May 2011

State Route 99 will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between the West Seattle Bridge and Seattle's sports stadiums in the SODO area beginning May 16. King County Metro Transit hopes motorists will help reduce the number of vehicles in the construction zone by sharing the ride on a bus or vanpool.

"King County has been working with the state to beef up transportation service between downtown Seattle and West Seattle, White Center and Burien for more than a year," said Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond. "We think we have some terrific options that could significantly reduce congestion and delays during construction. Plus, with gas prices soaring, you can also save some money."

Starting Monday, May 16 at 5 a.m., the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is reducing lanes on SR 99 on the Alaskan Way Viaduct to continue construction of new southbound lanes. This is a long-term lane closure. To prepare for these changes, there will be a full closure of the viaduct the weekend of May 14-15 and buses will be rerouted for that closure.

Each year The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence awards employees, volunteers and alumni in the Highline School District for their outstanding service. This year's Gold Star Award winners were selected from an extensive list of worthy nominees submitted by people who live and work in the district service area.
Winners will be honored at the Foundation's Annual Gold Star Awards Breakfast/Luncheon on Friday, May 13th, at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Tukwila and Each winner also receives a cash prize from the Foundation. To attend this event or for more information, www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org.

Outstanding Teacher, Beverly Mowrer, New Start High School

Softball:

The Ballard softball team lost to state's #1 team last night. Woodinville defeated Ballard 6 to 0.

With 13 hits against Ballard's four hits, Woodinville consistently scored one run each inning starting in the top of the second inning while Ballard struggled to get a run across the plate.

Ballard pitcher Andrea Jewett was three out of three but neither her effort at bat nor on the mound could help Ballard beat Woodinville.

On Tuesday however, the Ballard softball team looked much stronger as Jewett threw a one-hitter against Skyline.
Jewett was two for three at bat with one double and one RBI. Bernie Cardon was also two for three and had one RBI.

Lacross:

The girls lacrosse team hosted Mukilteo on Tuesday evening. The Beavers won 13-12. Maddie Soukup led the team with five goals and one assist. Kelsey Barta had goals and goalie Hannah Breton made 11 saves.

The boys lacrosse team played Nathan Hale Tuesday evening and lost 8 to 6.
Brian Gemme scored two goals as did Thomas Christensen. Joe Kirkendall had one assist and nine ground balls. Goalie Nick Onstad-Hawes made nine saves.

Soccer:

Brewster, the world's tallest puppy, weighing in at "more than 200 pounds" paid a visit to the West Seattle Junction Petco May, 5 to promote awareness about pet cancer.

He and his owner Sandy Hall live in Grass Valley California where he has two acres to roam around but Hall said, "He's actually a lap dog." He's a fourth generation Great Dane.

The tour conducted every May, sponsored by Blue Buffalo pet foods.raises funding and awareness for pet cancer, last year generated a million dollars and this year two million dollars. The money goes to Morris Animal Foundation for research and treatment.

The 2 year old Brewster eats 8 to 10 cups of dry food and 2 pounds of wet food daily. He was born at 1 pound 2 ounces.

The early warning signs of cancer in pets are sometimes hard to detect Hall pointed out."Cancer is the number one disease related killer of dogs and cats and one in four dogs will get cancer. So get your dog in at least once every six months for a check up."

Hall urges people to visit www.Petcancerawareness.org for more information.

Parfait Ice Cream will be joining Marination Mobile on Saturdays from 11am to 2pm in the parking lot of Han's VW at 6302 35th Avenue s.w. starting this Saturday, May 7.

Chef/owner Adria Shimada will be selling her amazing small-batch, from-scratch, all organic ice cream by the scoop (on from-scratch and hand-rolled waffle cones or biodegradable cups) and by the pint.

Sauces (au Chocolat and au Caramel a Vanille) will be available starting the week of 5/14.

Parfait has garnered national recognition for its products, including coverage in The New York Times and NPR.

The flavors of ice cream and sorbet offered by Parfait include Mint Stracciatella, Fiore French Roast Coffee and Decadent Chocolate.

Parfait offers rotating and seasonal flavors including Meyer Lemon, Toasted Hazelnut, Fresh Nectarine, Cinnamon Stick, Orange Star-Anise, Fresh Blueberry, Ballard Bee Honey, Milk Chocolate Chai, and Earl Gray Tea. Also offered are seasonal vegan sorbets including Apricot, Raspberry and Pear.

Beginning this month, South King firefighters will be handing out Safe Rider "Citations," singling out children doing things right, not wrong.

The South King department covers Des Moines and Federal Way.

The business card-sized coupons will be given to children seen wearing a helmet and practicing good safety habits whether it be on a bike, on a skateboard, or while in-line skating. The citations are redeemable at participating McDonald's restaurants for a free reduced-fat vanilla ice cream cone.

"We want to encourage children to wear a helmet every time they ride, and to know and follow the rules of the road," said Public Information Officer Kendra Kay. "The citations are our way of rewarding those doing the right thing."

Firefighters will be distributing the citations now through December, or as long as supplies last. South King Firefighters will have about 500 citations to give away.

In the state of Washington, bicycle injuries are the second leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations for children ages 5-14. The majority of bicycle deaths involving children in Washington occur to those not wearing a bicycle helmet.

Edgar Martinez sold nearly as many bottles of his El Zacatecano Mezcal tequila at the Burien Liquor store as he hit home runs in his 18-year major league career with the Mariners (300 bottles of tequila vs. 309 home runs).

His evening spent in Burien on May 12 was a promotional event for the tequila line mixed with philanthropy for Para Los Ninos, a Burien non-profit focused on increasing academic success of Latino students.

The event started at 4 p.m. at the liquor store with Mariner and tequila fans alike lining up to meet Martinez and get their bottles of El Zacatecan signed. The mezcal comes from the Zacatecas region of Mexico. Martinez said he got involved in distributing the tequila line to Washington state two years ago and along with his business partners they plan to expand its availability to other western states like California and Nevada.

“The brand has been sold and produced in Mexico for three generations, 100 years,” Martinez said at the bottle-signing. “It is the number one selling mezcal in Mexico. The product is very good.”

The historic carousel at the Woodland Park Zoo was recently given a high-tech, ecofriendly makeover - solar panels now power the popular attraction as part of Seattle City Light’s solar-panel demonstration project.

Even in the gray Emerald City, Mother Nature still works her wonders to keep the fun going.

The solar panels are expected to produce 9,000 kilowatt-hours annually, enough to offset the electricity required to power the carousel, which completes an average 100,000 rides per year. The project also serves as a model for renewable energy options for local homeowners; according to City Light, 9,000 kilowatt-hours is also the annual amount of electricity needed to power the average Seattle home.

“Seattle may be known as ‘Rain City,’ but solar does work here,” City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. “We’re excited to support this solar carousel project, to demonstrate very publicly how solar energy options are viable for both home and business use in our community.”

HONK! Fest West returns to Seattle for its fourth year on May 13th through 15th.

Hundreds of musicians from across the western US and Canada will be taking over the streets of Seattle during this free, three-day, community-supported music festival that's devoted to marching bands, drum corps, samba lines, and anything acoustic and mobile that makes a ruckus.

"HONK! Fest West is organized by a core group of volunteers, many of whom play in local HONK! bands, and some who do not. All of us love the music and the community, and really believe in making this event special for that reason," said organizer Tyson Lynn.

A traveling festival, HONK! this year will visit the streets of Georgetown on Friday, May 13; Gasworks on Saturday, May 14; and Seattle Center on Sunday, May 15.

"Our Festival is built around bands that are mobile and acoustic, which means they can travel and play anywhere," Lynn said.

"With so many great neighborhoods and natural performance spots, Seattle allows us to explore and draw audiences to places in their city they've never been or at least never seen a performance."

Update for 1:05 p.m.
Lt. Ronald Rasmussen, shift commander for the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct confirmed that their department "was working in a support role for an operation that was conducted by the FBI."

Furthermore, Lt. Rasmussen said that since the FBI had the lead on the operation, the SPD is unable to comment with specifics.

SW Precinct Commander Steve Paulsen added the following: "The operation this morning was a joint effort between the Seattle Police Department and the FBI. We were going after one of West Seattle’s major bad guys and we got him."

A public information officer with the Seattle FBI branch did not have further information available at this time (if that changes an update will be posted).

Original post:
Seattle police pursued and caught prowlers in the area of Gatewood/Fauntlee Hills in the 6:00 am hour in West Seattle. The suspects were taken to the the Southwest Precinct for processing. During the pursuit police scanner traffic suggested that they were seen disposing of evidence while being pursued.
The incident briefly attracted news helicopters which hovered over the area.