June 2009

Thanks to the sun, and large varieties of fruits and vegetables, the 2009 Ballard Edible Garden Tour blossomed with a big turnout.

Fourteen Ballard homes were featured on the tour sponsored by Sustainable Ballard, Groundswell NW, and P-Patch Trust.

Green thumbed residents opened their front, back and side yards to others interested in growing their own food. They were on hand to answer gardening questions, give sage advice, and speak with pride about their successes with strawberries, blueberries, apples and a cornucopia of vegetable crops.

“This garden is a combination of ornamental perennial flowers and edible things,” said Chris White, of Christopher White Landscape Architecture in Ballard.

His 31st Avenue Northwest home was on the tour.

“We pride ourselves on this mixture," he said.

Edibles, all in his front and side yard, include potatoes, zucchini, beets, chives, mizuna, sage, oregano and four varieties of strawberries.

Dear Editor,

Upon reading Sen. Cantwell’s comments on her MEDIC Act proposal, I immediately called her Washington, D.C. office to respond with the following observations.

Almost three-quarters of the American people want to see some form of public option choice in whatever health care reform legislation is put before President Obama to sign. That includes 87 percent of Democrats and at least half of Republicans.

Secondly, there are only two industries that are exempt from anti-trust monopoly regulation in this country. One is major league baseball. The other, and this is the kicker, is the insurance industry, which was given that exemption in 1945.

While I am not exactly an economist, I cannot fail to understand that perhaps a major component of the U.S. government’s inability to control medical costs has as its core reason the fact that this industry does not *have to* abide by the same laws and restrictions that govern nearly every other economic activity in our country.

Dear Editor,

The new KING 5 Poll shows that Susan Hutchison, the former news anchor, is still riding high on her massive name recognition advantage. It appears her notoriety and solid Republican base make Hutchison a near certainty to move past the top two primary on August 18.

This puts Democrats in a difficult position. With the recent initiative to make the office of King County Executive non-partisan, the race will be harder to frame as Democrat versus Republican—playing right into the hands of the well-known Hutchison.

To hold on to this office, Democrats should be trying to unite behind a single candidate even now. The fight to cut into Hutchison’s name recognition dominance and boost from a solid conservative base cannot start early enough for Democrats. The newly non-partisan nature of the office necessitates haste.

While numbers were previously muddled, the new poll shows that Dow Constantine is now a front-runner among Democrats. He has already proven himself a capable leader in a long career of public service and this new poll confirms his viability.

Millie is a German Wirehaired Pointer owned by Gary and Vickey Schroeder. Her formal name is JJS Millie be Good Schroeder.

They bought Millie from a breeder in Bellingham and Gary has trained her to be an outstanding bird hunter. He started when she was a pup by taking her to Alki and teaching her to point baited pigeons. He also trained her in his yard with a technique he perfected, using a stay board and a bird release devise.

Millie was trained to point to the pigeon in the devise and stay on the yellow board and point even after the bird was released. Today, while hunting in Montana, Millie will hold a point for 15 minutes or more.

Schroeder said "In a two and one half hour hunting session she will cover 20 miles. She will do two sessions a day".

They hunt pheasant, sharptails, quail, and Huns primarily. Millie has a dog collar with a GPS so Gary can tell where she is and how far she has traveled. It will also beep if she goes on point.

Officials cut a ribbon Saturday, June 27 at Carkeek Park to re-dedicate its new Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary and Salmon to Sound Trail. Trail tours were given throughout the afternoon.

"We're saying plant a garden, save the salmon," said environmental activist Nancy Malmgren who was on the scene with the scissors. "We really honor the Suquamish Tribe for providing our salmon. I hope that people recognize the gift our tribal members made. The Department of Neighborhoods funded the new sanctuary, and CCAP (Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project) has been in business now for 30 years."

The day also kicked off the opening of a new outdoor art exhibit, "Heaven and Earth." 12 biodegradable sculptures have been placed on trails to enjoy.

This year also happens to be Carkeek Park's 80th birthday.

Several members of the Northwest Paragliding Club practiced "kiting" on Harbor Avenue at Alki Beach Sunday, June 28.

The eye-catching gliders stopped traffic and pedestrians in their tracks. Two club members, Betsy Scolnik and Tim Walsh live in West Seattle.

"What we are doing is called 'kiting' or 'ground handling,'" Scolnik, who had a bright orange paraglider, explained, describing their method of practicing, which involved jumping three feet into the air and leaping off picnic tables and benches while getting blown around in the wind coming off the bay.

"Mine is a 'speedwing,'" said Walsh of his blue paraglider, slightly shorter than Scolnik's. "We glide off Tiger Mountain in Issaquah," said Walsh.

Added Scolnik, "It's safer than riding a bicycle."

CLICK ONTO PHOTO FOR SLIDE SHOW.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association hosted a community party today in celebration of becoming the official owners of the Phinney Neighborhood Center earlier this year.

The association has leased the surplus school building from the Seattle School district since 1981 to house their independent, non-profit community center run by and for the Phinney-Greenwood neighborhood.

At the celebration on Sunday, June 28, community members enjoyed live music, aerialists, jugglers, chalk art, the Bubble man and a photo display of the programs, activities, as well as planned upgrades and improvements that will be made to the buildings and property, located at 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

Following the outdoor activities, the celebration moved inside the building where Rep. Frank Chopp, Seattle City Council member President Richard Conlin, Seattle School Board President Michael Debell and a representative for Mayor Greg Nickels, Ken Nakatsu, gave a few words in congratulations to the association’s successful purchase of the building.

The festivities ended with a toast to the Phinney Neighborhood Association and cake and cookies for all who attended.

On Sunday, June 28 at about 8:40 a.m., North Precinct officers responded to a possible robbery at a business in the 14300 Block of Greenwood Avenue North.

There was a 10-minute time delay at the time of the call. A suspect description was given over the air, and it was said that the suspect punched through the glass window and demanded the money from the register.

The lone employee gave the suspect money from the register, and he fled on foot westbound behind the building.

A short time later, a running, unoccupied vehicle was located in a ditch near the robbery location. Officers responded and located a witness who provided transport for the driver of that vehicle, who happened to match the suspect description. The elderly witness transported the possible suspect to a location near Northwest 80th Street and 3rd Avenue Northwest.

Containment was set up in the area of the robbery and K9 responded to the scene. After tracking all three possible scenes, and two possible addresses, a suspect was not located.

The Alaska Junction was even busier than usual Sunday as the Farmers Market celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a Berry Spectacular.

Vendors, including more than a few berry farmers, were out in full force.

Husky Deli and Sakuma Bros. provided free berry sundaes, and Fresh Bistro chef Dalis Chea lead a cooking demonstration, teaching spectators how to prepare "Farmers Market Fresh Cherry Salad."

Musical duo MoZo performed for a crowd while the giant Veggie Mama puppet visited with children throughout the market.

“We love the fruit, and we love the berries,” said Steve Dumont as he and his family enjoyed free berry sundaes.

“Cherries, strawberries - that’s summer here," said Wade Bennett, cider master at Rockridge Cidery. "And, there’s no place in the world that grows them like us.”

Please check back to see video coverage of the event.

Now that summer has arrived in Seattle, you can’t walk the streets of Ballard without noticing all of the curbside gardens that have sprung to life.

Not only are they quite unique Seattle attractions, they help to create the feeling of a vibrant neighborhood.

In the place where I grew up, the narrow patch of grass that grew in between the street curb and the sidewalk was for grass only, or, if you were lucky, a city-planted and approved tree. The idea that someone would even plant a single daisy on this strip was unimaginable. Even if you did, the snowplows would inevitably dump several feet of snow on top of these strips so it wasn’t really worth it for the would-be gardener.