August 2011

Slow mornings, work desk lunch breaks, and afternoons that drag on forever just got 1,350 pounds more exciting. That’s because Woodland Park Zoo’s grizzly bear brothers are back in the Internet spotlight with the re-launch of the zoo’s popular, live Bear Cam.

Dedicated viewers have waited for more than a year for the return of the Bear Cam, which is now back with 24/7 live online video made possible by the zoo’s exclusive partnership with Ustream. The newly-launched Bear Cam feed provides incredible views of the spontaneous environment and can be accessed at www.zoo.org/bearcam. Viewers can also choose to join in on the active social stream and chat room with other Bear Cam fans while tuning in at http://www.ustream.tv/woodlandparkzoo, which is also available whenever connected to Ustream on mobile devices, Internet connected TVs, Google TV and Boxee.

Norma Allison from Ballard Hair Salon and Nora Carria from the Ballard Alki Oddfellows (I.O.O.F) presented two checks to the Ballard Food Bank on Thursday.

The combined donation amount was $100, which will enable the food bank to distribute 300 pounds of food.

"For every one dollar we receive, we can distribute three pounds of food to our clients," said Nancy McKinney from the Ballard Food Bank.

Allison said that she thinks the frequent donations of food and money are more important than the amount of money raised. She hopes that the Ballard Odd Fellows and herself can serve as an example to inspire the community to collect food and donations for the Ballard Food Bank, regardless of how small these donations are.

"Norma has a donation barrel inside her salon year-round, which we pick up about every two weeks," McKinney said. "We've probably collected 100 pounds of barrel from her."

Carria said the Ballard I.O.O.F. will host a clothing drive for the food bank later this year.

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On any given day, Todd Kline can be found wandering through Ballard.

He has permanent sandal tan lines on his feet which he shows off proudly as evidence to his many hours spent outside.

"My feet and my heart never get cold," he said.

Kline has insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia and an auto-immune illness. Walking eases his mind.

"I'm the ADHD poster child," Kline joked while wandering over to Habitude, where some of his rock statues stand beside the big chair ("the throne" as he calls it) outside the salon.

He speaks in broken fragments, memories jumbling around in his head.

"This parking lot didn't use to be here...it doesn't matter if you're homeless or rich, I'll walk with anyone...real Ballardites don't use umbrellas"

While wandering, Kline pauses to chat with the other men of the streets, knowing them all by name.

"I like the stories," he said. "I love the laughter and the contrast of the laughter with the harsh reality of being homeless."

The Summer Concert at Hiawatha for Thursday Aug. 5 features the band Massy Ferguson, and based on how they describe themselves the event should be a lot fun, especially for free on a warm evening.

From their website:

"Massy Ferguson is a bar band in the best sense -- not a band relegated to bars because it will never rise higher, but a band that plays music perfectly suited to dark, crowded rooms in which there's at least a possibility of a beer glass smashing against a wall.

The songs, filled with barflies, broken hearts and doomed late-night romance, would sound pretty good anywhere, though. Singer-bassist Ethan Anderson says the sound is Americana that leans more toward rock than country, and that's a pretty good description. Think Drive-By Truckers or some combination of Son Volt and The Hold Steady. Think Springsteen's "Greetings From Asbury Park" or "Nebraska." Those are all influences, as is 1970s Southern rock and good-time classic rock bands like Thin Lizzy.

My heart faltered at the news that the Magic Lanes bowling alley in White Center has shut down permanently as of August 1 (read Patrick Robinson’s story about the closure here).

My girlfriend and I discovered this gem a little too late it seems. In recent months Magic Lanes had become our favorite nothing-better-to-do evening activity with an entertainment-to-dollar ratio that is mighty rare these days. We could bowl our fill while enjoying a pitcher of beer without batting an economic eye.

And then there was the staff. I never learned most of their names, but everyone working at Magic Lanes – from the women serving drinks and food with a down-to-earth welcome, to the man behind the counter who I could always count on to counter today’s Top 40 hits with stellar seventies rock (proper bowling music), to the lane mechanic who commuted an hour each way just to work for minimum wage and bowl for free – wonderful people.

Press release:

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport invites Seafair fans to "go green to Seafair" with a $10 all day parking rate at the main terminal garage if you take Link Light Rail to the Seafair hydroplane races or Blue Angels demonstrations Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, August 5, 6, & 7.

Parkers are welcome in both General and Terminal Direct parking at the main terminal airport garage. Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac Airport offers the most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link Light Rail. You'll park on the 4th floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the SeaTac/Airport station.

Parkers MUST present a Seafair $10/day parking coupon to a cashier upon exiting the airport garage. Parkers must enter the garage after 6 a.m. and leave before midnight. Parkers without a coupon will not be granted the $10 all day rate. A separate coupon will be needed for each day. Coupons can be found on the Seafair webpage at http://www.seafair.com/news.aspx?ID=146&Mon=8&Yr=2011 as well as the Port of Seattle/Sea-Tac Airport Parking webpage at http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/ground/

Twelve people were shot when gunfire broke out at a lowrider car show in Kent on the afternoon of July 23 at La Plaza shopping center on Pacific Highway S. Amazingly, everyone survived.

While the investigation continues into who and how many were involved in the shooting, King County law enforcement agencies have publically vowed to work together in focusing in on gang violence in the area, while elected officials are asking the county for more funding for prosecutors and police.

Kent Police are busy interviewing witnesses and analyzing surveillance footage from the shooting, and in the meantime Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas brought together over 60 law enforcement officials from King and Pierce County on July 27 to discuss local and regional gang violence.

According to a City of Kent press release, the meeting resulted in two initiatives: “a commitment to effectively collect, analyze, and share criminal intelligence about violent street gangs to all law enforcement agencies throughout the area,” and the assembly of “a contingent of investigators to work collaboratively to target the most violent gangs and gang members in the area for aggressive enforcement action.”

On Aug. 20th, swimmers don wetsuits and brave cold waters to swim 2.3 miles across Puget Sound. The waters from the Des Moines Beach Park to Point Robinson on Maury Island are a chilling fifty degrees Fahrenheit, but swimmers keep coming back for more.

Not only are the swimmers racing across for themselves, they are contributing to the Brent Rice Memorial Foundation. After much debate with the USCG and with the support from the swim's boating Director Del Rivero & South King Fire & Rescue, the swim was approved for a Marine Event Permit with some new restrictions.

These new restrictions require more safety boats and more safety equipment on the water. The foundation cannot provide these items if they do not have support from the community.

They have also been told that South King & Fire was denied funding to help support the event and is now needing $900 more in funds to cover them being present, which is a key piece to the event.

The Foundation in asking all of you to do at least 2 of the following things:
1) Register to swim today! (Deadline is Aug. 10th)
2) Recruit more swimmers to register!