March 2009

Doolin is a 3-year-old Newfoundland out for what looks like a mid-winter walk with owners Bert and Heidi Hounyak and his pal Bosun the yellow lab.

“This has been a great winter for him," said Heidi, because Doolin loves the snow.

The dogs could barely contain their joy and really didn’t want to stop for a photo, but they did. This shot was taken by the highpoint water towers on March 15.

Doolin has a special quality. He sings when Bert plays the harmonica. Well, he howls, but he howls in the same octave.

Low when Bert plays low and high when he plays high. Sounds like a famous pet trick.

How to nominate your pet:

Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Veterinary Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

Photos may or may not be used and our "Pet Reporter" may be in touch with you to arrange to take a photo. Pets nominated will be chosen on the basis of uniqueness of the pet and the quality of the story and information submitted.

Spring is upon us. Grass is growing. Flowers are beginning to burst. The entire neighborhood is ready to get out and play. And there’s no better way to take in the sights, sounds and scents of the season than a stroll along tree-lined Ballard Avenue at the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market.

A little taste of country in the city, the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market is a family-and dog-friendly place to go for everything from just-picked Washington fruits, flowers and organic veggies to handmade crafts, artisan cheeses, tempting food carts and metal garden art.

Local Ballardite Chris Stoopman, who grew up in both the Netherlands and the U.K., says the market reminds him of the European markets he used to visit.

“It’s probably the butchers and the fish and cheese mongers that remind me of the European markets most,” he smiles as he asks a cured meat purveyor to explain the contents of his well-stocked cold case.

You can chat with the farmers and artisan cheese makers to your heart’s content and hear the harrowing tales of trolling for salmon with the very fisherman who caught your next meal.

Seattle City Council members announced today a timeline to develop a publicly financed elections program for local campaigns in the city of Seattle.

The plan proposes development of a proposal during 2009 and early 2010 with a possible ballot measure placed before voters in 2010. If voters approve a measure, candidates could participate in a program as early as the 2011 election cycle.

Public financing, sometimes called “voter-owned” elections, allows a candidate to qualify for public funds to run an electoral campaign if he or she is able to demonstrate a broad base of community support. Candidate participation would be optional.

Participants would agree to standards, such as limits on private fundraising, a limit on using personal funds, or limits on third-party funding assistance. Programs currently operate in many cities, including Portland, San Francisco and Albuquerque, N. M.

While the sun broke on and off Saturday, March 14, it was raining cats and dogs, well, mostly dogs, at All The Best Pet Care during their grand opening.

The cheerful, window-wrapped 4,300 square foot shop on 1909 N.W. Market St. is the ninth and largest in the local chain to open.

“This is truly a family business which we started when we had Akita show dogs and searched, but could not find, specialty food,” said Susan Moss, who owns the chain with her husband and two children. “So we opened a tiny shop in Lake City and went from there.”

All The Best Pet Care will offer cat and kitten adoption starting April. (206) 782-1500.

A family in Colombia and a 20 year old Australian probably knew about a new destination in Ballard before the average local, and when it comes to the one-year old Hostel Seattle at 6200 Seaview Ave. N.W. that may still be the case.

In a strange looking skinny building between the railroad tracks and the road, Lee Kindell and Nancy Gambin have finally found their place to create “home away from home” for world travelers.

The first clue for me was the appearance of young people in backpacks walking slowly beneath the weight of their belongings toward Shilshole. This was a common site in backpacking days in Europe; the sidewalks between the closest train station and the nearest youth hostel were always well-worn.

Across from the parking lot of Ray’s Boathouse is a skinny building, a place you could pass for years on your way to Paseo’s without even noticing. But even before the independent Hostel Seattle opened at this location in January 2008 they had been receiving on-line bookings through Hostelworld.com and its own Web site.

(Editor's note: Dave Kannas is a regular columnist for the Ballard News-Tribune's sister publication the West Seattle Herald. His article is being reproduced here as it relates to the completion of the Burke Gilman Trail through the industrial area of Ballard.)

The struggle between “civil society” and bicyclists is nothing new. We had our battles before the turn of the 20th Century, when bicycles were relatively new on the scene but rapidly expanding in numbers, especially in France.

“As early as 1869, some of the larger French cities had passed municipal by-laws to control this new public hazard…” (Christopher Thompson, The Tour de France, University of California Press, 2006). Thompson goes on to note that in the city of Sens, bicyclists were required “to attach warning bells to their machines, a lantern when traveling at night, and a sort of license plate with their name and address.”

The struggle between “civil society” and bicyclists is nothing new. We had our battles before the turn of the 20th Century, when bicycles were relatively new on the scene but rapidly expanding in numbers, especially in France.

“As early as 1869, some of the larger French cities had passed municipal by-laws to control this new public hazard…” (Christopher Thompson, The Tour de France, University of California Press, 2006). Thompson goes on to note that in the city of Sens, bicyclists were required “to attach warning bells to their machines, a lantern when traveling at night, and a sort of license plate with their name and address.”

This sounds like something right out of an editorial page. At least The Seattle Times editorial page editor, James Vesely, hasn’t referred to the bicycle as “…an instrument of chaos and degeneration…” which was a popular opinion in 19th Century France. I probably shouldn’t give him ideas for more anti-bicycle editorials, though.

The Ballard High School soccer team lost its first game against non-conference Inglemoor Saturday, March 14.

Ballard's Nick Christie gave the Beavers an early 1-0 lead at the 27 minute mark, but Inglemoor would score the next two goals on the way to a 2-1 victory.

The Beavers face O'Dea High School at 3:30 p.m., March 17 at the Interbay soccer fields.

Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos
Rated R
(Two stars)

There is a well-known television show that claims its stories were “ripped from the headlines.” Well, the plotline for “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” has the feel of having been “ripped from Xbox.”

This tale about bad blood between vampires and werewolves and a love affair that ends up as a BBQ isn’t so much written as it is choreographed. “Rise of the Lycans” is a daisy-chain of action set-pieces designed to exhaust the adrenal glands of 15 year olds.

The story, such as it is, chronicles the beginning of the power struggle between vampires and werewolves (it serves as the prequel to the other two films of the Underworld franchise). Vampires hold the upper hand. Werewolves are either their slaves, trapped in human form, or banished to live a feral existence deep in the forest.

This unhappy community is ruled without mercy by Viktor (Bill Nighy). What little love beats in his undead heart is reserved for his daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), and his one favorite among the werewolves, Lucian (Michael Sheen), whom he treats as a sort of favorite pet.

(Editor's note: The following is a letter to the editor and does not reflect the views of the West Seattle Herald or its affiliates.)

They’re at it again!



Last week our state senate, led by Sen. Joe McDermott, has voted to give the same rights reserved for married couples to homosexual couples who register as domestic partners. This is the same as taking a patented product and slapping another name on it.  

The real goal as stated by Sen. Ed Murray is homosexual marriage. It’s interesting to note that both McDermott and Murray, who are prime sponsors of this bill, are admitted and practicing homosexuals. This sounds like a self serving conflict of interest to me.

In reality, what these and other sponsors of this bill are attempting to do, is to change the definition of marriage, which has been the union between men and women for all of human history, in every society and nation. Until recently, this has never been done before. Some may ask why is this a problem?