February 2010

Despite a 64-51 loss to Bothell Feb. 9, the Ballard High School boys basketball team is heading to the KingCo 4A playoffs for the second year in a row and the second year ever.

Feb. 9 losses by Newport, Redmond and Roosevelt conspired to make Ballard uncatchable for the eighth and final playoff spot with one game remaining.

"That is a huge accomplishment," coach Billy Rodgers said. "I really think our program has showed some great improvement over the last several seasons."

He said Ballard now has players that expect to make the playoffs and have postseason experience. The team is in a position to raise the bar and make a good run, he said.

The loss to Bothell broke a two-game winning streak for the Beavers and dropped them to 6-9 in the conference and 7-12 overall.

Ballard fell behind 20-7 in the first quarter but played Bothell close the rest of the way.

"Obviously we did not get off to a very good start," Rodgers said. "That falls on me. I need to do a better job of getting our kids ready to play."

He said playing on the road is about focus, and Ballard can't spot good teams 10 to 15 points early and hope to come back to win.

The Morgan Street Thriftway store has collected and donated $8620 for the relief effort in Haiti. Notices for customers were put up at all checkstands and the store itself made contributions too. The proceeds went to the Red Cross and World Vision.

One customer donated over $500 which the store matched. Customer Service Manager Patricia Acklin said, "We have a promotion committee that comes up with ideas, and we have a donation code for $10 and we usually use a $10 code."

Last Saturday's (February 6) SPSL/Narrows Class 4A sub-district gymnastics meet held at Kentwood High School provided the proving grounds for high school athletes to tumble, leap, dance and swing their way into berths at the February 13th WCD III/Southwest District IV bi-district tournament to be held at Auburn Mountainview High School.

Six talented teams, nine individual placings (including ties) per event not on district qualifying teams and three all-around performers on non-qualifying squads earned district spots from this sub-district meet.

Pacing Federal Way School District high school contingents was Todd Beamer whose second place 169.975 total fell just short of district champion Puyallup (170.25) but just ahead of third place Thomas Jefferson (169.275). Auburn Riverside (167.25), Emerald Ridge (164.025) and Olympia (159.625) rounded out the WCD/SW district qualifying squads.

Heroes for the Homeless, a Seattle-based advocacy group, celebrated its third annual “Let Them Eat Cupcake” event the Feb. 5-6 weekend, distributing 6450 cupcakes to homeless people with the help of the organization’s volunteer network of over 100 bakers and distributors, some from West Seattle, and stores that donate cupcakes, including the Safeway markets on Roxbury and Alki Junction. Homeless in West Seattle, under area bridges, and in and around White Center were served.

The idea came from Heroes founder Tricia Lapitan who wanted to give rather than receive on her birthday, which this time around roughly coincides with handing out of some 6,000 cupcakes Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5 and 6, to homeless (she calls them “clients”) in shelters and on the streets. Her sister, Laureen L. Yambot, co-sponsors the event. Since its start in 2008, Yambot became inspired by the event and started her own cupcake business called “Cupcake Luv” and sells at farmers’ markets.

Well, not this time...

Todd Beamer took second, 164.5 points to West Central District swimming and diving champion Gig Harbor's 211.5, Saturday at Rogers High School in Puyallup.

Oh well.

Because it is the next time that matters the most. Sure, it's nice to win districts, but the big stuff happens the weekend after next, at the King County Aquatic Center February 21-22 at state.

Like the hokey pokey, that's what it's all about.

"I'm hoping state," said Sue Bergman, the Titans' head coach, whose team she said improved from barely cracking the top 10 at districts last year and not even being a team of the top 10 at state last year. "It would be our best shot at it this year. I have a great group of boys and they just have to put it out there."

This is Beamer's year, besides Thomas Jefferson's junior Jordan Gaspay, who swam to fifth place for his school at districts, going a 1:03 -- two seconds better than his same finish last year in the 100 breast. And Tanner Brotherton for Decatur will swim at state in the 100 free, going a 49.89 for fourth place at districts.

Workers are transforming the former Crown Hill School play courts at the Crown Hill Center into the new 5,000 square foot Gilbert & Sullivan Society set-building and dance/rehearsal space – a $250,000 project.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society was founded in 1954 and is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Seattle. It is relocating from 522 Dexter Ave. N. to the Crown Hill Center, located at 9250 14th Ave. N.W.

The society will next present "La Perichole" Feb. 19 through Feb. 21 at Town Hall.

Based on the initial ballot count released by King County Elections last evening, Seattle's voters showed very strong support for the renewal of two school district levies. If the trend continues as all votes are counted, both levies will be approved.

"On behalf of the 46,000 students served by Seattle Public Schools, I want to express my gratitude to Seattle voters," said Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D.  "We need the support and collaboration of our entire community to reach the goal we have for our students - that they graduate from high school ready for college, careers and life. The consistent strong approval for Seattle levies is just one of the many ways in which our community shows that support."  

Architectural firm Weinstein AU, who are behind such Ballard buildings as the Majestic Bay, presented very early designs for the low-income housing development Compass Center Ballard to the community and Northwest Design Review Board Feb. 8.

Compass Center Ballard is being planned as a seven-story, 57,000-square-foot development with 80 units for single men and women.

Residents will pay 30 percent of their income to live in the center, which will include services for residents with substance dependencies and other disabilities.

Rumi Takahashi from Weinstein AU presented three different proposals for the shape and orientation of the building, located at 1753 N.W. 56th St.

The design preferred by Weinstein AU and the Northwest Design Review Board is a 75-foot-high building set back 10 feet from the sidewalk.

The design has notches taken out of the top five floors on the east and west sides, creating second-floor decks.

Takahashi said Compass Housing Alliance, developers of Compass Center Ballard, very much wants a green roof, such as the one on the Ballard Library, with a rooftop deck.

On February 8th at approximately 5:30 a.m. two adult male suspects entered the open back door of a restaurant located in the 4200 block of SW Admiral Way. Both suspects were wearing face masks and gloves and one of them was armed with a large silver revolver. The suspects ordered everyone to get down on the floor.

The suspects then took one female employee to a back room containing a safe and ordered the employee to open it. When she didn’t open it fast enough for them, the armed suspect struck her on the head with his gun. The victim employee opened the safe and the suspects fled the scene on foot with cash taken from the safe. The suspects remain at large.

Both suspects are described as adult black males, 5′8″ to 6′0″, with medium complexions. Both suspects were wearing hooded sweatshirts. One suspect was wearing all black clothing and the other all gray clothing.

The employee who was pistol whipped is a female in her 20’s. She was treated at the scene by Seattle Fire Department Medics and transported to an area hospital by ambulance for non-life-threatening head and facial injuries.

Last week, at the age 46, I was prescribed glasses for the first time. Not Walgreens reading glasses, but “you’re-getting-older-and-can’t-see-very-well” glasses. I have spent seven days trying to get used to my new “progressives”, which I think is a diagnostic term meaning: “lot’s of the world will be blurry, but some parts will be clear”.

As I drove through the “Big Junction” as we used to call it (the “Little Junction” meant California Avenue at Morgan Street), I began to see things I hadn’t seen in a while.

I stopped reading the neon signs and just started to imagine many of the old businesses that I had known as a child in West Seattle. These places are more a feeling than a vision. I noticed an enormous mortar “bucket” with its moving pestle high above Morton’s Drugs where Easy Street now stands. As a child I missed many light changes by staring at that giant piece of “marble” go round and round grinding up an imagined powder.