April 2010

Have you ever traveled down a residential street in Ballard and discovered a small park you didn’t know existed?

Several “pocket parks” are tucked away like little surprises in neighborhoods around the Ballard area. Finding them reminds me of going on a treasure hunt and discovering hidden gems.

After stumbling upon some by accident and talking to a few longtime Ballard residents and Seattle Parks and Recreation staff, I think I’ve discovered them all.

Here is a brief description of each. Try bicycling to them all some sunny day. Maybe pack snacks or a multi-course lunch to enjoy at each stop, like a traveling supper party.

I’ve omitted a few that are unofficial and not designated as parks by the city, but that’s another, more controversial story. If I’ve missed any you know about, chime in with a comment below.

Ballard Corners

Located at the corner of 17th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 62nd Street a few blocks north of the Ballard Post Office, this park invites you to come on in and have a seat in the living room. Literally.

He hadn’t heard of Prince. So when Ramon Shiloh’s mother told him he could pick one record, his first record, from the shop’s stacks, she was surprised when Shiloh fished out the pop icon’s "1999."

“Are you sure?" Shiloh's mother asked. "Do you know who he is?”

"No," Shiloh told her. But the 12-year-old didn’t care about the music. It was the cover art that drew his eye, the violet letters that sprung to life—the nines with leering eyes, the P with its feathered mane, the C with its jagged teeth.

“I never thought you could illustrate pictures within pictures,” Shiloh said. “I got addicted. I never even took the album out of its case.”

He copied them, inspired by the concept of infusing personalities to a name. The letters themselves said the name Prince.

Now 40, Shiloh is still practicing letter art, though it’s with a twist. A Ballard transplant, Shiloh has paired with local Tigress Publishing to produce a four-volume set of books titled "The Art of Comedy," weaving together stories about famous comics paired with name art. He’s drawn 75 names so far and hopes to finish 200 in total, focusing on the stories and art behind the humor.

Seattle City Light crews restored power to all 4,750 customers affected by a power outage in Burien within one hour of the outage’s start today.

The outage began about 1:35 p.m. and included Burien City Hall and the Burien Public Works offices. Crews immediately began patrolling the power lines to find the cause of the outage and restored power in stages. Power was back on for 85 percent of the affected customers within 30 minutes.

A tree branch that came into contact with power lines and a transformer near 152nd Street SW and Ambaum Way was responsible for the outage.

The general boundaries of the outage were S 96th St. on the north, 172nd St. on the south, 24th Ave. S. on the east, and 33rd Ave. SW on the west. Seattle City Light is the ninth largest public electric utility in the United States. It has the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

On Wednesday, April 21st, at approximately 8:36 AM, Seattle Police responded to a two-vehicle collision between a van and a truck at 3rd Avenue Southwest and Olson Place Southwest. The driver of the truck later died from his injuries at the hospital. The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) responded and conducted their investigation.

Detectives conducting the investigation are looking for assistance from anyone who may have witnessed this collision, or the moments leading up to this collision. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Tom Bacon at (206) 684-8932.

On May 2, the Nordic Heritage Museum will hold its largest fundraiser of the year, the Northern Lights Auktion. This year’s auction and gala will take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Ballroom in downtown Seattle and is a part of Sweden Week.

The affair will feature a four‐course dinner and live and silent auctions. Items on the block include an Indonesian vacation in a Bali villa, a private dinner and tour of the Washington State Governor’s Mansion with Christine Gregoire, a Norwegian sailing dinghy and more.

“This is a wonderful way to support the mission of the museum and share the Nordic spirit, all the while having a great time”, said Nordic Heritage Museum CEO Eric Nelson. “The auction raises critical funds benefiting the museum’s extensive schedule of programs, events and classes.”

The 25th Annual Nordic Lights Auktion starts at 4:30 p.m. on May 2 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Ballroom, located at 721 Pine St.

The auction is open to the public. Tickets are required and can be purchased for $100 each by calling 206.789.5707 ext. 10.

The Woodland Park Zoo is all hands on deck in preparing for the May 1 grand opening of its new 58,000-square-foot West Entrance.

The new entrance will replace the current West Entrance and is located off Phinney Avenue North between North 55th Street and North 56th Street. It features ticketing booths, member and guest services, a second ZooStore and a coffee cart.

"The zoo has 750 regular volunteers, and even they can't do it alone," said Kim Haas, zoo spokesperson.

Luckily for the zoo, the impending West Entrance opening coincided with Kohl's Volunteers Go Green Event, brining 100 employees from the national department store to the zoo to volunteer their help April 27.

Haas said it was important for the zoo to get those extra volunteers when it did.

Mike Whatley, Kohl's district manager, said in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Kohl's was looking to help out with green projects, as well as projects that focus on children and education.

The Woodland Park Zoo fit those criteria and presented an opportunity for the department store, which is located largely outside Seattle, to connect with the city, he said.

Marguerite Lynch works at the Seattle Yarn shop 5633 California Avenue SW and a few years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. This led to finding her dog Murphy.

"After I was diagnosed my psychiatrist wrote me a prescription for a dog, she said I needed one. So I got her and she hung out in my bed with me while I was sick. I'd come home from treatment and the kids would get in bed with me and the dog would get in bed with me and she's really bonded that way." She was talking about Murphy, a Border Terrier mix that is a rescue dog the family got from a shelter in Yakima.

Then they decided they had to add another dog and went back to the same shelter and got a "sister" dog of approximately the same breed they call Sammy. "We think they're related, but who can be sure," Marguerite said, laughing. Both dogs are "around four years old."

"They frequently come to work with me and hang out in the shop," she said.

Car owners in Burien will now pay an extra $10 a year for car tabs, to help pay for the City’s new street overlay program.

After two years of no asphalt overlay on the roads Burien lawmakers voted borrow $8.6 to bring their 263 lane miles of roads up to a pavement condition index (PCI) of plus 80. Each year after for the next 20 years the City will spend $600,000 annually to maintain the 80 plus PCI.

To repay the dent service and maintain the asphalt overlay the City had to find $1.25 million each year for the next 20 years. The City found savings of $750,000 by bringing the surface water management and transportation services in house, no longer contracting with King County.

$100,000 will come out of the City’s Capital reserve fund and another $100,000 will come from Seattle Light Customers in lieu fees.

City staff recommended a $10 Transportation Benefit District (TBD) after some Council Members expressed concern about how to ensure future councils continue to fund the street overlay program.

A TBD has specific rules attached to it, and the money from the TBD must be used to improve the City’s streets.

Contractors working for Seattle Public Utilities were on top of the largest of the two above ground water tanks on Tuesday, April 27. They were working to fan out the "Shrinkwrap" that is being put in place to permit the painting of the tank. The tank holds 500,000 gallons of water. Paint will be applied both inside and outside the tank. The work should be completed by the end of June.
See the Herald's previous coverage on the tank and the work going on for the new park on the site here.

Supporters of six Ballard-area park projects requested funding from the city's Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund when applications were due April 2.

The Opportunity Fund provides funding for the development or acquisition of parks. There is up to $7 million available citywide in the first funding cycle of the Opportunity Fund.

The East Ballard Community Association requested $1.1. million to create a linear park boulevard on 14th Avenue Northwest between Northwest 59th Street and Northwest 62nd Street.

Groundswell NW asked for $200,000 to create a street-end park on 24th Avenue Northwest. According to the application, the park would improve the quality of urban living as well as improving water quality and natural drainage systems.

The Monkey Puzzle Neighborhood Group requested $380,000 for the acquisition of land at 5801 28th Ave. N.W. to create a children's garden.