April 2011

The West Seattle custom cake bakery called "BAKED." now at 4611 36th ave SW (by appt. only) will move June 1, and share the space at 2604 California Avenue SW with Heavenly Pasty & Cake's current location. Allison Barnes of Heavenly Pastry told the West Seattle Herald that her bakery will remain as it is, open by appointment only, as will BAKED..

Bird on a Wire Espresso shared the space temporarily, but left in March. They continue to operate at their 3509 SW Henderson St. location. As many of our readers will recall, this storefront space is the former West Seattle Herald Headquarters. We joined our Burien office at 14006 1st Avenue South.

Kristina Serfass, who co-owns BAKED. with Natalie Vorpahl, told the West Seattle Herald she will update us with details as June 1 nears.

It was another rainy afternoon yesterday leading to various cancelled games.

But in other sports news, the Washington State Lacrosse announced the lead scorers in the state yesterday and Ballard's Maddie Soukup is the third top scorer in the Girls Division II.

So far this season, Soukup has played seven league games and scored 31 goals for 37 points.

Today's games:

· Girls JV Tennis vs. Skyline @ Ballard HS Tennis Courts, 3:45pm
· Girls Varsity Tennis vs. Skyline @ Skyline Tennis Courts, 3:45pm
· Boys JVC Baseball vs. Woodinville @ Soundview, 3:45pm
· Track and Field vs. Mercer Island @ Sammamish, 4pm
· Boys JV LAX vs. Roosevelt @ Lower Woodland #7, 5pm
 

On Saturday, May 14, Ballard High School graduate and world-famous musician, Bob Flick will return to Ballard High School for the Brothers Four 50th anniversary concert.

This will be the fourth time that The Brothers Four will perform at Ballard High School to raise funds for the school’s music department.

"We're excited to see them back," said Richard Lee from Ballard High School Foundation. “They had a great following back in the day and we’re hoping to sell out.”

Lee said that previous concerts attracted as many as 1500 people to the concert.

"They may have left physically but they never left mentally," Lee said.

Flick, BHS class of 1956, formed The Brothers Four with three of his fraternity brothers while attending the University of Washington and today he’s the only remaining founding member in the band.

The band has performed thousands of concerts all over the world, including performances for four U.S. presidents, and have been called global pioneers in the musical movement of folk revival. Their hit recording of "The Green Leaves of Summer" from the motion picture "The Alamo" was nominated for an Academy Award.

During yesterday's surveying of a sunken ship near the Ballard Locks, the dive team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not find any hazardous materials, reports Sean Sheldrake, Unit Diving Officer.

The sunken vessel is a former Coast Guard ice breaker that sank in 1980. Being in close proximity to the Ballard Locks, state officials wanted more information on the status of the vessel. EPA divers inspected the sunken vessel yesterday morning for potentially hazardous materials like batteries and leaking oil.

"We did not find any evidence of hazardous materials onboard. on deck or in any of the spaces we could access," Sheldrake said.

For more details on the EPA dive unit, please visit www.epa.gov/region10/dive.

Click on photo for slideshow of first dress rehearsal of OKLAHOMA!

West Seattle High School's drama club and music department present OKLAHOMA! May 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20.

Tickets are $7 with reservation, and $12 at the door. Call (206) 252-8834.

"I'm very excited about this play, especially because of the amount of boys who are in it," said WSHS principal Ruth Medsker. "I think that is exciting when we can present a play that encourages boys to be in it."

"In the past we have struggled to get as many men as we want, but this time we got all the teachers involved to encourage the male students to try out," said director, Andrew Finley, who has been at WSHS nine years. "I started the theater at 8 years old. I was in 'Life With Father"' It was about red-headed brothers. They dunked me in red dye so that my hair turned red. The theater was a converted barn in Maine. My family is still working there."

The Highline Public Schools Board of Directors has named Dr. Alan Spicciati to serve as interim superintendent for the 2011-2012 school year. Spicciati is currently Chief Accountability Officer for the district.
"After 17 years in Highline, I am absolutely thrilled to lead our district at this time," said Spicciati. "My priorities will be to keep our momentum and innovation going and to finish important work we have started. The primary responsibility of Highline Public Schools is to ensure all students are prepared for college, career, and citizenship, and I look forward to working with our many partners who can help us achieve that."
Spicciati is a graduate of the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, with a double major in music education and performance. He earned his master's degree from the University of Washington's Danforth Educational Leadership Program, and his Doctor of Education at Seattle Pacific University. He has served as a teacher, principal, and administrator at Highline Public Schools and in New York before coming to Highline.

With recent news that Charlie Conner’s seven-story mixed use complex at the Alaska Junction is just a few steps from the City go-ahead to start building, the reality is setting in for businesses on the block that their time at that location is limited.

For more information on the Conner project progress, please check out the Herald story, Conner's mixed-use Junction project closer to reality.

Conner’s proposed complex, a mixture of nearly 200 residential units with retail and work/live spaces at street level, will take over to the north of Talarico’s on California Ave. s.w. and from California to 42nd Ave s.w. on s.w. Alaska St. The existing buildings will be demolished to make room for the two-building plan and businesses including Rubato Records, Super Supplements and Rocksport Bar and Grill will have to make new plans when Conner decides to move forward. West Seattle’s Neighborhood Service Center also resides in the existing buildings.

Burien lawmakers honored April 25 New Start students who were named Earth Heroes and OK’d a contract to store big rocks from Seahurst Park on Port of Seattle property.

But the most exciting council meeting event was the evacuation of council chambers and the Burien Library after a prankster pulled the fire alarm.
City Manager Mike Martin said a boy entered the shared City Hall/ library building, pulled the alarm and escaped down the street.

There was no indication of a fire but the shrill alarm distracted the meeting to the point where council members and audience members fled the building. About two dozen library patrons also milled around the outside of the building for about 15 minutes. A Burien firefighter checked the building and turned off the alarm before the evacuees reentered the building.

The big rocks from Seahurst Park will be taken from the seawall as part of the city’s restoration of the north beach to a more natural condition. The south shore was restored previously.

Press Release

Seattle Greenforce Initiative Summit 2011

Thursday, May 5, 2011
8:30 am – 3:30 pm
South Seattle Community College
Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center (PSIEC)
Georgetown Campus, 6737 Corson Ave. S, Building C, Seattle, WA 98108

Contact: Steve Lynch
Phone: (617) 728 – 4446
Email: slynch@jff.org
Website: http://www.greenforceinitiative.org

South Seattle Community College’s Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center (PSIEC) is the site of the upcoming Seattle Greenforce Initiative Summit 2011, a partnership between Jobs for the Future (JFF) and National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The summit brings together regional community colleges, faculty, career services staff, and community industry partners to explore the growth of the new green economy, and examine ways that community colleges and local industry can collaborate to accelerate green workforce development initiatives.

The summit is also a forum for building relationships, sharing best practices, and addressing the challenges of lower-skilled adults to prepare for success in this new economy.

Press Release:

Roxhill is having its first annual silent auction and raffle event, “Night for the Stars.” This fund raising event is being held May 12, 2011 at Twist Restaurant in Belltown in Seattle from 6:30 – 9:00pm. Ms. Michelle Lehman, a teacher at Roxhill and lead coordinator of the auction, underscores the fun atmosphere that staff members are planning to create. “We are going to celebrate Roxhill’s amazing achievements and have fun while rallying support of our school.”

Roxhill is looking for event underwriters, silent auction donors, and people to attend the event. All donors will be acknowledged during the event on May 12. One hundred percent of all proceeds will go directly to the school. For further information about ways to contribute and join the event, visit the school’s website at http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/roxhill/ or contact the principal Carmela Dellino directly.

Contact:
Carmela Dellino, Principal
Roxhill Elementary School
206-252-9570
http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/roxhill/