May 2011

The Alki Homestead, now in the process of review on the path to full restoration/reconstruction will be the subject of a series of short documentary films by Seattle film makers Bus No. 8.

Since the restoration process has to gain approval from the Architectural Review Committee of the Landmarks Preservation Board the project began last week with interviews with architects Mark Haizlip and Greg Squires of Alloy Design Group and Homestead owner Tom Lin.

"Because this project is going to go on for a long time, what we're planning to do is just do short videos along the way," said Bus No. 8 film maker Robert Lawson. "Each milestone along the way we will be here documenting it and release those short videos as we go." The videos will be posted on Vimeo.com.

By Holli Johnson
Washington State Grange

More than 800,000 Washington citizens live in rural areas. These citizens – about 12 percent of our state's population – face many challenges accessing healthcare.

Whether it's a simple checkup for a sore throat, an immunization or a sophisticated procedure, rural residents in the Evergreen State often have no choice but to travel to the nearest major city.

Asking someone to drive a few hours to see a specialist is one thing, but expecting someone facing a medical emergency to travel a long distance is quite another. This inconvenience can be deadly.

Last March, when President Obama signed his healthcare bill – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – many of us hoped that the law's reforms would help rural communities. These days, though, we're increasingly fearful that the bill will create more problems.

One provision, the establishment of a new, presidentially appointed panel called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), is almost certain to put both basic and specialized medical care even farther out of reach of those living in rural communities.

A big part of the City of Seattle’s police department is community policing: it helps cops get to know their beats and neighborhoods. And the officers at the SPD are leaders when it comes to a type of particular type of community policing – the kind done on two wheels.

Premiering tonight on the Seattle Channel is a ride along with two downtown bike patrol officers to see how they keep the peace through the power of pedaling.

Watch it on the Seattle Channel on Cable 21 or online at: http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3071121

On May 24, the Ballard High School football program presented the school's first Students vs Staff basketball game. A fundraiser for the football program, the event was a great success, drawing a crowd of over 200 spectators.

Team Staff, in black, put on some serious competition for the students and the first half of the game was back and forth with a tied score of 54 to 54 at half time. But under the coaching of Assistant Principal Dr. Charlie Walker III, the staff pulled away for a 111 to 103 victory over BHS students.

Highlights from Team Staff included high flying moves by Track coach Frederick, NBA three pointers by softball coach Gray, smothering defense by Principal Wynkoop, and dead-eye shooting by teacher Gina O’Neill.

The student team was represented by student body officers and athletes athletes.

If you see Hal and Barbara Jones walking through their Alaska Junction neighborhood, you might not, well, notice them. And while they appear as unassuming as their last name suggests, it would be difficult to keep up with these Joneses as their lives have been immersed in international intrigue and song.

Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, Hal was a rescue pilot in Da Nang, Vietnam and Thailand and flew helicopters for Special Operations Command, or Special Ops in 1971-'72. He came home, then volunteered to return to Thailand for the Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAG) as an advisor to the Thai Air Force.

But before that, he studied the Thai language in most of 1973 at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) at the Presidio of Monterey, California. A decade later Hal would be at Patch Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany, serving as Commander of Special Ops, U.S European Command, or EUCOM.

press release:

Metro Routes 15, 18, 21, 22 & 56 will be rerouted off of 1st Av S in both directions between S Lander St and S Atlantic St/Edgar Martinez Dr S after weeknight, weekend and holiday Mariners games.

The northbound reroute for routes 15, 18, 21, 22 and 56 is via S Lander St and 4th Av S.

The southbound reroute for routes 21, 22 and 56 is via 4th Av S to S Lander St.

The rerouted buses serve all posted stops along 4th Av S.

There are no reroutes prior to Ms games; Metro service operates via regular routes & stops prior to games, with possible delays when traffic is heavy.

There are no post-game reroutes for games that start prior to 7:00 PM on weekdays.

Expect possible transit service schedule delays during stadium events and at other times when traffic is heavy in the SODO or stadium area.

As expected, Burien lawmakers approved May 23 sending a letter to the state Department of Ecology (DOE) rejecting several major changes to the city’s Shoreline Master Plan.
Police Chief Scott Kimerer also told council members that although Burien’s population increased by 44 percent through annexation, crime on a per capita basis went down.
Lawmakers also removed special restrictions they placed on City Manager Mike Martin’s contract two years ago following Martin’s arrest on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
The council members rejected several changes required by DOE.
The state agency increased the city’s marine vegetation buffer from 20 feet to 50 feet and increased the building setback from the buffer from 0 feet to 15 feet.
The DOE also would require a destroyed home to be relocated and designed to prevent the need for shoreline stabilization and structural flood hazard measures. Lawmakers rejected this change.
The city’s plan would prohibit the launching of watercraft from any future public access point on Lake Burien. The DOE wants to allow boats owned by non-lake residents on the lake if public access is allowed in the future.

Pony Express, the local White Center shipping and mailing business is closing after 32 years on June 30. Claire Denning, the owner is sad but determined to see this as the end of another chapter in her life.

The business began in 1979 was originally located across from the current McLendon's Hardware location at 1412 102nd s.w. She left her family business in 1987 to take over the Pony Express as the third owner.

Then, three years ago, she was forced to move by her landlord and business began to drop dramatically.

"It took everything I had to move here, my savings, my retirement. When I was forced out over there I never recovered. But this has been my life," she said.

Denning is tough however and is hoping for the best."I'm a survivor. I survived abuse, I survived rape. So I'm hoping I can help people. I'd like to help women to let them know they are going to survive, that they are going to make it. There have been times I didn't have two nickels to rub together but I had three children to raise and I have a house and a mortgage but I had gone through a divorce. But I will have to sell everything I have. I have an expensive mortgage."

Target Stores has announced that 42 new schools from across the country that will receive a new library as part of the 2011 Target School Library Makeover program. That will include West Seattle Elementary School. Principal Vikki Sacco said, “This new library is a gift that satisfies an enormous educational need in our school, and we are thankful to Target and The Heart of America Foundation for providing us with this new space. Reading is so important in laying the foundation for a successful academic career, and this library will help us make reading a fun part of our students’ lives.”

The library will remain in its present location but will see significant remodeling as part of this program.

Sacco indicated that there is a room in the budget for technology acquisition that might include iPads or B&N Nooks and other computer gear.

I cannot presume to write an obituary for my friend Bertha Davis who died last Friday at the age of 97. Her three daughters are working on that hard task -- probably overwhelmed by all that could be included in detailing the life of a woman who inspired others every day (try the math on that one).

One could say that Bertha wasn’t from Ballard; she just lived here for almost 80 years after graduating from Queen Anne High School. She lived in the community for eight decades and over the course of half of century in teaching, she was Mrs. Davis to thousands of students. If she had forgotten a single one of them it wasn’t evident because she seemed able to recollect details of their school days even as they presented their middle-aged (and even older) selves to her.

For the last 20 years she was a resident at Sunset West where her neighbors considered her the spirit of the building. She was a member of a walking group there, one of the Ladies Guild, played bridge regularly and continued to tutor students until a few weeks before her death.