July 2011

There was plenty of (fake) blood and guts as Sea-Tac International Airport held an emergency drill Friday, July 15.

PLEASE CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO START THE SLIDESHOW.

Our disaster photographer, Kurt Howard, was on the scene at the third runway and took these photos of the drill.

WARNING Although the wounds depicted in the photos were all applied using makeup, they still appear very graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

Here's our previous coverage:
Note to Sea-Tac Airport neighbors and passengers-it's only a drill.

If you look over toward the airport on Friday morning (July 15) between 6 a.m. and noon and see what looks like an explosion and a flurry of police and fire activity, it's been pre-planned and is only a simulation.

You'll also see news media. They are real, but they have been given advance notice. They are looking for great photo opportunities; not covering a real emergency.

The drill will be held on the third runway while the other two runways will continue operations as normal. Port of Seattle staffers note this is yet another advantage of having a third runway.

It was a packed house at Fremont's George and Dragon Pub this morning. Despite it being a workday morning, dozens of soccer fans came out to watch the USA play against France in the semi-finals of the 2011 Fifa Women's World Cup.
USA's Lauren Cheney was the first to score but France scored the equalizer early in the second half. It was a tight second half with France delivering all the pressure until Abby Wambach came through for the US yet again with a crucial goal in the 79th minute. Alex Morgan scored a third goal for the US to send them to the final in Franfurt on Sunday.
"U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A" chants followed the referee's final whistle, signaling the end of the game.
Market Arms in Ballard will replay the game at noon today.

Update for July 14:
The long-languishing Burien Town Square condominiums are finally going back on the market in August.

The condos have been off the market for about two years.

Cost of the condos will be more than 35 percent lower than when the condos first came on the market in June 2009.

ST Residential, managing member of the project, had contemplated converting the unsold condos to rental apartments until economic times got better but have decided the current market will support the new prices. Prices are expected to be from $120,000-$420,000. Original prices went from the mid -$200,000s to the mid-$600,000s.

Only six of the 124 condos had been sold at the old prices.

Pete Marino, spokesman for ST, noted the original prices “were determined in a completely different economic climate.”

As to why the project owners waited so long before putting the condos back on the market, Marino said they wanted to make sure they analyzed the local market completely.

“We wanted to do our homework,” Marino declared.

The carnival presented by Davis Shows has returned to Steve Cox Memorial Park as White Center's July Jubilee Days gets underway in earnest this week. Presale tickets can be purchased at Albertsons.

Fireworks will be blazing this evening at the park starting at dusk (approximately 9:30 pm) with Justin Cline of Full Tilt Ice Cream doing the honors of setting off the show.

Here's a look at the upcoming schedule.

Thu July 14th, 2011

Rock & Bowl
7:00pm to 10:00pm
Magic Lanes

Fri July 15th, 2011

Retro Roller Skating Party
7:30pm to 13:00pm
Southgate Roller Rink

Sat July 16th, 2011

Street Fair
10:00am to 11:00pm
17th Avenue SW, Between Roxbury, and 100th Ave SW.
White Center, WA

Sun July 17th, 2011

Street Fair
11:00am to 6:00pm
17th Avenue SW, Between Roxbury, and 100th Ave SW.
White Center, WA

Sun July 17th, 2011

Parade
Starts at 11:00am
16th Avenue from 112th, North to 100th Street
White Center, WA

John Boyd, Principal of Sealth International High School for the past seven years, is leaving to take a new job with the Highline School District.

The job is as Executive Director of North Region of Highline Public Schools which incorporates the Evergreen Campus (Evergreen High School, Cascade Middle School) and a host of elementary schools. He will be responsible for supervising, evaluating and supporting 13 principals. "It means getting into schools, talking to teachers and making sure they have resources and help principals with budgeting and financing and dealing with their concerns." Helping teachers move forward instructionally is a huge piece of that job," Boyd said, "It will require me to learn some new skills and that excites me to be back in a learning mode.

"It's a great opportunity for me to move forward in my career after seven years of what I consider a success at Sealth and I feel like we've accomplished big goals and moved that school forward in tremendous ways and there's the satisfaction of feeling some sense of completion," Boyd said," and I'm ready to take that next step.

Press release:
Paving crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation plan to work on three small paving jobs in West Seattle in the next several days:

Beach Drive s.w.
July 13 and 14,  7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From s.w. Snoqualmie Street to s.w. Jacobsen Road
 
Paving crews will work on Beach Drive s.w. between s.w. Snoqualmie Street and s.w. Jacobson Road on July 13 and 14, if weather is favorable. Traffic flaggers will control traffic while the crews grind off the old asphalt and lay new asphalt. This work is part of the department’s annual street paving program.
 
 
35th Avenue s.w.
July 15 and July 18, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From Marine View Drive o 110th and 35th SW.
 
Paving crews plan to perform spot paving repairs on Thursday, July 15 and 17 at several locations around the curve where 35th Avenue southwest turns into Marine View Drive s.w..  The crews will work between 11039 Marine View Drive s.w. and the intersection of s.w. 111th Street and 35th Avenue s.w., grinding off old pavement and laying new asphalt. Traffic flaggers will assist drivers around the work areas.
 
 
16th Avenue s.w.

Seattle native Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs rocked a packed show at the West Seattle Easy Street Records Tuesday night July 12.

Patrons listened from the balcony, in between records, outside the store, and literally any space they could find to listen to Anna's soulful singing.

The show was a record release party for their latest CD "Alone in this Together." Anna certainly was not alone tonight, as fans patiently waited in line to get their CD's signed after the show.

Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs will be the closing band for the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series, playing on September 1.

The band's website features these quotes about her:

""Star Anna is an American original. I am a huge fan of her music and especially her voice. She sings from a place of beauty that takes me to a higher place. Her Cds rarely leave my player."

- Mike McCready, Pearl Jam

"She is the real deal. We can all say that we saw her when . . . . Guaranteed."

- Duff McKagan, Guns 'n' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded

On July 12th at approximately 3:21 p.m. officers responded to a 911 call reporting an adult male who threatened his parents with a baseball bat in a house in the 4000 block of Fremont Avenue North. Upon arrival officers surrounded the residence and secured the victims in an alley. The 52-year-old male suspect barricaded himself inside the house and refused to come out.

SWAT team officers and negotiators arrived on scene shortly thereafter. After unsuccessful attempts to get the suspect to surrender and come outside, SWAT officers made entry and recovered the suspect from the attic area of the residence without incident.

The suspect was booked into the King County Jail on felony domestic violence charges.

Roxie the cat is a cross between a Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat, and turned 11 years of age in April. She originally came from an Ellensburg Pet shop.

"She was actually going to be put to sleep but I was a total loser and I'd go play with the animals because I felt bad for them, "said Katie Parker her owner. "I was joking around with them saying, 'Oh I want her, she's so cute,' and they said, 'We can't sell her to you.' "

Katie pressed the issue with them but at the time Roxie had a hernia and the pet shop didn't want to pay to have the surgery. "I begged them to let me have her and the only way that they would was if I called the veterinarian and got an appointment to have her surgery done, and he said the only way I'll do it is if you get her fixed at the same time. So she got her surgery and got fixed and he gave me half price."

Katie and her husband Jake both noted that Roxie is more dog like in that she likes to follow people around and "hang out near you." She enjoys eating foods that cats don't normally eat like, "parts of your sandwiches and she like Goldfish Crackers."

press release:

The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will not be closed overnight tonight as originally planned. The dates for overnight closures have changed to July 15-17. Also, July 14 a single westbound right-lane of the Spokane Street Viaduct (I-5 to SR 99) will be closed. Details are as follows:

· July 14 (11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.): One westbound right-lane of the Spokane Street Viaduct (I-5 to SR 99) will be closed

· July 15-16 (11:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.): The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed completely and the I-5 off-ramps to the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed. Southbound SR 99 to westbound West Seattle Bridge will remain open.

· July 17 (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.): The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed completely and the I-5 off-ramps to the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed. Southbound SR 99 to westbound West Seattle Bridge will remain open.

Also, July 18 – 28, Sixth Avenue S at S Spokane Street will be closed overnight, from 9 p.m. each day until 5 a.m. the next morning. See www.seattle.gov/spokane for more details on this project.