Search Results for 'HB'

[bluebird]

The OP is being passive aggressive. Doesn’t confront and/or talk to neighbor, does rant on an anonymous post. Doesn’t call the police and go on record with a legitimate complaint (noise ordinance), does do their own shouting into the night, committing a noise violation themselves.

“you certainly don’t respond to a shout of QUIET! or SHUT YOUR D@#N DOG UP in the middle of the night”

People can be as oblivious with their pets as they are with their children. Some bizarre skill where they can tune out their own. Doesn’t mean there is malicious intent.

I can understand not wanting to get out of bed to scour the neighborhood for a source, but why not call the police if it’s as bad as you say?

[JenV]

vincent, maybe the OP doesn’t know where the dogs live. I have plenty of howling and barking dogs in my neighborhood – but short of walking up and knocking on doors and asking if they have a dog it’s pretty hard to know which exact house they’re in – you just know one of your neighbors has an annoying dog.

but attacking someone on the internet is so much easier than giving them the benefit of the doubt, isn’t it? is that in the WSB charter?

[vincent]

If its a noise complaint it has nothing to do with animal control. Find some integrity and talk to your neighbor, or have the stones to call the cops and put your name behind the complaint. Otherwise consider earplugs, or some upgraded windows, obama has a great rebate on them.

[swimcat]

oh my- i have the same issue with my neighbors dogs’. annoying. call animal control- that is easier than a potentially nasty confrontation.

[Al]

I use the northbound bike lane early in the mornings, between 6:15 – 7:00 am when there’s little traffic. It’s been great to have that lane and be off the sidewalk (used it during construction). It doesn’t feel much different space-wise as I’m riding roughly in the same position I did w/out the bike lane, but now I don’t have to worry too much about vehicles passing me too close or coming up behind me aggressively. I do worry about the “door zone” issue but try to be vigilant about checking out the parked cars.

I think cyclists are not going to be as comfortable using the southbound sharrowed only lane. I used it for the first time yesterday (didn’t use the sharrow lane until those sharrows were laid down on the pavement) and rode in the no parking zone since it was available. When I had to use the vehicle lane the cars were responsive and patient (and I do signal before making a move so they knew my intention). But the traffic is heavy and a sharrow doesn’t really “separate” the bikes from traffic which is a concern. I just hope that vehicles remember that it’s a shared lane, bikes can be there and that drivers take care passing (it’s ok to use part of the turn lane to execute a safe pass, like drivers do on Avalon – it’s not ok to drive in it or make an aggressive pass). And cyclists should take care to signal and be patient with other vehicles as well.

[DP]

September 11, 2009

In 1967, almost twenty years after England created its National Health Service (NHS), the Whitehall I Study was set up to uncover the risk factors for heart disease among Britons. The study, which focused on male civil servants, found that death from heart disease among men in the lowest pay grades (for example messengers and doormen) was three times higher than that for men at the executive level. This was a surprise to the researchers, because in those days heart disease was thought to be a “businessmen’s disease.�

All the men in the NHS study had the same access to health care, so the higher death rate for doormen could not have been a result of lack of care. Nor was it a problem of lifestyle either, since a later study found that the poor lifestyle choices of the lower level civil servants (smoking, drinking, lack of exercise) accounted for only one-third of the difference in deaths. So what was it that was causing doormen to die from heart disease in greater numbers than executives? The NHS concluded that the difference in death rates was attributable primarily to some factor related to the difference in social and economic status between these two groups of people. The researchers went on to suggest that the more unequal the distribution of wealth is in society the unhealthier that society is likely to be—in terms of both physical and mental health. In other words, the level of income inequality in a society has more influence on the health of a population than either per capita spending on health care, distribution of health care among different sectors of society, or even lifestyle choices.

In a new book, The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, authors Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, take the Whitehall I Study a step further by comparing life expectancy and infant mortality rates with economic equality indices for 20 of the world’s richest nations. (To verify the relevance and accuracy of the model, they did the same with each of the 50 states in the U.S.) Next, they compare figures on a number of “social health� indicators, things like obesity, mental illness, drug addiction, incarceration rates, educational performance, and social mobility.

Of the 20 richest nations, Japan, Sweden, Finland and Norway consistently score the best in social health, while the UK, Portugal and the United States score the worst. It’s no statistical blip, either; the size of the differences is sobering. “Rates of mental illness are five times higher in the most . . . unequal societies. Similarly, in more unequal societies people are five times as likely to be imprisoned, six times as likely to be clinically obese, and murder rates may be many times higher . . . [while] life expectancy is 4.5 years shorter for the average American than it is for the average Japanese.� (p. 181)

See this Web site for more details: http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/

It isn’t simply a matter of rich versus poor. One might think that the greater number of poor people in unequal societies (like ours) might tend to skew the social health index, since poor people tend to have more health and social problems than rich people. According to Wilkinson and Pickett, however, health and social problems are higher throughout unequal societies, from the top of the income ladder to the bottom. The reason America as a whole is behind the Japanese in this area is because ALL Americans are hurt by economic and social inequality, just as ALL Japanese are helped by their equality.

The authors of The Spirit Level feel that if the results of the NHS studies can “permeate the public mind� then public policy will follow. In short, if voters, politicians, and public health workers can better understand what’s making people sick in the first place, the better equipped they’ll be to prevent and treat illness. It’s not enough for the Surgeon General to scold us for being fat and recommend that we exercise more and eat less sugar. It’s not even enough to guarantee every American health care. What Americans need to do is take a closer look at our society as a whole and try to understand the links between economic inequality and sickness. While the rich get richer, everyone, rich and poor alike, is getting sicker.

As the health care debate rages on in Congress and town halls across the country, the fact of income inequality and its effect on health stands quietly in the background. Are the insurance companies and their pet politicians afraid to give us a national health care system for fear that we’ll eventually figure out what’s really making us sick? If so, they are too late. Thanks to books like The Spirit Level, we already know.

–John Repp and David Preston

Members, West Seattle Neighbors for Peace and Justice http://www.westseattleneighborsforpeace.org

[hghlndprk]

any word on the street lights in our neighborhood getting fixed?

[jwws]

To my neighbors on 54th (btwn Dakota and Andover) who think it is OK to allow their dog to bark and howl constantly beginning at 5 a.m. (and continuing to do so as I post this), I just want you to know that it is NOT OK and is extremely annoying/disruptive to my sleep – especially this time of year when we all like to have our windows open. Does your dog’s constant barking and howling not annoy you/keep you awake? This is not the first time this has occurred, I can count dozens over the past months, on one occasion the barking started at 3:00 am and lasted until 6:00. Please show some consideration for your neighbors and let your dog back in the house or quiet it down. I don’t let my dogs bark through the night and expect the same from my neighbors, not to mention that the barking in the early morning hours is a violation of the noise ordinance. I hope you read this post, recognize your bad behavior and are ashamed by it, you certainly don’t respond to a shout of QUIET! or SHUT YOUR D@#N DOG UP in the middle of the night!

[WSB]

Some of the citywide media can never quite get the neighborhoods correct (I hadn’t seen the Times mention it, will send them a note that it’s West Seattle, not WC). This was an SPD case but I haven’t seen the report. The media unit did not write it up, which they usually would do for a major case, but on the other hand, that policy isn’t consistently applied.

It’s been linked on the Crime Watch page here for three days; the most complete account seemed to be the Stranger’s blurb on Wednesday:

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/09/09/seattle-police-investigating-home-invasion-in-west-seattle

[swimcat]

I drove it southbound the other night during rush hour. First, I can’t believe that after all of this work, the lane surfaces do not match. It looks terrible. Second, I thought the placement of the merge point for two southbound lanes is bizarre and dangerous. It is right at the crest of a small hill, so you can’t see that it’s coming until you are right at the merge point. I know this will cause issues for people who don’t use this route very often.

And there was a bit of a back up when I drove it during rush hour. I was behind the 54X and every time it pulled over it slowed me down. Also, the line of cars was so long that it would be extremely hard for someone to try and turn left onto Fauntleroy from a side street.

[lighthouse]

Qwest does not produce the Dex phonebooks. Yes, Dex is the “official phonebook” of Qwest, but that’s like Pepsi is the “official softdrink” of MLB — it’s a marketing arrangement. Dex is a division of RH Donnelley (http://www.rhd.com/).

The last time the van delivering Dex books came through my neighborhood, I happened to be at home and yelled at them through an open window “I don’t want those books — come back and get them!” and they complied.

If everyone just drops the books in the recycle bin, then IMO leaving a bag with phonebooks is no different from leaving a bag of shredded newspaper — it’s littering, and they should be fined for this.

[maplesyrup]

My guess is that voting the fee down was at least in part a statement by the residents that they’re tired of the city’s tendency to be a nanny state. I actually heard that sentiment expressed on a couple of – not right wing- radio shows.

I supported the fee because it’s a very minor inconvenience yet has potentially important consequences. The other day I read (IIRC) there’s a floating plastic garbage swill the size of Texas in the South Pacific. Not contributing to that is worth the price of a lunchbox.

And don’t even get me started on the dog poop argument, it’s asinine.

But alas the city tries to stick its nose into people’s lives too often and an idea that was actually good was the victim this time around.

[JoB]

I believe voting this down was the knee jerk reaction.

The big justification on the forum was that it was a burden on the poor… yet the poor south of us voted for the bag tax. take a look at the white center/west seattle boundary on the map.. and the pocket of yes votes in West Seattle. It’s apparent those with less resources didn’t agree with their affluent neighbors.

when you pick up dog poo with a plastic bag you encase it forever in a landfill. Biodegradable bags will eventually break down.. and they are available for a dollar a box at the dollar store.. something like 200 in every box. I buy mine there.

Granted, hubby would have to use something else to carry his lunch to work every day.. but i am already working on an alternate lunch sack for him.

I think they should give the tax another go… and in the meantime bag collection barrels outside grocery stores really cut down on the litter.

The attempt at passing this bill has already changed habits for some. the same people who voted it down now carry their own bags or offer an embarrassed excuse at checkout and enough of us have begun to bring our own bags to the grocery that the clerks no longer frown at us…

it’s been a real learning curve for me… I carry a couple of envirosacs in my purse, but i tend to shop in infrequent large shopping trips and i often forget to grab extra bags before i go into the store. I used to shrug and say.. oh well… and the plastic bags piled up.

A friend offered this.. ask for your groceries to be put back into your cart if you forget your bags.. and load them at the car.

I am going to try it. I am betting it won’t take many times for me to remember to grab those bags before i go into the store:(

LOL.. sometimes i have to learn things the hard way.

[cjboffoli]

My house has a lot of large windows. And I was recently in the market for a new window cleaner after the previous one, um, had some opinions about West Seattle and its much-admired #1 news source that I didn’t agree with.

I wasn’t all that excited about the guys who blanketed the neighborhood with paper fliers, especially after they were terse via e-mail with one of my neighbors who complained to them about their advertising practices.

But then came Eric Green of Crystal Green Cleaning. Eric had the good sense to read the West Seattle Blog and decide that he wasn’t going to advertise with fliers. Based on that (and a bit of research on his website) I decided to have him come out and make my windows so I could see through them again.

I’m delighted to say that he was out today and that he spent two hours cleaning my vast expanses of glass (much of which is at precarious heights off the ground). He even jumped up on the roof and cleaned a couple of clerestory windows without complaint. Eric was meticulous, punctual and didn’t scrape or break anything. His rates were even better than the old window washers.

I just wanted to pass along this good experience. I realize that window washing might be one of the things that has fallen down the list of priorities in challenging economic times. But this very nice guy is definitely a good value for the money and is well worth at least an annual visit.

http://www.crystalgreencleaning.com/

Eric Green / 206.768.5182

[Franci]

Okay I have a question… I was driving south on California, up the hill in the Gatewood neighborhood and there is a bike rider coming down the hill and he is practically riding on the center line between the two lanes. I can’t begin to tell you how nervous that makes me.. what if he suddenly falls into my lane? There was NO traffic in front or behind him and yet he felt the need to ride down the center of the road, instead of the center of his lane.

My question is why ride the center of the road with oncoming traffic instead of the center of the lane for downhill traffic?

[sam-c]

not everyone assumes that small dogs don’t need exercise. that’s not what I said. we thought the small dog would be more comfortable in a small (550 sf) studio apartment than a big dog.

we took our small dog out for several walks a day, dog park every Saturday, and we had a pocket park across the street from the apartment where he hung out and played with other dogs from the neighborhood. on leash, of course, which always caused that crazy leash untangling dance.

[ellenater]

LOL, Traci. I know exactly the sign you are talking about. Too funny…

My neighbor is either owner or co-owner of Fresh Bistro. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Not surprised it’s the shizzle. STILL have not been yet. :(

[WSMom]

President Obama’s speech to school children is so important it should (in my opinion) be viewed by every family tonight right after dinner. I just called all of the neighborhood kids in to listen to what our President had to say and they all agreed that he is absolutely right! Obama isn’t saying anything new…stay in school, work hard, turn in your assignments, don’t expect to succeed the first time you try something, even Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team (wow, that made an impression!) I love that he is basically repeating everything I’ve ever said to my kids all in one speech. And he’s so cool, coming from him it doesn’t sound like nagging :)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQlbjD8lNEU

[k]

we moved to california from west seattle just over a year ago. needless to say, even with the rain, we miss it more than words can say. we live in sunshine and warmth everyday, but we miss the people. real people. people who say hi. people who look you in the eye when you walk past them. people who remember what coffee you drink at your local coffee shop. people who genuinely care about their neighbors. we just can’t find that down here. i would rather carry an umbrella than a bottle of suntan lotion! we miss you west seattle. we’ll be back soon!

[beachdrivegirl]

Ours went missing yesterday. it was there as of Sunday night and then last night I went out & it was gone. Not sure what happened to it? All of our neighbors still have theirs. I guess I will call & try to solve the issue.

[WesCAddle]

We vacated the house the day he applied the paint. We slept in the home that night with the bathroom window open, and by the next day it was fine.

I have no idea how it held up, since we only did it to sell a house we were in. The guy told me it lasts for 5-10 years before needing done again.

I think it was in the neighborhood of $350 at the time.

Here is the website:

http://www.advancedrefinishingllc.com/Services.htm

[Julie]

You cannot do better than to join a Parent/Infant class through South Seattle Community College; this excellent program is a support group/play group/parent education/child education/fun all rolled into one. The phone number for infant class enrollment is 206-935-8098.

http://sites.google.com/a/southseattle.edu/homelife/

My children are now adults, but the relationships I formed in that program endure. I will be forever grateful to the neighbor who pointed me in that direction.

[BigRed]

Found a female golden/reddish pit mix(?) running in the westwood neighborhood today. I have sent an email with a photo to the editor to post on the pets page. if you know a dog like this please call 206-949-1330

[TDe]

My water bill will now go down… And I live here because when I go out in West Seattle, the nicest community I could ever ask for greets me every day. Not to mention, we have a wonderful blog to vent and express ourselves to our neighbors. I love it here… early winters not withstanding…

[miws]

Glad that you personally came out of this relatively unscathed, peanut. But, it still sucks that your bike was damaged. Do you have any plans on seeking damages from the (shouldn’t be) dog owners?

Happy to hear they are moving. You and your neighbors will be able to be a bit more at ease. I, too though, feel sorry for the new neighbors. Wonder what the chances are they’ll be moving way out to the boonies, with a huge lot for the dogs to run on, and hopefully not be much of a threat to others? :-/

Mike