June 2011

Hotel Ballard is celebrating their Grand Opening on Saturday, June 25. Located in the historic Bank Building at 5300 Ballard Avenue, the hotel offers 16 intimate rooms. completely restored to 1902 elegance with 21 century amenities.

The community is invited to celebrate the hotel's opening with hors d'oeuvres, music, and a tour of the hotel.

The Grand Opening takes place from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. RSVP to info@hotelballard.com

Citing fears of increased low-income density in White Center that could create problems that spill over into Burien if the area remain unincorporated or is annexed by Seattle, several Burien council members signaled June 20 they would favor the city annexing the remainder of North Highline.

The lawmakers emphasized their support would hinge on whether annexation would be revenue-neutral and would require no new taxes.

“If we can manage it, we should do it,” Councilman Gerald Robison declared.

Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak, who was the lone vote against annexing the southern portion of North Highline, again voiced opposition.
“We are not ready to annex,” Krakowiak said. “I can’t see how this will work out.”

City Manager Mike Martin reported he has hired Berk and Associates to conduct a study testing the financial viability of annexing the area. The study is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 1, but Martin said he could supply draft information to lawmakers earlier if it is deemed accurate and reliable.

King County Road crews were patching holes on a section of 16th s.w. Between 98th and Roxbury street.

The work was complete by 2:15 and the street reopened.

Workers said the street would likely be completely repaved this August.

Interviewee: Jennifer Lee

Occupation: Medical Technician
Riding style: recreational

Her ride: a giant urban hybrid. "A friend lent it to me. I'm still looking for my dream bike...."I'll know what it is when I see it."

Last week, thousands of people descended upon Fremont for the annual Solstice Parade. The big attraction of the parade every year, is the hundreds of nude bicyclists.
Wearing nothing but a nude thong and a wig, Freelard resident Jennifer Lee was among the 600 cyclists that risked losing their body paint in the rain.

"I wondered how the paint would hold up rain but it did surprisingly well," said Lee, who participated for the first time this year. "The parade was pretty overwhelming but tons of fun."

After five years of watching the parade, Lee decided to brave the rain, cold and thousands of on-watchers and join the parade.

"I wanted to do it when I saw it for the first time but I wasn't riding bikes at that point in my life," Lee said.

The West Seattle Outdoor Movies are back for 2011 and in the same spot as previous years 4400 California Ave s.w. in the courtyard between Dr. Wolff & Hotwire Online Coffeehouse.

The movies are shown Saturday evenings at dusk, July 16, July 23, July 30, August 6, August 13, August 20, 2011. Gates open at 7:00pm with pre-show fun starting at 8:30pm.

The event is presented by the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle merchant sponsors.

Everyone is invited to bring a blanket or chair, family, friends and neighbors and enjoy outdoor screenings under the stars of great family friendly movies.

Concessions will be provided by West Seattle Christian and Coffee to a Tea with Sugar. There will be more fun pre-show events in 2011 including Matt Baker’s Comedy Stunt Show, 12th Night Production comedy improv, Louie Foxx Magic Show and music from Folk Punch, Bob Rice and Jeremy Serwer.

Raffles for local merchant gift certificates will be offered.

All proceeds go to local West Seattle charities.

Here's the schedule of films for this year:

By Jeff and Eileen Bidwell

Bugs ‘n’ slugs ‘n’ snails—oh, my! Summer is here at last; at least according to the calendar. This year’s cool days and chilly nights surely contradict our calendars, but after our long, wet winter, nothing keeps a true gardener out of the garden.

While nature beckons us, it also attracts uninvited visitors. If you’re out in the early morning surveying the results of your labor, you may find your garden resembling a battlefield. Stems have been chewed and broken, there are slimy trails leading in all directions, and what on earth is the foamy stuff? What is feasting on your rhodies? And what is causing those unsightly black spots on the leaves of your roses?

“What is happening to our garden?”, we may ask. Answer: see above—it’s nature.

Take comfort that you are not alone. At our weekly Plant Answer Clinic at the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market, we have been answering the same inquiries from many of our neighbors. Therefore, we decided to devote our June column to identifying and finding remedies for common summer problems.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee are holding a public hearing on Monday, June 27 to discuss their recommendation to spend $10 million of Levy inflation.

Seattle voters passed the Parks and Green Spaces Levy by a 59% vote in November 2008. This Levy included an inflation allowance intended to ensure that projects built in the final years of the Levy would have sufficient funding. To date, Levy projects have not experienced inflation costs and have benefitted from a competitive bid climate.

The Citizen Oversight Committee’s recommendation is to re-allocate inflation allowance funds for a specific set of projects that includes essential roof replacements at community centers and comfort station (restrooms) renovations.

A letter from the Oversight Committee Chair, Pete Spalding, describes the recommendation.

"We encourage the public to attend Committee meetings and invite you to comment on issues during the public comment period at each meeting. Your written comments are also welcome," the Website states.

Aiming to create the biggest charitable giving day in King County history, the June 23rd "GiveBIG" campaign is a community-wide giving challenge to make the greater Seattle community a vital and healthy place to live by supporting nonprofit organizations.

"Healthy communities give people a sense of connection and a place to call home," the Website states. "Our region needs to cultivate appealing, livable neighborhoods by serving residents from all walks of life, using physical spaces to build community and uniting people with common interests or cultures."

The Seattle Foundation and local businesses will match a share of every contribution made through The Seattle Foundation's online Giving Center between 7 a.m. and midnight TODAY ONLY.  


KingCo residents can make contributions of any size through The Seattle Foundation’s online Giving Center, which includes information about the nearly 1,000 nonprofit organizations that will benefit from this drive.

(Editor's Note: There are so many great service clubs in the Highline area that do good deeds, it is difficult to single out just one for its achievements. But the 34 members of the Des Moines Rotary Club are so proud of what they've accomplished we agreed to let them brag a little bit in this story.)

Does size matter?
Sure, in some cases. If you are a Sumo wrestler, for example, you want to bring as much weight to the ring as possible.

But the 34-member Rotary Club of Des Moines-slightly smaller than the average Rotary Club and much smaller than nearly all other service clubs in surrounding communities-- takes on projects with worldwide significance, in spite of its small size.

"I think of us as 'The little club with a big heart'," says 2010-2011club president Al Isaac. "Every club member is challenged to live up to the club's mission, which we define as doing all we can to make our community and the world a better place to live, learn, work and play."

The Wah Long Sports Bar, located at the corner of Ambaum and 153rd in Burien, has made the news twice in 2011 – the first for a shooting at the bar on Jan. 9 and more recently for a stabbing/shooting incident on May 25 (Times/News coverage here).

Those events, along with a long list of alleged violations are cited in a letter to Burien Mayor McGilton and the City Council asking that the bar’s liquor license not be renewed and business license revoked. The letter is signed by 38 business owners and residents living near the bar.

In the letter, the group states they have been complaining about problems at Wah Long since 2008 and “the city seems either unwilling or unable to confront the reality that their establishment presents a public nuisance.” (see Burien City Manager Mike Martin’s comments further in the story)