November 2010

For the first year ever, Holy Rosary will be hosting their annual Christmas Tree sale (formerly at the Admiral Safeway) on the Holy Rosary school property. They will be located in the lower parking area. This is east of California Avenue at Dakota and 41st.

The Tree Lot elves will be hosting hot chocolate and candy canes from 9am until noon on Nov. 28th, Dec. 5th and Dec. 12th .

Holy Rosary is offering only premium quality trees. 15% of the profits support local charities ($8000 to charity last year) including West Seattle Food Bank, West Seattle Help Line and Hickman House of West Seattle.

The foundation of Holy Rosary School is built upon the support of our entire community.

The hours of operation are M-F 3:30 pm – 9pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am – 9pm.

Press Release:
November is Seattle’s wettest month, and with the rain comes the threat of landslides. Since Nov. 1, 2.73 inches of rain has fallen at Sea-Tac Airport—exceeding the seasonal average by 1.15 inches, and pushing the area over the landslide threshold.

The Take Winter by Storm campaign is reminding residents to take preventive measures to protect themselves and their property from possible landslides.

City of Seattle landslide expert, Bill Benzer will talk about the causes of landslides and what homeowners can do to prevent future problems. This is a press event but The City of Seattle is also hosting two free public landslide awareness meetings.

The meetings will provide information on how to manage landslide-prone properties, and will be held at the Northgate Community Center on Nov. 20 and at the South Seattle Community College on Dec. 4.
Both events are scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon.

For more information, please visit www.seattle.gov/dpd/emergency/landslides.

While there's no spaces left for bowlers (it's sold out) you can still join the members of Beer Church at West Seattle Bowl on Saturday, November 20 at 5:30 p.m.) for the 12th Annual Turkey Bowl as they collect food donations and raise money to support the West Seattle Food Bank.

Bring canned goods or packaged food products to drop off.

The Turkey Bowl features more than 200 bowlers and dozens of spectators. The event is open to the public but also includes teams representing local restaurants, bars and breweries.

The West Seattle Food Bank works to eliminate hunger in West Seattle so that no one in our community will go to bed hungry.

Opened in 1981, the West Seattle Food Bank serves over 500 families each week. The food bank recently experienced the busiest month in its 29 year history. Please help support this worthy cause as they face unprecedented challenges.

2 a.m. Nov. 5, 8500 Block of 15th Ave. N.W.

An act of generosity may have lead to violence after a night of drinking and karaoke at Goofy's Sports Bar when "Tom" bought drinks for a handful of who he said were bar regulars, unintentionally flashing a wallet containing $1,000 in $100 bills.

Tom left the bar at closing time and was heading north on 15th Avenue Northwest when he was pushed down by one of the suspects, who Tom told police worked at the bar. The man demanded money and took Tom's wallet and shirt, which were later recovered in the parking lot empty of cash and ripped, respectively.

A getaway vehicle for the suspect, as well as the rest of the group Tom had bought drinks for, was driven by a female with brown hair. Tom said the vehicle returned several times while he waited for police.

"The bartender knows them," Tom repeatedly told police about the suspects.

4 p.m. Nov. 5 – 6:45 p.m. Nov. 8, 2300 Block of N.W. 67th St.

Starting Nov. 15, the Ballard News-Tribune will have a new web editor, reporter and photographer in Anne-Marije Rook, replacing Michael Harthorne.

Rook has been working in media for the past four years. Her work has appeared in more than 15 publications, including Crosscut.com, the Boise Weekly and Greenpeace International.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism and German from the University of Idaho. She has lived in three different countries and speaks multiple languages. Rook enjoys pedaling through life on two wheels and can be seen cruising around town on her bike.

She is looking forward to telling Ballard’s story.

Rook can be contacted at 208.870.9406. News tips, questions, comments, press releases and online calendar items can be sent to anner@robinsonnews.com.

After a rainy beginning for the evening the November 2010 West Seattle Artwalk was well attended.

CLICK THE PHOTO TO SEE MORE IMAGES.

Samrawit Zeinu, who volunteers at The Kenney was on hand there selling Christmas Wreaths and representing Global Visionaries, selling coffee for a trip she is planning to Guatemala as well as for a 'Project Fund' whose purpose is to build schools and supply hospitals in that nation.

"Each year different high school students go to Guatemala for two weeks to assist other Guatemala teams," said Zeinu.

Also at the Kenney, the Cornucopia Band played. This 24 piece band performs music from the late 19th century up to 1930 when band concerts, jazz and ragtime were highly popular.They are scheduled to appear at Kenyon Hall at Saturday and Sunday, November 20-21, 7:30 PM at 7904 35th Avenue s.w.

Press Release from UFCW Local 21:

Grocery store workers at the big chains stores in central Puget Sound gathered for vote meetings throughout the Snohomish, King and Kitsap Counties over the past several days to consider a vote to reject employers’ proposal and take a strike authorization vote. The last of these meetings took place on Wednesday evening in Bellevue. After the meeting all the ballots were counted.

The vote result: 94% Vote to Reject Employers’ Proposal and Authorize a Strike

Difficult negotiations between workers and these big chains have been dragging on since they began nine months ago in mid-March. The out-of-state-based corporations include California-based Safeway, Albertsons (owned by Minnesota-based Supervalu), and QFC and Fred Meyer (both owned by Cincinnati-based food giant Kroger).

These out-of-state based chains are among the Top 50 corporations in the country and paid their CEOs a combined 30 millions dollars last year. The grocery stores have not been hit as hard by the economy as many other companies because families have switched to shopping at the store more and eating out at restaurants less.

Many Seattle Parks and Recreation facilities, including Ballard Community Center, Loyal Heights Community Center and the Ballard Pool, will be closed Nov. 12 for a furlough day. There will also be some closures Nov. 15.

City of Seattle employees are taking 10 days off without pay in 2010 to help fill the budget gap, according to a Parks and Recreation press release.

Parks and Recreation has worked hard to schedule furlough days in a way that has the smallest possible impact on customers and that provides as much coverage as possible, according to the press release.

These facilities and services are closed Nov. 12:

• Grounds maintenance.
• Community centers (except child care and late night programs, which will still operate).
• Swimming pools.
• Environmental Learning Centers.
• Lifelong Recreation (except food and fitness programs, which will still operate).
• Business Service Center.

These facilities and services are closed Nov. 15:

• Administrative offices.

Looming construction on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project is forcing King County Metro to realign the Downtown Seattle sections of two Ballard bus routes.

Beginning in February, Metro routes 15 and 18 will no longer run along First Avenue in Downtown. Instead, both routes will be moved two blocks east to Third Avenue.

The routes had been considered for moves to Third Avenue in the past, but construction slated for early next year on the south end of the viaduct, which will create lane reductions and detours on First Avenue, is making the realignment necessary now, Doug Johnson, King County Department of Transportation planner, said at the Nov. 10 Ballard District Council meeting.

"We just didn't want these routes to be snarled in that type of construction," Johnson said.

He said the Department of Transportation is considering these changes permanent, meaning the routes 15 and 18 will stay on Third Avenue even after viaduct construction is completed.

In 2030, how will Ballardites be moving about the city? Will they be taking light rail to Downtown and West Seattle? Will they board a bus with its own lane to the University District? Will they hop on a high-speed streetcar to Fremont?

The Seattle Department of Transportation started work on its Transit Master Plan this September in order to answer those questions and to invest and plan accordingly.

The old Transit Master Plan from 2005 focused on connecting the city's urban villages via a network of high-frequency bus service, but a lot has happened to Seattle transit since then, including light rail, Tony Mazzella, project manager for the Transit Master Plan, said during the Nov. 10 Ballard District Council meeting.

Now, the Department of Transportation is trying to design a transit system that is the best and highest-performing it can envision given financial capacities during the next 20 years, Mazzella said.

According to the Transit Master Plan Project Summary, its goals are to:

• Make riding transit easier and more desirable in order to affect a mode shift.
• Use transit to create a more equitable transportation system for all.