July 2009

Salty's on Alki will be hosting the annual fundraiser “Cooking with Class” on Sept. 15 this year.

At least 22 chefs will donate food and time. Participants choose three chefs and interact with them, actually making the dishes and learning their techniques. Later, the food is paired with wines from the Northwest.

There will be appetizers before the event starts, and a wine and beer tasting table as well. John Curley, formerly of Evening Magazine, is the auctioneer who promises to keep everyone involved and laughing.

There will also be a raffle ($2 tickets) with items like knife sets, overnight stay at The Edgewater and Hotel Ãndra, and other culinary items.

Tickets cost $125, and proceeds benefit the residents and participants of Providence Heritage House at the Market and Providence ElderPlace. Both programs ensure that our frail elderly have the opportunity to live as independently as possible, making their own decisions and getting the care they need.

(Editor's note: This article appears originally in Seattle City Council member Richard Conlin's newsletter "Making It Work.")

On Monday, June 15, the council adopted three ordinances that update and add provisions to the city’s ethics and elections codes. The most comprehensive of the ordinances is based on a review and recommendations from the Ethics and Elections Commission, the seven volunteers who administer the Ethics and Elections codes and the Office of Ethics and Elections.

The Commissioners are appointed by the mayor and council, and operate independently, including selecting the executive director of the office. The other two ordinances are council initiatives to address specific concerns about elements of the two codes.

The goal of the commission’s recommendations is to both strengthen the ethics code and create consistency with national best practices. Seattle’s code was innovative and broke new ground when it was first adopted more than 20 years ago, but other cities have developed new practices and policies in the intervening time that can now be added to the Seattle code.

The changes including provisions that will:

After seven years in Ballard, Epilogue Books will be permanently closing after a new lease with the landlord could not be agreed on.

Owner Nathan Heath's aunt opened the store on the corner of Northwest Market Street and 20th Avenue Northwest, and Heath took it over about 1.5 years ago.

Epilogue regular Sandy Nelson said she shopped at the store about once per month and will miss bringing her children and letting them pick out a book.

"I felt like I was supporting a local business," Nelson said. "I could come here with my kids and buy them a couple of books and it was cheap."

Heath said he will miss helping customers find books and turning children on to reading.

"We've all enjoyed serving the Ballard neighborhood and surrounding area," he said in a press release. "Thanks to everyone for their support."

Epilogue started its liquidation sale July 5, and Heath said there are about 80,000 books left to be sold by mid-August. Everything is 20 percent to 70 percent off.

Heath said he doesn't know what he will do after Epilogue closes, but he wouldn't rule out book selling.

"Book selling is like the mob," he said. "You keep getting pulled back in."

The groundbreaking for a new Fire Station 35 in Crown Hill is scheduled for August 21 at 9 a.m.

The existing fire station at 8729 15th Ave. N.W. will be renovated and modernized, along with 10 others across the city, funded by the 2003 Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy.

The Crown Hill station will be rebuilt to meet earthquake safety standards and modern firefighting practices. It houses one engine company and a reserve engine.

Fire Station 35 is temporarily located on the grounds of the Crown Hill Center.

King County Council Chair Dow Constantine has called for a county hiring freeze through the end of 2009, a step that could save an estimated $15 million, including approximately $1 million in general fund spending, he said.

“We must cut spending immediately to offset costs for essential ‘lifeboat’ programs that were only granted partial-year funding in this year’s budget,” said Constantine. “Leaving positions vacant will provide funds to be used in next year’s budget, which has already been projected to have a shortfall of almost $50 million.”

Due to the public safety and public health nature of their positions, the proposed freeze would not affect the hiring of personnel in four key areas:

- The King County Sheriff’s Office

- Corrections officers in county correctional facilities

- Health care providers in county correctional facilities and county health centers

- The King County Superior Court, King County District Court, or King County Prosecutor’s Office

This fall Loyal Heights Community Center will launch a pilot program called L.E.A.F., after school enhancement classes aimed at “tweeners,” also known as middle school students between the ages of 9 and 14 years old.

Sean O’Feery, creator and director of L.E.A.F. and current child care director at Ballard Community Center, said it’s not your average after school care program.

He started the curriculum for L.E.A.F. about a year and a half ago and had been working with the Associated Recreation Council (ARC) and city affiliates.

“It takes a little bit to get a new program started,” he said. “ First of all, it has to be clearly identified and clearly draws borders around it as what it is and is not going to be. (The Seattle Parks Department) is very particular about not making an identical program with a different name, so we had to differentiate this from our child care program.”

L.E.A.F. stands for Learning, Enrichment, Active, Fitness.

“It is an opportunity for middle school aged kids and even late elementary school age kids to come in and have a bit more independence which is what a lot of these kids are looking for," O’Feery said.

A resident of Mountain High Condominiums, 317 Southwest 112th St., made two right turns out of her garage, the second turn crashing her Honda Accord into Desi and Tori Eugele's below street-level living room at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday night, July 8.

The driver was taken to an area hospital with a bruised elbow and knee.

Tori Eugele had been sleeping on her couch just inches in front of the spot where the hood of the car landed. She was not injured.

"I was just sitting down to dinner and heard this unbelievable sound like something landed on the roof," said Norman Ose, who lives in the unit next door. "I came out on my patio and then could see what had happened. I saw the driver exiting the car. She must have crawled out the back door or window.

"I spoke to Tori on the phone," added Ose. "She called me after phoning 911. She was asleep on the sofa when it happened. I'm sure she was in shock, but sounded very coherent."

It is another busy week as concrete reconstruction work around the California Avenue Southwest and Fauntleroy Way Southwest intersection begins again on July 13. Crews will work on the south side for five days, wrapping up by July 17 (weather permitting), according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Traffic at this intersection will once again be reduced to one lane in each direction to accommodate the work zone and provide sufficient turning movement for large vehicles.

A uniformed police officer will be on site at California Avenue Southwest during work hours and the afternoon peak to offer assistance with the temporary lane configuration changes, pedestrian crossing and to keep traffic moving.

In addition to the concrete reconstruction at California, crews will grind off the top layer of asphalt on the east side of the roadway between Southwest Holly Street and Southwest Edmunds Street next week.

Many who attend classic car shows gawk at the early American automobile with its sturdy chrome bumpers, curvy bodies and splashy detail work. But professional classic car mechanic Pete Gjerstad, owner of Mid Century Motors, one block south of Northwest Market Street in Ballard, gets most excited by what's under the hood.

"The general public has the image of the classic car as the American dream and all that. I see them as machines," said Gjerstad, a 20-year Ballard resident who worked for Gilmour Automotive on 15th Avenue for 18 years.

"I appreciate the romance of these cars, but the mechanical side is what does it for me," he said. "In this business you get to experience driving and working on a lot of different cars and see how the different manufacturers solved various problems."

Parked in his garage are a 1965 Chevy Caprice in need of brakes and a fuel pump, a 1959 DeSoto, which needs work done on its engine, transmission, drive shaft, brakes. and electrical system. There's also a 1961 Cadillac convertible coupe, awaiting its rebuilt dashboard.

Editor's note: This letter is written for the community and will appear in this year's Ballard SeafoodFest guide.

Dear Community,

Ten—that’s the number of years I have been producing SeafoodFest. For the last three, festival materials have featured quirky, fun images, created to celebrate and pay tribute to Ballard’s cultural heritage. We’ve embraced three 20th century Vikings with ties to the Nordic countries.

Past posters featured Ozzie the Viking Banker and the handsome Leif Erikson in statue form. This year, SeafoodFest is celebrating its Viking Spirit in a GIANT way! At 8 feet 8 inches tall, Johann The Viking Giant, is Nordic on steroids.

While the Viking figure is an easily recognizable symbol of Scandinavian history and one with a general appeal, they are much more than caricatures. Vikings were explorers and entrepreneurs who introduced skills and ideals that we continue to value today.

Though most were not warriors, all possessed an enduring spirit. Struggling against cold, hunger, enemies and the unknown, Viking men and women were taught to prize bravery, strength and daring deeds.