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The Judge Ronald House was recently designated as a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board, and it appears to be the first designated landmark in Leschi. We have such a rich history here in Leschi; surely there must be other landmarks that have not gone through the process to achieve the designation. And a process it is! Jeff Moidel, owner of the Judge Ronald House, has wanted this designation for some years, as it gives the home more protection from exterior changes. The house has been on the National Historic Register since the 70’s, but this offers little protection and indeed, the house went through many changes since it belonged to the Ronald family. Jeff learned that it had been a boarding house, a drug rehab center, a daycare center, a halfway house and an evangelical church in its past. And how did a concert pianist (as Jeff is) find himself the owner of an historic house? Jeff said he was living in Leschi, a few blocks north of the Ronald House, and would drive by it often and think what a great summer (or winter) house this would be! When he had to leave the place he was renting because it was being sold, he drove around the area to look at possible houses to buy. To his surprise, there was a sign on the Judge Ronald House and this mansion soon became Jeff’s first “starter” home in 2002. Wherever he went, he needed to have room for a baby grand piano and this house certainly met that criterion. Jeff was won over by the house itself with its spacious rooms and a graceful setting and not so much the historical background as he knew little of that. He said that the paper carrier brought him an article about the house and that was his first awakening to the possibilities. He learned that a Judge Ronald luncheon was scheduled in the next two days and called the Shoreline Historical Museum to inquire; he was invited to the luncheon and there he met the descendants of Judge Ronald, including Betty Runstad, a granddaughter in her 90’s who was to be Jeff’s mentor and source for historical accuracy when he decided to restore the house. This was a process that took several years; inside the house, there were popcorn ceilings, paneling on some walls, institutional carpeting throughout (even in the defunct fireplace!) and florescent lights. The outside was a challenge as well; aluminum siding has been installed in the 60’s and the original ornamental pediments on the windows removed. The chimney had been knocked down, thus the defunct fireplace now painted silver inside and carpeted. Jeff’s interest in restoring the house was fueled by Betty Runstad’s memories and books that he was given: Centennial Snapshots: Historic Places Around King County from the First Twenty-Five Years of Statehood [Paperback] available from Amazon; Where the Washingtonians Lived: Interesting Early Homes and the People Who Built and Lived in Them by Lucile McDonald, also available from Amazon; and Reflections Along the Wayside of Life, by Judge J. T. Ronald himself; edited by Mildred Tanner. This was published by the Shoreline Historical Museum and is available there. Neighbor Tom Henry was his main contractor and he worked wonders recreating the pediments for the windows. New lighting, new moldings and quarter sawn oak floors installed. Only one room has carpeting now. Jeff tried several times to get a 4Culture grant to pursue landmark designation but failed to do so. And then the criteria for the grant were rewritten, specifically allowing homeowners to apply. Jeff was awarded the grant and hired a preservation specialist to help with the research. The report took 6 months to put together and then there are two stages to the process. First there is a presentation to get a recommendation for landmark status from the Board; this was given unanimously. Then a second presentation is given to get the designation; again the decision was unanimous. Jeff said that two Ronald great-grandchildren testified at the second hearing. To qualify for the designation, one has to meet one of six criteria and the Judge Ronald house met 3 of the 6 criteria: 1) It is associated in a significant way with the life of a person important in the history of the City, state or nation. 2) It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, a period, or a method of construction. 3) It is an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood or the City and contributes to the distinctive quality or identity of such neighborhood or the City. The Leschi Community Council sent a letter in favor of the designation, remarking that Leschi has a rich historical past, but not much has been preserved and indeed, this is our first Landmark! Jeff said that the architecture was found to be neo-classical revival, influenced by the Beaux Arts movement around the time of the Chicago World’s Fair (1893). The house was built and added on to in the years 1889-1904. The original house had a south portico which is shown in photos and could be added to the current structure under the guidelines. When the restoration was finished, Jeff and his fellow musicians performed a concert for Betty Runstad and family, which probably took Betty back to the glory days of this grand house she spent so much of her youth in. Leschi is grateful to Jeff for this massive restoration undertaking and the additional work of going after the landmark status. The plaque on the front fence was created by the Shoreline Historical Museum. ~Diane Snell

My husband likes to study Yelp emails and recently announced that Lotus Thai had been chosen one of the 10 best restaurants in Seattle. So a few days later, we ended up there. It is colorful, but do wear a sweater as the front door doesn’t close properly and one of the jobs of the waitperson seemed to be closing the door emphatically as she also deftly took orders and handled the take-out crowd. The place is small, but the main business seems to be take-out although several booths were filled with eat-in customers when we were there on a Thursday. The menu is extensive as with most Thai restaurants, and we took our time to peruse the menu and the posted specials before ordering. A word of warning: the servings are very generous. I have been to Thai restaurants where a plate is beautifully arranged, but let’s face it: there’s not enough food there for a picky 2-year-old. Not so at Lotus! You will be taking some home for the next meal! There is a take-out menu on line but I couldn’t find either of our dishes on this menu. I ordered Rama veggies with Peanut sauce and my husband ordered Garlic Chicken. I asked for three stars but the server looked at me closely and said I should take two stars! She did allow my husband to order his dish with three stars. There was not too much heat in either dish, but I worried that I had a white bread with Velveeta look about me that I was not previously aware of. The servings are VERY generous, as I mentioned. A heaping mound of rice, but not short on the other ingredients, and my husband’s chicken looked like an entire half breast. My only quibble was that the peanut sauce was thicker than I like: more cornstarch? It tasted good, but I would prefer a lighter sauce. I was able to order brown rice with my dish and there was no additional charge. My husband enjoyed his dish and said there was not too much garlic (in truth, we have only had too much garlic once in an Italian restaurant where we ordered garlic spaghetti.) The menu prices include the tax so it’s pretty easy to figure out your bill. Disclaimer: When I checked YELP, it was NOT in the top ten restaurants, but was number one in the top ten Thai restaurants in Seattle. The top ten included Pike Place Chowder, which I consider a good lunch place, Toulouse Petit which we reviewed last month, and The Pink Door, which is one of my two most favorite restaurants in Seattle, the other being Ponti. Happy Eating in the New Year! So many restaurants, so little time! Lotus Thai Restaurant 206-323-9445, 2724 E Cherry St. (next to the new Fats at the NW corner of MLK and Cherry) ~Diane Snell

Director Dian Ferguson updated the members on the pursuit of buying the building from the city. The Mayor’s Office is supportive and wants a low income housing component for seniors. The recent grant application for a feasibility study will determine whether this is even possible on the site. The Memory Lane documentary film in the works has attracted about 50 persons who have lived in the area for many years; the film covers the period from 1920-1945. Dr. Perkins (our grant writer) is researching this period. Dr. Quintard Taylor, historian, will speak at the Center on June 29 as will UW historian Connie Soo. The big event for the summer is the annual SeaFair Patio Party on August 2 and this year it will be a fundraiser. There will be a band, catered food, raffles, and kids activities: magician and clown. The cost for adults is $50. Kids under 12 will pay $1 per year of age and those 13-18 years old pay $20. Table reservations are $500. Tables on the patio are by reservation only. Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole will speak at the Center on July 23 at 10 AM. The popular SPA day will be repeated on Sunday, July 26 from 3-6pm. There is a charge of $10 for each service (pedicure, facial, etc.) Maintenance issues: A local designer is taking on the project of updating the hallway, entry and dining room. September 26-October 4 has been set aside for the work. The Children’s summer program that was previously scheduled has been cancelled as the funding for the program was cut. The Center wants to use the lower level for classes and is looking at building an outside ramp to reach this level on the northeast side of the building. The elevator is a lost cause; it has surpassed its usual life expectancy and the city will not fund a new elevator. In July there will be class for a maximum of 4 or 5 which will focus on researching one’s ancestry. This is a 4 week class. Call the Center for more information: 206 726-4926. Senior Trips A trip to Diablo Lake and Ross Dam is planned for July 27. One will learn about the history of the dam and participate in a boat tour on the lake from 11 to 2:30pm. An organic lunch is served. The cost for the tour is $38 and there is a maximum of 40 folks. As the lake is close to 3 hours from Seattle, there will be a van charge of $10 per person. Van leaves the Center at 8:30 and returns at 5pm. The Center has tickets for the Chihuly Glass museum at Seattle Center. Watch for new classes coming in the Fall: An 8 week mixed media art class which will focus on collage and print making. Begins in September on Mondays from 1:30-3:30. Maximum: 15 people. The popular A Matter of Balance class starts again in September on Fridays 10-12. This exercise program has a focus on preventing falls. Maximum: 18. Tai Chi: Monday 10:30-11:30 ~Diane Snell

In case you didn’t know, we have cutting edge contemporary dance emerging from the Madrona Bath House on Lake Washington! In that unassuming space, Donald Byrd, internationally renowned choreographer and director of Spectrum Dance Theater since 2002, creates performances that combine experimental, but classically grounded, choreography with deep emotional content. Byrd believes that art is not just entertainment, but that, at its best, it “enlivens” and “transforms” people. His choreography builds on multiple sources, classical, modern, vernacular, pop, and spiritual. As we watch his extraordinary company of dancers perform, we witness the extraordinary possibilities of the human body to express feeling through movement. In fact, according to one dancer I spoke with, Byrd’s movements sometime take the dancers themselves beyond what they thought they could do. Likewise, Byrd speaks of responding to the physical diversity of the dancers and what they bring to a piece. The website explains that these dancers “occupy the space where the classical, contemporary, intuitive, cerebral, visceral, right brain, left brain, control and abandonment converge.” Wow. That is stunning. Their movements shape suggested narratives in ever-changing relationships to space and gravity, tension and relaxation, compression and expansion. Byrd’s aesthetically compelling choreography works in tandem with carefully chosen music that is global, contemporary, and classical. The music is part of the experience, not simply an accompaniment. Byrd creates structures that allow you to “enter into” the music, as he puts it. He can listen to music for months and then choreograph a work quickly and intuitively. As a pioneering African American dancer (he danced with the Alvin Ailey company for two years, another norm-shattering African American choreographer) he began to think about race in relationship to his choreography early on. One example is the 1996 Harlem Nutcracker (I would like to see that performed here!). This year his season “#RACEish,” “an exploration of America’s 240 years of (failed) race relations” foregrounds race (other seasons have been “Love” and “War”). “#RACEish” began with a panel on “Invisible: The Dilemma of the Black Artist in America.” Prominent cultural leaders Barbara Thomas and Valerie Curtis-Newton addressed the contradictions of creativity as a generative force that is not racial, at the same time that leaders in the creative community who happen to be African American in Seattle have to deal with white perspectives that they can only perform in the context of their race; they are still invisible as part of the mainstream still dominantly white culture, unless the white culture is “looking” for black representatives. Two performances in late February foreground African American creativity: “Rambunctious 2.0,” with all African American composers, including the little known T.J. Anderson. Anderson’s music combines the vernacular and the spiritual with avant-garde musical sounds that reminded me of Stravinsky. Byrd’s choreography sparks from that score a poignant and intense piece called “Spirit Songs.” The second program, “Dance, Dance, Dance,” explores the little acknowledged “Africanist “aesthetic in mainstream music and modernism. According to Byrd, unrecognized African rhythms and movements (“angularity, coolness, pelvis thrusting and jutting, and rhythm”) imbue George Balanchine’s choreography. In early May, a “Rap on Race” will build around a 1970s conversation between anthropologist Margaret Mead and James Baldwin, in an unconventional format developed by actress Anne Deveare Smith and Byrd. Finally in late June “the Minstrel Show Revisited,” a difficult confrontational work, deals directly with racist stereotypes in the minstrelsy tradition, a tradition that actually continues to the present in many ways. That program forces the audience to engage with racism directly. Spectrum Dance Theater was founded in 1982 with a commitment to diversity in both its dancers and its audiences. Today, we still see more dancers of color in Spectrum performances than in any other company in Seattle. Byrd’s own willingness throughout his career to address racism as one theme of his choreography culminates in the current season. At the same time, his work always speaks to humanity and to the human experience. His approach to foregrounding race in these works is to demonstrate that African American roots and creators are a major nutritive force in contemporary life. But his purpose is not to segregate that force, but to integrate our understanding of contemporary creativity. Dance has a great capacity to embrace both the specific and the universal because its abstract form and movement is generated by the human body. Spectrum today actively promotes dance in the community, not only with its own school that teaches hundreds of students from toddlers to grandmothers, but also with many outreach programs to public schools. Byrd fervently believes that the arts, far from the marginal position into which they are being gradually isolated, are central to the community, that they provide solutions to the challenges of our contemporary world. We can all support these blazing artistic talents in our midst and ensure that Spectrum Dance Theater continues to be the most exciting venue in Seattle for dance that engages social issues and community involvement, by coming to their provocative performances and allowing ourselves to be transformed. By Susan Noyes Platt, www.artandpoliticsnow.com

The new station #6 at the corner of Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. Way looks like a state of the art station. In addition to being able to pull the trucks out onto MLK Jr. Way and pull back into the rear of the station from Jackson, they have the ability to control the traffic lights at that intersection. The other building spaces look ultra modern; including a kitchen to die for with gleaming stainless steel appliances and surfaces (although the attending fireman waffled a little when I asked if they were all good cooks.) I have to say I was not prepared for the crowds attending this open house; not having small children anymore, I forgot the attraction of fire trucks and firefighters for small children. The kids happily wore their red plastic fire hats and got their faces painted while the adults drank Starbucks’ coffee and munched on Top Pot donuts. An historic 1930 fire truck was a big hit; it was built by Mack and had a sturdy silver bulldog as a hood ornament. Historic trucks and equipment are housed at the Last Resort Fire Dept. Museum at 2nd and Main in Pioneer Square; it is open only on Wednesdays during the winter (11am-3pm) and on both Wednesdays and Thursdays (same hours) during the summer. Admission is free. Downstairs is pretty much devoted to the trucks, medical supplies, computer room, equipment room and other administrative offices while the upstairs is living quarters for the firemen on duty. There is an exercise room, bunk rooms, lockers, the awesome kitchen with a dining table for 8 and a TV room with comfy looking leather chairs. There are always 8 men on duty, and duty is a 24 hour shift (7:30am to 7:30am the next day); you don’t leave the next morning until your replacement gets there. Eight are on duty at all times; 4 men for each truck. The double stairway provides fast access to the fire trucks no matter where the firemen are on the second floor. Some myths were broken: the brass pole is gone (too many injuries) and I didn’t find a dalmatian. And for those who are worried about the old fire station, it does have historic status; although changes can be made inside, the outside must stay the same. For the time being, parking traffic enforcement officers are stationed there but the fire department does intend to sell this building in the future. ~Diane Snell

Regularly scheduled work parties Leschi Natural Area Work Parties 1st Saturday of each month Leschi Natural Area, 36th & Terrace. 9-3pm. Tools and lunch provided. Just show up and someone will orient you. Leschi Area Stairway Cleanup 3rd Saturday of month is a stairway clean-up headed up by the Leschi Community Council Board. Leschi has 31 public stairways that connect streets on steep hills. In some cases, neighbors keep them free of litter and overhanging branches. In other areas, help is needed. Bring brooms, pruners, & flat-bottom shovels are good for cleaning moss off stairs. 10-12 noon. Check the Event Calendar to find the next stairway cleanup event. Occasional work parties Frink Park: contact Darrell Howe (dhowe@artcycled.com) or Darcy Thompson (darcy@artcycled.com) String of Pearls: contact John Barber (barber-osa@comcast.net) Powell Barnett: possible work party being planned on Earth Day. Watch the website for details. Events Flo Ware Event: Held in spring or early summer. Help on day of event with set-up or take down. ArtWalk Event: September. Help is always needed in set-up and take-down. Other small tasks: delivering bottled water to artists’ tables, helping artists find their tables, etc. Student Opportunities We can sign the community service hour forms for any of the students that participate in the work parties or events. Poster design for events. Attend a community meeting and report on it for the Leschi News. Take photographs of work parties and events for our newsletter and website. Report on news from Washington Middle or Garfield High Schools. ~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

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.

On February 8, Paul Wilkinson, Manager of Moorage for the Parks Department, announced they had selected Foss Waterway Management to improve and care for the moorage facilities. Foss has “embraced” the goals of the Project Advisory Team as follows: Maintain public ownership of the moorages Provide safe, accessible and affordable moorage for Seattle residents Protect shoreline habitat Improve public access and community benefit without compromising security Create quality facilities that are competitive in the marketplace Enhance the sailing heritage at Leschi Make moorages self-sustaining for ongoing capital upkeep and maintenance Ensure concessionaire quality with performance measures and regular auditing of the new concessionaire contract Both Paul and a representative of Foss will attend our April 7th meeting to discuss timelines and to answer any questions. ~Diane Snell

The Parks Department has sent out an RFP (Request for Proposal) to try to find a private operator for the three marinas in our area: Lakewood, North and South Leschi marinas. After reading the RFP, a letter of concern was sent by the Leschi CC and the Leschi Business Association to the current manager of the moorage, Paul Wilkinson. The letter was signed by Leschi Market owners, Steve and Yousef Shulman, John Barber, Leschi CC Parks & Greenspace Chair, and myself as co-chair of the Leschi CC. One major concern was the lack of mentioning that concessions could not be put in the Leschi marinas; we had been given this assurance verbally by City Council but without documentation, so did it really happen? Another concern is the retention of the small slips for the smaller boat owner. Leschi has long been a popular moorage spot for the middle class boat owner and it is feared that a private operator will cater to the larger boats with the greater moorage fees. I called Paul Wilkinson to discuss the letter and he did offer reassurance on the concession concern. He felt there was not room at either the North or South marina for a concession; the most that could be offered would be some marine supplies like rope. He also wants to retain the diversity of craft at the Leschi Marinas; we have small, medium and large boats and this is now the home of the Dragon Boats. He shared my vision of a more vibrant marina with small boats to rent as we saw over 100 years ago when Leschi Park was first developed. He addressed the other two issues in our letter of concern: establishing a list of priorities for repairs and environmental issues. He said the South Leschi Marina is the number one item on the priority list: the docks are sinking and must be taken care of first. They are using the $2 million left in Parks budget from the original $4 million approved during the McGinn administration. The other $2 million is in the RFP for the use of the eventual operator, should some entity be chosen in the RFP process. The environmental issue was brought up by our Parks and Greenspace chair, John Barber, who noticed that the Leschi Marinas were not on the state list of those marinas meeting the environmental standards. Paul said that he had signed an agreement that both the Leschi Marinas would be in compliance by the end of 2016. Any proposals from private operators need to be turned in by January 6 and we will be speaking with Paul again after that date. Look for another update in the February issue. (Our moorage letter of concern will be posted on the website.) ~Diane Snell