October 2010

A group of Ballard citizens and business is attempting to halt the construction of Urness House, 80-units of housing and two floors of services for formerly homeless men and women, which was scheduled to begin construction this winter.

The group, called the Ballard Preservation Association, filed two separate appeals with the Seattle Office of the Hearing Examiner Oct. 18, the final day for appeals, calling for a full environmental impact statement to be created for the Compass Housing Alliance project at 1753 N.W. 56th St. as well as a reconvening of the Design Review Board for the project.

According to the appeal, the Ballard Preservation Association includes Ballard Partners, Neidler Manufacturing Company and Lew Wong Realestate. Neidler Manufacturing Company gives a Bellevue address, and Lew Wong Realestate gives a Renton address.

The third West Seattle Golf Driving Range Public Meeting is set for tonight Wednesday, October 27 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm at the West Seattle Golf Course 4470 35th Ave. s.w.

There have been two previous meetings in which designs and ideas were presented, the last one on Sept. 16 which drew some angry responses and a large crowd of golfers and area residents. Our coverage of that meeting is here.

While there are numerous approaches to fitting a driving range into the existing property the plan offered in the September meeting was controversial because it called for a shortening of the current par 5, 9th hole by some 200 yards, making it a par 4 hole and the potential shortening of the 10th hole by some 40 yards.

Those plans were drawn as a response to the initial feedback Seattle Parks and its design team got from the August meeting.

Gabe, a fifth-grader at West Woodland Elementary, is not a fan of running the mile in gym class, especially not on grass, which makes the task even more difficult. Luckily for Gabe, on Oct. 27 West Woodland dedicated a new track as part of a handful of school improvements, including a new playground and rain garden.

The projects – playground improvements, library upgrades, new flooring and energy efficiency improvements – were started in June with a budget of $363,750 funded through Seattle Public School's Business, Technology and Academics Levy and a $67,750 matching grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

West Woodland Principal Marilyn Loveness said one of the messages the school staff tries to impart on its students is they are part of a caring community. She said these projects, which were made possible through contributions from all areas of city government and the community, are the epitome of that message.

It seems like a lot of officials and politicians want a tunnel to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct. But not our Mayor Mike Mcginn. Well,bless his courageous heart.

His underlying view is that Seattle residents should not get stuck with the inevitable millions of cost overruns resulting from the tunnel project.

It's funny how things happen in Seattle, even with the consent of the voters who end up picking up the tab, but who get a dubious benefit for their money. The light rail project that connects downtown to the airport is a good example. This expensive project feathers the nest of some downtown business interests. But it does very little to address transportation problems in the region.

Most of the Seattle City Council members love the tunnel idea, too.

Is it possible that McGinn is standing firm because he truly believes what he says. We agree with him.

The Ballard High School volleyball team closed out the final two weeks of the 2010 season by going 1-3, earning its second victory of the year by defeating Sammamish High School 3-2 Oct. 21.

In its last four matches, the Beavers lost 3-0 to Roosevelt High School and Issaquah High School and 3-1 to Newport High School in addition to the win over Sammamish.

During that stretch, Monique Marquez had 74 assists and 12 digs, Annie Allen had 40 digs and 16 kills, and Deanna Myers had 25 kills and 20 digs.

The Beavers finished with a 2-12 overall record. Their 1-9 KingCo record was good enough for 10th in the conference, ahead of Redmond High School.

Ballard is losing only one senior, Aubrey Manning, to graduation.

Photographer Kurt Howard captured these images of Kennedy's 47-0 trouncing of Highline on October 27. SLIDESHOW: CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO PLAY SLIDESHOW.

It was defensive back Thomas Lowery's time.

He remembers those off-season workouts, all that extra running and lifting. Sacrifice.

He always had hope in the Todd Beamer football program, despite the losing seasons and a coaching change during his four years there.

And, now, all that preparation and belief came down to this.

Late in fourth quarter in a tight game that had playoff implications, Lowery came up with the play of the season.

He intercepted a Puyallup pass deep in his territory and ran the ball back for an electrifying 62-yard touchdown, sealing a Beamer 28-17 SPSL South Division win and its first playoff spot in its history.

"It was crazy; it was surreal," said Lowery, whose team scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase an
11-point deficit. "Ive been here four years and to get a pick-six and beat Puyullup to go to the playoffs for the first year ... there's a little tear in my eye."

Tuesday, Oct. 19

Girls soccer

A-R 2, TJ 1

Lindsey Dahl scored the Raiders' only goal in last Tuesday's loss on an unassisted play in the 12th minute.

Beamer 10, Bethel 0

Todd Beamer won big in last Tuesday's action. Meghan Grass earned the shutout on goal while Megan Anderson, Breanna Straus and Jenna Floyd all scored two goals apiece.

Curtis 2, Federal Way 1

Sydney Staggs scored on an unassisted play for he Eagles on Tuesday, Oct. 19.

Enumclaw 2, Decatur 0

Decatur fell to the Hornets in a 3A South Puget Sound League match last Tuesday.

Volleyball

Kentridge 3, TJ 0

Thomas Jefferson was gunned down by the Chargers last Tuesday, 25-10, 25-12, 25-15.
Allie Crow had seven assists and three aces.

Thursday, Oct. 21

Golf

SPSL/WCD

Alexus Song of Thomas Jefferson shot rounds of 77 and 73 to take first place when her South Puget Sound League medalist and West Central District state qualifying rounds were added together.

Jennifer Lee of Todd Beamer came in third with a 77 and a 74 to make 151 and Federal Way's Emily Victor tied for eighth with a 91 and an 82 for 173. Sarah Yu tied for 12th with an 84 and a 92 for 176.

Highline's CHOICE Academy has been named a 2010 School of Distinction for outstanding improvement in student achievement. CHOICE is one of just 94 schools statewide to receive the award from the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) and Phi Delta Kappa Washington State Chapter.

School of Distinction Awards are presented to schools that show the most improvement on the state math and reading exams over five years. The top five percent of elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the state receive the honor.

"Educators in these schools are creating systems of support for outstanding, sustained improvement in reading and math student performance", CEE's Executive Director Sue Mills said. "This award celebrates the multi-year improvement in both reading and math not recognized in the federal No Child Left Behind law or in the year-to-year calculation of "Adequate Yearly Progress."

CHOICE Academy is an alternative school that emphasizes high parent involvement, student responsibility, high academic standards and a small learning environment for students at the secondary level.

King County and Alliance Wasatch I, LLC, a joint venture between Alliance Property Group Inc. and Wasatch Advantage Group, LLC ("Alliance") joined Sound Transit, the City of Burien, and Pankow Builders in hosting a groundbreaking Oct. 23 for the park-and-ride expansion project at the Burien Transit Center.

The ceremony at the Burien park-and-ride lot, kicked off construction of a multi-level, 462-stall garage and an adjoining 43-space surface lot that will add 164 spaces to the transit center's parking capacity.

A key element of the county's effort to create a sustainable transportation hub in Burien, and the city's overall vision for downtown, the $20.5 million project represents the second phase of the county's three-phase redevelopment of the transit center.

When completed late next year, the garage will occupy the north end of the county's park-and-ride lot and include 10 charging units for electric vehicles with capacity for 40 additional charging stations.

Project partners said they are looking forward to breaking ground on a project that will create well-paying jobs in South King County at a time when effects of the recession are still being felt.