The Burien Parks and Recreation Department hosted its annual Daddy/Daughter Valentine's Party at the Burien Community Center on Saturday, Feb. 5.
Daddies and daughters alike had a great time.
If you've been in any of the grocery or drug stores, you'll see that they're loaded with flowers, chocolates, cards and doo-dads, which all speak of love and romance.
Yep, the retailers are ready to take your money in exchange for helping you express your feelings of appreciation and devotion.
Years ago, many folks didn't have the money to just pop out and buy a card and couldn't slap down a credit card to have flowers delivered, either. The valentines were crudely cut out of scrap paper and decorated with the use of colored pencils and scraps of lace that were pasted around the edges (remember how good that old paste tasted?).
If they lived in the northern states, they'd have to gather flowers during the prior spring and summer months and either clip them up to dry or press them in order to have any posies to offer their beloveds on Valentine's Day. And since folks typically didn't throw anything away, back then, they might find an old hair ribbon that they could use to tie up their offering.
By Katy Westlund, UW News Lab student
In the last decade, Ballard has undergone some undeniable changes. These changes have been both celebrated and cursed by Ballard residents and businesses. Now, people want to know if there are more changes to come.
“What happened to Ballard was that it went from a residential shopping neighborhood in the 1990s, to a destination shopping area with a lot of fancy boutiques, to a destination drinking area,” said Julie Pheasant-Albright, author of Early Ballard.
“You can see what’s happened to Belltown and you can see what’s happened to Fremont. Fremont was a residential neighborhood and now it’s a destination-drinking neighborhood.”
Pheasant-Albright said that while the nightlife is thriving, other businesses have suffered.
“Everywhere you look there are closed businesses. Epilogue Books, All the Kings Flags, Ballard Camera, Bella’s Women’s Clothing store. It just goes on and on,” said Pheasant-Albright.
Since its opening in September 2010, Ketch has been featured in just about every glossy magazine and fashion blog in the area and interestingly, it’s not just the fashion that brings people into this Ballard avenue boutique.
“Plenty of people come in here just to look at the interior design,” said owner Stephanie Kaldestad. “And that’s fine with me.
The interior design sports a industrial maritime theme.
“I wanted my boutique to stand out from other boutiques in Seattle,” she said.
A perfect fit for Ballard, the nautical interior of the shop also pays homage to her own family’s maritime history.
Kaldestad’s grandfather came from Norway and was one of the pioneers in Seattle’s crabbing industry. Blue prints from his boat now decorate the walls inside Ketch, jeans are displayed in big cylinders mounted to the wall, and the counter is made from the decking of an old crabbing boat. The high Skylight is adorned with dozens of glistening handheld mirrors hanging on wire.
“It’s industry chic,” Kaldestad said.
The Ballard Roadside Raingardens Pilot Project was started by the Seattle Public Utilities nearly half a year ago and the results has been less than satisfactory. Residents along the pilot street are upset.
"As residents on 29th and 77th Avenues, we are the "pilot street," and we are shocked at the result," wrote Karrie Mathison in an email.
The problem is that the pilot raingardens aren’t working properly.
"They are large, muddy, hazardous pits of water with industrial signage, and since they're not draining the City is paying a contracting company to come out and pump them dry once per week."
The residents are generally in favor of raingardens but want to see them dramatically improved and redesigned before any expansion takes place.
The residents recently started a blog to highlight the issues and last week, the residents got an opportunity to expressed their sentiments at a meeting between the residents and members of Seattle Public Utilities.
SPU listened to the concerns of the residents and send out the following letter:
Dear Ballard Residents
Featured This Week at the Farmers Markets in West Seattle and the University District, February 7 - 13, 2011
Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance Markets:
University District (UD) – Saturdays, 9 am – 2 pm, YEAR ROUND –
West Seattle (WS) – Sundays, 10 am – 2 pm, YEAR ROUND
Locations, Hours, Vendor and Event Info: www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org
New this Week:
*****NEW ITEMS IN ITALICS*****
Sweetheart Bouquets: Fresh from the farm Tulips, Daffodils, Lilies, Anemone, Hyacinth. Gorgeous colors, mix and match – bring a touch of spring to the one you love. From Alm Hill Gardens (Whatcom County)
Fresh Whole Chickens: Run around the barn yard hens. Superb flavor. Perfect to roast and then share by candlelight. Also small poussin chickens for roasting. From Stokesberry Sustainable Farm and River Farm – at both markets. Skagit River Ranch at UD.
WestSide Baby the White Center based organization that helps families across South King County with childrens clothing, diapers car seats and more raised more than $100,000 in two events Saturday Feb. 5.
The first, held at the Jerry Brockey Center on the SSCC campus saw more than 400 people in attendance at the WestSide Baby 10th Anniversary Tea.
The afternoon event hit $88,000 of the total funds raised but that number was preliminary since more remained to be counted. The event featured numbered paddles distributed to those participating allowing them to be easily identified as denominations were called out ranging from $5000 to $25.
During the afternoon event a 2 minute video presentation outlined the facts of what WestSide Baby has accomplished since it began and emphasizing the need that still exists. They celebrated the fact that in the past year the organization expanded into a new larger space just adjacent enabling them to help many more people.
Many drive by the West Seattle Fraternal Order of Eagles at 4426 California Ave. every day but few may have realized the buzz in their dining room Thursday night, Feb. 3 when the (women's) Auxiliary hosted Mary Myers, the International Grand Madam President. That title indicates that she is in charge of over 300,000 female F.O.E. members across America and Canada. Interestingly, her male counterpart, Grand Worthy President, Mike Lagervall, resides in Ballard where the F.O.E. was founded, in 1898. His wife, Martha, attended the Feb. 3 dinner.
Myers was in town to raise money for the charity she and the late Grand Worthy President, Phil Tice, chose, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City. They have raised nearly $15 million with a goal to raise $25 million total in three years. Myers is also raising money for Heart/Stroke Research, Hurley Medical Center, in her home town of Flint, Michigan.
10:55 p.m. on February 1st. 65th Block of 15th Ave N.W.
The Seattle Police Department reports that on Tuesday evening around 11:30 p.m, North Precinct officers responded to Ballard Swedish Hospital on a report of a stabbing victim that had just walked into the Emergency Room.
The 23-year-old male victim said he had been in a car with a group of friends when he had an encounter with the driver of another car near N.W. 65th Street and 15th Avenue N.W. The car the victim was riding in was stopped and another car pulled up next to it. The victim, seated in the backseat, rolled down the window, as did the driver of the other car. They began yelling at each other and both men got out of their cars. The victim and the suspect began fighting in the street and then both got back into their cars.
Once in the car, the victim realized that he had been stabbed and was driven to Ballard Swedish Hospital. The victim was later transported to Harborview Medical Center for his injuries.
A dead cow, weighing approximately 400 pounds washed ashore in the 5900 block of Beach Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 2 and was towed out to the water by the Harbor Patrol Unit of the Seattle Police Department on Saturday.
Sgt. Michael Pugel said, "We were going to get it Friday evening but it got too late so we came out Saturday morning."
The carcass had been moving with the tide and Sgt. Pugel said, "Over the past couple of days it had been drifting down, washing ashore, or being pushed offshore (...) It would have been beached this morning if we didn't keep pushing it out as the tide went out.
Harbor Patrol Officer Jim Johnson donned a drysuit (all the Harbor Patrol Officers are trained divers) to secure the animal. "We had to attach a rope to it, " Pugel explained, " and we wanted to keep it afloat because we wanted to keep it high and dry and then have to carry it out into the water. When we got there it was just barely on the beach."
