Recent Stories in Features

(Photo: Lucas Anderson)

When you step onto a Metro bus operated by Nathan Vass, I guarantee you will step off smiling.

For Vass, a smile is all he asks. Vass is a 23-year-old Metro operator, one of the youngest to win the Operator of the Month award in both age and seniority. He's also probably the most interesting young bus driver you will ever meet.

Not a lot of 21st birthday dreams consist of a Metro application, it's safe to say. But Vass had buses on his mind. (Twenty-one is the youngest a Metro operator can be, and his age was the last thing stopping him from fulfilling his dream.) "As a kid, the bus was a symbol of going wherever the hell you wanted to go," he explained.

Vass had a vast knowledge of bus history and information well before he became an operator, and knew Seattle was where he wanted to put that knowledge to use. As the birthplace of on-bus bike racks and wheelchair lifts, Vass said, Seattle is "an amazing system." Compared to what he described as the "grid-like routes of L.A.," Seattle's routes, he said, actually line up with people's travel patterns....

Wallyhood's Jordan Schwartz has a King Day post up that is worth your time.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

My full, legal name is Jordan Luther King Schwartz. Kind of an unusual name for a white guy (and a Jew, no less).

How did I end up with a name usually reserved for civil rights memorials and streets running through the hood?

Back in early 1960’s, Jim Crow laws, mandating separate facilities for blacks and whites throughout the South, were still very much on the books and enforced. When Dallas County, Alabama blacks showed up on one of the two days per month they were allowed to apply to vote, for example, they were arrested and beaten. Of those few that managed to fill out an application, most were denied. Of 57,000 black citizens, only 130 were allowed to vote. [read the rest at Wallyhood]

Moments later, Santa was pulled into the cage and nearly killed.

Ed. note: This story was originally posted last year on Seattlest and I'm bringing it back this year in the hopes it will become a treasured holiday tradition. Rest in peace, smelly cat.

When I looked down and saw the small pool of copper brown gel on the soft white cuff of my Santa uniform, the scent that had been offending me for nearly half an hour was suddenly made very clear. Just to be sure, I brought the sleeve to within an inch of my nose for a little sniff. Yes, there it was--a decidedly potent Preparation H-like substance that must have come from the small, terrified dog I'd met earlier who would have nothing to do with me. As the dog had struggled and pushed away, kicking violently at my ribs with its pointed little feet, it had slimed Santa with its anal gel.

After washing the cuff with soap and warm water, I could still smell the offensive odor. A further examination presented yet another smear of the brown slick mingling among the coarse white hairs of my beard, mere inches from my mouth. Luckily for me, a back-up beard waited in the employee lounge. Does this happen often? I wondered. Clean and newly bearded, I walked back to my post at the front of the store, thinking to myself that however sorry I felt for the little dog and its apparent discomfort, I thoroughly hated the human who'd set its exposed, hemorrhoid gel-covered anus in my arms.

During lulls in the photo-taking, I would occasionally walk outside for fresh air and wave at people at random. I would also wander the aisles of the store, often catching people off guard. I found it amusing to imagine someone suddenly seeing Santa in the corner of their eye, flipping through a book regarding the proper care of ferrets. It was during these expeditions that I made an interesting observation. Often, adult men would give me an accusing look as if to say, "Just who the hell do you think you are?" Women, however, would almost always smile and say, "Hi Santa," thereby proving my theory that all women want to sleep with Santa, which, comforted by this knowledge, is how I made it through two long days dressed as him....

Special to The SunBreak by Matt Mason.

MTM Photography: Jensen, 2, does her part at the Wallingford Senior Center Fundraiser on November 19.

Thursday night at the Wallingford Senior Center was of special importance to the community life of the Wallingford neighborhood. The "Brother Can you Spare a Dime" a soup line fundraiser for the Wallingford Senior Center was a great success. But it was only the beginning.

The Senior Center has already cut back to one daily staff member, who happens to also be the executive director of the Center, Kathleen Cromp. Faced with the big picture and the daily details she describes the last few months as a roller-coaster. This event is a hopeful step in developing the grass roots support that the center needs to recover from this closure and restart full programming in the new year. Faced with old debts and a lack of operating funds the Center's Board of Directors is developing a sustainable model it hopes to implement if the community and financial support can be secured.

The fundraiser was sponsored by the Wallingford Community Council and the Chamber of Commerce, along with over a dozen local businesses. Selena's Guadalajara donated tortilla soup, Chutney's Bistro provided the mango lassi, and Trophy Cupcakes satisfied the sweet tooth with a tower of mini-cupcakes. Local bluegrass band Lost in the Fog also donated their time to perform.

All of the businesses involved and the dozens of volunteers at the event believe in this cause and based on the turnout, the people of the community are beginning to see the value as well. Part of the evenings program allowed a few minutes for people to share with the gathered audience.

Wallingford resident and ex-mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan came out in support along with City Council Member Tom Rasmussen.

Rasmussen spoke for a few minutes to the packed hall calling this a "wake-up call to our community" he noted that what makes the difference in the success or failure of a center is the community spirit behind it. He emphasized the need for the Senior Center as a way to "help older people stay independent and in their homes," saying it provides a framework of support and a second family to help fulfill the needs of community members. Rasmussen concluded by adding this is "insurance for our future."

Ralph Moser stood and shared his experiences at the Center. He and his wife, Nancy, felt instantly at home four years ago when they received their personal tour of the facility. This introductory tour is something provided for all new members. He and his wife have a short five-minute drive to the Center, which has lots of easy parking. They take part in yoga, general exercise, and current events. They also are sure to attend the lunches, spaghetti dinners and monthly Sunday pancake breakfast. He commented on the programs saying, "It's no big deal but it means a lot [to us]." He has developed many very dear friends and feels a stronger tie to the community through the Center....

Our SunBreak Flickr Pool delivers perfectly, thanks to mangpages.

Mainstream news is having a hard time reporting on Robert and Brenda Vale's study (actually a book) called Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living. CBS News begins its story like this: "So apparently Rover whizzing on the carpet isn't the worst thing he does. Not by a long shot. He's also killing the planet." Locally, the Seattle Times is more laconic: "Thanks for killing the planet, dog owners."

The upshot of the Vales' figurings is that the ecological footprint of a medium-sized or large dog, based on its food intake, is greater than that of an SUV (a 4.6-litre Toyota Land Cruiser) driven 10,000 km per year. (That's including both the SUV's fuel and the energy used to build it.)

While the book's title is clearly a provocation, the message gets lost in the weeds. In both stories, there's a lot of scoffing from the outset, even though the study's limited parameters have been backed up by New Scientist, in their article, "How green is your pet?"

The Times pitted our local eco-wonk, Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry, against New Scientist.

"When I saw the study I ran some quick numbers," Williams-Derry said. "The average dog has to eat at least twice as much as the average person for this to be right. People are just heavier than dogs so, I just had to scratch my head at that."

One: Regardless of what the authors intended, the conclusion that should be drawn from the study is that eating meat, in general, is energy intensive. It doesn't matter who is eating the meat, you or your dog; it's costing an arm and a leg ecologically. That is not always the case, depending on who is raising the meat, but it's fair to say that our industrial meat producers don't tend to have sustainability top of mind.

That is why someone like Michael Pollan might suggest that "A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius." He's had to retract that statement because of the "carbon" qualifier, which leads to a fairly strong criticism of the Vale's study. Inputs are not the whole picture--there are also outputs....