly captures Roche’s unusual imagination: “As it turns out, we actually are stardust,” an irresistible declaration that both explodes a metaphor and creates one. In Seattle we can experience Roche’s poetry integrated into the fabric of our city. For example, as part of a 2002 citywide public art program focusing on the survival of salmon, she persuaded the Army Corps of Engineers to introduce her poems into the audio system at the fish-viewing windows inside the fish ladder at the Ballard Locks. With the push of a button, we can hear her read a poem that corresponds to what we are seeing in the window according to the five different phases in the salmon cycle. Judith Roche’s poetry sharpens our experience of the world and speaks to the crucial concerns of our time. We are so fortunate to have her in our midst. Credo I believe in the cave paintings at Lascaux, the beauty of the clavicle, the journey of the salmon. I believe in all the gods – I just don’t like some of them. I believe the war is always against the imagination, is recurring, repetitive, and relentless. I believe in fairies, elves, angels and bodhisattvas. Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, I believe Raven invented the Earth and so did Coyote. In archeology lies the clue. The threshold is numinous and the way in is the way out. I believe in the alphabets, all of them and the stories seeping from between their letters. I believe in dance as prayer, that the heart beat invented rhythm and chant – or is it the other way around? I believe in the wisdom of the body. I believe that art saves lives and love makes it worth living them. And that could be the other way around, too. ~Judith Roche By Susan Noyes Platt, www.artandpoliticsnow.com

Every once in a while, I need to revisit my childhood memories and this was accomplished at St. Cloud’s recently. We went to dinner with daughter and son-in-law while the young ‘uns were at Safeco Field receiving Bobbleheads and watching the Mariners lose. I shared (sort of) the Hot Fudge Sundae and sank into blissful reverie, going back in time to Flint, MI. and the Paris Café. Those once a year visits were the highlight of my preteen years. I highly recommend this dessert, although my son-in-law would recommend the 6-layer cake. I doubt there is anything at St Cloud’s that wouldn’t satisfy a foodie. St. Cloud’s 1131 34th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 726-1522 www.stclouds.com ~Diane Snell

“Beauty in the Decay” For a spring treat, you have until the end of April to stop by the ArtXchange Gallery near Pioneer Square to see the Alan Lau exhibition “Beauty in the Decay.” His subtle Sumi-e ink, pastel and watercolor paintings envelop us like a walk in the woods. Lau studied Sumi-e ink brush painting, but intentionally aspires to a contemporary style that incorporates ink with layers of surface drawing in charcoal and chalk: “The spirit of the tradition looms behind me not as a rote model but as a continuing renewable source of encouragement to push ahead.” (Alan Lau, Blue Message , detail, sumi and mixed media on rice paper, 60x60) Each of his large paintings uses a different type of stroke, contrasting layers, and even shifts of tone, but all of them are embedded in nature, and the cycles of life. Also, enjoy the intimate watercolors, often of a fruit or vegetable in a precise condition of ripeness or incipient decay. Lau worked as produce manager at Uwajimaya for many years, an aesthetic adventure that gives him an intimate feeling for this topic. Lau writes eloquently about his work: “There is a modern poet who writes about weeds. For myself, there is something common, stubborn and oddly attractive about weeds and their random persistence. The simple beauty of nature, though it looks still to our eyes, is constantly teeming with activity. Sometimes it’s this quality I want to capture in my work--that of a seemingly quiet, inert surface alive with the continual process of change, decay and growth within its deepest layers." Coincidentally, I saw his exhibition immediately after visiting a Florida wildlife sanctuary. The photo I took with reflections of the sky, penetration under the water and the surface of decaying grass, with a diving bird, echoes Lau’s vision for his art. The ArtXchange exhibition provides a rare opportunity to conveniently see Alan Lau’s paintings in a Pioneer Square venue. For many years, he showed at Francine Seders Gallery up in Greenwood, until it closed a few years ago. As a pillar of the art community in Seattle, we also know him as a poet, art critic, curator and journalist. He will be reading his poetry at the gallery on April 21. ArtXchange Alan Lau — Beauty in the Decay 521 1st Ave. S, Seattle Municipal Tower and City Hall: the Art Venues While you are downtown, take the time to also visit the art galleries sponsored by Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture in City Hall and the Municipal Tower. They offer several surprises. First, and most easily found on the third floor of 700 Fifth Avenue, is the Ethnic Cultural Heritage Gallery, created by Preston Hampton. “What’s Left Behind,” by Satpreet Kahlon until April 15 addresses sexual violence and its aftermath of trauma. The closer we look at these works, the more we feel the intensity of Kahlon’s focus. For “Sharam (Shame),” the largest work, she tore and burned dozens of pieces of paper, then glued them to a 150 x 60 inch plastic sheet. In the center, she created the word, “Shame” as negative letters, written in Punjabi, clearly testifying to the after-effects of sexual violence. But the piece also speaks to survival as part of a community. Another work weaves layers of threads into plastic suggesting both fragility and cloaking. She particularly addresses women of color “by recognizing the burden they face to protect their communities while simultaneously advocating for themselves as victims.” Kahlon’s brave and intense exhibition encourages thoughtful engagement with a topic that is only rarely addressed in a public venue. (Satpreet Kahlon, Sharam (shame), 2016 detail, 130x60in, burnt paper, plastic sheeting, Ethnic Cultural Gallery) Not far away in “Seattle Presents,” a small space at Columbia St. and Fifth Avenue, the city launched a series of six exhibitions titled “Dialogues in Art: Exhibitions on Racial Injustice” with Barry Johnson’s “Signs of the Times.” Fortunately, I heard the artist speak about his work. Casually relaxed in layered pale grey shirts, he changes the narrative about African Americas from crime and poverty. Based on his statistical studies, he counters stereotypes. First, with stacks of mortarboards, he charted the dramatic increase in PH.D.s awarded to African Americans since the 1970s. Second, logos of major inventions by African Americans demonstrated their fundamental contributions to our world including the microphone, and three-color streetlight. Third, he defied prejudices about same sex couples with words like “nurture” “love” and “community ” written on red tape over a silhouetted couple. Although this exhibition has closed, the next in the series, “Jasmine Brown, Remembrance” features poignant icons of murdered young black men in the style of small medieval altars (you can compare them with Kehinde Wiley’s icons with a different purpose at his glamorous exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum). Jasmine Brown will be an artist-in-residence in the gallery on Thursdays from ten to three until May 13. (Barry Johnson installation, at Seattle Presents Gallery, Municipal Tower) But, we are not finished yet, with our tour of city-sponsored exhibitions. A third space, near the Ethnic Cultural Heritage Gallery in the municipal tower, currently features group exhibitions. From April 7 – June 29, 2016 “Cultural Perspectives” displays an amazing 66 works by 45 artists recently purchased by Seattle Public Utilities (that’s our one percent for art program still going strong after all these years, the upside of our construction mania). The current group show “Seattle Simplified, Part 2” featured multimedia, photography, and prints by such well –known artists as Jacob Lawrence, Juan Alonzo, and Mary Ann Peters. Finally, in the main lobby of City Hall itself (and on a lower level in the Ann Folke Gallery), the “Real Change Agents Portrait Project,” presents individually painted portraits of our Real Change vendors. These men and women, whom we normally meet by talking to them briefly as we buy our papers in the street, now gaze out at us directly. Each painting includes a detailed narrative of the vendor’s impressive survival amid diversity. While you are entering the City Hall lobby, take a minute to view the permanent installation by Vancouver artist, Eric Robertson Evolving Wing and the Gravity of Presence that evokes canoe journeys and the aerospace industry in a stunning semi abstract installation. So save on postage and pay your utility or tax bill in person in April, then enrich your day with a visit to these many exhibitions, as well as the Alan Lau exhibition at ArtXchange, not far away. Susan Noyes Platt, www.artandpoliticsnow.org

BOOK REVIEW I knew that I needed to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , by Rebecca Skloot, when I first heard about it, but part of me was hesitant. I was worried that the “science” would be beyond me but no fears! This book is beautifully and clearly written and had so many personal recollections for me, that I became immersed in it. I was describing the book to a friend and she said, “It sounds as though you don‘t want this book to end.” An astute statement, as it turned out. When I finished it, I just closed and held it for a while, going back in my mind over certain passages. It took me longer than usual to let go and move on to the next book in the ever-growing stack next to the bed. Basically, the story is about a poor black woman who is diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Scientists had been trying unsuccessfully to grow cells for some time. This woman’s cells were collected routinely (as with other patients), but her cells did grow. And they grew so successfully and so rapidly, that those cells were soon sent world wide to scientists studying a multitude of diseases. Those cells were known as HeLa (for Henrietta Lacks), but the story behind these cells was lost until author Rebecca Skloot began her research. Skloot’s book focuses on Henrietta and her family. The children were young when Henrietta died and adults when Ms. Skloot became involved. A lack of trust of the medical system hampered her work initially, but she won the trust of the youngest daughter, Deborah, who wanted her mother’s life known and appreciated. Part of her was proud that her mother’s cells had been used in so much important research, but another part of her resented the fact that neither her mother nor the family had ever been told about the cells, nor was permission to use her cells ever given (or requested). Actually the same thing happens now; when we submit to a biopsy, our cells are no longer ours, but belong to the hospital or clinic where the work is being done. A yet-to-be resolved ethical issue. At the time of her early death, Henrietta lived in a section of Baltimore County called Turner Station and her spouse worked at the Bethlehem Steel plant in the neighboring section called Sparrows Point. Skloot’s description of that area took me back to my first visit there, as a young social worker for Baltimore County. The mill was closed by then, but everything in the area was still covered with red dust from the iron ore. The ghostly structure of the defunct mill made me think of something out of Dickens’ England. Turner Station itself was still inhabited by African American families that no longer worked for the steel mill; many were on public assistance, stranded there when the jobs dried up. Their stories were similar in many ways to Henrietta’s family story; times were good when the mill was open and jobs were plentiful. Once the mill closed, these folks were stuck way out in no man’s land, far from the central city and far from jobs. The family story is one of poverty, mental illness, alcohol and drug abuse and criminal activity, with a few successes in each generation. Skloot has written of the family with respect and empathy. It’s little wonder it was a New York Times Bestseller; it’s a good read. ~Diane Snell

The Central’s Name The name of this entity was part of the discussion at January’s Member meeting at the Central Area Senior Center. The parent organization, Senior Services, recently changed its name to Sound Generations and requested that its partners, the various senior centers across the city, consider name changes as well. The Central membership wanted to keep Central Area Senior Center on its letterhead, but approved the informal use of The Central as displayed on the large wooden sign at the driveway entrance. Those discussing and voting were well beyond the baby boomer age; studies show that baby boomers have negative views of the word Senior and this could discourage that age group from joining the center. Staffing at the Central Interviews have narrowed the field of candidates for the Program Coordinator position to just 3; Dian Ferguson, Director, feels that a new coordinator will be in place by mid-February. Hiring part-time building attendants has proved more challenging; folks are not really looking for part-time work. Dian said they might have better luck hiring one full time attendant, but she worried that the work was hard with all the set-up of tables and work days covering the weekend evenings might not be that attractive. The $30 challenge! Dian said that the stove and walk-in refrigerator that have been purchased are still awaiting installation. The bids for the conversion to gas for the stove have come in higher than budgeted by $3000. She said that if 100 members would donate $30 each, they could raise the needed $3000. Almost everyone at my table reached for their checkbooks, so she should have a nice start to this campaign. All donations to the Center are tax deductible. Mysterious disappearances at The Central! Dian expressed some disbelief and sadness at the disappearance of items from the center. They had purchased some portable heaters for the cold rooms that are not on the new heating system like the dining room; most of the heaters have walked away from the center. Likewise, 8 sets of garbage /recycling cans were purchased and 2 sets have walked away. And someone took all the silver balls off one of the Christmas trees that decorated the Center during the holiday season. Dian has trouble sleeping and often returns to the Center in the night to work on a project; she has found unauthorized people in the building who have obtained the key from someone else. The parent agency, Sound Generations, will provide security staff to do an assessment and security cameras may be installed. When one thinks of the hard work that goes into obtaining every dollar for the Center, this type of loss is very discouraging. Dian asked that we all be good stewards of the space and question when we see something that doesn’t seem right. ~Diane Snell

ƒƒEditor’s Note: article courtesy Crown Bees Tree branches heavy with fruit. Limbs propped up to keep from breaking.“ This image is a gardener’s dream. It’s also a reality at Crown Bees, a supplier of gentle mason bee pollinators and bee products. Elsie Olesen at Crown Bees explains, “Bees pollinate one-third of our food supply, which relies heavily on the troubled honey bee. With losses of 40 to 50 percent of honey bee hives, we need alternative bee pollinators. Our solution is the gentle, rarely stinging Mason bee. It is an amazing pollinator and a wonderful garden companion.” A single Mason bee efficiently pollinates 12 pounds of cherries - a task requiring 60 honey bees to achieve the same result. This 1:60 mason bee/honey bee ratio applies to other spring fruits (i.e., apples), flowering plants and nuts (i.e., almonds). About the size of a house fly, Mason bees stay close to the nest, making them perfect for the backyard gardener. While they don’t produce honey, these bees are fun to observe and easy to raise. Mason bees are native to North America, but have been largely overlooked in favor of the European honey bee. They are solitary bees which don’t live in social hives. They prefer pre-existing holes to build their nests. Olesen said Crown Bees has spent the past five years increasing awareness about the value of Mason bees for better crop yield. “We help our customers create healthy gardens with Mason bees and bee-safe nesting products.” She added that Crown Bees has a long-term mission to close the bee gap and protect the food supply. “We need more Mason bees to supplement honey bees in orchards and farms. Our approach is to enlist gardeners to raise Mason bees for their own crops. At the end of the season, they can send us their excess bees. Under our Bee BuyBack program, we’ll exchange their bees for nesting material or cash. These bees will be re-homed in other gardens and organic orchards. In this way, we increase the Mason bee population.” Learn more about Mason bees at www.crownbees.com . Crown Bees has an annual booth at the Seattle Flower & Garden Show. ƒƒEditor’s Note: Jim Snell has been growing Mason bees here in Leschi for several years and was able to take his excess (about 1600 bees!) to Crown and exchange them for nesting blocks for next year’s crop. And it is true, they don’t sting! If you are interested, feel free to call Jim (206-726-0923) for information or to visit and view his bee growing system.

I would like to begin by introducing myself: my name is Yousef Shulman. My family has been living in the central area for almost 100 years. My Great Great Uncle Henry (Hank) Edelson and his wife Shirley started a small market on the SW corner of 22nd Ave and East Union Street in the 1930’s. In 1948, they moved their business to its current location and renamed it Leschi Market. Leschi Market and my family have been very active in the community since the opening of the store. I moved to the Leschi neighborhood when I was 13 years old. I began to work at my family business at the age of 13, being the 4th generation to work at the business. I am now currently Co-Owner and Assistant Manager of Leschi Market with my Uncle Steve Shulman and my Grandfather Leonard Shulman. In 2011, I helped start the Leschi Business Association, which has since put on a yearly Halloween “Spooktackular” and Art walk event. In 2015, I joined the Leschi Community Council as Business Associate Chair. In May 2016, I was elected to President of the Leschi Community Council. I am learning how much time and effort is required to provide the residents of Leschi a reputable communal council. I am focused and prepared to continue these efforts. I would like to thank the previous board for all the hard work, time and effort each member provided to the community. I have come to learn how much community involvement it takes to get projects done. Being in the position I am at my family business, I have met many people, gained friends and built relationships. One of my first concerns is the level of participation in community projects and developing issues. In my new role as President, I will work with residents of community to join our meetings, lend a voice, provide input and increase involvement. From personal experience, I have learned that two of our parks have wading pools that have not been in service for many years. As a child, I remember using these pools, developing fond memories of my past time spent with family and friends. One of my many goals is to have the council work with the city and community to get at least one of these wading pools open. While serving as your community President, I will work as hard to address any and all issues. I look forward to working with everyone in the community so we all can be proud of where we live and work. Please feel free to contact me via email: yousefshulmanlcc@gmail.com