September 2010

Imagine a Fall weekend in September that brings together family and friends from the West Seattle community, an event that’s safe and tons of fun for all ages. You’ll find rides, kids’ games, an entertainment stage, specialty food booths, beer garden, BINGO, a used book sale, a raffle and much more on the Holy Rosary School grounds, between 41st and 42nd s.w. on Dakota Street.

Now in its 21st year, WestFest has become West Seattle’s Fall Family Festival.

Wristbands for rides are available in advance at Curious Kidstuff – 4740 California Avenue, West Seattle. Phone – 206-937-8788. Wristbands will also be available at the festival.

Updated Stage Line Up:

Friday

6:00 pm till 7:15 pm "We're Not Dead Yet" - Dad's playing classic rock
7:30 pm till 9:30 pm "Tupelo" Blues, country rock and soul

Saturday
12:00 p.m. till 12:30 p.m. - Dance Troupe performance (T.B.A.)
1:00 p.m. till 1:30 p.m. - Rose Laughlin -Celtic/traditional folk music
2:00 p.m. till 2:45 p.m. - "Best In Show" - See amazing pets from around West Seattle. Hosted by King5’s Jim Dever

After two and a half years as commander of the Southwest Precinct, Captain Joseph Kessler is off to command the West Precinct. Captain Steven Paulsen, who knows West Seattle well, will take his place.

“You are getting the best,” Kessler said about Paulsen. “He knows what’s going on, he knows what the issues are and I can’t think of a better pick to be the precinct commander.”

“For me, the patrol precinct is the top job for a captain; we get to be in the middle of everything and also get to work everyday with our officers,” Kessler said of being commander.

The transition has already begun, and Captain Paulsen will be in full command within two weeks. Paulsen was Operations Lieutenant under Kessler until six months ago when he took the position of day shift commander for the West Precinct.

Looking back on his time as commander, Kessler’s memories come back time and time again to how the officers and community of West Seattle work together.

The playoffs continue Friday at Steve Cox Park (Mel Olsen Field) with Smoky Division rivals Sugar Kings 13-10-1 facing the Cyclones 12-10-1
First pitch is 6 pm.

The 4th place Sugar Kings and 5th place Cyclones are locked firmly in the middle of the standings but both have 3 game win streaks and are equally match. This should provide some great baseball excitement. The Cyclones would seem to have the edge with an ERA of 2.00 and batting average of 0.379 during the playoffs but don't count out the Kings. They're posting a 0.563 win percentage and should give the Cyclones a run for their money.

Sunday: Play continues at Steve Cox Park with the Sierra Division leading Mariners 20-3-1 playing the 4th place Ravens 14-7-3
First pitch is 9 am.

The Mariners would seem to be the team to beat and the Ravens look like the team to do it. Ravens pitching is on fire with a playoff ERA of 1.00 and a batting average of 0.351. The Mariners were the team during the regular season but have stumbled in the playoffs. Mariner pitching seems to have completely imploded compiling a 13.00 ERA and a batting slump that is average at 0.250 during the playoffs.

Bill Evans got his Boxer Yoshi from a breeder in Post Falls, Idaho when he lived there six and a half years ago. Yoshi weighs about 60 .lbs and has a special diet. "Yoshi has a very sensitive stomach," Evans explained, " so he eats some dry salmon food. He's kind of high maintenance when it comes to his food."

He even has a strong preference for his treats. "He likes the Trader Joes Peanut Butter Treats," Evans explained.

This is a well cared for dog. Yoshi spends every weekday down at Wag the Dog Daycare in Burien, "We drop him off on the way to work and we take him to Westcrest Dog Park and down to the lake at Magnuson Park." When Yoshi is around other dogs he wants to be around larger dogs like Mastiffs. "He's kind of a wuss so maybe he sees that as a kind of protection," offered Evans. That may be but he's not shy about being dominant with his brother Jaeger who lives elsewhere but who visits. "My wife saw this," Evans explained," One time Jaeger was sleeping on a chair and Yoshi walked up and pawed the chair once and Jaeger took that as a sign to 'beat it' so he got up and let Yoshi have the chair."

The Association of Zoos & Aquariums has honored Woodland Park Zoo with the Exhibit Achievement Award for the zoo's Humboldt penguin exhibit, which opened in May 2009.

The prestigious award, equivalent to an Oscar in the zoo and aquarium industry according to a zoo press release, was presented this week at the Association of Zoos & Aquariums annual conference in Houston. This is the fifth time Woodland Park Zoo has won the award for best exhibit.

In a rare move by the association, the top award also went to a second institution, Oregon Zoo, for its Predators of the Serengeti.

The achievement award is presented by the association for outstanding dedication to conservation issues, construction of exhibit space and simulation of species' natural habitats.

The local food movement is an important element of creating green jobs and is the theme of the 7th Annual Eat Local Now! dinner at Herban Feast’s Sodo Park venue on September 30th. Sustainable West Seattle, CoolMom, Herban Feast and The Seattle Good Business Network are partners in the event.

The evening’s featured speakers are Edward Hill, the founding Director of Creatives4Community and GroundUp Organics and Ray Zambroski of The Groundbreakers. Both groups are working to create green jobs within local community food systems.

The evening includes dinner, exhibitors, speakers active in the local food movement, a silent auction and music. Eat Local Now! encourages participation in local food systems, bolstering the local economy and the development of green jobs.

Local food from Puget Sound will be prepared by Herban Feast’s award winning chef Dalis Chea. Locally and sustainably produced beer, wine and fresh cider will be available at a cash bar. Other organizations involved in our local food economy will have information at the event about purchasing locally as well as growing your own food.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, which owns and operates the Ballard's Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, is seeking public comments regarding a draft report on an evaluation and management proposal for the Corps’ property on the south side of the Locks near the fish ladder.

The draft South Entry Landscape Report is available online for review under the announcement section here or can be downloaded with the link at the beginning of this article. The Army Corps of Engineers is accepting comments on the document through Oct. 15.

The Army Corps of Engineers initiated the study in response to the need for an evaluation and management proposal for the south entry landscape, according to an Army Corps of Engineers press release. The report provides a historic context for the property and will help guide decisions for managing the landscape features, according to the press release.

To close a $60 million shortfall in the general fund, the cuts to be proposed by Dow Constantine, the King County Executive in his 2011 budget will include a reduction of $7.2 million from the King County Sheriff’s office – the equivalent of 71 full-time positions.

This 9.5 percent reduction of the Sheriff's Office budget means the layoffs of 28 deputies and two civilians who protect public safety in the unincorporated areas.

In addition, the Sheriff said 8 sergeants and 4 command staff members will be demoted and transferred back to patrol, and 51 detectives will be reassigned, most of them to driving a patrol car. Other public safety services that will be eliminated include: police storefronts, school resource officers, criminal intelligence, marine patrol, investigation of property crimes, homeland security, hazardous materials disposal, regional drug task forces, regional gang task forces, and many others.

Executive Constantine will outline the full range of cuts he must make to submit a balanced budget when he delivers his 2011 budget proposal on Monday, Sept. 27, in a speech before the Metropolitan King County Council.

The Ballard High School volleyball team didn't get the win in its first KingCo match of the 2010 season Sept. 15 against Eastlake High School, but the young team did show progress.

After dropping the first two games of the match 25-17 and 25-23, the Beavers avoided a shutout by trouncing Eastlake 25-11 and winning their first game of the season.

Eastlake took the match by winning the fourth game 25-20.

Ballard junior Monique Marquez had a game-high five aces to go with her 27 assists.

Sophomore Liza Berg led the team with 11 kills and had 12 digs. Sophomore Ria Conti had a team-high 15 digs.

Ballard, which has only one senior on the team, even got production from freshman Grace Taylor, who finished with five kills and three aces.

In the first six games they dropped this season – against Inglemoor and Lakeside – the Beavers lost by an average of 8.3 points, including blowouts by 12 and 13 points.

In the three losses against Eastlake Sept. 15, Ballard cut that to a five-point average differential and avoided the blowouts of earlier in the season.

The second in a series of meetings on the proposed West Seattle Golf Course Driving Range was far better attended than the first and saw a lot more emotion. This meeting, intended to reflect issues already raised by the Seattle Golf Master Plan and in the August meeting on the issue, also was meant to solicit opinions from golfers. They got them and a majority of the golfers present were not happy.

YOU CAN SEE A LARGE VERSION OF THE PLAN THAT WAS PRESENTED BY DOWNLOADING THE FILE AT THE LINK ABOVE.

The second iteration of the plan moves the proposed double decker range away from the Master Plan suggestion near 35th Ave. s.w. (which is where the former range was located until it was removed in the early 1980's) and places is much farther east, actually on to the existing course.