WCB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is a desirable, custom waterfront home near Burien’s 3 Tree Point with ever-changing 180-degree Puget Sound and Olympic Mountain views.

Located on the Half Moon Bay, just north of 3 Tree Point, this multilevel Northwest contemporary home sits on the waters’ edge with easy beach and sound access, and is in the perfect location for enjoying all aspects of waterfront living.

This 4-bedroom, 5-bath home with over 4,600 square feet of living space and 2,000 square feet of deck is designed specifically for entertaining, relaxation and everyday vacation living.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, Aug. 1st, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 15929 Maplewild Ave SW, Burien, WA 98166

INFO:

• List Price: $974,950
• Listing #: 97204
• Beds: 4
• Baths: 5
• Year Built: 1993
• 2-car Garage
• Approximate House SqFt: 4,640
• Lot Square Footage: 15,490

Interior Features:

• 2nd Kitchen
• 2nd Master BR
• Bath Off Master
• Built-In Vacuum
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw
• Dining Room
• Jetted/Soaking Tub
• Security System
• Skylights
• Vaulted Ceilings
• Walk-in Closet

Waterfront:

• Bay
• Bulkhead
• No Bank
• Sound
• Tideland Rights

Site Features:

• Cable TV
• Deck
• Gas Available
• High Speed Internet
• Hot Tub/Spa
• Moorage
• RV Parking
• Shop

Marketing Remarks:

Desirable 3-Tree Point Area Custom Waterfront Home w/ Ever Changing 180 degree Puget Sound & Olympic Mtn. Views.

Located on the Half Moon Bay North of 3-Tree Point, this Multilevel NW Contemporary Home sits on the Waters Edge w/ Easy Beach & Sound Access and is in the Perfect Location for Enjoying All Aspects of Waterfront Living.

4 Bdrm/ 5 Bath Home w/ Over 4600 sq ft of Living Space and 2000 sq ft of Deck.

Designed Specfically for Entertaining, Relaxation and Everyday Vacation Living.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story, Ad and/or Event Listing like this on a popular, fast-growing website seen by thousands of interested Local Readers every month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

Coming up on August 2nd, “Polynesian Power” will be screened at South Seattle Community College, part of a summer film series on Pacific Islander culture hosted by the college.

Narrated by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the 2005 film documents the rise of Polynesian athletes in American professional football, and the cultural history underlying their success.

The film festival, which kicked off in mid-July, is free to all who wish to attend.  Visiting professor Rochelle Fonoti facilitates discussions after each film, offering White Center residents a great opportunity to learn more about their Pacific Islander neighbors, and for Pacific Islander White Centerites to celebrate their heritage.  Families of Asian Pacific Islander descent make up nearly twenty percent of White Center’s population.  according to a 2006 demographic survey.

“Polynesian Power” is the second-to-last film in the series. “Young, Gifted and Samoan” will be screened on August 30.

WHAT: “Polynesian Power” screening at South Seattle Community College, part of the college’s Pacific Islander Film series.

WHEN: Monday, August 2, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

WHERE: South Seattle Community College, RAH Little Theater Room 125, 6000 16 Avenue SW, Seattle, 98106.

INFO: Check out the Film Series flier below for more information.

For years, the city of Seattle has been synonymous with good coffee.  Maybe its the gray days, or the longstanding tradition of local coffee roasting.  Either way, there’s no question that the majority of Sea-town residents love a good cuppa joe.  This coming Saturday, White Center residents will have the chance to partake in a coffee-lovers tradition: a cupping, (aka a gourmet coffee tasting) hosted at White Center’s own Dubsea Coffee.

Coffee professionals have employed the technique of cupping for years, as a method of evaluating the flavor profiles of various coffees and the subtle differences between coffees grown in various regions around the world.  Multiple varieties of coffee are prepared and set out in cups next to corresponding coffee beans.  Samplers then deliberately taste each brew, much like wine-tasters, endeavoring to describe the aroma, mouthfeel, and taste of each variety.  Sampling a selection of coffees from around the world alongside one another is said to enhance one’s ability to appreciate each coffee’s flavor, and some professional cuppers are even able to identify the region in which a coffee was grown from tasting alone.

Generally, cuppings are the province of professionals, but in recent years, northwest coffeehouses have begun to offer cuppings to the public.  Portland’s Stumptown Coffee pioneered this practice, and this coming Saturday, Stumptown’s experts will be on hand at White Center’s very own Dubsea Coffee, hosting a cupping with single-origin coffees from around the world for White Center’s coffee-curious and coffee-connoisseurs alike.  Space is limited, so email Dubsea to reserve your spot.

WHAT: Coffee cupping with the experts from Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

WHEN: Saturday, July 31, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

WHERE: Dubsea Coffee, 9910 8th Ave SW, Seattle, 98106.

INFO: This free event has limited space available, so email Dubsea at info@dubseacoffee.com, or call Dubsea at (206) 708-6806 for more info.

Here’s this week’s upcoming concerts:

• Friday/Saturday/Sunday – Olde Burien Sidewalk Sale
• Friday/Saturday/Sunday – “Withering Heights” at the E.B. Foote Winery
• Friday/Saturday – Local Kids Perform in “Robinson Crusoe” at Des Moines Field House
• Saturday – Business Showcase and Cooking Demonstrations at the Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market
• Saturday – Mount Rainier High School’s Class of 1980 Reunion Cruise
• Saturday – White Center Fall and Winter Gardening Class
• Sunday – “El Tianguis Mercado Latino” street market in Burien Town Square
• Sunday – Breakfast/fund-raiser and diaper collection for WestSide Baby at White Center Eagles
• Sunday – Dinner/fund-raiser for Orphan Relief and Rescue at 909 Coffee and Wine Bistro
• Sunday – Fundraiser Carwash for the Highline Blue Sox
• Sunday – Wine Dinner featuring Waterbrook Winery at Advertiser Archery Bistro (Call for reservations)
• Sunday – Normandy Park’s Free Concert at Marvista Park Featuring Contemporary Celtic Music by “Craicmore”

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

Burien Sand and Gravel was started by Burien-based Robbins and Company. Robbins offers foundation repair and leveling, and is an industry leader in providing slab jacking for driveways and sidewalks. There’s over 50 years of construction experience behind BSG.

Burien Sand & Gravel is located on the Southwest corner of 188th Street and 8th Avenue South

BSG was founded on one premise: “We won’t sell you anything that we wouldn’t use in our own yards.” They sell quality products at very competitive prices.

Burien Sand and Gravel is located near the end of the third runway on the Southwest corner of 188th Street and 8th Avenue South in Burien. Their location is easily accessible not only to Burien-ites, but also to residents of Normandy Park, Seatac, Des Moines, and with a short trip down Highway 509, to White Center and Shorewood folks.

If you’re planning a garden or outdoor project, they’ve got all the products you’ll need to get the job done:

• Various types of crushed and washed rock
• Fine and medium bark — large loads or bagged
• Top Soil
• Cedar Grove Compost, Booster Blend and NW Garden Mulch
• Corona Tools with a lifetime warranty
• Short-Load Concrete

Tyler, John and Matt with one of the small trucks

You’ve probably seen BSG’s small concrete trucks out and about in your neighborhood. When the Robbins brothers developed their business, they felt that there was a great need for short-load concrete in the Highline area. The benefits of short loads are numerous:

• You don’t have to mix it yourself
• You get high quality mixes in small quantities
• The trucks are small so they will fit in places a larger truck wont.
• The cost is competitive with large loads.
• Weekend delivery
• Fast service

They have the products you need to get the job done!

BSG prides themselves on their customer service and product knowledge. There’s always someone there to help you, whether it’s selecting the right gravel for your landscaping project, the bark for your beds or soil most appropriate to grow your dahlias. The helpful staff includes Tyler, Matt, Shannon and Todd. They’re always happy to see you and happy to help you.

From bark, sand, gravel, topsoil, compost, tools and even short-load concrete, BSG has everything you’ll need to get large or small outdoor projects handled. They’ll get it delivered. All you’ve got to do is install it!

Summer hours are Monday-Saturday 8-6 and Sunday 10-5. You’ll find them at 18203 Des Moines Memorial Drive in Burien. Call them for quotes or directions at 206-246-7000.

WCB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is a totally-remodeled 4-bedroom, 2-bath home with views of Mt. Rainier and the Cascade Mountains.

This home features hardwood floors, six-panel doors, tile bathrooms, rounded corners, new furnace, windows and much more.

There’s a large family room off the living room that leads to huge covered deck overlooking a fenced back yard, along with raised gardens and breathtaking views!

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, July 25th, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 4846 S 170th Street, SeaTac, WA 98188

INFO:

• List Price: $274,950
• Listing #: 107062
• Beds: 4
• Baths: 2
• Year Built: 1948
• 2-car Garage
• Approximate House SqFt: 1,840
• Lot Square Footage: 11,325

Interior Features:

• Ceiling Fan(s)
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw
• French Doors

Site Features:

• Cable TV
• Deck
• Fenced-Partially
• High Speed Internet
• Outbuildings

Marketing Remarks:

Total remodel 3 years ago, 4 bedroom, 2 bath home with Mt Rainier, Valley and Cascade Mt views!

Home features hardwood floors, 6 panel doors, tile bathrooms, rounded corners, new furnace, windows, electric & plumbing.

Large family room off the living room leads to huge covered deck overlooking fenced back yard, raised gardens and breath taking views!

Deep 2 car garage with opener and shelves.

Lot of extra storage, private setting in back yard.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story, Ad and/or Event Listing like this on a popular, fast-growing website read by thousands of interested Local Readers every month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

Highline/SeaTac Botanical Gardens will be hosting their annual “Ice Cream Social and Plant Sale” on Sunday, Aug. 15th, with special guest Ciscoe Morris and FREE ice cream to the first 300 guests.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Ice Cream Social & Plant Sale with Ciscoe Morris.

WHEN: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

WHERE: Highline/SeaTac Botanical Gardens, located at 13735 24th Ave S, SeaTac, WA 98168.

INFO: From a flier (download PDF here):

Join us in the garden on Sunday, August 15th for our 4th annual Ice Cream Social.

This year’s Celebrity Guest will again be Ciscoe Morris, who hosts “Gardening with Ciscoe” on KIRO 97.3 FM radio and KING 5/NWCN television, and is the author of the best-selling garden tome, “Ask Ciscoe”, as well as a weekly column in the Seattle Times.

Ciscoe’s topic will be “Create a Hummingbird Haven in a Pot or Garden ”

The fun starts at 1:00 p.m., with Ciscoe taking center stage in the Celebration Rose Garden at around 2:30 p.m.

Local nurseries & designers will plant 10 gorgeous pots. Register to vote for your favorite container & get a chance to take it home for free. Door prizes & free ice cream to the first 300 guests!

More information: www.highlinegarden.org or 206-391-4003.

Other featured events include:

• Silent Auction
  Bid on a variety of great items including two Aw Pots personally planted by Ciscoe, a room at SeaTac’s Radisson Hotel, a sightseeing flight around Seattle with pilot Warren Hendrickson, an original oil painting by Kathy Wyckoff, garden art, garden tools, a complete bird-gardening kit, and more!
• “Humm-dingers!!!”
  Local nurseries and designers will again plant up 10 gorgeous pots donated by Aw Pottery. This year’s theme is plants that attract hummingbirds. Just show up and register to vote for your favorite container and get a chance to take it home for FREE!!! HGBF members get two extra chances to win! Memberships will be on sale the day of the event.

Participating designers and nurseries include Clinton Bamboo Growers, Design of the Times, Dogwood Design, Minter’s Earlington Greenhouse and Nursery, Furney’s, West Seattle Nursery, Herr Backyard Garden Center, and Branches Garden Center.

• Free Aw Pottery Pot to first 40 new members!
  Be one of the first forty people to join the Highline Botanical Garden Foundation during the event and receive a gorgeous, frost-proof Aw Pottery pot! (NOTE: IF YOU PLAN ON ENTERING THE CONTEST, BRING A VEHICLE LARGE ENOUGH TO TAKE HOME YOUR WINNINGS! THE PLANTED POTS ARE BETWEEN 24″ AND 36″ TALL AND MAY WEIGH AS MUCH AS 75 POUNDS!)
• Door Prizes Galore!!!
  Register to win two free passes to the 2010 NW Flower and Garden Show, a “Cascadia” compost bin from the City of SeaTac, and gift packages from Benson’s Best Bites, Hey Paison, The Tin Room Bar and Grill, 909 Coffee and Wine, Vino Bello, Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub, and Elliot Bay Brewpub.
• Free Ice Cream to the first 300 guests!
  Please join us in the garden for an afternoon of the very best in gardening “edu-tainment”, ice cream, and of course, brussels sprouts!

For directions to the garden, click here.

Got Green and the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) did a demo of their plans to “recycle” an abandoned house Wednesday morning (July 21) in White Center, with 14 participants ranging in age from 19 to 55.

This project utilizes federal stimulus dollars provided through a Dept. of Labor “Pathways Out of Poverty” training grant to prepare low income communities for livable wage jobs in Green Construction industries.

Got Green is also preparing graduates to become ambassadors for home weatherization and other solutions to climate change in their own communities.

The house used for training is scheduled for demolition on the future site of the Strength of Place Initiative (SOPI) Village affordable housing development.  Program graduates (all low-income workers of color) hope to provide weatherization services to Seattle area homeowners and small businesses under the “Weatherize Every Building” project being launched by the City of Seattle this fall.

Got Green (a local grassroots organization that promotes Green Jobs, Energy Efficiency, and Racial Justice) is organizing this Home Weatherization training to promote the movement for Green Collar Jobs as the best way to fight poverty and global warming at the same time. Got Green is Seattle’s home-grown branch of the national movement for equity and opportunity in the new Green Economy.

More info on Got Green is available here.

Photographer Francis Zera was there to capture the following Photo Slideshow:

Click to Play Francis Zera’s Photo Slideshow

by Rachel M. Lusby

Fraught with sadness and anger, Keasha Beard plummeted into a deep depression for over two years.

Now in her early 20s, Beard is back on her feet with a smile on her face. She has created her own destiny by way of “The K. Beard Experience,” a spoken word poetry show of enormous subject variety which incorporates story-telling, poetry and hip hop rhythm.

Starting at the beginning, Beard grew up, as she describes, “basically poor.” She lived with her father, who was rarely home, and most often had to take care of herself; sometimes even having to solicit the neighbors for cash to go get something to eat from the 7-11.

One thing Beard did have that was all her own, was basketball, and she was extraordinary at it.

“I grew up alone,” says Beard, “and I knew that basketball was the only way out of Seattle, so I put my all into the game.”

Beard used basketball as a means of escape from the trials of her young life.

By the time she reached high school, she was considered one of the best point guards in the state of Washington. She secured an athletic scholarship to New Mexico State University, was written about in High School Sports Magazine, and had a role in the acclaimed documentary “The Heart of the Game.”

Beard injured herself in high school, severely damaging her leg. She had surgery to fix the problem, however it did not work and her leg ended up healing at a 45 degree angle. She attempted to play basketball for New Mexico State, but as she says she “ended up being on the injured reserve list” for the entire season.

The pain from all the pressure on her leg was unbearable, and she had to give it up. Doctors were telling her if she did not stop playing basketball, by the time she was 40 she would be unable to walk.

This is where she slipped into the dark hole of depression. She says she felt sad and angry and had no way to deal with it. Growing up, when she was dealing with difficult issues she would just go play basketball and not have to think about it. Now, she had to face things head on; her outlet no longer available to her.

After leaving college she returned home to live with her grandparents. She humorously describes in her show the rules laid out before her by her grandmother. “My grandmother told me I either had to go to school or get a job,” says Beard.
In the meantime, life was getting harder. “I wanted to die,” states Beard plain and simply.

And she tried to do just that.

“I was so far gone that I tried to commit suicide and the only reason why I’m alive today is because of my grandmother, who found me and rushed me to the hospital.”

Beard had gone into the bathroom and swallowed half a bottle of Aleve.

In her piece entitled “Priceless” Beard describes this event. She begins by talking about family.

“I don’t think people appreciate their families enough,” she says.

In great detail, Beard discusses how although dysfunction ran rapid through her family, they are still the most important aspect of her life. She has a brother she claims has “been to juvy more than anyone she knows,” and an uncle who has been in and out of prison. Her mother always lived far away, and her father was rarely around.

Despite all this, however, Beard says she loves her family simply because no matter what she may do, they will always be right there for her.

“You’ll eventually have to go home,” she says.

One of her uncle, says Beard, has the “greatest quote.” He says “you can love your family, but you don’t gotta like ‘em.” Beard laughs as she says this, and attests to its truth.

Beard was put into therapy after her suicide attempt. She saw several different therapists who put her on several different types of antidepressants; none, she says, worked at all.

“One of those drugs had me seeing things!” Beard exclaimed.

It was not until she saw the “old man” therapist that she began to come up. He had her keep a journal of her daily activities or simply what she was thinking; whether she wrote in prose or poetry did not matter.

“I just snapped awake,” says Beard.

This is where the change began. Like many others, Beard had lost her job and was having a nightmare of a time finding a new one.

“The idea for the show kind of came out of no where,” she says.

Two things she knew, though, were she liked to write and she liked to entertain people.

“So I combined my spoken word, my knack for making people laugh, and my unique way of storytelling,” says Beard. “It took me eight months to put everything together, but ever since my first show, it has been taking off fast. Faster than I ever thought it would.”

The K. Beard Experience implements a very simple stage, with no props or backdrops, just her presence.

The show touches on several subjects. Beard gets personal in describing her rise in basketball, her fall into depression, and her climb back out of the hole. She also talks about world issues, such as the current economic recession and even has a bit regarding the child prostitution problem seen in so many parts of the world.

The K. Beard Experience sends audience members free falling through an atmosphere of emotions; they laugh, they cry, they ponder. Beard says she likes to start the show off on a light note, get more serious but leave the audience feeling good again at the end.

Beard’s family is also involved with her show. Her uncle, Chad Miller, and his wife Correna Miller worked the door at her show on July 18th.

“I am so proud of her,” says Chad. “She’s come a long way. She grew up in the not-best parts of town and has made the best out of a difficult situation.”

Correna has great affection for the show.

“I think it is phenomenal,” she says. “It is entertaining but inspirational and touching.”

Beard believes her best bit in the show is “War of the Worlds.” This piece is about many of the skewed ideals we see world wide, such as the “love of money.”

“Why does money have to be our main religion?” raps Beard.

She describes how selfish people can be; how the value of a necklace seems to be in the forefront of a person’s mind, rather than how the value of that necklace could be used to feed children who are starving to death.

Beard talks about all the warring between nations and the obsession with looking young; all the creams and make ups, and Botox injections. “This ain’t Neverland,” she says. “That ain’t fairy dust and MAC ain’t Tinkerbell.”

Beard says there is a war in the world, and it is reality. “…And Tom Cruise can’t save us.”

Beard is now taking her show nationwide, with her next gig to be in Portland, OR.

For a full calendar, go to www.kbexp.com. You can also follow her on Twitter, Facebook and other networking sites; all can be found on her website.

Here’s a video interview of her:

Click here to view the embedded video.