July 2010

The work to give the Pacific Ridge area a facelift continues as Des Moines lawmakers approved a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the Waterview Crossing project.

The project would include office space, condos and some apartments as well as some senior housing. It will be located between South 218th and 220th streets and Pacific Highway South and 29th Avenue South.

The condos being proposed on the back half could be built as high as 200 feet to take advantage of the views of the water and the mountains.

Work on the project could begin as soon as next year, the soonest principal developer Matt Chan said the people living in the mobile home park on that land now could be relocated.

The entire project could be completed over a period of 15 years, depending on market conditions.

Chan told the council at their May 27 meeting they are trying to improve the community over a long period of time.

Mayor Bob Sheckler recused himself from all of the discussions involving Waterview Crossing Development after an unidentified councilmember accused him of a conflict of interest after Sheckler's trip to China last year, where he met with Matt Chan.

The Burien City Council approved July 19 an insurance settlement that takes the city out from under the financial burden of a $10.7 million court judgment.

In 2007, the state Court of Appeals upheld a $10.7 million judgment against Burien for interfering with Westmark Development's plans to build a 200-unit condominium project above Seahurst Park.

Westmark proposed the condominium "Emerald Pointe on the Sound" project at 13401 12th Ave. S.W. 20 years ago. That was before Burien incorporated as a city in 1993.

Residents near the site raised environmental concerns and the development stalled.

Westmark sued the city, resulting in the judgment.

The Washington Cities Insurance Authority paid much of the judgment but Burien has spent over $570,000 for attorneys fees and other defense costs.

The settlement approved by the council last week reimbursed Burien for those costs. The insurance authority also will take over Burien's ongoing liability for expenses.

Westmark officials still plan to build the condos but permits have not been approved so far.

King County Council members OK'd last week a joint funding agreement for the Burien Transit Center's parking garage.

Sound Transit board directors were also expected to approve the deal.

Construction is expected to begin by late September.

"Basically, Sound Transit agrees to contribute $14.73 million for construction to expand the facility as promised in the ST2 plan," said Linda Robison, spokeswoman for Councilwoman Jan Drago. "Total cost of the construction is about $20.5 million.

Drago represents the Burien area on the council.

Alliance Wasatch will build a 500-stall garage at the transit center's northeast corner, located at Southwest 150th Street and 4th Avenue Southwest.

Five stories will be above ground with one story below ground. The construction should take about a year to complete.

Besides transit parking, the garage could be used by patrons of a proposed cinema on the southwest corner of Southwest 150th Street and 4th Avenue Southwest.

While the parking facility is being built, bus riders will use the former BBC Dodge lot at 1st Avenue South and Southwest 148th Street.

Heavy sleeper
Police responded to a residential burglary call. They arrived to find the front door had been kicked in. The owner reported he was missing some video games and food. While the home was burglarized he was asleep on a couch in the living room.

Drunk man wants ex's attention
Deputies were dispatched to a disturbance at an apartment complex in the 11000 block of 26th Ave S. An intoxicated man was upset that his ex-girlfriend had taken his property. He got angry and broke the glass in a fire extinguisher box and began spraying it all over the area. That had not gotten the attention of his ex-girlfriend, so he falsely pulled the fire alarm. The man was arrested and booked into King County Jail.

Officer notices break-in, apprehends rock
While driving along Southwest 152nd Street, a police officer came across the shattered front door of B-Town Burgers. Prior to entering and clearing the business, he saw a large rock on the floor approximately five feet from the damaged door. The cash till and money inside it had been removed, but the business had not been ransacked.

Ill-intentioned nail scattering

Following up on numerous recent complaints of juvenile mischief, officers took a “patrol stroll” through Schmitz Park late Tuesday and came upon several familiar faces. One belonged to a local 17-year-old who was wanted on three warrants: one for domestic violence, another for marijuana possession, and a third—a felony—for assaulting a police officer. He was arrested for the warrants and booked into the Youth Service Center. Interesting to note that the young man was supposed to be on house arrest at the time of his capture. It seems he had cut off his electronic monitoring device.

After weeks of disagreement and conversation about a way forward with regard to the deep bore tunnel, the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the repair of the seawall meetings today may clarify some of the issues.

The City of Seattle posted this press release:

Seattle City Councilmembers and City Attorney Pete Holmes will speak about the Alaskan Way Viaduct related agreements between Seattle City Light, Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities with the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Who: Seattle City President Richard Conlin and Councilmembers Bagshaw, Clark and Rasmussen, co-chairs of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement special committee, along with Councilmembers Burgess, Godden, Licata, and City Attorney Pete Holmes.

What: Alaskan Way Viaduct agreements

When: TODAY, July 26, 11:30 a.m.

Where: Seattle City Hall, Council Chambers, second floor, 600 4th Avenue, Between James and Cherry on Fourth Avenue

Also today:

9:30 a.m. City Council morning briefing with Pete Holmes, Seattle City Attorney

Nothing like a getaway, even if by train to Portland. A far cry from adventures around the world but nevertheless a peaceful sense of floating on the updated Amtrak passenger car, suspended on each corner so that you simply float along as you round every turn through beautiful Puget Sound. There was time to visit with other passengers, even one whose name I could send in to the WWII Rosie archives.

From the train, my friend and I were whisked to the dock where a beautiful lunch cruise ship, the Portland Princess, was waiting for our bus full of vacationers to board. We were greeted by singing waiters followed by a jazz pianist with a glass container nearby on the grand piano revealing the $5 bill that had been placed there to sweeten the pot as a tip.

There’s a new mystery. Not crop circles or UFO sightings, but unidentifiable masses appearing inside our house.

They look like dried seaweed, hardened with a swoop. They break apart like compostable planting pots that you can sink directly into the dirt.

The cats claim to be innocent and aren’t even very interested. We look to the ceilings. What are these clumps suddenly appearing in the upstairs hallway as though dropped from above?

If I found an unknown plant, I could take it to a master gardener; a fossil or insect I could take to identification day at the Burke Museum. If I’d spotted an animal, I could photograph it and decide nutria or water rat.

But, these gritty things don’t have eyes, teeth, tails or claws. Our only clue – the objects appear when the windows have been opened on two sides of the house to allow a breeze.

I don’t know whether to consult an ornithologist or an exterminator.

Furry Faces Foundation Plant Sale at Hotwire Coffeehouse
Hotwire Online Coffeehouse
4410 California Ave. SW
www.furryfaces.org
Sale entire month of July. Lora Lewis and her animal loving staff are selling our plants. Currently filling the courtyard: Stipa Sirocco, Blue Oat Grass, Phlox, Lavender, Sage, Grape Vines, Dianthus, Violas, Margarita Sweet Potato Vine, Coleus Varieties, Catmint, Tomato Plants and other NW perennials. New plants will be added as they mature, so please stop by on a regular basis.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
Blue-tagged items will be $1 thru July 31. Also, 50% off all long-sleeved garments: Wednesday, July 28, thru Saturday, July 31. Keep up with our frequent Manager’s Specials: Call 937-7169 for details. All proceeds go to fight cancer. The Shop will be open every Sunday, 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Other days we will be open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.to customers and donations. Check us out on Facebook. The ACS Discovery Shop always needs volunteers. Call 937 7169

Continuing Education Classes
South Seattle Community College
6000 16th Ave. SW, Seattle 98106

Marco D’Ambrosio left the wine industry to go into the gelato business. But, he insists that his new investment in a quintessential Italian dessert is not all that different from his previous career with wine.

“I consider myself to have always worked in the fine food industry because wine, for me, is a food product; it’s not an alcoholic beverage," said the owner of D'Ambrosio Gelato on Ballard Avenue. "That’s what it’s considered in Europe. And, gelato at this level is a fine food as well. So I didn’t really move much.”

D’Ambrosio moved to Seattle nearly six years ago to work in the wine industry but later decided to go into business with his father, who had spent years making gelato in Italy. After six months of remodeling a small shop space in Ballard, D’Amrbosio’s gelateria opened in May.