March 2009

The Fauntleroy Place Development, which was planned to include both residential units and retail space, including a Whole Foods, has been further stalled by two recently filed lawsuits.

BlueStar Construction has filed a suit against Fauntleroy Place LLC, Seattle Financial Group and their subsidiary Seattle Capital for breach of contract. According to attorney Susan Rae Fox, of Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, BlueStar is attempting to recover unpaid management fees and is "merely seeking to be fairly compensated for the services it rendered."

The total damages amount has not yet been determined.

BlueStar was terminated from the Fauntleroy Place project in December of 2008, a month before Fauntleroy Place LLC announced that they would be selling the property.

In the second lawsuit BAJ Capital Inc. filed action on March 10 against Seattle Capital Corporation, the manager and majority member of Fauntleroy Place, for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the Fauntleroy Place project.

BAJ Capital is headed by Christopher NeVan, a long-time resident of West Seattle, who first recognized the opportunity to develop the mixed-use project on Fauntleroy.

Mayor Greg Nickels will make an appearance at Habitat for Humanity's High Point construction site tomorrow.

According to a release from his office, the mayor will be volunteering at the site from 10 to 11 a.m., "with a hammer in hand, the mayor
will help remove form boards from the foundations of the new homes."

The appearance will end and begin with a media interview before and after his "volunteer hour."

The High Point construction site is located at 3205 S.W. Morgan St.

Joe McMurchie has been looking for his mother for more than a year now.

Joe is the son of Virginia, or Gini, McMurchie, who walked out the backyard of her mother's home in Ballard more than a year ago and has not returned since.

Gini, 57, was born and raised in Ballard, where she had been living with her mother in their longtime home at 28th and 71st.

"A lot of the time she doesn't know where she is or what she's doing," said Joe.

She suffers from seizures and possibly the early stages of Alzheimer's, he said.

Family and friends have heard that she has been wandering around the neighborhood and has even been seen at several locations, including Great Harvest and Rain City Video on 32nd Avenue Northwest and Northwest 65th Street.

Joe has been posting fliers, at the suggestion of the Seattle Police Department, with Gini's photo and his number in those locations and others around Ballard in hopes that someone will see his mother and call him.

"I haven't seen her in six months," said Joe.

Ballardite Kenneth Gilfeather celebrated St. Patrick's Day March 17 with festive green balloons tied to his bicycle.

"I had to do this for St. Patrick's Day," he said.

Dear Green My Ballard: I am not a very experienced gardener, and there is a lot of information out there on gardening. I’m getting confused about what to plant, when. I’d really like to get my seeds in as early as possible. Do you have access to just some basic info that’s easy to follow?

Hopeful New Gardener in Ballard

Dear HNGiB:

You are not the only one confused right now … this morning I awoke to white flakes of snow, beautiful yes, but definitely not spring-like. And yes, I agree, there is so much information, much of it conflicting that makes a beginning gardener feel overwhelmed.

You should know that even experienced gardeners feel just as overwhelmed (the more you know, the more there is to do).

First, if you have typical Ballard soil it will be sandy. Amend your soil with compost (can be purchased if you don’t have on hand), a good organic fertilizer (Walt’s, in Ballard makes a good one) and lime. All are easily obtained at a local nursery with directions on the bag.

Here’s a St. Patrick’s Day treat for the gardener. A very low-maintenance addition to the garden bed and it grows wonderfully in containers too.

The Blarney Stone is a huge rock that was set into the walls of Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland. According to the long time legend, if you kiss the stone you’ll get “the gift of the gab” (meaning great eloquence or skill at flattery – Wikipedia). The trick is that you have to lean upside down and on your back to kiss it though.

Or, you can grow your own. Here are some details from the “seed pack.”

Botanical Name: Stonius blarneieio ‘Rock Garden’

Type: Permanently Irish

Height: Unknown

Planting Depth: Any

Germination Temperature: 32 F / 0 C

Spacing of Seeds: One or two countries apart

Caution: Blarney self-sows rapidly when left unchecked, and with the right environment, care and feeding.

Site and Soil Preparation: Choose any sunny or shade location. Plant seeds in any type of soil. Best to prepare anytime. Add amendments whenever you feel like it.

On Friday, March 13 at about 4:02 p.m. officers responded to the 3200 block of Belvidere Avenue Southwest for a collision involving a 6-year-old boy and a Ford Ranger pickup truck.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the driver of the Ford was pulling out of his driveway while the boy was riding on top of his Tonka truck on the sidewalk approaching the driveway, according to the police report. It appears the boy rode in front of the Ford pickup at the last minute and the two collided. The boy was alert and conscious at the scene, however he was transported to Harborview Medical Center with minor injuries. While this remains an active investigation, officers do not anticipate citing the driver of the pickup truck.

On March 14 at about 5:49 p.m., the suspect called 911 to report that he was the victim of threats.

While waiting for arrival of police the suspect was becoming increasingly paranoid and armed himself with a handgun, according to the Seattle Police Department. He later called back to 911 and advised he had armed himself and that he would shoot anyone who drives into his driveway.

He did tell operators he would put the gun away upon officers arrival. The police also began to receive information from neighbors in the 8300 block of 8th Avenue Northwest., of hearing what sounded like three gun shots. It took several attempts at calling the suspect to get him to answer the phone.

He did put the gun down and came out as instructed but was somewhat uncooperative, according to the police report. The suspect was then taken into custody. When asked, he told officers that he did fire three rounds, but it was by accident. An area check was made for any victims or property damage, nothing was found.

Officers recovered two handguns. The suspect was arrested and booked into King County Jail for weapons violations.The suspect will also under go a mental health evaluation.

Dave Montoure and Dean Overton just became the proud owners of a one-of-a-kind item they plan to display proudly, high above their bar.

The co-owners of West 5 Lounge in the Alaska Junction received a new, mustard-yellow guitar that ZZ Top legend Billy F. Gibbons custom decorated and autographed especially for them. The guitar was presented by Jamie Chamberlin, a West Seattle filmmaker and 10-year friend of Gibbons who has documented the band for two films.

He suggested the autographed guitar idea to Gibbons, who he said was thrilled to scribe it and mail it from California where he is currently recording new music.

"I told Dave and Dean I was coming over with a gift just sent to me from California," said Chamberlin. "They must have thought it was an autographed poster or book or something, because they really freaked when they saw the guitar."

Chamberlin said both he and Gibbons appreciated West 5 for screening Chamberlin's film last Jan. 25, "Rock and Roll Gearhead- 4 Days with Billy F. Gibbons."

The Ballard High School baseball team won their second game in a row by completely dismantling Roosevelt 11-2.

The win puts the Beavers at 1-0 in the conference and 2-0 overall.

The team was able to bounce back after a poor showing at the league jamboree March 15. Coach John Lamm said the team struggled that day because the pitchers couldn't get the ball over the plate in the cold weather.

Ballard's next game is at 3:45 p.m., March 18 at Whitman Middle School against Tacoma's Bellarmine Prep, weather permitting.

Lamm said the non-conference game should be a good test for the Beavers because Bellarmine is a very good team.