July 2009

Zoo animals get to celebrate the Fourth, too

This Thursday and Friday, July 2 and 3, it’s a Fourth of July picnic for Woodland Park Zoo’s animals.

In celebration of Red, White & Zoo presented by Franz Family Bakeries, orangutans, grizzlies, hippos, pigs and more will nosh on star-shaped popsicles, watermelons, corn on the cob and other picnic fare. Hear zookeepers talk about how treats and a variety of activities are part of the zoo’s ongoing enrichment program to help enhance the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally stimulated and provide added enjoyment for visitors.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. both days.
 
◦ Willawong Station 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

◦ Porcupine 10:30 a.m. – Northern Trail

◦ Sow bugs Morning/Afternoon – Bug World (Watermelon slice)

◦ Hippos 10:30 a.m. – African Savanna (Watermelons)

◦ Tiger 11 a.m. – Adaptations

◦ Golden lion tamarin monkeys 11 a.m. – Tropical Rain Forest

◦ Orangutans 11:30 – Trail of Vines (Corn on the cob, watermelon, red, white and blue popsicles)

◦ Ocelot 11:45 – Tropical Rain Forest

◦ Grizzlies 11:45 (Friday only) – Northern Trail (Picnic baskets)

Neighborhood
Category

Mayor announces new city record for recycling

Mayor Greg Nickels announced today that Seattle set a new city record for recycling in 2008, with 50 percent of the city’s residential, commercial and self-haul waste being recycled instead of going to the landfill.

This is up 1.8 percentage points from 2007, and marks the fifth straight year of increased recycling for the city of
Seattle.

“The credit for this milestone really belongs to everyone in Seattle for taking small, simple steps every day,” said Nickels. “People have taken recycling to heart. It’s part of our values, and what makes Seattle a great place.”

The city of Seattle’s diversion rate dipped to 38.2 percent in 2003, prompting Nickels to push the city’s goal to divert 60 percent of its waste through recycling and composting by 2012. The recycling rate has climbed steadily each year as the city greatly expanded its solid waste programs, taking steps such as offering food and yard waste collection to all businesses and residents, and free recycling for small businesses, as well as prohibiting recyclables in the garbage.

Category

Our transportation future

Exclusive commentary from Rep. Carlyle

Everything I need to know about transportation policy I learned at the corner of 15th and Market in Ballard. That’s where I waved signs at 7:30 a.m. each morning during my campaign for the legislature.  

One cold, rainy day a gracious older woman waiting for her bus said to me:  “Young man, don’t forget that we can’t be a great city if we don’t appreciate that we need an integrated system of cars, buses, rail, bike paths, walkable areas and everything in between. That’s what makes for real quality of life—helping families get where they need to go however it works best for them with transportation choices but without socially engineering it all.”   

And then she was whisked away by a Metro bus into the mist.  

Today’s reality is that Metro is facing awful cuts to service even though demand has surged in recent years; the state fuel-tax structure is an old-fashioned vestige of the 20th century, and the public needs more and better transportation choices. So how do we build that 21st century transportation infrastructure at a time when our collective financial nerves are frayed?   

Neighborhood
Category

VIDEO: Tuesdays in Ballard debuts

Tuesdays in Ballard, a new weekly campaign to encourage spending in the neighborhood, made its debut June 30 with more than 70 businesses participating.

Many stores were offering special Tuesday discounts, but some some were going the extra-mile to encourage shoppers to come out on the weeknight.

Volterra was offering a chance for customers to meet their winemaker and sample some of his product, and All the Best Pet Care had a pet psychic on hand in the evening.

The band Born Anchors performed at Sonic Boom, and a harp player strummed outside Re-Soul.

Kacie Hodges, manager at Mon Petit on Market Street, said the store was making balloon animals to show customer appreciate for children because adults are usually the ones being shown appreciation.

Tuesdays in Ballard is a cool way for the community to come together, Hodges said.

While some Tuesdays in Ballard events drew a crowd, such as a DJ at Bergen Place, others, like lessons from a bartender at BalMar, were more sparsely attended.

Neighborhood
Category

Landmark hearing for Sanctuary at Admiral today

Nomination for The Kenney's Seaview is expected

The Landmarks Preservation Board will hear anomination to make the 80-year-old Sanctuary at Admiral, located at 2656 42nd Ave. S.W., a historical landmark at 3:30 p.m. today.

Seattle’s landmarks are protected by city ordinance, so that any requests to modify them must be approved by the Landmark Preservation Board.

Now used as a reception hall, the building was originally the Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist. Built in 1929, the church held its first service on Jan. 1, 1930 and was dedicated on Feb. 8, 1942.

Architect Gerald C. Field designed a building that is considered Art Deco style, with formal geometry and diverse brickwork patterns. It was built by Niel McDonald and construction costs totaled $37,000.

The Church of Christian Scientist was started in 1875 with the publication of “Science and Health with a Key to the Scriptures,” by church founder Mary Baker Eddy. According to the building’s landmark nomination, the Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist came to West Seattle as a need for religious services grew along with the population grew.

Neighborhood
Category

Free summer youth performances by Taproot

Taproot Theatre’s Acting Studio opens its doors this summer for free public performances by its students.

Taproot’s Acting Studio is giving its summer camp students dozens of performance opportunities, with many of its daycamps culminating in the production of a popular play or musical. The public is welcome to attend student productions of Disney’s "High School Musical," Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "The King and I," Shakespeare’s "Comedy of Errors" and more.

Student performance schedule:
 
Friday, July 10, 3 p.m. at Taproot Theatre – "The Ever After-A Musical"
After a week of singing, dancing, friendship and fun, the students of Musical Theatre Daycamp perform The Ever After (book by Nathan Hartswick, music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur).
 
Friday, July 31, 3 p.m. at Taproot Theatre – Disney’s "High School Musical"
Students in our Musical Theatre Supercamp dive deeply into the acting techniques needed for musical theatre performance in our two-week intensive, then put it all together in this final performance.
 
Friday, August 28, 3 p.m. at Taproot Theatre – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "The King and I"

Category

West Seattle comments on townhome legislation

City council member Sally Clark is not alone in her concern over Seattle's newest townhomes. West Seattle is home to many lowrise, multifamily structures with less desirable features like high fences, large building overhangs, impractical garages and large, blank walls.

Since the mayor delivered new legislation that would modify Seattle’s multifamily housing code, the city council has been working to make sure the legislation allows for better designed townhomes in our neighborhoods.

The legislation addressed all multifamily units, from duplexes to large apartment complexes, but the council is currently focusing on low rise units. Townhomes are at the center of the issue, drawing the most complaints from citizens for their poor design.

“West Seattle has some experience with townhomes that they like and don’t like and we’re trying to fix the code to see more of the kind that we do like,” said Clark.

The city council member said this is the most extensive review of the multifamily housing code in 20 years.

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State ferries division finalizes long-range plan

Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division (WSF) will purchase five new vessels over the next five years as part of a long-range plan that will guide its services and investments through 2030.

View the long-range plan here.

“After a lot of hard work by the Legislature, Gov. Gregoire and (state transportation department), we are finally at a place where we can look ahead to long-term, sustainable service of our marine highways,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “This is good news for the communities that depend on our marine transportation system, but also for the entire state of Washington.”

“The final long-range plan for the ferry system is the culmination of the efforts of many people, including lawmakers, ferry served communities, and (state transportation department),” said Assistant Secretary David Moseley. “The plan sets a path for WSF between now and 2030 with the first milestone being construction of the 64-auto ferry.”

Neighborhood
Category

Tuesdays in Ballard gets underway

More than 70 Ballard businesses are participating Tuesdays in Ballard, a shopping campaign aimed at increasing sales in the neighborhood to help offset the impact from the recession.

The Tuesdays In Ballard campaign will hit full-swing today with activities for all ages, according to the organizers.

Building on the slogan, “Eat, Drink, Shop, Play,” which has been the mainstay of inballard.com Web site since 1998, the newly formed In Ballard Merchants Association (a 501(c)(6) organization) has crafted a campaign that allows each participating business to put its best foot forward each Tuesday with a special promotion, performance, or event.

“As a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, our goal is to provide an amazing shopping destination for our neighborhood and beyond,” said Inez Gray, founder of Habitude and Tuesdays In Ballard task force member. “June 30 is our launch day to show our neighbors what Tuesdays In Ballard will offer all summer long.”

Neighborhood
Category

Stolen vehicle, accident, attempted burglary suspect in custody

On Wednesday, July 1, at approximately 1:30 a.m.,  Southwest Precinct officers located a stolen vehicle and followed it onto Highway 99 northbound towards downtown. 

The officers engaged their emergency equipment and the vehicle refused to stop, driving away at a high rate of speed.  The pursuit was immediately called off and the vehicle was last seen near the Battery Street tunnel headed northbound. 

The suspect vehicle took the exit from Highway 99 at Bridge Way North and crashed into a tree and several signs near the intersection of Bridge Way North and Woodland Park North. 

Patrol officers from the North Precinct located the crashed vehicle, but the suspect(s) had already fled the car. 

Immediately after locating the vehicle, 911 received a call of an attempted burglary from a residence in the 3800 Block of Woodland Park Avenue North, a house very close to the crash site.  The suspect had been seen in the backyard and appeared to be trying to find a way into the house, before the resident and three dogs were able to scare him away.