June 2007

The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department installed a temporary restroom at the Ballard Commons Park last week to ease pressure on the facilities of nearby businesses.

A green, portable toilet was placed on the northwest corner of the park on a gravel bed, with the door facing the street. But it will only stay until Labor Day, said parks department spokesperson Dewey Potter.

There are no long-term plans for a permanent restroom at Commons, said Potter.

"Parks has no plans, and no budget, for an outdoor restroom at this park," said Potter.

Shane Rock has been hired as the interim executive director of the Ballard Food Bank and will spend several months assessing the needs of the program.

"I will look at the organization's history, what is good, what can be improved and see if all the critical services are meeting the needs," said Rock.

He will report his findings to the Ballard Food Bank's Board of Directors.

Over 300 alumni, teachers, staff, and guests packed onto Viewlands Elementary School auditorium Saturday for a bittersweet reunion. The school is closing, and three generations of former students came to say hello to former teachers, and goodbye to the school that brought them all together.

Children performed songs on stage. Teachers and special guests gave speeches.

Eight seniors from Ballard High School have received $1,000 scholarships from the Ballard Rotary Club to further their education after they graduate. Students were also given gift certificates to the University Book Store. The students are: Sheida Aalami; Joseph Bodzewski; Hallie Hemmingsen; Kiana Kobayashi; Riley Bennett; Ye Long; Kimberly Kuo; and Raheal Aragawi.

Port of Seattle officials celebrated their new Shilshole Bay Marina on June 14 with an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Today represents an important milestone," said Port Commissioner President John Creighton.

"We are almost complete, we have completed 15 of the 23 docks that we are doing. So we are almost there.

With candidate filing for the August primary over, candidates prepare for the new August primary.

School Director Sally Soriano has drawn one opponent, Peter Maier.

In Seattle City Council races, for Position 1, three persons, Joe Szwaja, Lauren V. Briel and Robert Sondheim, are seeking Councilmember Jean Godden's seat.

For Council Position 3, five people are vying for the position being vacated by Peter Steinbrueck. They are Scott Feldman, John E.

There will be second year of Summer College, a program that aims to help struggling students meet high school graduation and proficiency requirements while exposing them to the opportunities of a college education.

Summer College will help more than 350 high school students who did not pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) this spring.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will team up with a Mukilteo contractor on repairs that could mean long delays for drivers heading north into downtown Seattle this August.

The state and Concrete Barrier Inc. will help protect drivers and extend the life of the freeway by paving more than one mile of northbound Interstate 5 and replacing failing bridge expansion joints between Spokane Street and I-90. The transportation department awarded the construction contract to Concrete Barrier Inc.

Charlotte Shannon now rows for Santa Clara University

By Dean Wong

Former Ballard Beaver Charlotte Shannon has traded in her basketball for an oar at Santa Clara University where she is a top performer in the sport of rowing.

The Santa Clara women's crew finished the season with a fourth place performance at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month while competing against 42 other schools.

During the West Coast Conference Championships in April, the team took second place, in what turned out to be the school's best showing since

At Large In Ballard by Peggy Sturdivant

Three years ago plans emerged for a developer to build a six-story condominium project on the southeast corner of Northwest 24 and 65th. The city zoning allows for commercial buildings up to 65 feet in height at that corner, and if a developer could manage to fit in six stories they were within their legal rights - even though the zoning on the north side of 65th only allows for buildings to be 40 feet high.

The proposed project didn't sit well with the community.