Tarad Club

A test of expedience

Special educators push their students to fantastic heights

Editor, The Times:

Thanks very much to The Times’ Kate Riley for her honesty about her young son’s ability [”Congrats, education officials, you’ve weakened WASL standards,” Times editorial column, Oct. 29]. It is a bitter pill to swallow. We understand, as our granddaughter was a preemie and has many adversities to overcome, some of which she may never accomplish. We aren’t about to tell her she can’t, because she has surprised us all many times.

At the same time, having spent eight years on a local school board, I have seen the fantasy of giving kids grades they did not earn. It furthers their handicap rather than mitigating it, as they too often fail then to understand that they have a challenge to overcome.

Maintaining reasonable standards, that an ordinary person would have a hard time arguing with, is critical to kids’ success.

We wish Riley the best, and will pray that her strength will remain with her as she struggles through the years.

- Al and Linda King, OlympiaWhat goes up

I am a special-education teacher and have reached a point where I have to laugh to keep from crying over what I am required to do to make sure my students “meet standard.” I have a self-contained, multiage class of students with multiple disabilities of various types who all function at a level significantly lower than a typical 2- or 3-year-old, some less than one year.

The rules have changed over the last several years so that now my colleagues and I are required to assemble portfolios showing that our students are making progress in line with the GLEs (grade-level expectations) in math, reading, writing and, in some grades, science.

I have actually been told that when a student lifts his/her head, it can be evaluated as science because it is working against gravity.

I can honestly say I would not resent the extra time and effort this takes all of us if the results actually helped to improve our ability to develop and implement functional and appropriate programs for our students and their families. But they do not even come close.

The sad part of all this is that there are apparently a number of people out there who think this is all a wonderful idea.

- Robert Connors, SeattleFear is a hard teacher

Kate Riley demonstrated a lot of courage to write “Congrats, education officials … ”

The WASL “leadership” has shown so little leadership and nearly no common sense. Achievement cannot be awarded; it must be earned.

The extreme liberalism here in Washington has significantly devalued our currency among serious educators and academics who just shake their heads and are cowed by their colleagues into little or no comment.

- Richard Starr, SammamishNo counting on a hand

I, too, am a supporter of the WASL and of alternative ways to pass and am glad to hear that the state is working on accountability measures for the special-ed department. They are long overdue.

I always believed that the No Child Left Behind Act was created not for the majority of kids who will graduate high school if they want to, but for kids who have learning differences that require a different approach to achieve their full potential.

I have yet to see how No Child Left Behind has made any difference for these kids; in fact, it may be hurting them as their IEPs are written, especially during their high-school years, to fit into what the school wants their records to show.

It’s very hard to be a Blue Ribbon School and have many special-ed students capable of passing the WASL. If affluent Blue Ribbon Schools can’t do it, which school can?

Parents who can afford to pay for support readily do so but, unfortunately, many parents are not able to, nor are these the parents who will hold the school accountable.

- Donna Shuman, MedinaFirefighting tools

The blame retardant

Seeking private solutions for responding to disasters is a smart and efficient way to augment underfunded public services. If the owners of expensive homes utilize private firefighters to protect their property [”Pay a premium, get a private firefighter: Mansions of moneyed saved from flames,” Business & Technology, Oct. 30], that allows public firefighters to concentrate their efforts in less-advantaged neighborhoods.

Instead of criticizing the wealthy for protecting their property, we should be applauding what could be a valuable public-private partnership for responding to disasters. Contrary to [author of “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”] Naomi Klein’s statement that “survival shouldn’t be a luxury item,” these are material goods rather than human lives that are largely at stake.

If it is true that “more frugal” homeowners could purchase effective fire retardants for $1,000, less than the cost of a new wide-screen TV, perhaps more people in disaster-prone areas should consider doing so.

- Michele Leonard, KenmoreA damper lock

Reader Jonathan Ursin of Seattle writes, “However, the only reason the government is taking any action in Southern California is because the government feels an obligation to help people who have money … Compare this response to Hurricane Katrina … ” [”Things we found in the fire,” Northwest Voices, Oct. 30.]

Actually, Louisiana did not have its act together locally, but Californians do. Louisiana is right now learning its lesson and citizens have voted in a Republican governor because they are sick of the party-all-night, take-no-responsibility-for-our-citizens approach.

They have received billions in donations from people around the country and will rebuild with a more-responsible governor.

- Barbara Atwood, CovingtonThe old smoke screen

Michael Chertoff, head of Homeland Security, is outraged when he finds out that FEMA faked a press conference [about the fires in California]? [”Chertoff blisters FEMA over fake media event,” News, Oct. 28.]

Where has his outrage been for the past six years while this administration has obfuscated, cherry-picked, misrepresented, misled and just plain lied to the American public about almost everything it has done?

- Mark Nielson, RentonCarriage license

The blushing ride

Regarding “Streetcar on track” [Local News, Oct. 26], to my ears, the only proper name for the $51 million South Lake Union Trolley is “S.L.U.T.”

- Christal Wood, Seattle

Bottled water, one of the most popular beverages on the market, now comes purified, remineralized, electrolyte-enhanced and infused with vitamins, minerals, herbs and oxygen. Are these souped-up products worth it?

We asked several registered dietitians, who agreed that the health claims for enhanced waters are “iffy” and that food is a far better source of nutrients. Consumers, meanwhile, should watch out for added sweeteners and calories.

“None of the ingredients are harmful,” said Kris Clark, director of sports nutrition and assistant professor of nutrition at Penn State University. “The question consumers should ask themselves include: Are the ingredients useful to me? Do I need these ingredients? Or do I just need water?”

Chances are, you just need plain old water.

VitaminWater

Stats: (per 20-ounce bottle): 125 calories, 32 grams of sugar (crystalline fructose).

Boost: Fruit Punch flavor contains vitamins B-3 (niacin), B-6, B-12, B-5, potassium.

Claim/slogan: “It’s got potassium and B vitamins to help you recover and feel refreshed.”

Bottom line: Watch the sugar. An 8-ounce drink would have 52 calories from sugar. (The same amount of regular soda would have a little more than 100 calories from sugar.) The added potassium can help replace electrolytes lost through sweating or illness, but most healthy people don’t need to supplement B vitamins. Strict vegans and people older than 50 have a higher risk of a deficiency of vitamin B-12, which is found in food and animal products. Foods high in protein, including meat, poultry, fish, nuts and beans, are better sources of B vitamins, said registered dietitian Roberta Duyff, author of “The American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide” (Wiley, $24.95). Bananas, milk, kidney beans, haddock, potatoes and tomatoes are high in potassium.

Propel Fitness Water (vitamin-enhanced

water beverage)

Stats: (per 23.7-ounce bottle): 30 calories, 6 grams sugar (sucrose syrup).

Boost: Vitamins C, E and B.

Claim/slogan: “Nourishes your active body with a splash of fruit flavors and essential vitamins.” Has antioxidant vitamins that “aid in energy metabolism.”

Bottom line: Propel is Gatorade’s water for the less intense health-club crowd. Unlike Gatorade, it’s free of high-fructose corn syrup. It also has fewer calories than Gatorade, but again, whole-food sources of vitamins C, E and B are better. You can get vitamin C by eating citrus fruits - oranges, grapefruits - red and green bell peppers, guava, papaya and broccoli. Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils (but is destroyed in frying), nuts, seeds, salad dressings, margarine and other processed foods made with vegetable oil, Duyff said.

Dasani Plus (vitamin-enhanced flavored water beverage)

Stats: (per 20-ounce bottle) 0 calories, 0 grams sugar (sweetened with sucralose).

Boost: Vitamins B-3, B-6 and B-12 plus chromium, guarana and ginseng.

Claim/slogan: “Refresh and Revive.”

Bottom line: No added calories, but healthy non-vegans don’t need any of these added vitamins. Meat, eggs, whole-grain products and cheeses are all good sources of chromium, which works with insulin to help the body use glucose, or blood sugar. Women of childbearing age need 25 micrograms of chromium a day. One ounce of cheese (48 micrograms) provides almost twice the amount. Herbs such as guarana and ginseng should be taken in appropriate doses for effect.

SmartWater (electrolyte-enhanced water)

Stats: (per 32-ounce bottle) 0 calories, 0 grams sugar.

Boost: Vapor-distilled water plus electrolytes (calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, potassium bicarbonate).

Claim/slogan: “Purity you can taste, hydration you can feel.”

Bottom line: Electrolytes (chloride, potassium and sodium) can make water taste better and are important for those who have lost fluids through illness or longer workouts. But they will not raise your IQ, and the general public gets enough. Chloride can be found in salt and salty foods; potassium is in bananas, milk, kidney beans, baked potatoes, salted pretzels, tomatoes, oranges and almonds.

Metromint (peppermint water)

Stats: (per 16.9-oz. bottle) 0 calories, 0 grams sugar.

Boost: Peppermint.

Claim/slogan: “The real mint naturally stimulates the nerves, instantly opening your senses to send a fresh, cool feeling throughout your body. The all-natural combination of pure water and real peppermint relieves your thirst, soothes your body and revives your soul.”

Bottom line: Plain water does this too. Or, you could drink a hot or cold cup of mint tea. “Peppermint is a digestive help,” said Alexa Fleckenstein, author of “Health2O: Tap Into the Healing Powers of Water to Fight Disease, Look Younger and Feel Your Best” (McGraw-Hill, $16.95). “But essential oils should be taken with caution. There’s no reason to drink pepperminted water.” We did, however, like the taste.

Evamore (alkaline artesian water beverage)

Stats: (per 16.9-ounce bottle) 0 calories, 0 grams sugar.

Boost: Artesian water, potassium, chromium, molybdenum, selenium, vanadium.

Claim/slogan: “Naturally alkaline artesian water enhanced with antioxidants and key minerals because research shows that neutralizing acid to balance your body’s pH can help maintain overall health.”

Bottom line: The body does a respectable job of maintaining your pH level on its own; otherwise you’d feel pretty sick. And artesian water is a mechanical way to get water from a deep source; it does not render the water more healthy, Fleckenstein said. “We are too acidic because of too many meat and dairy products,” she said. “The remedy would be better nutrition - fruit and vegetables are alkalinizing.”

Aloe Breeze Organics

Stats: (per 16.9-ounce bottle) 0 calories, 0 grams sugar (sweetened with stevia leaf).

Boost: Purified water, organic aloe vera juice.

Claim /slogan: “Purity you can taste, hydration you can feel.” And: “Restore, help boost immune-system response, improve digestion, promote cell health and tone skin with every life-enhancing drop.”

Bottom line: Aloe vera, an extract from a cactus, is considered a healing herb for the digestive tract and taken internally for inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, candida, intestinal infection, constipation and other digestive-tract disorders. But it’s not clear how much aloe vera is actually in the product. “There’s no known benefit to adding it to water,” Duyff said.

The voice was groggy.

Lauren Jackson was barely awake in her Sydney, Australia, home when told the news she had hoped to hear: The Storm would return to play the 2008 season at KeyArena. New owner Clay Bennett announced the decision at a sunny Friday afternoon news conference in September, which translated to the wee hours of Saturday morning for Jackson.

“That’s great to hear,” she sort of grunted.

When she was asked whether Bennett’s announcement was enough to convince the two-time league MVP to return after a record-setting season that ended in a third consecutive first-round postseason exit, Jackson couldn’t answer the question clearly.

Although the Storm received a reprieve, theoretically nothing has changed. It helped Jackson, the only one of the team’s stars under contract, to open the door to “probably” returning, but she still has not said definitively she will play in Seattle next summer.

Holding her back is reality.

Bennett began the September news conference with the announcement the Storm would play at least one more season in Seattle. But after he quickly bobbled through the prepared statement, he segued into his real reason for gathering the media.

More court filings. More threats he’ll relocate the Sonics and Storm.

And more declarations that neither team is for sale. Even if the offer is more than the $350 million Bennett’s eight-member group paid Howard Schultz’s group for the Sonics and Storm.

“I had a very pleasant conversation with Lauren, she’s all about winning,” Bennett said of speaking with Jackson before she departed Seattle. “We’re very supportive of [coach] Anne Donovan and the team. KeyArena is not a viable option. It’s not working at all here; we have a significant cash loss.”

This time the Sonics will twist and turn as news regarding the arena situation competes with stories about rookie phenom Kevin Durant’s fadeaway. During the summer, it was Jackson’s MVP season that was clouded by the same topic.

Storm players, scattered across the world for overseas play, say they’re relieved to have a place to return for the summer. Still, they’re busy checking their e-mail for updates from Karen Bryant, the Storm’s chief operating officer. Jackson and teammate Sue Bird, who will also begin play in Russia in November, will pay closer attention because they purchased homes in Queen Anne, knowing their team is the smaller stake in the struggle. WNBA franchises typically sell for $10 million.

Bird, who turned 27 earlier this month, is an unrestricted free agent, hopeful of re-signing with Seattle. But Bryant said no promises have been made to anyone not under contract, though guard Tanisha Wright did say Donovan, also director of player personnel, said the team would pick up the fourth-year option of her rookie contract.

“We need to make changes,” said Bryant, whose other players under contract are starting forward Iziane Castro Marques and guard Katie Gearlds. “We weren’t happy with the way the season went and we’re going to spend all the time in the offseason, nearly every month, to really look at what our options are.”

Remaining optimistic, Bryant keeps her focus on team logistics and building the 2,400-season-ticket holder base. The WNBA expanded to 14 teams, with a new franchise in Atlanta, and the league will have to ratify a new collective-bargaining agreement before free agency can open in January.

The WNBA will have a monthlong hiatus for the Olympics, as it did during the 2004 season, when the Storm won its only championship. That would give Jackson, 26, some time to train with her national team, but the Australian federation could restrict all Aussies from playing in the WNBA, as other countries such as Russia have, in order to prepare for the Beijing Games.

“With the Olympics coming up, I have a few things to decide upon,” Jackson wrote in a recent e-mail.

And then there’s the future. Bennett said his Oklahoma-based group is preparing its application to apply for relocation after the Sonics season starts, so the Storm should know the setting for 2009 before the 2008 season, the ninth for the franchise. If the team is relocating, do established players play in 2008? Do they try to muster support for someone to make Bennett an offer so they can stay in Seattle?

Bennett and Bryant admitted private offers have been made for the WNBA franchise, but Bennett said he isn’t interested. Retaining the team in the city would be best for the league, which experienced another slight dip in attendance last season.

It’s difficult for the WNBA to attract fans, and though potential new sites such as Oklahoma City are near women’s college basketball hotbeds like Oklahoma’s campus in Norman, where the Sooners averaged about 10,000 fans last season, the support doesn’t always translate to the pro game.

“There are still many unknowns because of the CBA [collective-bargaining agreement] and the future of the Sonics and Storm on a more permanent level,” Bird wrote in a recent e-mail. “I’m obviously very excited. I love the city of Seattle. The fans are incredible and deserve to see the Storm play another season.”

And more.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court issued an 11th-hour stay for a Mississippi murderer scheduled to be put to death Tuesday night, the third execution the justices have blocked since agreeing to decide whether lethal injections violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The reprieve came less than an hour before Earl Wesley Berry was to be put to death for the kidnapping and murder of Mary Bounds in 1987.

Death-penalty activists and criminal-justice experts said the court’s action is further evidence of a de facto moratorium on executions until it decides the lethal-injection issue. The court itself has not declared such intentions.

The Mississippi Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit had both said Berry had raised too late his claim that Mississippi’s execution procedures violate the Eighth Amendment.

The justices gave no reason for granting the stay, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito said they would have allowed the execution to go forward. At least five of the nine justices must agree to a stay for it to take effect.

A growing number of states have halted lethal injections because of charges that the three chemicals used may not properly protect inmates from pain. That is the issue justices will consider next year in the case they took in September from Kentucky, Baze v. Rees.

PHILADELPHIA - Democrats Barack Obama and John Edwards challenged Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s candor, consistency and judgment Tuesday in a televised debate that illustrated her front-runner status.

Obama, the Illinois senator, began immediately, saying Clinton has changed her positions on the North American Free Trade Agreement, torture policies and the Iraq war. Leadership, he said, does not mean “changing positions whenever it’s politically convenient.”

Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, was sharper at times, saying Clinton “defends a broken system that’s corrupt in Washington, D.C.” He stood by his earlier claim that she has engaged in “double-talk.”

Clinton largely shrugged off the remarks. She said she has specific plans on Social Security, diplomacy and health care. “I have been standing against the Republicans, George Bush and Dick Cheney, and I will continue to do so, and I think Democrats know that,” she said.

But she avoided direct answers to several questions. The New York senator wouldn’t say how she would address the fiscal crisis threatening Social Security, she declined to pledge whether she would stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon or say whether she supports giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

It was the Democrats’ first debate in a month, and during that time Clinton has solidified her front-runner position, gaining in polls, taking the lead in fundraising and dominating the agenda. The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 3, and the New Hampshire primary could be earlier.

Clinton defended her Senate vote in favor of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Obama, Edwards and others have said President Bush could interpret the measure as congressional approval for a military attack.

Edwards challenged Clinton’s claim that she stands up to the Bush administration. “So the way to do that is to vote yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons?” he said.

Clinton answered, “In my view, rushing to war - we should not be doing that - but we shouldn’t be doing nothing.”

Clinton also was the main focus during a discussion of the Iraq war. Again, Edwards leveled the toughest charges against her.

“If you believe that combat missions should be continued in Iraq” without a timetable for withdrawal, Edwards said, “then Senator Clinton is your candidate.” Edwards vowed to have all combat troops out of Iraq “in my first year in office.”

Clinton replied forcefully, saying, “I stand for ending the war in Iraq, bringing our troops home.” She added, however, that “it is going to take time,” and some troops must remain to fight al-Qaida in Iraq.

“I don’t know how you pursue al-Qaida without engaging them in combat,” she said.

Edwards, drawing a link between Iraq and Iran, pressed on. “What I worry about is, if Bush invades Iran six months from now, I mean, are we going to hear: ‘If only I had known then what I know now?’ ”

He was alluding to comments Clinton has made about her 2002 vote to authorize military action against Saddam Hussein.

Some candidates expressed frustration that most questions were directed to Clinton, Obama and Edwards. Seventeen minutes into the debate, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich had yet to get a question and blurted, “Is this a debate here?” Minutes later, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson threw up his hands in protest that he hadn’t been called on either.

Richardson criticized his rivals for challenging Clinton so sharply, rebuking their “holier-than-thou attitude.”

But Edwards and Sen. Chris Dodd, of Connecticut, cited Clinton’s relatively high unfavorability ratings. “Fifty percent won’t vote for her,” Dodd said.

Sen. Joseph Biden, of Delaware, also participated in the debate.

The debate, held at Drexel University, was aired by MSNBC. Organizers excluded Mike Gravel on grounds that he did not meet fundraising and polling thresholds.

The young disciples of the Garfield High School jazz band amply backed up old master Houston Person Saturday night for two sets at the Triple Door. While experience carried the night, it was youth that stole the show.

Person, known for his breathy, bluesy style and his longtime partnership with the late vocalist Etta Jones, fronted the big band for renditions of the Louis Prima ballad “A Sunday Kind of Love,” the swing classic “Sentimental Journey” and Illinois Jacquet’s “Black Velvet.”

Performing with world-class musicians is nothing new for Garfield, which has shared stages with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, David “Fathead” Newman and Garfield alum Quincy Jones.

The nearly-all-underclassman Garfield band opened both sets alone, wearing black suits and black shirts, in front of a curtain that mimicked a starry night sky. The two sets featured the same songs for the most part with a few exceptions. The band debuted a slow blues swing titled “Yearning,” which displayed all of the group’s strengths, precocious solos, crisp phrasing and dynamic range.

Band director Clarence Acox showed his willingness to throw complex arrangements at his young charges with “The Doc Is Out,” an up-tempo song written for legendary “Tonight Show” trumpeter and bandleader Doc Severinsen. Alto sax player Robert Struthers was featured in a wailing, minor blues called “Lonely Street,” an arrangement that suited Struthers’ particular style, Acox said.

The depth of the Garfield jazz program was also evident as players rotated between songs. The jazz program is so healthy, it auditions about 90 students each year, creating the need for three bands and platoons of musicians.

Solos by pianist Ben Hamaji and Struthers drew some of the most enthusiastic applause and particular approval from Person, who at times seemed surprised himself at the musicianship of people so young.

“They inspire me,” said Person.

Cuong Vu Trio

As Cuong Vu pointed out Sunday to his audience of about 150 at the Seattle Art Museum, “it doesn’t quite sound like jazz,” repeating the often-made commentary on his unique brand of ethereal fusion.

“Now I have a gig as a jazz professor,” Vu said, referring to his position as an assistant professor of jazz studies at the University of Washington, “so I guess it’s jazz.”

The Grammy Award-winning Vu performed a set of new compositions in his trio (drummer Ted Poor, bassist Stomu Takeishi), most for the first time. The audience at SAM’s Plestcheeff Auditorium included many of his UW students and his “boss,” Marc Seales, professor of jazz piano at the UW. The group did play one song familiar to its fans, the title track from its most recent album, “It’s Mostly Residual.”

The small group imparted a very large sound, aided in part by electronically induced effects of echo and delay. Takeishi, playing in his bare feet, filled the room with his powerful, percussive style, playing his electric bass the way someone might play lead guitar.

The trio did not play traditional jazz as in melody over chord changes. Its songs were a kind of soundscape, inventive and sharp percussion beneath circular melodies and repeating flourishes. The group kept strict time; the rhythms were meticulous and complex, yet it all seemed to float. The notes Vu struck were like paint strokes, best regarded by taking a step back. Call it what you will. Jazz or not, Vu’s music is unique and challenging.

NEW YORK - Wall Street pulled back today as investors, uneasy after a drop in consumer confidence numbers, traded cautiously ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 77.79 to 13,792.47.

Microsoft, one of the 30 Dow stocks, gained $1 to close at $35.57 a share. Boeing, also a Dow stock, added 34 cents to $97.33.

Broader stock indicators slipped. The S&P 500 index fell 9.96 to 1,531.02, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.73 to 2,816.71.

After the Fed’s half-point rate reduction in September, most investors expect the central bank to deliver a quarter-point cut at the conclusion of its two-day meeting Wednesday.

But inflation remains a threat. Crude oil prices fell today, but only after hitting a record a day earlier, and meanwhile, the dollar has been tumbling. So a rate cut - much less additional decreases in the coming months - is not a given.

Some on Wall Street fear economic growth could be halted if rates aren’t lowered, given the troubles in housing and credit. The statement the Fed issues alongside its rate decision will be closely read for clues about future moves.

“We don’t think the economy’s about to slip into recession. The corporate portion of the economy is still in pretty good shape,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors. “However, should the Fed choose not to cut anymore, and the economy continue to slip, that potentially could raise some concerns for us.”

Most earnings have been coming in better than expected over the past few weeks, particularly in the technology sector. But consumers, the key drivers of the economy, appear to be flagging.

After last week’s news of a significant decline in existing-home sales and Standard & Poor’s report today of home prices sinking further, the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in two years in October. The index came in at 95.6, below the consensus estimate of 99.5 and down from a revised reading of 99.5 in September.

Treasury bond prices were little changed ahead of the Fed decision. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, was at 4.38 percent, flat with late Monday.

The market remains nervous that even if the Fed decreases the target fed funds rate by a quarter-point or half-point, the move may not end up helping the credit and housing markets. It’s not the price of borrowing that’s deterring investors, many say; demand has waned because of worries about the quality of the underlying assets.

Furthermore, the central bank must walk a narrow line between keeping investors calm and acknowledging the problems out there - particularly for the banks and brokerages that could see more big losses if portions of the credit market, like asset-backed commercial paper, don’t improve.

“Providing the superficial image of stability when everybody realizes things aren’t normal just doesn’t work,” said Axel Merk, manager of the Merk Hard Currency Fund.

Some disappointing financial reports from Procter & Gamble and Qwest, as well as a management shake-up at Merrill Lynch, gave the market little reason to buy ahead of the Fed meeting. Merrill Lynch fell $1.86, or 2.8 percent, to $65.56.

Procter & Gamble was the biggest loser among the 30 Dow components after cautioning that higher commodity costs will squeeze second-quarter margins. P&G fell $2.88, or 4 percent, to $68.95.

Although Qwest reported a third-quarter profit jump, its shares tumbled $1.12, or 13.7 percent, to $7.06. Overall revenue dipped, and the telecommunications company provided few details about its outlook.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq performed better than the other indexes, helped by ongoing strength in such bellwethers as Microsoft, Apple and Google. Apple rose $1.91 to $187; and Google rose $15.54, or 2.3 percent, to $694.77.

Crude oil prices retreated $3.15 to settle at $90.13 a barrel, after hitting a record on Monday above $93 a barrel. Gold also fell.

FORT LEWIS - Eight Army soldiers and one spouse have become U.S. citizens in a ceremony at Fort Lewis.

Six of the eight soldiers who took the oath of citizenship Monday have been assigned overseas or are being sent next month. The ninth person is the wife of a soldier stationed at the post south of Tacoma.

They were told by Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “You’ve earned your citizenship already, almost to the point that this ceremony seems trite.”

Gonzalez is a naturalized citizen from Cuba who spent 26 years in the Army.

Non-citizens can enlist in the U.S. military if they hold a green card, and more than 35,000 members of the armed forces have become U.S. citizens in the past six years.

On a quiet residential bluff in Fremont, a secluded half-acre with a million-dollar view will soon become a city park - its vista sweeping from Mount Rainier to the Olympics, from the Ship Canal to Puget Sound.

The creation of Fremont Peak Park is a story about timing and tenacious individuals who worked for nearly seven years to make it happen - including a starring role by Suzie Burke, the area’s largest private landholder and, to many, the “Queen of Fremont.” The contemplative park opens Nov. 10, featuring starry lunar-art elements that pay tribute to a solstice-happy neighborhood that calls itself “The Center of the Universe.”

“People don’t expect to see that view off the side of Fremont,” Burke said. “They expect to see that in Magnolia.”

A private mansion, and not a park, might have claimed this obscure peak of land had there not been a fortuitous alignment of people stepping in to help at crucial moments. It’s a feat not likely to be repeated anytime soon, but don’t tell that to the indefatigable Jack Tomkinson.

Tomkinson, a 50-year-old Fremont resident, is credited with being the vision behind the park. In the process of fulfilling his vision, strangers became friends and a new how-to community group, Urban Sparks, was born to give residents in other neighborhoods the help they need to bring their ideas to fruition.

“Jack Tomkinson convinced us,” said Donald Harris, who has managed land buys for Seattle Parks and Recreation since 1990. Unlike a Discovery Park or a Seward Park, this new park is unique because, Harris said, its hidden vantage point offers an intimate setting.

To visitors seeing it for the first time, “it’s going to be an ‘ah-haaa’ experience,” Harris said.

View was obstructed

For decades, three old houses, overgrown shrubbery and a cluster of trees obstructed the western view from passers-by on Palatine Avenue North.

The property’s former owner, the late Tony Murphy, was a childless, reclusive recording musician and businessman who planted Douglas firs and Western red cedar over the four decades he owned the land.

Five blocks south of Woodland Park Zoo, the property is actually three adjacent lots: The largest, which Murphy lived on, starts at the curb of First Avenue Northwest, rises some 50 feet and faces west. The two adjoining parcels on Palatine Avenue North face east and featured rental houses.

By the time he turned 60, Murphy was globe-trotting and decided to downsize.

Tomkinson, a semiretired engineer with bright eyes and a quick grin, lives a few blocks down the bluff. He remembers when Murphy’s property hit the market because the for-sale signs went up on his birthday - Jan. 26, 2001. The asking price for all three parcels: about $1.5 million.

The view was “like the Eiffel Tower, the cliffs of Monaco,” Tomkinson said. He didn’t want to see it fall into private hands.

He called the parks department. Harris, whose office had been trying to buy property for a park in that part of Fremont since the 1970s, came out for a look and gasped. If Tomkinson could get the property off the open market, Harris told him, they had a shot at raising public and private funds to buy it for a park.

Within days, Tomkinson made a plea to the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, on which sat Suzie Burke, a flamboyant businesswoman known for her generosity to the community.

The group hustled over to check out the view, and Burke made a snap decision.

She asked Fremont First National Bank (now Frontier Bank), which she had been instrumental in starting, to loan her the money to buy the property with the intent of selling it to the city in a year. The bank quickly approved the loan.

“I must admit my signature is worth some money,” Burke said.

There was a higher competing offer, but Murphy decided to go with the lower bid - not out of altruism but because he wanted a bulletproof deal. According to Tomkinson, Murphy had said: “I checked with my business contacts and they said Suzie is good and that’s how I made the decision.”

So Murphy sold two parcels - including the one with the view - to Burke for just over $1 million and moved into the rental on the third parcel, intending to sell that land to the city in two years for about $400,000.

With the view property off the market, Tomkinson, Harris and the newly created Friends of Fremont Peak Park set out to raise $1.5 million through grants, donations at the Fremont Fair and fundraisers at the Red Door Ale House, Hale’s Brewery - and at Murphy’s view house. The checks came in one by one, most for $50 or $100.

Volunteers met regularly in Tomkinson’s living room.

Among them was Seattle newcomer Brian Ivaldi of Boston, who found new friends in the park-building effort, and Karen Moe, a University of Washington scientist who guided the grant-writing.

With the city’s approval by the fall of 2002, Harris could buy the two parcels from Burke. The property appraised for about $150,000 less than what she’d paid for it, and Burke acknowledges that she “took it in the shorts” but decided the loss was her donation to the park.

The jubilant volunteers held a party, sure it wouldn’t be long before they bought Murphy’s last parcel. Murphy, too, was tickled by the vision.

Fundraising continued

Then in 2003, Murphy suddenly died.

Friends sat in a circle on his front lawn, with Tomkinson, Burke and others sharing stories about him. They held a moment of silence.

Then they got back to fundraising. By the fall of 2004, Murphy’s estate had settled his debts and sold the third parcel to the city. An overgrown elm tree that obstructed much of the view was cut down. The houses were bulldozed, though parts of the foundations were preserved and integrated into an art feature evoking a mythical labyrinth on the island of Crete.

A statue resembling a silver-threaded spool marks the entrance to the labyrinth and tells the story of the Minotaur. Visitors will follow the thread down a grassy path and through a stand of conifers before discovering a terrace - and the view. The terrace features marked lines that point to where the sun sets during the summer and winter solstices.

More than 100 volunteers replaced invasive English ivy and blackberry bushes with 3,000 drought-tolerant plants and planted a stand of Garry oak. There’s no irrigation system, so neighbors have pledged to water the plants until they can survive on their own.

Meanwhile, Tomkinson’s Urban Sparks is helping people in other neighborhoods bring their visions - be they parks, P-patches or traffic circles - to fruition.

He looks forward to recharging himself at Fremont Peak Park.

“It’s just a place you can step off and let the world spin for a while,” he said. “You can listen to the wind, the birds, and you don’t have to be one of those busy people down below.”

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com

NEW YORK - Joe Girardi has agreed to a three-year contract to manage the New York Yankees.
The agreement to take over as Joe Torre’s replacement is worth an average salary of at least $2 million annually, a baseball official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the deal.
Girardi was the 2006 NL Manager of the Year with Florida, plus he has a pinstriped pedigree. The hard-nosed catcher played on three Yankees teams that won the World Series, served as their bench coach and was a TV announcer this year.
“Joe Girardi is a good man,” Torre said Monday on “Late Show with David Letterman.” “He’s got a feel for this organization.”
Girardi’s agreement was first reported by ESPN.com.
Once he was informed Monday that the Yankees had chosen Girardi, Don Mattingly told the team he had no interest in returning next year as bench coach or in any other coaching position.
Beloved as team captain, Donnie Baseball was the early favorite to replace Torre and openly coveted the spot. Instead, the Yankees picked experience over popularity, choosing Girardi even at the risk Mattingly would walk away from the franchise.
“Don was extremely disappointed to learn today that he wasn’t the organization’s choice to fill the managerial vacancy,” Mattingly’s agent, Ray Schulte, said in an e-mail. “Instead, he was informed the organization offered the position to Joe Girardi.”
Still, spurning Mattingly — who always receives one of the loudest ovations on Old-Timers’ Day — was sure to be compared to another famous Yankee snub: Babe Ruth was never offered the manager’s job he so desperately wanted.
Mattingly was the Yankees hitting coach for three years before moving next to Torre this season. Schulte said Mattingly congratulated Girardi and wished him well.
Girardi also beat out Yankees first-base coach Tony Pena, who had the most managerial experience of the candidates.
Girardi caught for the Yankees from 1996-99, served as a bench coach in 2005, then managed the Marlins the following year. He kept a young team in contention until September and then was fired, apparently for clashing with owner Jeffrey Loria and others above him.
The 43-year-old Girardi often told many in the Marlins about how the Yankees did things, reinforcing the winning ways he learned in New York. Now, he’ll get a chance to try them out himself.
Girardi was the first person to interview to replace Torre, who managed the team to the playoffs in each of his 12 seasons. He spent about five hours with the Yankees’ baseball operations staff last week, and an hour with George Steinbrenner, sons Hank and Hal, son-in-law Felix Lopez and team president Randy Levine.
Girardi turned down the Baltimore Orioles’ managing job last summer, choosing to spend time with his ailing father.
Mattingly also interviewed for the Yankees spot last week, telling team management how much he wanted it. Earlier this month, he said replacing Torre would be quite a challenge.
“It’s like following John Wooden or something,” Mattingly said then. “This guy wins championship after championship and we’re in the playoffs in every year.
“It’s pretty much a no-win situation for someone coming in here to be able to live up to the expectations or live up to what he did. It’s not going to happen. So as far as someone coming in and taking over this job, it’s not necessarily a great situation.”
Girardi gets the unenviable task of following Torre, who led the Yankees to four World Series titles in his first five years — but none since — and was one of the most celebrated sports figures in the city.
If Girardi takes the job, he inherits a team in transition and one without Alex Rodriguez. He also is not assured of getting back pitchers Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera or catcher Jorge Posada.
Rivera and his agent, Fernando Cuza, were at Legends Field in Tampa on Tuesday, to talk with Yankees officials. The ace reliever, who has filed for free agency, said only, “We’ve got to see something.”
Afterward, Cuza said they had a good meeting but wouldn’t speculate as to whether Rivera will be a Yankee next season.
“I don’t know,” Cuza said. “It’s up to them.”
Rodriguez informed the Yankees on Sunday that he was terminating his contract and becoming a free agent. The Yankees have repeatedly said they wouldn’t negotiate with A-Rod if he hit the open market.
The Yankees offered Torre a $5 million, one-year contract featuring a $2.5 million paycut and $3 million in performance-based bonuses, and he turned it down Oct. 18. The result was a messy departure that split Yankees fans into camps of Torre supporters and proponents for change.

Freelance writer Mark Didtler in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report.