Madison Park Times August 2024 by Pacific Publishing Company

Madison Park Times

Friends of Madison Park: Sunny days ahead

The Children’s Parade and Picnic on July 13 hit a record number of happy faces. Based on the total number of hot dogs eaten (and that doesn’t include popcorn, snow cones, or the watermelon-eating contest), we had well over 250 attendees.

Led by the local fire engine, families had a blast

participating in the parade, sack races, tug-of-war, water balloon tosses, crafts, face painting, music and more on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.

MUSIC IN THE PARK RETURNS

August is just around the corner, along with the return of our Music in the Park series. Over the course of the month, five groups

will perform music across genres for friends and families to picnic and soak up our long summer nights. Join us on Thursdays, starting on August 1 at 6:30 p.m. The events are free.

MADISON PARK ART WALK

The opening date for the Madison Park Art Walk, sponsored by HomeStreet Bank, will be Friday, Sept.

Planting a late-season vegetable garden

It’s August already! How did that happen? It seems it was only a few weeks ago that I was watching my spring bulbs emerging to brighten a slate-gray early spring landscape. Now, you may think August is not the best of times to plant anything new in the way of perennials and shrubs, but, what about an autumn veggie garden. Let’s reconsider that idea. Think about the positive side of the positive side of this endeavor: the soil is already warm, many vegetables enjoy cooler temperatures and this year’s seed packets are probably on sale, whether on-line or in the stores. When you think about what your piece of real estate costs and the reduced amounts of water you’ll need for irrigation, you can’t afford NOT to use your veggie garden as much as possible

Bruce Bennett Columnist

and, remember, autumn gardening increases your garden usage by, at least, 30%. The cost of all those new fresh veggies you didn’t need to purchase can go toward paying your October property taxes!

You are probably seeing bare spots of soil that have already been harvested in your planting beds. But there are any number of veggies that can still be late-planted to fill those gaps and get you through the autumn and winter weather.

In general, vegetables that grow best in cooler weather are leafy greens, root crops and members of the cabbage

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13, from 5 to 8 p.m.

PARTY FOR THE PARK

We are thrilled to host our Fall fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 12; doors open at 6:30 p.m. Join us for a sparkling evening at the Seatle Tennis Club in support of our mission, future events, and exciting projects coming to our neighborhood.

The Children’s

ALMOST PERFECT

Aperfect day for me begins like this: I sit on my small balcony, surrounded by a garden of potted plants. I call it “my garden” because its size fits into my life. Because I’ve grown more comfortable with low-maintenance over involved. Because when the morning light lays itself over the plants so that the new growth sparkles brighter than the undergrowth, for about fifteen shining minutes I don’t think about anything except what is most important to me, and that’s the definition of a garden. Because leaving worry behind is not easy for me and never has been.

For years, I’ve wanted to give up worry. I’m willing but barely succeeding. Some days I think that I am getting there, that I am nearly there, that I’m there.

Because the woman who worried about things (so many things!) beyond her control isn’t me anymore. She’s become someone who relaxes in her garden before she goes to work, and this may seem a small thing, but it’s huge. She’s become

Washington’s

Staff Report

Washington’s gas prices fell at the third-fastest rate in the past year in the United States, a new study finds.

someone who can finally spot the red flags and not ignore them, thank god, or try to call them something else.

So here’s what I do after I sit in my garden: I sit at my desk.

And after three to four hours of working out what I want to say by finding the words for how — because that’s what it takes to write, you write — I start to fidget because I want to get to the public pool before it closes for lap swimming. And if I get a lane to myself, it’s a perfect day indeed. I’m not great at sharing my swimming space. I don’t know if its because writing is such a solitary endeavor and it’s hard to make the transition, but when I see three, four, people sharing a lane by swimming in a tight circle I think, you’d have to shoot me first.

But honestly, the best part of a perfect day is still to come: I go to the movies. I especially like to go to the older theaters, like the SIFF Cinema Egyptian.

The feel of the Egyptian is so different from new theaters. Maybe it’s the lack

of fake butter smell. Maybe it’s because the feel of the place is unpretentious. Definitely it’s because the films don’t bore me. I’m always hungry for something more honest and independent. I like to sit in the dark and get lost in the story.

I also like the popcorn.

I know you can buy a TV screen the size of Rhode Island and download one of a gazillion movies at home, so why go out?

I’ll tell you why. When you make the effort to support something so genuine, it’s as if you can feel the point of being human all the way through.

A few movies ago, I listened to a woman refuse butter for her popcorn. Butter, she said, is just one of those things she doesn’t tempt herself with. So I said — as if it were a dare, which we both know it wasn’t — that I bet she could enjoy butter at the movies and still respect herself in the morning. Her voice came out a mixture of surprise and thanks. After the movie, we talked and got to know each other a little better.

Is this any way to meet people in this day and age?

Yes, it is.

Because this kind connection doesn’t usually happen in your living room with Netflix, no matter how many other devices you are monitoring.

I have a friend, Diane, who loves films as much as I do. And she remembers everything, the year it was made, the director, the actors even who designed the costumes if the wardrobe met her approval. She will sit through the entire length of the credits, absorbed.

She thinks it is nothing, all this remembering. But for me, it’s mission accomplished if I even recall the title. I remember a conversation between us back in March. After I quoted something I’d read about Ash Wednesday, because as a kid that day actually meant something — or my family pretended it meant something, which a lot of Catholics are really good at — and here we were, two heathens going to the movies instead of to Mass, “Soon enough, every one of us, and everything, will turn

to dust.” And Diane said, “except plastic.” And that’s a perfect comeback, don’t you think, on a perfect day?

When I set out this morning to imagine a perfect day, I saw one as many things, needless as well as necessary things, things that are nothing and everything I have ever wanted. And that thought alone is an ideal end to a perfect day I am lucky enough to enjoy now and again.

Mary Lou Sanelli’s newest collection of essays about living in the Northwest, In So Many Words, is due out in September. Please join her for a launch celebration at Elliott Bay Book Company on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. or at Third Place Books on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. Visit www.marylousanelli. com for more.

fuel prices plunge at the third-fastest rate in

America

Coupon site Bountii analyzed data from AAA Gas Prices on the average cost of a gallon of regular fuel, midgrade fuel, premium fuel, and diesel in 474 cities across America on June 10th, 2023, and June 10th, 2024. Each city was rated for the cost of four fuel types, and an average ranking was created from the biggest reduction in prices to the smallest. The states with the biggest reduction in fuel prices over the past 12 months were then determined based on the average fuel price declines in their cities. Washington has seen the third-largest fall in fuel prices across America

over the last year. The average cost of a gallon of regular fuel has gone from $4.72 to $4.29, only less than Utah and Arizona. Motorists in Washington are now

spending significantly less on midgrade fuel and diesel as well, which dropped by $0.41 and $0.46 per gallon. Spokane is where fuel prices have fallen most in

the state, and second overall nationwide, with a gallon of regular fuel dropping from $4.68 to $3.94. Utah came out on top as the state with the biggest decline in fuel prices. The annual price drop of a gallon of regular, midgrade, and premium gas is the highest in the nation, at $0.72, $0.73, and $0.70, respectively.

Mary Lou Sanelli Falling Awake

Life in the slow lane

Along, long time ago, before online shopping, consumer goods were offered right at the front door. In many areas like Madison Park, smiling Fuller Brush salesmen went door to door, displaying brushes for any occasion. Vacuum cleaner salesmen demonstrated previously unimaginable attachments like those for cleaning Venetian blinds. How about reversing the suction, acting as a leaf blower, or painting the house – who knows?

A friend and I were invited to my mom’s house for our favorite: Swedish pancakes. When we got there, we found an older gentleman eating our breakfast! Mom explained he came to the door, offering to sharpen all her knives. While she flipped our pancakes, he settled down for his own plate of golden browns. We feasted as well, and when he left, we realized the need for a peephole in the door.

Door-to-door salesmen tried to sell siding for the house. My very own wife bought a Compact vacuum cleaner from one when she lived in Magnolia (pre-me). I will never let her forget that although it was considered a good vacuum, but she paid quadruple for it.

Sears, the predecessor to Costco, was the place to get many household items – the catalog made for interesting reading. The store on 1st Avenue had an escalator that, when descending from the

2nd floor, the alluring candy department begged a quick stop. For handier household needs, Bud and Lola McKee’s hardware store here in the park was always welcoming, with anything you could possibly require, along with plenty of laughter.

Out of gas? One of our local stations – Bill Turner’s Richfield – employed a member of the Hadfield family who not only greeted you sincerely but filled the tank, looked under the hood, checked the oil, radiator, and water level, and then washed the front windshield. Talk about full service! Having a dead battery meant being late to work, so to the rescue was Norm or “Oly,” and he came to the house to charge it and, if needed, sold you a battery. This was all lined up by rotary phones, of course, no computer, no cell phones.

Doctors made house calls back in the day. Dr. Harris showed up at my apartment minutes after describing over the phone my discomfort after an injury. I had slid on my back down some stairs, which manifested in a rash to which he applied iodine and a bandage. We chatted a bit, and I paid him in cash, with no paperwork and no follow-up appointment. I was to carry on with my single life. Along that same line, chipping a tooth on a jawbreaker and Dr. Chet Woodside (located a few doors down from Dr. Harris) would get you back to biting another one in no time.

Jaffe’s Shoe Repair made

Richard Lehmann Columnist

our worn shoes look like new again, but not before a stern discussion of how to care for them.

The Madison Park Bakery has been running smoothly all these years and continues to have lines out the door for devourers of the goodies. Herman Stohl began the business, and that was where the hard-core coffee drinkers hung out, enjoying the brew for $.10 with $.05 refills. I owe for many refills. Humongous, delicious cinnamon rolls, among other delicacies, waft in the air, and a decent Americano can be had.

All of this seems rather “Andy of Mayberry,” but we did have our fair share of crime. Bill and Ada’s Dime store was a favorite for one crook called “The Skylight Bandit.” He scaled the rooftop between 42nd and 43rd until he found an open skylight. He had done this twice before, lowering himself to the goods below and exiting through the rear door, leaving a mess behind him. This time, Bill set a trap below the skylight. Amongst the cards, he placed kitchen knives upward, which were put in clay floral frogs. A few days later, Bill showed me the disarray of cards and a trail of blood leading out the back door where Skylight obviously egressed to an automobile headed for Harborview.

Years later, “Hollywood” made a name for himself at the Seafirst Bank, where Bank of America is now. Banking was one of Hollywood’s professions. No suit and tie,

just a fashionable disguise. He entered in the late afternoon and loudly stated, “Ladies and gentlemen, please be calm.

I am robbing the bank.” He asked the clerk to open the safe, to which she replied, “I can’t; it’s on a timer.” He answered, “Well, darn, I’m gonna have to shoot you.” Nervous laughter could be heard in the bank. She suddenly remembered, and he took off after emptying the safe and the tills.

I witnessed much shoplifting in my years driving for Wonderbread. I walked into one family-owned market and saw a woman trying to get a large turkey into her cart. I helped her get it in, and she thanked me. What a nice lady, my good deed for the day. The

Design shop now offering appointments

Submitted

After launching her online shop last month, Seattle-based interior designer Marianne Simon of Marianne Simon Design has opened her studio to the public for an in-person shopping experience. The shop, which will be open by appointment or happenstance MondayThursday, features antiques and vintage pieces collected from Marianne’s travels to Paris, Provence and beyond.

Retail is a new venture for Marianne Simon Design, one that the principal and founder is thrilled about, she said in a news release.

“I am always on the hunt for one-ofa-kind pieces for our clients so a shop is a natural extension for our business. After seeing the demand for these pieces

with our online shop, we’re excited to offer people a chance to shop in person,” says Simon who founded Marianne Simon Design in 2005. “There is so much repetition and excess in the world of retail now, we are thrilled to be offering truly special homewares that are sure to be treasured and passed down as they have been for years.”

Located in the heart of Madison Park Village, the jewel-box space features antique homewares ranging from 18th century Delft platters to 19th century Louis Phillippe mirrors. All shop items are available in person for local viewing and pickup and online for domestic shipping. Visit mariannesimondesign.com/shop for information.

nice lady was there when I got to the checkstand to have my bill signed. She said, “I just don’t have room for it in my refrigerator and would like a refund!” She got the groceries for free, plus some cash in her pocket.

In another store, I saw a man slip two bottles of wine into his coat. When he went through the line with a few items, the owner said, “So that’s two bottles of wine and two cartons of cigarettes?” “No, I don’t even smoke!” he replied. The owner lifted the phone to call the police, and the connoisseur announced, “Oh yes, two cartons of cigarettes!” Generating tranquility is our common goal. We are lucky to live in a great community and are happy to be a part of it.

Courtesy

Marianne Simon Design is now offering in-person shopping experiences at the studio.

Washington State Supreme Court leaves high-capacity magazine ban in place

By Carleen Johnson The Center Square

Washington’s ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines will remain in effect after a Monday decision by the state Supreme Court.

A majority of justices denied a request to modify an order from Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnson issued back in April that kept the ban in place, despite a lower court ruling that determined the law was unconstitutional.

Monday’s decision will keep the ban in effect until the court hears arguments, possibly in September, in the state’s appeal of the lower court’s ruling.

Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled on April 8 that the ban on the sale of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and part of the Washington Constitution granting individuals a right to bear arms for

self-defense.

The order came at the request of state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

The case goes back to a dispute between the state and firearms retailer Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso and owner Walter Wentz.

Gator’s Custom Guns filed a legal challenge against the ban – the result of Senate Bill 5078, passed by the Legislature and signed into law in 2022 – months after it too effect, and Ferguson then filed legal action alleging the store was violating the ban by continuing to sell highcapacity magazines.

When the judge in Cowlitz County ruled the ban unconstitutional back in April, Gator’s Custom Guns immediately opened it’s store – on a Monday when it would typically be closed – to long lines of customers eager to purchase high-capacity magazines.

As previously reported by The Center Square, Johnston placed the

emergency stay order within a matter of hours of that ruling, meaning the gun store had to turn dozens of customers away.

Wentz told The Center Square that he was initially upset at the state Supreme Court’s Monday decision.

“It gave me pause, but then it was explained to me by counsel that this was not unexpected,” he said.

Wentz is represented by The Silent Majority Foundation and lead counsel Pete Serrano, who is running to be Washington’s next attorney general.

The order keeping the stay in place reads in part: “The Court concludes the Petitioner will suffer an injury should the stay not be imposed.

The Respondent contends that imposing the stay imposes irreparable injury on the constitutional rights of Washington residents by preventing them from purchasing constitutionally protected large capacity ammunition magazines. As the constitutionality of ESSB 5078

has not yet been determined, this injury is speculative. Now, therefore, it is hereby ORDERED: That the Respondents’ motion to modify the Commissioner’s Ruling granting the stay is denied.”

Wentz said he remains fully committed to seeing the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, adding he was buoyed by this month’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ordering lower courts to take another look at challenges to several federal and state firearms restrictions following the high court’s upholding a law that bans people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from having guns.

Wentz noted his case hasn’t bypassed any steps along the way, so he believes he is on good legal footing for the battle ahead.

“Every single day our customers come in and tell me to keep up the fight,” he said. “And they donate for the legal fight, so I’m not giving up.”

WA Tribes getting tens of millions for flood recovery, relocation

By Carleen Johnson The Center Square

Native American tribes across Washington state are set to receive tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to address flood risk and other issues related to climate change.

This week, at a remote meeting in

Taholah, Wash., staff members from the Washington Department of Commerce and Gov. Jay Inslee announced $52 million for native tribes, including the Quinault Indian Nation on the Pacific coast of the Olympic Peninsula.

The Quinault plan to use a large portion of

MADISON PARK PILATES

the money they will receive to relocate tribal community members in Taholah and Queets living with the increasing threat of flooding and the consequences of prior floods.

“The cost of doing that work is monumental,” said Guy Capoeman, president of the Quinault Indian Nation.

The Quinault ceded millions of acres to the U.S. government more than 150 years ago in exchange for a roughly 200,000-acre reservation on the coast.

“The world is changing. We here at the Quinault nation are at ground zero,” Capoeman said. “We have inherited a legacy to protect our land, to protect our resources, to protect our people.”

The money is coming from profits from the Climate Commitment Act, which took effect in 2023. The CCA charges the state’s carbon emitting businesses for greenhouse gas emission credits.

Profits from the CCA piled up quickly in the first year. and state lawmakers during this year’s legislative session funneled huge amounts of CCA money into programs and projects that supporters of the program argue will be in jeopardy if the CCA is overturned by voters this fall.

Initiative 2117 on this November’s ballot would repeal the climate law. Supporters of the initiative argue the carbon market is nothing more than a cash grab for the state and has resulted in higher prices for gas and utility bills, without doing much to help the environment.

Relocating the tribal villages of Taholah and Queets to higher ground is no small undertaking.

Part of Taholah

is below sea level, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a seawall that had four feet added to its height in 2014 by the Army Corps of Engineers Still, high tides and storm surges continually flood homes and government buildings.

Taholah is expected to see a sea level rise of between one to twoand-a-half feet by the year 2100, according to a 2018 Washington Coastal Resilience Project report, compiled by The College for the Environment, at the University of Washington.

The tribe published a relocation plan in 2017. The new location is on a site about a half-mile away and 130 feet above sea level, but federal money for the project – estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars – has been held up in recent years in a lengthy process of documenting and approving plans and designs.

Twenty-eight federally recognized tribes in Washington

are receiving funding for projects that range from relocating communities to restoring salmon to adding solar panels.

The Legislature made the $52 million available in the 2023-25 budget, and the Department Commerce is working with tribes to figure out how they want the money used.

The Skokomish Tribe north of Olympia plans to use $2 million to weatherize homes.

The Makah Tribe on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, wants to spend $620,000 to install solar panels and battery backup at a community warming center.

The Spokane Tribe in eastern Washington is looking to improve energy efficiency. If I-2117 is passed by voters in November, then future funding sources for tribal projects becomes unclear. What is clear is that pledges to help tribes were made long before implementation of the CCA.

THE HEAT IS ON IN THE NORTHWEST

I’m not a native Northwesterner (though I’ve been here since ‘87 and graduated from UW, so I have some credentials), but one of my native-born friends told me this past weekend that she doesn’t remember it exceeding 70 degrees in her childhood. As much as I’d like to feel that this heat is a “freak occurrence,” these sweltering summers seem to be trending up. Per Nicholas Deshais in a recent Seattle Times article, we’ve had the “second-warmest start to July since 1945,” and the July 9 high of 98 degrees was the highest we’ve seen since 2021’s stunning 108.

Likely due to these temperatures, Washington State Parks has imposed a burn ban through the end of September (so no more campfire s’mores), and KIRO’s Ted Buehner said on MyNorthwest. com that our recent heat wave “essentially kicked the (wildfire) season into high gear.”

All of this has given me a lot to think about, weatherwise, so I decided to ponder the heat for this month’s column.

FEEL, FEEL, FEEL THE HEAT

Dana Armstrong Emergency Prep

We’re all feeling the heat these days, one way or another. And Seattleites aren’t typically air conditioner users (just 53% of Puget Sound homes had AC in 2021, per that year’s census). While some muster through with fans, others make do with in-window AC boxes — and I adore my portable, wheelable AC unit (since it doesn’t require weightlifter arms to maneuver). But plug-in AC isn’t affordable or practical for everyone, and these rarely cool all the needed rooms in your house. People have needed to get inventive in these unexpected times.

I asked one neighbor how she was keeping cool, and she told me she was getting creative with opening and closing windows and doors as the temperature changes. Closing blinds and curtains during the day can conserve some of the cooling your home gets during our fortunately balmy Northwest nights.

Reddit to the rescue with one particular new-to-me beat-theheat solution — cooling neck rings. Available on Amazon, these personal cooling devices can travel with you; they cool in the freezer and are worn like a bolo tie. (In a pinch, a damp washcloth on

the back of your neck will cool you off in a jiffy — I tried this tip on a rafting trip and it works as advertised.) Cooling vests are also sold online, either evaporative types (which are activated with tap water; these can also be found for dogs and cats) or fullon “ice vests” complete with pockets for ice packs.

Also popular but requiring some effort — do-it-yourself AC units. Look to the internet for various solutions, which include a “5-gallon bucket” method, repurposed plastic soda bottles and drink coolers, a more complicated “copper coil and fan” method, and the simplest — running a fan next to a bowl of ice cubes.

Lastly, don’t forget the old standby: a refreshing shower. Showering can lower your temperature quickly (and improve your mood, besides).

WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE

Hot and dry weather raises wildfire risk, and many of us have now experienced a smoky Seattle. Most weather apps have an air quality feature to indicate whether wildfire smoke is a potential health risk. The free AirNow app from the U.S. EPA has an excellent air quality monitor, including forecasts for the week ahead and an interactive fire and smoke map. Our air quality as I write this column in mid-July is 50 AQI (Good), and the app predicts “possible wildfire smoke overhead mid-week, but no ground level impacts expected.” Well, that’s a relief!

AQI — the standard EPA

designation for air quality — runs from 0 to 500, with lower numbers being healthier. Per the EPA’s website (AirNow.gov), an AQI of 301 and higher is Hazardous, which means “emergency conditions” where everyone is likely to be affected. Let’s hope we don’t ever see that one!

The AirNow.gov website shows the same info as the app, as well as other tips on reducing your exposure to smoke. Although not a huge concern right now, wildfire smoke can be quite dangerous to some vulnerable populations and is worth learning more about.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

Our pets find this heat uncomfortable, too. At a street fair I attended recently, a few dogs were clearly not enjoying the sun as much as their owners were. Please keep dogs out of the direct sun in hotter weather; dogs on leashes can’t find their own shade (some dogs even sunburn). Per the Humane Society’s website, you should “limit exercise to early mornings or evening hours” on very hot days, and be especially careful with short-nosed pooches, who can have trouble breathing in the heat.

Dog paws are particularly vulnerable to hot sidewalks and streets (stay on the grass, if you can). The American Kennel Club website says to be alert when temperatures exceed 85 degrees, with the AKC’s chief vet recommending that you “place your hand comfortably on the pavement for 10 seconds” to gauge if it will be comfortable for your dog to walk on.

And, of course, per the Humane Society, don’t ever leave your pets in a parked car in hot weather, even with the car running and AC on.

ROLLING WITH THE

HEAT

One final resource I learned about while researching: 211, a number you can call to get help finding community resources of all kinds near you, like cooling centers to visit to stay out of the extreme heat. (Naturally, there’s a website, too: go to WA211.org to learn more.)

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the people in Houston, who’ve been suffering the triple-whammy of a hurricane followed by an extended power outage during a heat wave. Millions lost power for days, and at least six people have died so far from heat-related causes. We haven’t had that kind of heat emergency in recent years, but it doesn’t mean we won’t. Whether the emergency is heat, an earthquake, an ice storm, or another unplanned-for disaster, it’s never a bad idea to start preparing. Preparing can mean amassing emergency supplies (water, water, water!), creating a family disaster plan, knowing how to turn off your home’s water and gas, and learning the location of your Emergency Communications Hub (regular column readers will know it will be by the Madison Park tennis courts). And, last but not least, getting to know your neighbors so that you can check on and help each other if disaster strikes. Want to learn more about emergency preparedness and have a chance to share what you know with others? The Madison Park Emergency Hub is looking for regular and occasional volunteers; sign up for our mailing list by emailing madparkhub@gmail.com. And please save the date for our Sept. 22 emergency drill in the park — we’ll be practicing different ways to help neighbors and each other in an emergency. Stay safe out there! Dana Armstrong is a Madison Park Emergency Hub volunteer.

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(Brassicas/Cruciferous)

family. They can all do well in our USDA Zones 7- 9 lateseason gardens. Think about adding beets, carrots, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, peas, radishes, turnips, spinach Swiss chard and oriental vegetables like Chinese cabbage and Bok choy. And, there are more. All can be planted in August for autumn and winter harvesting.

In addition, garlic can be planted as late as two to four weeks before the first frost and harvested the following summer. Shallots can be planted after the first frost. Don’t plant earlier because any top growth they may

send up will be impacted by early autumn frosts. The other great things about an autumn garden include the benefits of fewer plant-damaging pests and diseases around, fewer weeds to challenge your backs and knees and that warm soil surrounds you. Plus, the autumn rains mean you won’t need to water as frequently, if at all. Some crops even taste better when subjected to some light frost.

Believe it or not, I think my autumn crops of lettuce, mesclun and Swiss Chard are better tasting than the ones I harvest in spring.

Also, multicolored stemmed ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss Chard backed by ‘Red Sails’ Kale, makes a decorative planting whether or not you decide to

eat them. I have had similar good results with fall plantings of Brussel sprouts which tend to be more tender and sweeter. OK, I understand that Brussel sprouts are not for everyone’s tastes but, there are plenty of other nutritious alternatives that can grace your plates and stews. When shopping those on-sale seed racks, choose veggie varieties that are touted as “shorter or fewer days to harvest,” “for cooler temperatures” and “cold hardiness and quick maturity.” Being a good gardener also means being a good researcher. Read the fine print on the seed packs!

According to the WSU Extension, the average date for the first fall frost in western Washington is right

NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETPLACE

around Nov. 10. So, you have quite a bit of growing time left for vegetables that are planted in August. Spinach and other greens can even be planted in September. All the vegetables listed above can easily survive light frost if provided with some kind of protection, and some can even make it through all the way the cold winter weather. Remember that the Indian Summer weather which often follows the first frost is some of the best growing weather of the year for cool weather plants When you hear about an impending frost, consider tossing a spun floating row cover (AKA Remay) over the new seedlings. Even plastic sheeting or old bed sheets can do the trick.

When planting seeds for your fall garden, keep in mind that growing conditions are different for summer plantings:

• Rains are usually still infrequent but heavier. Provide constant soil moisture for good germination and to get your plants well established.

• Plant seeds deeper than in the spring so they will be in a moister and cooler layer of the soil. It is also a good idea to shade newly emerging seedlings until most have germinated and matured to the point of having true leaves and/or the weather has cooled.

• Expect longer growing times. As temperatures drop, germination and growing times may increase. You might need to add a week or two to the expected time your harvests.

• Think about adding mulch to the growing beds. Mulch is an excellent autumn vegetable bed addition. It helps keep soils cool when falls are unseasonably warm and, then, insulates plant roots when frosts and cold weather do

FRIENDS from Page 1Æ

arrive.

• At the end of your extended growing season, or prior to the next traditional spring planting, remember to add your soil amendments. Compost and slow-acting organic fertilizer are beneficial for most planting beds to feed the plants, improve soil texture, feed the soil microbes and better retainment of moisture. Consider loosening the soil a bit if it became compacted over the previous growing season. These easy steps can add a new gardening experience (and a tasty one at that!) to any gardener’s repertoire of horticultural skills. Could you be the only house or condo on the block who can still say, “Why, yes, this is from my over-producing garden.” in the months of December or January. Show the neighbors that you are ‘the one’ to talk to about their gardening questions and bask in the glory of the autumn sunshine. Happy gardening all!

Additional Reading Forkner, Lorene E. Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest. 2013. Portland, OR: Timber Press. Taylor, Lisa (ed). Maritime Northwest Garden Guide. 2014. Seattle, WA: Tilth Alliance.

Thorness, Bill. Cool Season Gardner. 2013. Seattle, WA: Skipstone.

Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a WSU Certified Master Gardener, Certified Professional Horticulturalist and lecturer. If you have questions concerning this article, have a gardening question or two to ask concerning your own landscape or want to suggest a topic for a future column, contact him at: gardenguy4u@ gmail.com.

THREE WAYS TO SUPPORT FRIENDS

friendsofmadisonpark.com.

Stores to be sold if merger of Albertsons, Kroger succeeds

By Michael Whitney The Snohomish Tribune

As Albertsons/Safeway works to merge with Kroger (Fred Meyer), the two will sell off 124 of their stores in Washington state (56 in King County), plus 456 in other states. The nation’s two biggest grocers are shedding stores to try to meet antitrust concerns that have so far interrupted the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history.

They’re selling them to New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers, a food supplier that also runs Piggly Wiggly grocery stores.

In February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to stop the merger. It says say it would eliminate head-to-head competition between the nation’s two biggest grocers, and that will hurt the public.

The FTC’s case begins in late August in U.S. District Court in Oregon. A judgment could take weeks.

The attorneys generals of Washington and Colorado also sued to stop the merger.

Any changes are not final until Albertsons and Kroger finish these court cases.

C&S isn’t commenting on its

local plans for stores until those court cases are resolved, its spokeswoman Lauren La Bruno said.

If it goes through, C&S will also own the Haggen and QFC brands outright as part of the divesture. Albertsons bought Haggen in 2016.

Overall, Albertsons would divest itself of 12 of its 15 Haggen stores. Kroger would divest itself of 54 of its 59 QFC stores.

In Snohomish along Avenue D, the Safeway and Haggen stores C&S would acquire sit within twotenths of a mile from each other.

Snohomish City Hall is watching.

“If one or both of those two stores are closed, it will be a loss for our community, especially for the lower income, disabled, and senior residents who live nearby and rely upon the proximity of those stores,” Snohomish Mayor Linda Redmon said.

C&S’s La Bruno declined to corroborate a comment stated by Kroger’s CEO Rodney McMullen that C&S “has committed that no stores will close and no frontline workers will be laid off as a part of this agreement.”

La Bruno said, though, that “with the evolution of the grocery industry, C&S is deeply committed

to our transformation strategy, which includes the expansion of our retail footprint. The purchase of these stores will enable C&S to be one of the leading grocery retailers in the United States.”

Labor unions representing grocery employees are skeptical C&S can succeed in running all these new stores.

They have opposed the merger since it was announced in 2022.

In April, a joint union statement said that the plan “would have (C&S) trying to operate a hodgepodge chain of retail stores. They have no experience operating retail stores in these states.”

Last week, in a new statement, the union said: “We remain focused on stopping the proposed mega-merger for the same reasons we have stated since it was first announced over 20 months ago — because we know it would harm workers, it would harm shoppers, it would harm suppliers and communities, and it is illegal.”

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

The consolidation of the traditional grocery industry to lead to two major players has been amassing over the past 25 years.

Today, Kroger and Albertsons together have more than 4,500 stores in the U.S. and more than one dozen store banner names. Albertsons bought Safeway in 2015. Kroger bought Fred Meyer in 1998.

C&S is a food wholesaler that supplies 7,500 independents, such as IGA groceries, but adding 580 stores nationally would suddenly leapfrog it into being a large player in retail supermarkets.

C&S would grow to be about 740 stores. It would make it larger than Trader Joe’s (530 stores) or Grocery Outlet (390 stores), and be bigger than many large regional players such as H-E-B of Texas or Hy-Vee of the midwest and U.S. South, from data from Supermarket News, an industry publication. Supermarket News says WinCo Foods has 129 stores.

As with all real estate markets, the Seattle metro area has weathered its own highs and lows over the past several years.

It experienced a boom when interest rates were at record lows and a stale period of low activity levels when high mortgage rates and a shifting economy forced buyers and sellers to reevaluate their property goals. However, the area’s unique market manages to recover from these expected periods due to the benefits of owning in the Puget Sound region, which draws in buyers both locally and from around the world. There remains a consistent influx of people who choose to move to the area from out of state to reap the rewards of an Emerald City address — from job and education opportunities to the vibrant art scene to the natural wonders surrounding the city.

PAUR

Cindy Paur Property Views

PAUR from Page 1

For newcomers hoping to purchase property here, the best plan of action is often to rent first, get to know the area and what neighborhoods they could see themselves in long-term, and then make an informed decision when it’s time to buy. Low inventory levels have been an obstacle for buyers in the recent past, but the market has turned a corner, and sellers are listing their homes once again. In fact, during the second quarter of this year, we saw a 32.69% year-over-year increase in single-family listings in Seattle. In King County, there was a 35.91% year-over-year increase. Buyers looking for an in-city condominium were also in luck, with the Seattle condominium market seeing a 70.53% increase in listings.

According to NWMLS’s monthly market update, the median price for a single-family property in the region continues to climb. With higher prices and high mortgage rates, many buyers are attempting to time the market, hoping to jump in when rates go down.

As we head closer to the presidential election, many market watchers are wondering how the election will affect rates. In looking at the data from past election cycles and post-election rates, there’s not a clear enough correlation one way or another to make a prediction. Buyers who are counting on a drastic dip in rates may end up disappointed and should plan their purchases based on current market data rather than forecasted

market changes.

For sellers wondering how to strategically approach the market, do not underestimate the importance of strategic pricing. In some cases, we’re seeing sellers price their home well above its value, hoping that they’ll get lucky with a buyer who is willing to pay the listing price. However, today’s buyer is intentional and careful, and you won’t find the same eagerness witnessed a few years ago during the market frenzy. The more accurately you price your home — considering what other similar homes in the same location sold for recently, value-adding repairs you’ve made, and special features the home boasts — the more likely it is to sell quickly.

The best move you can make right now, as a buyer or a seller, is to enlist the help of an experienced real estate agent. I don’t expect the clients I serve to have comprehensive market knowledge—that’s my job. With my experience, expertise, and commitment to providing top-tier service, we can navigate you through all market conditions.

I’d love to see you at Park House. Please stop by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty office for a visit at 4031 E Madison Street and say hello. I’m always up for a cup of coffee and good conversation. You can also give me a call at 206-949-4497.

Cindy Paur is managing broker & founding member, RSIR Madison Park Office. Reach her at Cindy.Paur@ SothebysRealty.com or 206-949-4497 or at CindyPaur.com.

King County awarded $450K federal grant for alternative youth detention system

By Spencer Pauley The Center Square

King County has been awarded $450,000 from the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to support King County Executive Dow Constantine’s intention to transform the region’s youth detention system.

King County will use the $450,000 award to implement its strategy and implementation planning for its Care and Closure initiative, which ultimately aims to close the King County youth detention center at the Judge Patricia J. Clark Children and Family Justice Center.

Funds are also planned to be distributed to local community organizations to lead the planning and development of community-based alternatives to secure youth detention. This includes a potential network of community care homes across the county, which can be small, safe, and homelike spaces for

youth to live if they cannot safely return home while their court cases proceed.

“This award underscores that it is possible to expand community-based alternatives that keep people safe, hold youth accountable for the harm they have caused, and help them to heal as they grow, creating better outcomes for our young people and safer communities for everyone,” Constantine said in a news release.

The King County Executive’s Office anticipates releasing a request for proposal next month for community organizations to support the planning process.

The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a part of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs. The office is awarding over $17 million to 26 grantees, including King County for the Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative.

What My Clients Are Saying...

“Laura was the perfect person to help sell our house from the beginning to the end of the process. She was more than just a partner; she was our coach. She recommended improvements to get us on the market and show our home in the best light. As a result, we received an offer that was well over the asking price. She is a pro who knows her stuff. We highly recommend Laura, whether buying or selling a home.” - Mona Locke

IT'S RAINING MICROPLASTICS

Our world is swimming in plastic. Since the early days of large-scale plastic production in the 1940s, plastic manufacturing has skyrocketed to total over 18 trillion pounds – more than twice the combined weight of all animals (and humans) on earth. Of that, over three quarters has become waste. Only an estimated 9 percent of that waste has been recycled; 12 percent has been burned; and the rest has been ushered to landfills or tossed into the environment. Some of it has congregated in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic-berg located between California and Hawaii that is now more than twice the size of Texas. As these macroplastics (larger pieces of plastic) break down into smaller and smaller pieces they morph into microplastics (plastics smaller than 5mm – the width of a pencil eraser). With further disintegration they're termed nanoplastics (plastics smaller than 1 micrometer – smaller than most cells).

These nano- and microplastic polymers now permeate the air, oceans, and soils globally. Unsurprisingly, they are not harmless. And the smaller these plastic particles become, the more easily they can enter plants, animals, and humans: our bellies, lungs, bloodstreams and tissues.

AIR

Plastics are literally falling from the sky. Even the skies over relatively unpopulated areas are swarming with microplastics and nanoplastics. A research

station located at 10,000 feet in the Swiss Alps reported over 19 billion nanoplastics deposited per square foot of snow each week. This Swiss Alps research station is not an anomaly. Just as wildfire smoke is transported from the Northwest to the East Coast, and dust blows regularly from the Sahara into Europe, micro- and nano-plastics know no boundaries. They ubiquitously inhabit our air. Analysis via massspectrometry identifies their origins. The majority of airborne microplastics hail from vehicle tires. Another substantial subset derive from the microfibers of clothing, as two-thirds of all clothes are now made of plastic: nylon, polyester, fleece, acrylic, and spandex.

OCEAN

Not only is our air increasingly teeming with plastic, so too are our oceans. In some harbors, plastics from ships – typically boat paint particles – reign as the most plentiful plastic. At most studied ocean sites though, a third to nearly all ocean microplastics stem from clothing. How do clothing fibers enter our oceans? Every time you do your laundry, tiny particles of plastic clothing break off and enter the laundry water, flowing into wastewater treatment facilities. These facilities capture between 83 and 99 percent of microfibers. The

1 to 17 percent not captured are pumped into the ocean with the rest of the filtered wastewater.

As a result, plastic particles are now principle features of ocean planktonic communities. Baby fish, bivalves and crustaceans mistake the tiny plastic floaters for food and ingest them. Larger fish gobble up these critters, along with their bellies' plastic cargo. Scientists have dissected the stomachs of crabs, sea cucumbers, shrimp, oysters, sardines, salmon, sea turtles, and marine mammals and found microplastics in them all.

SOIL

In the air, in the sea, and yes, plastics now populate the soil as well. Soccer fields are increasingly constructed of rubber tire turf, and grasses are gradually ditched for plastic sod. These plastics along with vehicle tire remnants enter stormwater runoff during rains, seeping into soil.

More directly though, sludge from wastewater treatment plants (containing the 83 to 99 percent of microfibers that that wastewater plants capture) is sold to farmers as fertilizer. Of the 28 billion pounds of biosolids (poop) that the United States generates yearly from flushed toilets, half is applied to crops. By applying this repurposed human waste as fertilizer, farmers inadvertently plaster soils with hundreds

of millions of pounds of microplastics each year. Our food grows in this soil. Plastics enter our soils in other ways as well. Some farmers apply prills (plant fertilizer coated in plastic capsules in order to slowly release the nutrients) to their fields. Too timeconsuming to remove, the capsules break down into microplastics in the soil. Other farmers regularly stretch wide swaths of plastic over rows of soil in order to insulate it and protect it from pests and erosion. They puncture holes in the plastic to deposit the seeds. Much of the plastic breaks down in the soil becoming microplastics. The pieces that are removed are often burned, returning the microplastic polymers to the air.

CRITTERS AND HUMAN BEINGS

Just as microplastics populate the environment, studies find they increasingly inhabit humans and animals as well. We breathe them in and we swallow them, ushering microplastics through our respiratory and digestive systems. We eat them when we eat contaminated fish, animals, and even plants. We drink them when we drink microplastic-contaminated water, or when we drink out of plastic containers. Some of these nanoplastics are small enough to enter our blood streams where they travel to tissues and organs.

MORE TO COME

Clearly the microplastic predicament is the macroplastic predicament, as larger plastics naturally break down into smaller plastics. The more effectively we can keep larger plastics out of our environment, the more efficiently we can shield our environment and our bodies from micro- and nanoplastics. In the future, I will springboard from this elucidation of an escalating environmental and human health challenge and dive into why and how these plastics are potentially toxic. I will also explore positive actions already taken as well as actions you can take to minimize microplastics in your body and in our world, as our bodies and our environment are inextricably interconnected. Until then, for a deeper dive into all things microplastic, I would recommend reading Matt Simon's 2022 book, “A Poison Like No Other,” complete with scores of citations from recent peer-reviewed journal articles.

Annie Lindberg is a licensed acupuncturist, Chinese medicine practitioner, and Ayurvedic practitioner. She also holds a master’s of environmental studies. She owns and practices at The Point Acupuncture & Ayurveda, located in Madison Park and is a regular Madison Park Times health columnist.

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Annie Lindberg Health

Ancient Japan’s blood-red leaves of summer

For all the majesty of greens in our evergreen world, nothing crowns the spectacle like juxtaposing another foliage color to it. Conifers like blue spruce, golden cedar or cryptomeria work the magic. But for reds, it’s deciduous plants that carry the color. Among the limited offerings in leafy scarlets, none are better than the Bloodgood Japanese Maple. (Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’).

This statuesque, garden-scale tree embellishes its surroundings with red leaves, spring and summer, turning a flaming ruby in autumn. It keeps its color in full sun or light shade. When the leaves drop, having held on well through fall, the reddish-black bark stretches up and out, sculpturally, on limbs that reach a height of 15 feet (sometimes more), with nearly an equal spread. Standing alone, it is a specimen focal point, but it’s just as impressive backed by large dark conifers or the wall of a house where it can gently shade a window or ameliorate architectural monotony.

Easy to find in nurseries, you can get one this month and put it in the ground. Choose the spot carefully for the impact of the tree’s seasonal color and winter form. It will do very well in our native high acid soil, but must have good drainage. Just be certain any newly planted tree is generously watered in our August heat and on for at least the next two summers.

Japanese maples are as ubiquitous in Japanese history, culture, and art, as bamboo, cherry blossoms, and tea. The romance and beauty of

these trees is celebrated in the earliest known anthology of poems, the Man’yoshu, published in the Nara Period around 759 AD. In the peaceful Edo Period (1603 to 1867) when arts and culture flourished, Japanese maples were selected and cross pollinated prodigiously culminating in over 250 varieties. Today there are far more Japanese maples on the market than likely any garden or arboretum has room to grow.

When Commodore Perry sailed into Japan in the early 1850s, not only did his gunboat diplomacy open the country to foreign trade, it ignited a North American and European fascination with all things Japanese. Plant hunters and horticulturists were among the fad-stricken. Soon after, seeds, cuttings and even potted

specimen of Japanese maples made their way to the West. But while Perry opened Japan to the world, he was not the first foreigner to be there. The Portuguese had landed in 1543. By 1571, their trade ships were sailing in and out of Nagasaki, posing the questions, were maple seeds, bound for European botanists, on any of those ships? In the mid-18th century, Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg visited Japan, returning home with sketches of, and high enthusiasm for, Japanese maples. Thunberg gave the species name, “palmatum,” the leaves having the shape of the palm of a human hand.

Arguably, the earliest Japanese maple to sweep the nursery market was A.p. ‘Bloodgood’. By the late 19th century, a Dutch nursery in Boskoop was growing this maple. Due in large part to ease of propagation, it easily swept the horticulture trade in Europe, then on to Boston and by the early 20th century, houses in Seattle were proudly ornamented with A.p. ‘Bloodgood’. It is not uncommon to see a venerable Bloodgood standing beside a large granite boulder where the sidewalk leads to the entry walk at one of the grand old houses of Capitol or Queen Anne Hill. That is because many of these old houses employed Japanese gardeners who found and used Japanese maples in a quasi-Japanese stye. Indeed! The cultural melting pot lives on.

More than a splash of red to supplement the green of your garden, this tree is a connection to our Pacific Rim history. Easy to grow and maintain, handsome year around, a form and color like no other, it is a gift to us from our refined neighbors on the far side of our shared ocean.