Our Seafair parade enters its 66th year with the theme “Route 66”. The drill teams are a lot of fun to watch. My daughter did drill team, so I went to ALL the parades (every weekend, all summer). Try to position yourself near the Wallingford Center, that’s where they perform for the judges. If you like it, check out the International District parade, as the Chinese drill team is amazing there (dragons and tight choreography with hundreds of kids).

For such a long tradition, the parade has been on shaky ground lately. At one time the parade was the main …

Rodents killed our hot tub not once, but twice. Plywood isn’t enough to protect it; they like the warmth. In retrospect, we should have wrapped the base in galvanized wire mesh, but the tub came with the house and we were too lazy to hoist it out of the ground for retrofitting. Anyhow, thanks to craigslist, at least it’s gone (the power of “free!”) Now we have 240 volts sitting there plus a hole in our deck. What next?

Density of course! Seattle City Council preaches DADUs, or Detached Accessory Dwelling Units. You can install them if you have the …

Today we cover a couple hot button education issues…

Wallyhood’s School Reform Question: There’s been obvious tension between the top-down, test-centered school reform movement and school teachers. School reformers argue that it is necessary to measure the effectiveness of teaching in order to achieve better outcomes. Teachers argue that tests are a poor measure of a teacher and that administration should be focused on supporting school communities instead of passing judgment on them.

How do you plan to navigate this rift, and what path do you see for improving schools without alienating teachers?

Rick: As the husband of a teacher, …