July 2011

Hearty walkers should mark their calendars for a fabulous three-day park to park walk Thursday through Saturday, August 4 – 6. This walk, organized by Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Sound Steps Walking Program for walkers 50 and better, highlights the historic Olmsted park plan and some improvements made possible by the voter-approved 2000 Pro Parks Levy and the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy.

The Olmsted Brothers were landscapes architects who, in 1903, were contracted by the Board of Park Commissioners to conduct a thorough survey of Seattle's park possibilities, and to submit a comprehensive plan that could be used to guide future work.

Although J. C. Olmsted's primary goal was to locate a park or a playground within one half mile of every home in Seattle, the dominant feature of the plan was a 20-mile landscaped boulevard linking most of the existing and planned parks and greenbelts within the city limits.

Here is the walk schedule:

Update for July 25: Police are seeking information from the public in the brutal beating of an 18-year-old, hearing-impaired man that took place around July 20 at the Sylvester Middle School grounds in Burien.

Sgt. John Urquhart said King County Sheriffs have no suspects at this time and are asking the public for information leading to an arrest.

The victim, believed to be sleeping at the school as he is homeless "from time to time," suffered a serious head injury in the attack that occurred sometime overnight between July 19 and 20. His injuries were originally thought to be life threatening, but his condition has been upgraded to "extremely serious condition." He is still recovering at Harborview Medical Center, Sgt. Urquhart said.

Here is more information from the Sheriff's Office:

The incident occurred in the sometime overnight, Tuesday or Wednesday, July 19th/20th. Burien Police learned of the assault when they received a 9-1-1 call about 7:00 AM Wednesday morning. The caller said there was a bloodied and staggering man in the street directly across from Sylvester Middle School, 162221 Sylvester Road SW, in Burien.

The Ballard High School Foundation is hosting its 11th annual Ballard High School Golf Classic on August 1st and 2nd to benefit Ballard High School's music and sports programs, and honor old friends.

The music program receives no funding from the Seattle Public Schools and funding for athletics barely covers transportation costs. The golf tournament brings out around 300 people each year and the goal for this year is to raise $200,000, said Sue Verduin, the golf tournament's co-chair.

The Golf Classic was founded by Gary Seefriend and Victor Salvino in 2001 and has become the single most important fundraiser event for Ballard High School throughout the year.

"We said we would run the tournament and would raise $20, 000 for Ballard High Athletics and Music. We had over 140 golfers and raised $52,000 [in 2001]," " said Salvino. " I feel like we have established the golf tournament and grown the golf tournament almost every year in spite of the recession."

This year’s event is honoring two individuals that were very influential in the BHS and Ballard communities, Sir Jim Vatn and Janet Rodgers.

Seattle’s Department of Transportation is encouraging people to walk, bike or ride public transit more often this summer to get active, connect with your community and even win some great prizes.

To make things even more interesting, this summer the program is having a friendly competition to see which neighborhood can switch the most trips and miles to walking, biking and riding. Will Ballard win this competition? It’s up to you. Stay tuned for occasional updates this summer.

Once you sign up for the WBR Challenge, you become part of community making Seattle a better place to live. You receive weekly emails with tips on walking, biking and riding and can track your individual progress and the program’s collective impact online. The more trips you report, the higher the chance you have of winning.

“Summer is a great time to try walking, biking or riding transit to work, to get to know your neighborhood and to start lifetime habits that keep you healthy,” Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen said in a press release.

An expected 66,000 soccer fans will be flocking to the Century Link Field (formerly Qwest) this evening as the Seattle Sounders take on Manchester United at a friendly match at 7 p.m.

Commuters traveling during the afternoon peak traffic should expect volumes to be much heavier than usual throughout the SODO district and into downtown Seattle, as well as on I-5 and SR 99.

Compounding the afternoon rush hour traffic will be thousands of concert-goers heading to the Key Arena for the sold-out 7:30 p.m. Katy Perry Show.

Motorists are encouraged to leave the car at home and try one of the many alternate modes of transportation available - Metro Transit, the West Seattle Water Taxi, the Sounder commuter train, Link light rail, car pool, bicycle or even walking, if feasible.

For specific Metro Transit information, please visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov
or call Metro's Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announces that all lanes of Broad Street will be closed between Westlake Avenue N and 9th Avenue N from Friday, July 22, at 11:00 p.m. to Monday, July 25, at 5:00 a.m.

Crews will take advantage of anticipated reduced traffic volumes on Broad Street during the already scheduled July 22-25 closure of the I-5 on- and off-ramps at Mercer Street to perform storm drain work in the intersection of Broad Street and 9th Avenue N.

Travelers who planned to use westbound Broad Street over the weekend will be detoured to southbound Westlake Avenue N to Denny Way for access to the Seattle Center and downtown Seattle, or to northbound Westlake Avenue N to 8th Avenue N for access to lower Queen Anne and Dexter Avenue N.

As with previous weekend ramp closures, the I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane on I-5. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street, and Mercer Street will be closed to through traffic between Westlake Avenue N and Fairview Avenue N.

Matt and Emily Jones love to hike and when it came time to consider a dog, they wanted one that could keep up with them out on the trail. After some research they settled on a Vizsla, a Hungarian breed that is a hunting dog and found their dog Hank at breeder in Hermiston, Oregon. "They are people dogs," said Emily, "they call them 'Velcro Dogs,' because they always have to be touching you. They like to cuddle and they really like to be with people."

That was 5 and a half years ago. Because Hank has an unusual russet color, and athletic physique he is sometimes mistaken for a Ridgeback or a Weimaraner (though they are gray in color).

"We were living in an apartment and we saw a guy had a puppy," said Matt, "and it looked like a real sleek dog and maybe a fast dog." Hank is fast, "Probably one of the faster dogs outside of Greyhounds and Whippets," Matt said.

Hank loves to walk around West Seattle, notably Lincoln Park or, up to the Westcrest Dog Park and out at the Magnuson Dog Park where he can swim but really "any walk that involves a treat," is fine with him.

from the SPD Blotter:

On July 19th, just after 4:30 PM, a 29 year old male suspect was involved in a traffic dispute with another driver. Both vehicles had just exited the West Seattle Bridge onto Delridge. The suspect raised a semi-auto handgun and pointed it at the victim. The victim fled and called 911. Officers responded but the suspect vehicle had left the area.

Just before 6:00 PM, an officer from the South West Precinct located the suspect vehicle, a black 1997 Mercedes Benz, at a gas station in the 5400 Block of Delridge Way SW, occupied by two males and a female. The occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody without incident. The suspect admitted to officers that there was a handgun in the driver’s door compartment and gave officers consent to search the vehicle. Officers recovered the 9mm pistol, a loaded magazine, and a box of ammunition.

The 29 year old suspect was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Harassment. The other occupants were identified and released.

The West Seattle Health Fair is set to take place at High Point Neighborhood House this Friday, July 22 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm with lot of activities and information all aimed at improving the public health to match their slogan, "A Healthier Community. A Healthier You."

The event will feature free healthy food, prizes, entertainment, giveaways, and the 2011 "Healthy Foods Here Walk"

Free Health Services
• Healthy Eating Demos
• Fitness Resources
• Kids Activities
• Rapid HIV Test
• Blood Pressure Checks
• Acupuncture and Tai Chi

There will also be drug and alcohol prevention resources, healthy eating demonstrations, kid's activities and much more.

Health activities and resources available for all ages from kids to seniors.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Mike Graham-Squire at Neighborhood House 206.353.7945 or email mikegs@nhwa.org.

This event is sponsored by Community Health Plan of Washington, Seattle Housing Authority, King County Housing Authority, and Neighborhood House.

Participating Organizations:

The "Giant Egg" as some call it, which is the SBX-Band Radar towering over Vigor Shipyard was tugged out, and into Elliott Bay this afternoon as the offshore-drilling unit, Shell Oil's Kulluk, in from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, headed into Vigor.

The "Kulluk" began its long journey from Dutch Harbor to Seattle on Thursday and arrived in Seattle for planned technical upgrades.

This is the closest thing I've seen to the sun," said North Admiral resident Barbara Russell referring to the giant egg as it blended with the downtown Seattle skyline. She was walking her two small poodles at the Alki Boat Launch area where camera buffs lined up to shoot the oil rig passing the Radar.

"I love watching it," she added. "It's a spot of brightness against the gray."

You can read our two stories when the Radar first entered Elliott Bay here & here.