September 2011

There’s a new “insider” tour of the Ballard Locks that is guided by a local expert and can be enjoyed whenever you want at your own pace. Yodio Tours, a local company headed by serial entrepreneur Clay Loges, has launched its new Android app featuring several digital tours of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.

Created by a third generation Ballardite, the self-paced tours combine the experience of a seasoned crab boat skipper and the latest of technologies to create a digital walking tour for getting the best experience from a visit to the Ballard Locks.

The Android tour application uses GPS to locate nearby tours on a map, and all tours are free for tourists and sightseers alike. Preview the free tours online at www.YodioTours.com or download the illustrated podcasts from iTunes for use on their iPod or iPhone.

Each Yodio Tour is created and narrated by a local fixture in the community, offering a unique way to check out a city with a local enthusiast -- and the tours can be taken at your own pace and at a time convenient for you and your Android phone or an iPod or iPhone.

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW

The July 17 West Seattle Garden Tour has tallied up our revenue for this years tour and, despite the rainy weather, they had over 800 people tour 10 gardens and raised enough revenue from sponsorship and sales to fund all eight of this years beneficiaries, a record number. They raised $23,711.

The Beneficiary Awards Ceremony took place Wednesday night at the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center, 4705 W Marginal Way SW.

This year's beneficiaries are:

The Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center

• ArtsWest
• Lincoln Park P-Patch
• Nantes Park
• Nature Consortium
• Seattle Chinese Garden
• Walking on Logs Restoration Group
• West Seattle Tool Library

Update 8:34 am Thursday Sept. 8

The Seattle Police Department has posted this update: Witnesses described hearing 4 to 5 shots just before seeing the blue Pontiac leave the area. The victim sustained a single gunshot wound to his back, it was considered serious, but not life-threatening. Officers and Gang Unit detectives located one .40 caliber shell casing in the street and a bullet hole in a house in that block. Gang Unit detectives are following up on this investigation.

Original post 8:00 pm Sept. 7
Seattle police report a 20-year-old man was shot in the back shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 7 in the Highland Park neighborhood.

The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center and "a suspect vehicle may be a blue car, possibly a Pontiac, which fled the scene," according to police.

The shooting occurred in the 9400 block of 11th Ave s.w. Roxbury Street is the 9400 block and 11th s.w. does not go through.

A young man who identified himself as the brother of the man shot said, "They took him to the hospital but he's going to be alright."

West Seattle Bridge traffic enforcement

Posted by Detective Jeff Kappel- Seattle Police Blotter

On September 7th officers from the Aggressive Driver Response Team issued the following citations on the West Seattle Bridge, a 45 mph zone:

1 at 74 mph

1 at 72 mph

1 at 71 mph

1 at 70 mph

21 Bus Lane violations

2 No valid drivers license

1 No motorcycle endorsement

2 No Proof of Insurance

2 Expired license tabs

1 Drive on shoulder

The Seattle Police Department encourages all motor vehicle operators and bicyclists to be familiar with and obey all local and state traffic laws and to always drive with due regard for all others on the roadway.

Rami Al-Jebori whose Mawadda Cafe is currently being built in the former Museum Quality Framing space in the Admiral Junction at 2352 California Ave. s.w. has an amazing story. It's an American success story in fact and the cafe, set to be open by October 1 is just the latest chapter in a life marked by challenges he has met. The restaurant will join an existing Mawadda Cafe in Rainier Beach.

Al-Jebori was born in Iraq and lived there through his young adult life getting a good education and eventually graduating from Baghdad University. His degree? Petroleum Engineering.

Political upheaval and a desire to make his life better brought him to America in 1986 but upon his arrival he found his degree carried less weight than he expected. He was told he would have to study another 2 years at a cost of $25,000. Faced with the choice of going back to Iraq or finding a job, he had a friend suggest that he take any job he could find.

Press release
The 50th Anniversary Celebrations Are Here!

St. Vincent dePaul Catholic Church was founded in November of 1961. This year we celebrate 50 years as a parish. There will be four major events to commemorate this amazing community in time.

The fun begins at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 with a BBQ, multi-cultural food, live music, carnival games for the kids, ice cream, pie eating contests, inflatable obstacle courses, balloon artist, face painting, a texting competition, raffles and many other activities. The fun picks back up again after mass with a DJ and dancing, beer garden and more food and games.

On Saturday, September 24th there will be an All Parish Mass with Archbishop J. Peter Sartain presiding. This mass will be held in the Decatur High School Gymnasium and will begin at 5:00 p.m. Parking is limited, so car pooling is encourage. We anticipate a large crowd and look forward to seeing all St. Vincent de Paul parishioners celebrating mass together as one.

Deadline for receiving items for Community Calendar is 5 p.m. Wednesday for the following week's Times/News. Events are published based on timeliness and space availability. Email submissions to: hteditor@robinsonnews.com

Items can be accepted from nonprofit groups and government agencies only. Others may call Dona Ozier or Sheila Lengle at 206-708-1378 for inclusion in our "Out & About" advertising section.

Art
Highline Community College-"Urban Rainbow." Sept. 1-22, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Sept. 26-Oct. 31, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 2-10 p.m. Sundays. Free. Library (Building 25), fourth floor, 2400 S. 240th St. Photographer Jeremy Hurd shows the colorful side of mundane street objects with images taken in Seattle, Barcelona, Shanghai and Beijing. http://exhibits.highline.edu/

Auditions
Boeing Employees Choir -- Singers needed for all parts for the second season rehearsals. Begins Sept. 13. For info call 253-529-1728 or www.boeingchoir.org.

Events

Since 2002, Seattle Times reporter and West Seattle resident Mike Lindblom has been dedicated to the transportation beat. These days, that means a lot of his attention is focused on the Highway 99 tunnel, and Lindblom shared his perspective on the massive project with the West Seattle Rotary Club on Sept. 6.

Lindblom opened with a reminder that the majority of the viaduct will be closed from Oct. 21 to Oct. 31 (more details on that closure here)

“Good to see all you happy folks, because we need to get that in now before Oct. 21 when the closures and detours get started,” he said. “And then after that’s over there will be a four year detour.”

As for the daily delays for the next four years, Lindblom said, “I think it’s going to add about 10 minutes to the existing commute (in addition to existing delays such as the West Seattle bridge lane constriction)."

The Interfaith Community Church will host its annual rummage sale this weekend. Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, the church will sell a wide variety of merchandise including books, clothing, furniture, housewares, tools, vacuum cleaners, washer and dryer, and a bicycle.

"We have a large inventory this year thanks to generous donations," said President David Heitmiller.

The sale will continue after church service on Sunday from noon until 3 p.m. with all merchandise marked down 50 percent.

Heitmiller said that people will show up on Saturday morning as early as 8 a.m. to get the best selection of the merchandise.

"We've been doing this for about ten years," said Heilmitter. "We're a small church but we have a big rummage sale."

The rummage sale is an important fundraiser for the church and especially so this year after the church had to repair a broken sewage pipe.

"It cost us $6,000 to repair it and it wiped out out our capital reserve," Heitmiller said.

In addition to the merchandise, the church will also host a bake sale.

Press release:

Celebrating the proud heritage that all Americans share, the Exchange Club of Highline has installed a Freedom Shrine at the Burien Community Center.

The Freedom Shrine, sponsored by the National Exchange Club, is a collection of photographic reproductions of original documents from American history. The permanent display includes the Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Several months ago, the Burien Parks Department was offered the opportunity to host the display by the Exchange Club. After much discussion, a location at the Community Center was selected and the Exchange Club members proceeded with installation of the project.

The Freedom Shrine program is designed to remind Americans that the freedoms, rights and liberties Americans enjoy today did not come easily and that these gifts must be cherished and protected. More than 12,000 Freedom Shrines have been dedicated in schools, military installations and government buildings since the program began in 1949.