June 2010

There was a swell of fans and a swell of American pride Wednesday morning, June 23, as soccer fans converged at the Celtic Swell Pub, 2722 Alki Avenue SW, to watch the U.S. team beat Algeria 1-0. The game began at 7:00 a.m. Some of the 40 or so fans ordered breakfast burritos and coffee, others beer. But they all had one goal in mind. And they got it, when Landon Donovan scored in the 91st minute.

America scored a goal prior to that, but it was ruled off-sides. During slow-motion replay, the consensus at the pub was that it was a bogus call, but redemption finally came just before the game ended, and fans spilled out onto the Alki sidewalk with satisfied grins.

"I played soccer through college," said Peter Deeds, who teared up when America won. "As a kid I got to go to Europe to play in tournaments. It's been in my life. It's what I did since I was five. I just love it."

"It's incredible!" enthused Celtic Swell owner Gareth Hughes who grew up in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. "I grew up watching the sport."

So why all the excitement about the World Cup?

Said Hughes, "It's been this way forever. Why change the habit of a lifetime?"

Put sailing together with food and you’ve got my attention.

A new but enthusiastic sailor, I’ve been a proponent of fresh food since a long-ago college nutrition class and an advocate for local farms – and preferably organic – since reading “Fast Food Nation” (which, if you haven’t ever read, I highly recommend).

The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico makes an even more compelling argument for reducing our food miles and using alternative propulsion for transporting our food.

The new Salish Sea Trading Cooperative (SSTC) moves garden-fresh, farmer-grown, nonpetrol-powered food to Ballard’s Shilshole Bay from the peninsula by way of sail transport.

Transporting food across Puget Sound by sail power began last year as the brainchild of Dave Reid, who started the Sail Transport Company. When he had to step back, co-collaborators Fulvio Casali, Alex Tokar and Kathy Pelish stepped up to form a cooperative.

Last weekend was Burien's turn to party with its Wild Strawberry Festival and Father's Day Car Show.

This weekend, the fun moves east to SeaTac as the city celebrates cultural diversity June 25-27. Most International Festival activities will be at Angle Lake Park, located at 19408 International Blvd. S.

The festivities include a parade, free entertainment, vendor booths and more.

The festival begins Friday night with the "Under the Lights VI" skateboard competition at Valley Ridge Park, 4644 S. 188th St. Registration opens at 6 p.m. with the contest starting at 7 p.m.

Vendor booths will be open at Angle Lake Park all three days. On Friday, the booths run from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturday hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

The big parade begins Saturday at 10:30 a.m., starting at the Tyee Educational Complex, 4424 S. 144th St. The route travels west of South 188th Street, then turns south on 33rd Avenue South and ends at Angle Lake Park.

A family fun run starts 15 minutes before the parade begins with runners following the same one-mile route as the parade. Only those previously registered will be allowed to run.

The June 18 issue had Jerry's bird picture. Going page by page through The Sibley Guide to Birds, on page 167 was the Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus. A pointer to the bird's chest said, "two dark bands unique."

Also the Killdeer's range included Washington State's lowlands.

The Killdeer's Latin name means noisy. I wonder if he yelled when Jerry took the picture.

Jim Burrows
Burien

Tiffany Silver-Brace is the motivating force behind a brand new market in West Seattle, The Highland Park Sunday Market.

The first vendors will offer fresh eggs (laid by Highland Park hens), fresh sourdough bread and sourdough starter, fresh herbs, handmade clothing, jewelry, pillows, napkins, t-shirts, onesies, photographic prints and note cards, hand-etched pint glasses, paintings, hand-dyed yarn and roving, and cat toys.

Silver-Brace said, "I am waiting to hear from some local farmers that are very interested, as well as a couple of local charities selling plants and starts to raise funds for their causes."

Future vendors will offer soaps and oils, pickles, kettle corn, fresh dips and spreads and hand-blown glass.

In the spirit of keeping things local all of the vendors are West Seattle residents.

The fresh-water stream that feeds into Puget Sound at Golden Gardens contains fecal coliform at levels that could be harmful to humans, according to test results released by the Seattle chapter of Surfrider Foundation.

Surfrider Foundation is an international nonprofit focused on the health of oceans and beaches. According to Surfrider, bimonthly testing of the creek yielded levels of fecal coliform that are about four times the level deemed tolerable by Washington state regulations.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fecal coliform is not usually harmful itself, but it can indicate the presence of harmful pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Swimming and eating shellfish from an area with high levels of fecal coliform may pose a health risk, according to the agency.

Abby McCarthy, task coordinator for Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force, which conducted the tests, people can get various diseseases, such as E. coli and Giardia, from water with high levels of fecal coliform.

"You can get all kinds of sick," McCarthy said.

The Seattle Public Schools released this update and information about the Chief Sealth renovation work to be completed this summer. Denny International Middle School will follow in the winter of 2011 and finally the New Community/Sealth Fields Open in the summer of 2011.
The dates for the Ribbon cutting and Community Celebration are included here:

Chief Sealth International High School has been undergoing a complete renovation and by the end of the summer will be ready to welcome back students and staff to the remodeled facilities for the fall 2010 school year. The 230,000-square-foot renovation, which was completed with an emphasis in energy and environmental conservation, includes renovated classrooms with technology upgrades, new foreign language classrooms, a renovated auditorium and full Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility. The gym will include new bleachers, locker rooms, ticket booth, concession stand and refurbished wood floor.

James Davenport, longtime Ballard barber and owner of the 65-year-old Smitty's Barber Shop on 15th Avenue, passed away from cardiac arrest June 16. He left in his wake friends, family, coworkers and customers who will remember him for his love of life and his heart of gold.

Davenport was born just after midnight on Feb. 15, 1955 in Texas, though he always told people is birthday was Valentine's Day, said friend and neighbor Jeannie Rae.

Davenport started working at Smitty's, located at 5819 15th Avenue Northwest, about 20 years ago and was present for the shop's 50th anniversary in 1994. He took over the neighborhood barber shop when owner Joyce Crow died about three years ago.

Pennie Clark Ianniciello has lived next to Smitty's for the past 10 years. She said Davenport had a heart of gold and was the most caring person.

"James was bigger than life and was really loved by the neighborhood," Ianniciello said.

Rae said Davenport loved people in all their quirks and idiosyncrasies. He was a big part of people's lives in Ballard, she said.

"He was the consummate storyteller," Rae said. "He had a love of life that was giant."

We had been to Humpback Lake before, but this time we left the kids home and tackled the famous Ketchikan favorite after Bob Pickrell told us they had a new cabin on the famed home of giant cutthroat trout, and maybe we could even hook the world's largest Dolly Varden that he named Old Methuselah.

So the whole gang from the newspaper booked three days of poker and scaring grizzlies.

The day we arrived I could hardly wait while the other guys, Al Sneed, Reid Hale, Bert Clark, Bruce McKnight and Bob were unpacking, and I grabbed my rod and went down on the dock and made a couple of casts with a Doc Spratley.

I soon hooked a beauty and brought him ashore, and I was whacking him when our host, Bob Pickrell, appeared beside me. He was also beside himself.

" Oh, no!" he shouted." You have killed Old Methuselah. "

I felt really guilty, but Bob had never warned us it was a pet and had become part of the lake legend.

I made him feel better when I told him I was sorry.

With summer officially here, neighbors near the third runway may hear added jet noise, as the second runway of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will be closed for concrete panel replacement from July 12 to Sept. 10.
The first runway was shut down last summer as the paving was replaced.

All air traffic will be directed to the outer two runways during the second runway project. Construction work will be done during daytime hours to reduce noise impacts to area neighborhoods during the evening, Port officials noted.

Port staffers said most departures are expected to be on the runway closest to the terminal and most arrivals on the third runway
The 60-day project will replace deteriorating concrete surface panels on runway 16C/34C to allow the continued safe operation of the runway until full reconstruction slated in 2016.

Approximately 150 panels will be replaced to address degradation such as the cracking, spalling, and faulting that can result in concrete debris breaking loose and threatening aircraft.