February 2009

On Feb. 4 at approximately 8:56 a.m. a 39-year-old male bicyclist was travelling southbound on 24th Avenue Northwest approaching Northwest 65th Street. 

At the same time a white Ford van driven by a 44-year-old female was facing southbound in the inside lane on 24th Avenue Northwest and was the first vehicle stopped for the red light at Northwest 65th Street with other vehicles behind it.   As the traffic signal turned green for southbound and northbound traffic, the van and the bicyclist proceeded forward into the 6400 block of 24th Avenue Northwest.  

At some point in this block, the bicyclist and the van collided.  The exact circumstances that led to the collision are still under investigation.   The bicyclist was transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.  Officers evaluated the driver of the van who showed no signs of being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. 

The van driver was interviewed and released pending further investigation.  Traffic Collision Investigation Squad Detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate.

On Feb. 9 at 3:19 p.m. the victim was walking in the 13000 block of Greenwood Avenue North., when a female suspect threatened to stab her if she did not hand over her Ipod.

The victim gave the Ipod to the suspect. The suspect then got into a stolen vehicle, Maroon in color with three males on board. The suspect vehicle fled eastbound on North 130th Street from Greenwood Avenue North. Moments later, police radio broadcast that King County Police were in pursuit of that vehicle.

King County Police stopped the vehicle at N.E. 130th and 5th Avenue N.E. and took 4 subjects into custody. The victim from the robbery positively identified the female suspect. The suspect was taken into custody and booked for Investigation of Robbery. King County Police handled the 3 males and the stolen vehicle.

A typical night slinging drinks until about 12:30 a.m. Enter train wreck: A young blonde shoots through the door like a bullet followed by the discharged shell: a man I can only describe as a good John Waters, An ugly Burt Reynolds and a bad Mr. Furley.

Beady eyes framed by a grey and receding hairline, pencil-thin mustache, a gold chain hugging his Adam’s apple and a shirt unbuttoned to the point that makes me want to get some turtlenecks for the summer.

“Hey, Lisa, what can I get for the two of you?” I ask.

She spits out their order and I oblige. So begins the P.D.A. For those of you unfamiliar that stands for Public Display of Affection.

They begin to use their faces like a trash compactor, crushing and mashing lips, teeth and tongues. He is sucking her face like a Skeksis on a Gelfling’s essence.

At this point a hefty Boston Bruiser of a gentleman and a naturally beautiful blonde sit down at the other end of the bar. I will get to know them as Andy and Sanna. They came in to watch the train wreck that had started at another bar.

Robinson Newspapers has released a new version of our website for the public to test. Currently this site is still in beta, thus we are still working diligently to fix bugs and add new features.

If during the time that you spend exploring our new site you see something missing, then please let us know by using the feedback form that is hovering at the bottom-right of the page.

We thank you for your continued support of your community newspaper and your patience with us as we complete this transition.

Recently there have been reports that the Ballard Chamber of Commerce is against the Burke-Gilman Trail because we have signed on as an appellant to the SEPA Notice of Appeal. This is NOT the case.

The Chamber has appealed the determination of non-significance (DNS) because it has concerns about the impacts of the trail on the broader business community. These have been conveyed to both Mayor (Greg Nickels) during a visit last on May 10, 2008 and to Kirk Jones, Burke Gilman Trail project manager, in writing and in a meeting hosted by the Chamber’s Issues Committee last Oct. 7, 2008.

Our concerns have not been adequately addressed and the appeal process is the only tool at the Chamber’s disposal to demand further consideration.

The Chamber is not opposed to change and has been supportive of efforts to develop and encourage alternative modes of transportation, including cycling. In partnership with King County Metro, Sustainable Ballard and Groundswell NW, the Chamber devoted countless hours to promoting and managing the Ballard in Motion program in 2006.

The Whitman Middle School girls basketball team, undefeated through the regular season and the playoffs, was trounced by Meany Middle School in the city championship game Feb. 7.

The Meany Jaguars outran and out-shot the Wildcats on the way to an impressive 61-39 victory.

Whitman coach Mary Williams said she is proud of the hard work and effort her players put into the season.

"The girls are happy with their season and I'm proud of them," she said. "They are disappointed of course because they came out here to win."
Whitman fell into an early 8-0 hole after the Meany defense forced a number of steals and prevented the Wildcats from getting anywhere near the basket.

Imani Bender got Whitman on the board with a lay-up and would go on to have a monster first half, scoring 10 of Whitman's 20 first-half points and contributing more than a couple huge rebounds.

Bender was named player of the game for Whitman.

The Wildcats found themselves behind by 11 at the half and would never pull closer than 10 for the rest of the game.

Williams said her team had a hard time keeping up with Meany on their fast breaks, covering their outside shooters and rebounding.

The girls and boys basketball teams at Whitman Middle School each completed a perfect season with wins Feb. 2.

The playoffs started Tuesday and both teams entered as number-one seeds.

"I'm expecting to go the championship," girls coach Mary Williams said. "I can say that with confidence."

Michael Johnson, coach of the boys team, said he expects good things for the team in the playoffs as long as the players can stay poised and focused, something that can occasionally be difficult for eighth-graders.

"The only team that can beat us at this point is us," Johnson said.

Success is not new for the Wildcat girls, usually placing first or second according to Williams.

She said the girls team is doing well this season because it has a lot of experience due to the excellent development of basic skills in community leagues, but also because the players bonded and work well together.

"We make sure that even though they come from different groups in the school, they play well together," Williams said.

Williams said she prides herself on her defenses, and it is the team's defense that has helped it win games.

The Whitman girls basketball team defeated Washington Middle School 38-22 Feb. 5 and will move on to play Meany Middle School for the city championship.

In the second game of the playoffs, the Whitman Wildcats started slowly and were stymied by Washington's zone defense, but were able to pull away in the second half, coach Mary Williams said.

"Once we turned on our defense and started rebounding, it made a big difference," she said.

The undefeated Whitman girls play the championship game at noon Feb. 7 at Franklin High School.

The boys team did not fare as well in their second-round playoff game and fell to Hamilton Middle School 60-55 in a close, intense match-up.
It was the first loss of the season for the boys.

The Ballard High School boys basketball team is headed for the KingCo 4A playoffs for the first time in team history.

The sixth-seeded Beavers closed out the season with victories over Bothell and Roosevelt to earn an 8-8 conference record (11-9 overall).

Ballard will square off against third-seeded Issaquah High School at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Issaquah. Ballard will also play a to-be-decided opponent Feb. 20 at Juanita High School in the double-elimination playoffs.

Ballard lost to Issaquah (12-8) by 16 points Jan. 13, but coach Billy Rodgers said the game was close until the fourth quarter, and the Beavers have improved both defensively and offensively since then.

Rodgers said Issaquah has the second-best offense in the league and it will be up to the Beaver defense to stop Issaquah's top offensive players.

"They're a good team," Rodgers said. "They're not the number three seed for no reason."

The Beavers will be lead offensively by senior Eric Taylor and junior John Barnes, averaging 14.8 and 10.6 points per game respectively.

The Ballard boys basketball team has not made the playoffs since moving from the Metro league to KingCo 4A.

On the first Wednesday of each month, you can catch the longest running blues jam in the Seattle area at Conor Byrnes Pub, 5140 Ballard Ave. in old downtown Ballard.

The next Jam is scheduled for March 4. There is no cover charge. It usually starts about 8:30 and goes until people get too tired to play. A lot of dancers show up due to the good-sized dance floor and the jumping live music. There are a lot of fans who just like to listen and watch live music.

This jam provides them with a wealth of interesting skills and talents to absorb.

In the winter of the year 2000, the owner of The Bit Saloon happened to catch Greg Roberts and Guy Quintino playing blues at Folklife. He invited them to come play at his bar and to bring some friends.

He wasn't paying anything, but they were interested in having a regular spot where they could practice and experiment a little. They recruited blues playing buddies Jack Cook, Billy Spaulding, and a few others as their core.