May 2009

A “fresh” take on Northwest cuisine is coming to West Seattle thanks to Herban Feast’s latest culinary venture.

Fresh Bistro, a full-service restaurant located at 4725 42nd Ave. S.W. beneath the newly constructed Mural apartments, will hold it’s grand opening Friday, May 22 at 5 p.m.

Herban Feast has been catering creative Northwest events since 2003. They are committed to providing exceptional service along with delicious food crafted from fresh, regional ingredients. Owner BJ Duft described what guests could expect from their Fresh Bistro experience.

“Some of the things we are serving are bright, lively and fresh foods made from products you would find at the local farmers market. They’re not over the top eclectic; but are definitely unique, things like gooey duck and halibut cheeks,” he said.

The last of 22 shafts is ready to be poured to support the columns for the Fourth Avenue Ramp project. It is located just southeast of the Spokane Street Viaduct and Fourth Avenue South.

According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, the $168 million project is more than a month ahead of schedule. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

Seattle Department of Transportation Project Manager Stuart Goldsmith and Construction Manger Tim Bramsen will also head the Spokane Street Viaduct widening project.

A number of dying Arbutus trees along Eighth Avenue Norwest between Northwest 65th Street and Northwest 70th Street are candidates for removal and replacement, according to the city.

The trees were planted in 1996 by Seattle City Light. Under an agreement with City Light, the money needed to remove and replace the trees will come from the Seattle Department of Transportation's maintenance budget, said city arborist Nolan Runquist.

Ballard resident Shawn Murphy noticed many of the trees Eighth Avenue had stopped growing and were turning brown this spring.

The dying trees are troubling because they are beautiful and provide noise control and privacy for home owners, Murphy said in an email.

Murphy alerted the Seattle Department of Transportation to the problem, which sent a team to inspect them.

The trees are likely the victim of this year's unusually cold winter, Rundquist said in an email.

Rundquist said the trees are hardy in temperatures as low as 20 degrees, and Seattle experienced temperatures closer to 10 degrees this winter.

"This particular tree is marginal for our area," he said.

The trees would have been fine in a normal winter, Rundquist said.

Ballard resident Kurt Triplett has been appointed King County Executive, replacing Ron Sims, who accepted a position with the Obama Administration this spring.

Triplett had been serving as Interim County Executive in Sims’ absence and had been Sims' chief of staff for five years as part of his 17 years working for the county.

“The reason why I was chosen was I’ve been with King County in various levels of senior management,” Triplett said. “But, I think in particular I’ve been the number two guy for the executive for the past five years, and it’s a natural selection by being there every step of the way.”

Triplett was a Sunset Hill resident for 10 years and now lives in Crown Hill. He said he hopes to help Ballard specifically by finding a way to sustain the RapidRide transit system coming into the area.

With the increase of condos and people in Ballard, Triplett said it would be a major benefit and a focus of his tenure as executive.

Triplett said he realizes that there are real challenges for the government as far as the budget right now.

Winners from the Syttende Mai, or May 17, Parade have been announced.

The trophies can be picked up at Frontier Bank in Ballard at Northwest 56th Street and 15th Avenue Northwest.

The winners are as follows:

Band:
1st -- Interlake High School, Bellevue
2nd -- Columbia River High School, Vancouver, Wa.
3rd -- Olympic View Pirate Band, Mukilteo

Drill Team:
1st -- Highlander Drill Team
2nd -- North Queens Drill Team
3rd -- Lake City Girls Drill Team

Float:
1st -- Occidental Masonic Lodge

Motorized:
1st -- Last Resort Fire Dept
2nd -- Ballard Historical Society
3rd -- Puget Sound Volvo Sports Car Club

Novelty:
1st -- Kongsberger Ski Club
2nd -- Swedish Cultural Center Pancake Drill Team
3rd -- Pacific NW Fjord Horse Promotion Group

Scandanavian:
1st -- Norwegian Ladies Chorus
2nd -- Norwegian Male Chorus
3rd -- Saint Olaf College

Youth:
1st -- Whittier Wildcats Circus Arts
2nd -- Three Billy Goats Gruff, Methia School
3rd -- Loyal Heights School

(Editor's note: The following article appears originally in Seattle City Council member Bruce Harrell's E-Newsletter "Positive Focus.")

You may have tuned in to the Energy and Technology Committee meeting of April 1, 2009, and heard the presentation and ensuing discussion with City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco.

The presentation painted a dire picture of the utility’s current financial condition. In my opinion, the utility’s proposed solution to cut some core customer service elements were presented as a precursor to a request for a rate increase.

In a press release dated, April 1, 2009, Mayor Greg Nickels proclaimed that he would not request a rate increase in 2009 and that he is supportive of the proposed cuts. On April 9, council president Richard Conlin and I co-wrote a letter to the superintendent, requesting that the utility re-examine many of their cuts.

Our concern was that some may be ill-advised and could possibly produce unintended consequences. For example, cutting costs in tree trimming, which is designed to reduce the frequency of power outages, may not produce the actual savings we desire.

Seattle City Council Candidates’ Forum

The City Neighborhood Council is hosting this forum Thursday, June 18, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall, 600 4th Ave.

Four council seats are open this year and 16 candidates vying for the positions.
This is a chance to learn more about the candidates that want a seat on the city council.

Find out more about the candidates’ qualifications and let your priorities be known.

Light refreshments will be available.

For more information, please call Wendy Watson, Department of Neighborhoods at 206-684-0464 or Kathy Nyland, chair of the City Neighborhood Council, at 206-762-2819.

Gang Violence: Real Problems and Real Solutions For Puget Sound

This discussion is sponsored by the Seattle City Council and will be held Tuesday, June 2, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall, 600 4th Ave.

The Delridge Vacuum and TV Center has been the subject of community complaints for at least 15 years, but it appears that the property could see changes in the near future with a new owner and might have a more positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood.

Local police have caught owners of the used-goods store, located at 5214 Delridge Way S.W., selling stolen goods on multiple occasions. Store owner Stoyan Tanev even plead guilty last month to multiple business regulation charges, including engaging in business without a used-goods license and failure to retain property for 30 days.

On multiple instances building inspectors have discovered that Tanev was renting out rooms in his business without required permits. The rooms have been designated by the Department of Planning and Development as “illegal and uninhabitable.”

Fifteen Greenwood seniors have participated in the PositScience Brain Fitness program in the past year and have reported the overall outcome of the program has been positive.

Described as taking one’s brain to the gym for a workout, the Brain Fitness program at the Greenwood Senior Center is designed to strengthen specific areas of the brain.

Those who have participated have said they feel an improvement in memory as well as an increase in energy and mood elevation.

“The exercises in the Brain Fitness program target the auditory and verbal memory systems of the brain,” said Peter Delahunt, Ph.D. “It should be noted that auditory and memory processing is distributed across many areas of the brain. However, the following areas are of particular importance.”

Requiring participants to commit about 40 hours during a 12 week span, time is set aside for each participant to work at their own convenience in the senior center computer lab.

Personal assistance coaches are available on-hand.

For more information or to make an appointment to experience the various exercises in the program call Liz at 297-0875.

On May 19 at approximately 1:08 p.m. Seattle Police Detectives arrested a 31-year-old male suspect for a series of vandalism/graffiti incidents that were committed over the last couple of weeks in the 4200 block of Southwest Holly Street.

The suspect was booked into the King County Jail for Property Damage. Detectives continue to investigate the suspect for malicious harassment.