July 2009

After four months of heated community debate regarding a 20-man SHARE shelter at the vacant Calvary Lutheran Church, things have been quiet surrounding the shelter in its first month.

"You know what they say, no news is good news," said Pastor Steve Grumm of Ballard's Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church, who own the Calvary Lutheran building at 7002 23rd Ave. N.W.

According to police reports, there were three calls made to police regarding the vacant church in the month leading up to the shelter moving in. Since the June 1 move-in, there have been no calls.

Neighbors in the immediate vicinity said they have had few, if any, negative experiences with the shelter since it moved in.

Virginia Hassinger, who lives across the street from Calvary Lutheran, said she hasn't seen much of the shelter residents, who have been very quiet.

Jane Klausen, a member of the neighborhood task force on the shelter and a neighbor of the church building, said she has noticed a few shelter residents in the area when they are not supposed to be, but it hasn't been much of a problem.

"Other than that it's going well," she said. "I'm a next-door neighbor, and I haven't had any problems."

Various disruptions of tenants inhabiting Section 8 homes around 30th and Genesse in Delridge has led surrounding neighbors to take action. The situation and possible solutions were discussed at the Delridge neighborhood council meeting last Wednesday, July 1.

A neighbor, who requested to remain anonymous due to previous threats and acts of vandalism said, “the problem is always domestic violence or drugs.”

Although this woman and another neighbor are fed up with the situation, they are nervous to take action.

“You can tell there is legitimate fear and anger," Mike Dady, neighborhood co-chair, said.

Police officer Kevin McDaniel from the Southwest precinct confirmed there had been neighbor complaints of domestic violence, but he did not have any knowledge of drug use or dealing.

McDaniel said that action was being taken.

“I’m working with the owner of the building and at this point were making progress as far as possibly getting them out of the units," said McDaniel.

However, no dramatic changes have been seen yet.

A renovation workshop will be held on Oct. 1, and some yards around West Seattle will be pruned by professionals for free.

The workshop is a hands-on all-day event for Spanish-speaking landscape professionals that features a 3:1 student-teacher ratio. Pruning and creative solutions to an overgrown landscape will be taught as the landscape is renovated during the workshop.

George Ortiz of Signature Landscapes gives a lecture followed by hands-on experience in the field. Professional gardeners and arborists will teach the hands-on portion of the workshop.

To qualify for the free pruning, sites must be a private home, church, library, school or park located in West Seattle, large enough so that it is maneuverable by a group of 20 to 30 people. It should include a diversity of overgrown, neglected shrubs and small trees that are at least 15 years old.

There must be available nearby parking for as many as 20 to 30 vehicles, place to dispose of yard waste, a bathroom for use by muddy workers and the site owner must be present during the workshop.

A new business for pet lovers is moving in to the Morgan Junction.

West Seattle Dawg is a new dog bakery and doggy day care, located at 7001 California Ave. S.W.

Owner Rex Post says the baker will offer healthy, organic dog treats including cakes and ice cream. He only uses all-natural ingredients and sweetens his treats with honey rather than sugar. Post will even offer vegan dog treats.

Downstairs, the business will offer doggy day care. Post only plans to watch 20 dogs at a time so that each pet has plenty of room to move and play. The pets will be treated to movies and bakery snacks while pet owners can watch via Web cam.

West Seattle Dawg will even host special events such as dog birthdays and weddings.

“I don’t like to give my dogs a lot of table scraps and when it comes to treats I want to know what’s in them,” said Post. “If I take my dog to day care I want to know what they’re doing. I’m basically providing what I would want to have for my dogs.”

Post has four dogs himself: a Labrador Retriever, an Alaskan Malamute, a Schnauzer and a mixed breed.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is planning to reconstruct the worst section of 16th Avenue Southwest this summer as part of the “Bridging the Gap” transportation levy.

This project will involve reconstruction and minor widening of the roadway on 16th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Findlay Street and Southwest Brandon Street. Construction work is currently scheduled to begin the week of July 20 and continue for approximately six to eight weeks.

Scheduled work will include roadway pavement removal and replacement, drainage improvements including new curb and gutters, sidewalk repaving on the west side of the street and rebuilding concrete driveway aprons to match the new road.

During construction, northbound traffic will be detoured via Southwest Austin Street, Dumar Way Southwest, Southwest Orchard Street and Delridge Way Southwest. Northbound Metro bus service will be provided as far north as South Seattle Community College, then detoured. Detour signs will be posted.

Southbound traffic will be maintained.

It occurred twice on Wednesday, July 8, and will not happen again for another 100 years.

Just after midnight, and just after noon today, the clock ticked 12:34 and 56 seconds on July 8, 2009, or 12:34 56, 7/8/09.

This numerical oddity was the buzz on Facebook comments and self-ascribed science-based "geek" blogs nationwide.

Jerry Garner, 9, witnessed the moment on a large cluster of clocks at The Ballard Time Shop, 5414 20th Ave. N.W., just south of Market Street. Some were hanging just above Socks and Pasha, the family's shop cats which seemed oblivious to the time as they napped.

Garner's grandparents, Brian and Donna Boyett, operate the repair shop, which relocated from across the street about two years ago. Brian's grandfather opened the shop in 1925.

Garner's mother Traci, helps out, too.

"This economy doesn't seem to stop people from coming with their old clocks to repair," said Traci. "They want to preserve what they have."

Jerry is not sure if he will follow in his great-great grandfather's footsteps. For now, he said, his main interest is playing football.

Siam Pura, a Thai restaurant located at 2620 Alki Ave. S.W., is now for sale for $130,000.

The restaurant is being offered with new equipment and recent upgrades. It measures 1,200 square feet, seats 40 and includes an outdoor patio.

The West Seattle Herald has contacted the owner and hopes to provide more details soon.

During the week of July 13, drilling work will close the multi-use trail along Alaskan Way South between South Royal Brougham Way and South Dearborn Street for the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program.

Crews will drill three holes in the multi-use path that runs adjacent to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, according to Emily Neff, communications staff member for the state-run project.

What to expect:

- The section of the multi-use path between South Royal Brougham Way and South Dearborn Street will be closed approximately Monday through Friday (July 13-17).

- Detour routes will be clearly identified; bicycle traffic will be diverted to Alaskan Way South, and pedestrian traffic will be diverted across the street to the sidewalk on the west side of Alaskan Way South.
 
- Signage will be placed near the path one day in advance to notify cyclists and pedestrians about the closure and detour. 

- Excavation will take between three and five business days to complete; all work will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. 

- When drilling is complete, the surface of the multi-use path will be restored and detour signage removed. 

Editor's note: The following letters were sent to community leaders via email from Seattle City Council members Nick Licata and Tim Burgess after Victoria Sangrey Hunter with the Friends of Bergen Place Park wrote to them in concern of increased vandalization and safety issues in downtown Ballard parks. Her concern was heightened after the mural in Bergen Place was tagged on July 6.

Dear Community,

I’ve been following the correspondence between you and (Seattle City) Council members Burgess and Rasmussen. And I’m glad to see that all of us on the council are concerned about improving the safety and the quality of life for those who wish to enjoy Ballard’s urban parks.

Today I talked to the North Precinct Commander, Mike Washburn, about the increased crime in the parks, such as tagging, drug dealing and other unlawful behavior. And he informed me that he is directing his Anti-Crime Team to do closer surveillance on the park to address the drug dealing activity. He is also assigning a detective to follow up on the leads with regards to identifying the person or persons who defaced the Bergen Place Muriel with graffiti.

On Aug. 23 Sounders FC will be hosting the first annual Soccer Beach Blast Tournament.

The tournament format is three on three and up to five players per team. Local players are invited to put teams together now.

Registration space is limited to the first 32 team entries (16 male and 16 female). Entry into tournament is based upon date entry is received.

You will receive e-mail correspondence with tournament details and other tournament specific updates and confirmation that your team has been accepted into the tournament. Each team member will need to bring a completed copy of the tournament waiver to the tournament.

The event is sponsored by Super Supplements. Participants can visit any Western Washington Super Supplements location and picking up a coupon to save $15 off your team's registration.