February 2007

History in vibrant fiction

By Chris Gustafson

Demonstrations in Birmingham, capture by pirates, survival in the Bowery - the past in vibrant in this month's books.

"A Summer of Kings" by Han Nolan

Fourteen years old in the summer of 1963, oldest child Esther is trying to make sense of her place in her complicated family. Dad is a Broadway director, mom, though distracted by the fatal illness of a close friend mostly manages to keep things going at home and act as stage mother for aspiring dancer Stuart and annoying little diva Sophia.

"Immigrants," a new exhibit at the Nordic Heritage Museum features the art of 80 graphic workshop artists from the island of Funen in Denmark.

The artists use woodcut, Intaglio methods and lithography to illustrate the theme of immigration.

Representative, figurative and abstract styles are represented in the exhibit that is running through March 25.

The theme of the show is described by the museum as "the experience of constantly crossing and transcending borders physically and mentally.

Sen.

The aging viaduct is in need of replacement. There have been many options proposed and is narrowed down to two. My first preference would have been a retrofit. With today's technology, a retrofit would have been just as sound a structure as a tunnel or elevated structure at half the expense. Seeing the retrofit has been ruled out and upon lots of research I prefer the elevated project over a tunnel.

It was born during the Great Depression and survived fire, flood and recession.

Now, after a little more the 73 years of doing business in Ballard, the family-owned Olsen Furniture will "close forever."

"When people ask why we are retiring, they don't realize that we have been here since we were 10 years old," said Art Olsen, 62, co-owner of Olsen Furniture on Ballard Avenue. "The timing was just right - we've been doing this all of our lives."

Art Olsen owns the company with his brother Dick, 66, sister Sonja, 65 and brother-in-law Bruce Helm.

With the recent passage of the Seattle School District's Capitol Bond Proposition 1, Hamilton International Middle School will undergo a major renovation, bringing it up to modern standards.

Students, staff, alumni and members of the Wallingford community gathered on Jan. 30 to celebrate the school's 80th anniversary, while they waited for voters to approve the bond to pay for their new school. Construction is set to start in 2009.

Neighbors who oppose a Safeway discount gas station that could be built in the Crown Hill neighborhood plan to file an appeal with the city if land use permits for the project are approved.

Last August, Seattle's Department of Planning and Development requested that Safeway submit additional traffic analysis of its plan to build a high-volume, discount gas station on 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 83rd Street.

The Jan. 31 story on the Global Reading Challenge should have stated it was a program of the King County Library System. The program is managed and staffed by The Seattle Public Library.

Team fast improving, now 7 and 7

By Dean Wong

If post season awards were handed out this week, the Ballard Beavers girls basketball team would likely be named the most improved in KingCo.

The Beavers are 7 and 7 in league play and is in a solid position to make the playoffs for the second year in a row under Head Coach Karen Blair.

In recent weeks, the Beavers have defeated Redmond (55-47), Juanita (56-54) Bothell (47-37) and Lake Washington (72-65).

Team is turning around

By Dean Wong

There was a time when other KingCo boys basketball teams routinely trounced the Ballard Beavers and treated them like little brothers who should have stayed home.

The little brother has grown up under second year head coach Billy Rodgers and the KingCo teams have taken notice.

Last Friday, Ballard rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Woodinville 39-32.