People Archives - Page 20 of 20 - The NW Facts Newspaper

Local Jazz Legend Honored with Street Name Signs in the Central District

October 7, 2016 by Dennis Beaver Leave a Comment

Ernestine Anderson was a legendary American jazz and blues singer who grew up in Seattle’s Central District and graduated from Garfield High School. Ms. Anderson’s prolific singing career spanned more than five decades and included more than 30 albums. She was a four-time Grammy nominee and performed at Carnegie Hall and around the world. In short, her creative talents and musical accomplishments helped shape the Seattle music scene.

That’s why, at the request of the Historic Central Area Arts & Cultural District and the Mayor’s office, SDOT has installed honorary street name signs for Ernestine Anderson along S Jackson St between 20th Ave South and 23rd Ave South.

The honorary signs were installed adjacent to Ernestine Anderson Place, which provides housing and serves homeless and low-income seniors, and was built in 2012.
Ms. Anderson’s family, including her daughter, attended the sign ceremony.

IMG_4811-1024x768 — Ms. Anderson’s family (from left to right): Falana, granddaughter, Sophia, granddaughter, and Shelley, daughter. With these new honorary signs, Ernestine Anderson’s legacy can continue to inspire new generations of musicians in Seattle and around the world.

Honorary signs do not change the legal street name or addresses. They differ from regular street signs in color – they are brown. In Seattle, brown street name signs are used for honorary street name signs, Parks Department roads, and Olmsted boulevards.

For more information about street name signs please visit www.seattle.gov/transportation/new_streetsigns.htm.

From the Streets to the Skies: Shyan Selah’s Café Noir Project Travels Across American Airlines

July 19, 2016 by Dennis Beaver Leave a Comment

For the last few months Shyan Selah’s voice has been featured as part of the MasterCard Selections Channel on
American Airlines. He was chosen as part of an elite group of wide ranging music artists from Jordin Sparks to Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top to talk about his current project and tour, Café Noir, as well as give a little musical taste from the Café Noir Live album out now.

Before singing the “Pink Butterfly (Urban Remix)” – the funk/soul/R&B track that’s been permeating throughout select Starbucks stores around the country, Selah talked about the project and how his unique approach to music and comm unnamed-3 unity outreach has allowed him to venture where few entertainers can go.

“[Café Noir] is a community experience project,” said Selah. “It’s all centered around sitting down, having conversations – community and conversation….because it’s a community project we wanted to make sure we could fuse music with the people right in the neighborhood and Starbucks became a really cool partner of ours.”

That community experience project which has been developed and featured throughout high schools, colleges, and live music venues in addition to select Starbucks stores throughout the country, has already resulted in a live album, Café Noir Live, recorded at the 23rd & Jackson Street Starbucks in Seattle; and a second LP album is forthcoming this fall. Selah’s recent interview and live performance for the MasterCard Selections Channel is just one example of how the project is expanding beyond the communities on the ground he set out to reach.

“I was raised in an airline family,” he says. “I grew up in airports and doing a lot of flying as a kid and, of course, as an Artist and Entrepreneur it’s a must. The whole experience of being on a plane is very sentimental to me because my very first memories in life are centered around flying. I can say without a doubt this experience with American Airlines and Master Card is truly a blessing. To do what I love the most and have it played on one of the world’s biggest airlines is a cool highlight indeed. It was a lot of fun doing the production for this and I am truly thankful to everyone that made it possible.”

Those who missed the interview and performance on American Airlines can listen now via the YouTube link below.

For more information, visit www.shyanselah.com.

Why I chose Summit Olympus for my child …

July 14, 2016 by Dennis Beaver Leave a Comment

By RoQuesia Williams, a parent of a founding student at Summit Olympus in Tacoma

I’d considered a few options from homeschool to the local public school to find the right educational choice in Tacoma for my son. Nothing was the right fit, until I found Summit Olympus. His transition from middle to high school has been smooth and successful. He wants to be at Olympus and receives the supports he needs to put him on the pathway to graduate high school ready to succeed in college.

At Summit Olympus my son has a personalized learning plan, where he works at his own pace and learns the material with greater depth. His teachers help him if he has fallen behind and encourage him to reach his potential. He also has a mentor that follows him throughout his four years at Olympus. The Summit faculty truly make me feel like a partner in my son’s education. They contact me on a weekly basis and let me know his progress and what I can do to help.

If you’re looking for a school that’s the right fit for your child, I hope you will learn more about Olympus. The faculty and community will welcome you with open arms. They will do all they can to help your child be prepared for and succeed in college and be a contributing member of society.

Enrollment is open now at Summit Olympus for the 2016-2017 school year, but spaces are limited. To enroll, visit www.summitps.org/enroll