Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 7, July 2003
Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.
Healthy Living Briefs
Globetrotters basketball camp
The original Harlem Globetrotters will present a weeklong youth basketball camp for children, ages 6 to 16, July 21-25, at the North Seattle Community College Wellness Center, 9600 College Way N.
The week-long camp teaches basketball fundamentals, with an emphasis on teamwork and physical fitness, but also includes classroom sessions and role playing exercises to stress the value of academics, leadership, and citizenship. All campers will receive a camp T-shirt, mini-Globetrotter basketball, and a team photo.
Both morning and afternoon sessions are available. The cost of the camp is $165. To register, call 528-4592.
Governor honors NW Hospital
Northwest Hospital last month received the 2003 Governor's Commute Smart Award, making it just one of 11 Washington businesses to earn this honor. More than half of the hospital's 1,750 employees commute to work by some way other than driving alone. This has contributed to a 11.4 percent drop in the hospital's single occupancy vehicle rate. Northwest Hospital, which is located in the Haller Lake neighborhood, offers free bus passes, incentives for vanpool and carpool use, subsidization of of the No. 302 bus, bicycle storage areas and showers, and monthly parking fees for single-occupancy vehicle users (carpool and vanpool users park for free).
City to require bike helmets
Bicycle helmets will become mandatory for Seattle cyclists, due to a unanimous City Council vote on June 9 to extend the existing King County law within city limits.
The county's board of health is expected to give final approval to the new regulation on July 18.
Under the proposal, any bicyclist using a public roadway, bike path, or other public right of way (including sidewalks) will be required to wear a helmet. The fine for non-compliance is $42; if children are caught riding without helmets, the fine will be assessed to their parent or guardian.
"This law makes sense from a public safety perspective. ... It (also) gives extra leverage to parents to tell their children to wear a helmet," says City Council member Richard Conlin, the resolution's sponsor.
From 1989 to 1998, 35 county residents died and more than 2,000 were hospitalized due to bicycle accidents. Group Health Cooperative and Harborview Medical Center studies found that more than two-thirds of bicycle-related head injuries can be avoided if helmets are worn. Harborview's own helmet promotion campaign is credited with raising the percentage of children who use bicycle helmets from 1 percent in 1986 to 60 percent in 1995.
New hiking, biking Web sites
Two new Web sites providing easy access to route and trail map information for hikers and bikers have been set up by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The sites have resources to help plan cycling and hiking trips, including bike shop locations, local organizations, health information and technical assistance. Visit these sites at www.wsdot.wa.gov/hike and www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike.