September 2010

After 23 years as the cornerstone of the Ballard Building on the corner of Northwest Market Street and 22nd Avenue Northwest, Lombardi's Italian Restaurant and Bar will be closing its doors for good Oct. 9.

Owner Diane Symms is transferring ownership of Lombardi's, which also has locations in Everett and Issaquah, to her daughter, Kerri Lonergan.

Lonergan will keep the Everett and Issaquah locations open, but Symms is selling the Ballard space to "someone with deep roots in the Seattle restaurant community" who will open a "gastro pub" in the location, according to Lombardi's blog.

Symms is not announcing who the buyer of the space is, but in the past year Seattle celebrity chef Tom Douglas, owner of Lola, Palace Kitchen, Etta's and more, has shown an interest in finding a Ballard location for a new restaurant.

SKIFFLE, an evening of celebration to support (YCAC) Youngstown Cultural Arts Center's ALL ACCESS Program, which provides free after school arts classes for upwards of 300 young people in Southwest Seattle is being presented tonight Sept. 17.

The Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is located at 4408 Delridge Way s.w. and the event starts at 7 p.m.

In addition to an open beer and wine bar and appetizers from Herban Feast, professional artists and exemplary ALL ACCESS youth are on hand for live entertainment. From circus arts to live painting, break dancing to indie rock, SKIFFLE is a way to learn more about the building and programs at YCAC , and support youth arts.

FEATURED ARTISTS INCLUDE:
The Cabiri
Cristina Orbe
Air 2 A Bird
Vicious Puppies
Castbound
KEXP DJ Sharlese
Maya Uemoto and Blank Canvas
Youngstown Records

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Ballard High School junior Victor Bailly had the best finish for the boys cross country meet against Eastlake High School and Woodinville High School Sept. 15, placing third overall with a time of 17:53.

The Ballard boys team came in second overall with 48 points. Eastlake won with 31 and Woodinville finished in last with 67.

Right behind Bailly was senior Blair Scott, who also finished in 17:53, placing fourth.

Eastlake's Devin Sharps won the boys race with a time of 17:25.

Junior Alex Bowns, who placed third in last week's meet and was expected to win this week, did not race due to tendonitis in his knee. He hopes to race in the team's meet this weekend.

The Ballard girls team finished in third with 65 points. Eastlake won the girls side with 23 points, and Woodinville finished with 52.

Next up for Ballard cross country is the South Whidbey Invitational at 10 a.m. Sept. 18 at South Whidbey High School.

The Seattle Storm beat the Atlanta Dream Sept. 16 to sweep the WNBA Championships and bring home its second championship trophy. The Woodland Park Zoo is saluting the Storm and its fans with a weekend of discount admission.

The zoo will be offering half-price admission Sept. 18 and Sept. 19 to anyone who shows a ticket stub for any game of the conference finals or finals or who wears any Storm apparel, including jerseys, T-shirts and hats.

For more information, visit www.zoo.org.

In a Sept. 16 match where it was hard to tell if the rain or the physical play was harder, the Ballard High School girls soccer team had to content itself with a 0-0 tie after outplaying Nathan Hale High School offensively in the second half.

During the first half of the nonconference match, both sides survived a number of shots on goal thanks to missed opportunities and some great saves from Ballard senior keeper Berni Cardon and Nathan Hale keeper Emily Boyd.

Cardon had a fantastic diving save in the 32nd minute of the first half, punching the ball out of bounds. But, Boyd responded by protecting the net during a barrage of Ballard attempts in the final five minutes of the half.

The Beavers kept up that barrage in the second half, dominating the time of possession, but came away empty handed. Ballard attempted what seemed like an endless string of corner kicks, all of which were thwarted by the Nathan Hale keeper.

Ballard came close to pulling out its first win of the season when sophomore Kat Anesini got by a diving Boyd and put the ball in the net. But, the goal was called off on an offsides penalty that drew groans from the Ballard fans huddled under umbrellas.

Under its project to improve King County Metro's Route 44, the Seattle Department of Transportation is proposing a complete overhaul of the intersection at Northwest Market Street and 24th Avenue Northwest, including car-sensing signals, two less traffic lanes and the loss of five parking spaces.

In April, the Department of Transportation proposed adding right-turn and transit-only lanes on east and westbound Market Street at 24th Avenue to go along with other infrastructure improvements meant to increase reliability and efficiency on the Route 44 between Ballard and the University District.

The original plan was to have a demonstration period for the new configuration this past summer, but the proposal was met with opposition from the Ballard District Council and some Ballard residents, who worried it would have an adverse impact on freight and force traffic onto neighboring streets.

The right-turn and transit-only lanes and the demonstration period were scrapped in favor of a complete redesign of the intersection unveiled at a Sept. 16 Department of Transportation open house.

Park(ing) Day an international event is seeing some local participation today, Sept. 17 in the West Seattle Junction. The installation is directly in front of Easy Street Records at 4559 California Ave s.w. According to the organization's web site "PARK(ing) Day is an annual, worldwide event that inspires city dwellers everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good."

Participants are urged to occupy a parking space (legally by acquiring permits) and decorate it as they see fit. All the people involved will come together at 5th and Pine Streets at 6:00 p.m. for an awards ceremony. A large parking lot at that location has a number of displays set up there.

When Norwegian architect Einar Jarmund, whose work can often be found isolated over a river or alone in a snow-blanketed forrest , designs a building, he is seeking to paraphrase nature. He said it is his challenge to strive to be as good as it.

The work of Jarmund's firm, Oslo-based Jarmund/Vigsnæs, is on display now at the Nordic Heritage Museum in an exhibit called “Lost in Nature: The Architecture of Jarmund/Vigsnæs.”

The exhibit is a collection of images and models of architectural projects in Norway that have a close relationship with nature.

Jarmund said as an architect you are given a place to put your building, and he is fortunate enough that for his firm that place is often nature.

There is something special about being given a natural setting to work with; it is an amazing source of inspiration, he said.

According to the press release for "Lost in Nature," Jarmund/Vigsnæs focuses on projects with the potential for meaningful architecture, frequently in strong natural settings with harsh climate conditions.

More than 30 Rotarians and guests celebrated 56 years of service by Highline District educator Walt Carsten last Thursday at the noon Burien/White Center

Rotary Club weekly luncheon. Walt was there in the beginning years while teaching at White Center Heights Elementary and has carried the Service Above Self Rotarian model throughout his career. Walt received the President Emeritus award from the Rotary Club's Bob Wray Jr, after some thoughtful commentary by Bernie Dorsey of the Highline School Board and John Matthews, District Governor for Rotary International. City council member Rose Clark offered a proclamation,signed by Mayor Joan McGilton, in honor of Walt's years of service to the community.

Walt's wife Joyce, also at the luncheon, has been at his side for many of the volunteer efforts over the years. The Rotary slogan "They Profit Most Who Serve Best" is appropriate for 83-1/2 year old Walt Carsten. The profit is to the community he served.

After a month's summer vacation, the SeaTac City Council returned Sept. 14 as split as before the break.

Two out of three scheduled business items were postponed for two weeks as council members requested more time to study items recommended by city staff.

Councilwoman Pam Fernald asked for a two-week postponement on a resolution to appoint an interim planning director to replace Steve Butler, who took a job in Mill Creek.

Councilman Rick Forschler delayed until Sept 28 a vote on replacing $34,000 worth of playground equipment.
Lawmakers approved by consent the replacement of a cooling tower at City Hall.

Human Resources Director Anh Hoang told council members "there is a great need to fill the void" left by Butler's departure.
She proposed a $13,455 per month contract with Prothman & Co. for an interim planning director for approximately four to six months.
As a consultant to the city, Prothman had recommended eliminating the planning director position in order to consolidate planning, building and civil development engineering into one department under an Economic and Development Services director.