Othello News, August 17, 2008
Light Rail Test Trains Begin
The first test tains pulled into Othello Station at 9:30 AM on Thursday, August 24, 2008. Be warned and be on the look out! From this day forward pedestrian safety is everyone's highest concern. Look both ways and be sure you have a clear walk signal light before stepping off the curb into Martin Luther King Way. Please also notice that, thanks to your generous donations, our multicultural neighborhood banners were installed in the station area just in time to greet the first trains.
//Tongue in Cheek Weather Report
A weird phenomenon has been occurring in Othello this past week. No one quite knew what to make of it. The air was . . . well, it was downright hot, sometimes even at night. For natives this is very strange. As for folks transplanted here from other countries, and even from other parts of the United States, a feeling of nostalgia took hold. Finally it dawned on them why they once went out and bought picnic tables and lawn chairs which they then excavated from beneath junk in their basements. Some even fired up barbecues and started engaging in aberrant behavior like eating out doors after dark. Never mind though, the forecast is for back to normal cold and rainy weather for the next few days at least.
A Sadder More Serious Note
On a more serious note, it was on August 5, one such pleasant summer night that a very sad thing happened. Neighbors had just gone home from their neighborhood night out street parties of fun and togetherness, when a young man was shot at the corner of 43rd and Othello Street
. At least the boy did ot die as did another in Hillman City the same night and as have so many throughout the city this past year, children killed by other children. What can be done?
The topic has come up for discussion at many meetings and gatherings since that night. Stunned and shocked peoples’ minds are working on it, but the causes lie in a wider culture of violence that sends its young people to learn to kill and due in wars, entertains them with violent movies, television, and video games, denies them educational and economic opportunities, and provides them little community and family support. .This is a culture that distributes its great wealth upward into the hands of a few elite which cares very little for the vast majority of our youth. Violence is a natural response if no one is guiding them toward a more productive one.
Othello Summer Activities
Thanks to the Parks Department there have been activities and free food each week day for all school aged children Working jointly with other agencies such as the Seattle Parks Department, Seattle Neighborhood Group, Holly Park Community Church and others, the Othello Park Alliance (OPA) has met weekly throughout the summer to put on events that would bring positive family activities into this highly visible part of the neighborhood.
On July 13 OPA helped Holly Park Community Church put on its Unity in the Community Festival featuring live music, free food and fun. On August 9 OPA put on its big event for the year, the Othello Park Festival. Salima Restaurant served a delicious lunch for $3.00 and there were free snacks and soft drinks for all. The day was filled with live music and dance in which there was wide participation by a reveling audience consisting of toddlers to grandparents. Featured were everything from Mariachi music to soul, to drumming to Vietnamese, Vietnamese native dancing and more. A youth concert is being planned for September.
Next general meeting of the Martin Luther King Business Association is planned for August 21, 8:00AM-9:00AM. MLKBA is working with Sound Transit and other local groups to put on a Street Fair in the Othello Town Center.
Martin Luther King Way will be blocked off between Othello and Myrtle Streets. Live popular performers will be featured to call attention to pedestrian safety now that live test trains are moving down the tracks. See this week’s article by Mona Lee in this week’s South District Journal. OSCAT did not meet in July or August. Besides their many jobs and summer vacations, most team members wear other hats in the neighborhood and have been involved in the preparation and presentation of the above described activities. The next meeting will be held 7:00 PM Monday, September 15 at the New Holly Community Center. That’s when they will start serious planning for the next Neighborhood Information Night to be held in November. Featured topics will be transportation and neighborhood plan updates.
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