June 2011

When you visualize a garden, you might think of carrots planted in straight rows, lettuce all lined up and rectangular planting beds keeping your veggies in order. Shall we say that my garden is not exactly like that?

Get creative!
I plant vegetables and herbs in unexpected places all over my yard. I have basil in with my petunias in pots on the deck, and tomatoes growing with the dahlias and strawberries in the flowerbed by the road, so people can pick a few as they walk by.

Plant in pots
You don’t need room for a full, regimented garden. Try tucking vegetables into pots and place them on a deck, your front porch or a window sill. Cherry tomatoes thrive in pots.

Plant vegetables in flower beds
Growing veggies in your flower beds is just as easy and a lot more fun. Spinach is as pretty as any begonia and will thrive in about the same amount of sunlight and water. The flowerbed in my backyard mixes pumpkins, cucumbers and squash with gladiolas in the summer and purple asters in the fall. A feast for the eye and the taste buds too.

Monday, June 13th the Avalon Restaurant will close. But don't worry it's for a very special event.
Avalon is staging a very limited seating Wine Dinner working with Forgeron Cellars from Walla Walla and with West Seattle Cellars for retail wine sales following the event

The dinner itself is very elaborate (see below) and clearly gourmet all paired with appropriate wines for tasting with each course.

According to the restaurant tickets are still available but are nearly gone, and they are limiting the seating to 40 people.

The cost is $85 per person, tax and tip are included

Here's the menu:

Waldette
Barbecued Shrimp
wrapped in pancetta and brushed with strawberry and balsamic glaze
served on the patio weather permitting

Chardonnay
Roasted Garlic Panna Cotta
with chilled marinated seafood gazpacho

Ambiance
Crayfish Stuffed Pacific Northwest Sole
with sauce americaine

Syrah
Duck Sausage Stuffed Quail
with local new potatoes vesuvio and fresh herbs

Zinfandel
Lamb Chops with Sundried Plum Sauce

The Bang Bar in the West Seattle Junction, profiled here, held an invitation only party Monday, June 6, to introduce guests to the new space, and share wine, cocktails, and dozens of hand crafted food items with those attending.

Well over 100 people crowded into the restaurant to enjoy cask wine from La Piccola Wine Company, specialty martinis, and intricately prepared charred beef, shrimp, scallops, cubed potatoes, oysters, fish, tofu and much more all directed by Executive Chef Jahn.

Owners Kay Fuengarom and Aom Tiacharoenwat greeted guests at the door and many arrived bearing floral gifts.

The new restaurant will open for dinner only for the first week beginning June 10 at 4:00 pm and hold its grand opening a week later on June 17, opening at 11:00 am.

If the weather is warm in West Seattle on a Friday and Saturday night there will likely be more uniformed police patrolling Alki than usual. The Junction and High Point areas could see the same on any given weekend night.

That is the word from Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle Police’s top brass from a press conference held at Don Armeni Park in West Seattle on June 6.

While the conference was held on Alki for the picturesque backdrop, the news is for all of Seattle: the SPD Citywide Late Night Emphasis Public Safety Emphasis will start up on June 10 and run through an undetermined date in September. Up to 25 non-911 bound SPD officers (comprised of SWAT, anti-crime and traffic officers) will be available on Friday and Saturday nights during the summer months to increase police presence where the nightlife is thriving. This is the second year for the program.

“I’ve heard from people that run our restaurants and entertainment venues that keeping Seattle a diverse, vibrant and safe nightlife destination is beneficial to everyone; citizens, neighborhoods and businesses,” Mayor McGinn said.

The Melissa Ann, a boat normally used for Vashon passengers headed to and from downtown Seattle has been temporarily replaced by a substitute vessel due to a crack found in the hull.

The crossing time for this substitute vessel is about 8 minutes longer.

Although Metro is not adjusting their planned sailing schedule, it's clear that service will be running behind the usual schedule until the Melissa Ann returns to the route.

Here is what they expect to be the actual sailing times while the substitute vessel, Express, is in service.

Morning service

• Depart Vashon 6:10 a.m.
• Arrive Seattle 6:40 a.m.
• Depart Vashon 7:20 a.m.
• Arrive Seattle 7:50 a.m.
• Depart Vashon 8:35 a.m.
• Arrive Seattle 9:05 a.m.

Evening service

• Depart Seattle 4:30 p.m.
• Arrive Vashon 5:00 p.m.
• Depart Seattle 5:40 p.m.
• Arrive Vashon 6:10 p.m.
• Depart Seattle 6:50 p.m.
• Arrive Vashon 7:20 p.m.

West Seattle's Target store at 28th and Barton in Westwood Village opened their new grocery section on Sunday June 5, but it also marked a major revamping of other departments to accommodate the fresh, frozen and dry goods which have now been added to the store.

The store now carries fresh produce, meats (like ground beef and chicken) and baked goods.

The primary change, called P-Fresh, has been rolling out across the nation, beginning in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2008. Then in 2009 Target expanded the idea into Philadelphia with 30 stores getting the update. "We got such great guest response on it, " said Target spokesperson, Tammy Robertson, "and in 2010 we remodeled 350 stores across the country. We truly did it just based on our guest response and their feedback. So, now our guests can go shopping for a new dress, pick up a movie, and pick up dinner for that evening as well."

Consumables Team Lead, Jennifer Galom said, "Going into this, with June 5 being our official grand opening, I think yesterday was busier than we expected. So, so far so good."

Starting on June 15, King County Parks will close the Burke Gilman trail in Lake Forest Park from NE 145th to Log Boom Park for construction.

The trail is scheduled to be closed until the end of September.

"Parts of that trail are 33 years-old and is deteriorating," said project manager Gina Auld. "It doesn't meet KingCo trail standards."

Funded by the Parks Expansion Levy, NE 145th to Log Boom Park, the project, after a short delay caused by a bid-dispute, received the go-ahead at the end of May.

This 1.7 mile stretch of the Burke Gilman Trail is the oldest and narrowest section of the trail and Auld said some of the safety issues include limited sight, drainage problems, and deterioration of the trail.
Scheduled to open in the fall, the improved trail will have 12 feet of asphalt in width with soft service shoulders, improved intersections, new striping, and improved vegetation management.
Auld said the closure will cause some hardship for bicycle commuters and King County is offsetting this inconvenience with added bike-carrying buses along State Route 522.

To the Editor:

An interesting movement seems to be attracting West Seattle drivers. It’s the Rolling Stop. It’s becoming widely practiced by drivers of all ages, male and female alike. The concept is quite simple. Instead of stopping at a stop sign one merely glides up to any intersection with a stop sign and rather than come to a complete halt, you continue moving past the stop sign. Your vehicle never stops, never loses momentum. This act is particularly popular when it comes to making right hand turns. You approach the stop sign and then slip around the corner, never coming to a halt.

In short, the stop sign that we all know and learned about in Drivers Ed no longer means Stop! Now, it seems, it’s now treated as a suggestion…looked upon more as a nuance than a command. Now, in fairness, there are those who don’t even slow to a glide. Instead, they cruise past the popular red and white sign - through intersection - without the slightest hesitation or concern.

Army Corps of Engineers will close both the large and small locks at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks to marine traffic on Tuesday, June 7, to inspect the salmon project.

The Locks will be closed to marine traffic from 7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

From the press release:

The closure will allow construction crews and dive teams the opportunity to inspect the salmon exclusion structure immediately upstream of the locks. The staff will make maximum efforts to complete the work as soon and as safely as possible.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, which operates the locks, installed this interim structure to prevent salmon from being trapped in the saltwater return system.

“The exclusion structure is working well,” said Chuck Ebel, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, fish biologist. “Since it was put in use three years ago, we only observed one chinook and one coho in the diffuser well.”

Shortly after 9 p.m. on May 30 a man walking on 20th Ave S.W. between Kenyon and Holden streets noticed two black males around 18 years old walking very closely behind him. He turned around to look at them and one suspect asked what he was looking at while the other tried to grab his black messenger bag. The victim held on tight so the suspect reached inside the bag to gather some loot, ripping out part of the bag’s liner instead of any valuables. The suspects ran westbound on S.W. Holden and handed the torn liner off to a third male walking down the street (not associated). The third male told the victim he thought the young robbers lived in a nearby apartment complex, but he did not know them personally.