November 2011

With another cold, wet La Niña winter on the horizon, a Ballard clothing bank is looking for warm gear donations for the homeless.

Open since June, The Bridge Care Center's clothing bank serves 50 people a week, providing them with clothing, shoes, sleeping bags and rain capes at no cost.

"We started with half a dozen clients in June and now, solely by word of mouth, we're serving upwards of 50 people a week," said Rita Weinstein, one of the clothing bank founders and volunteers. "Many of these people are newly homeless or marginally employed. With cold weather closing in, the needs are great."

Weintein said the clothing bank is in need of socks, underwear, warm clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, rain gear, backpacks - anything warm and/or waterproof.

"It's hard to keep the jeans stocked and we have all these fancy dress shoes but they have no need for them. They need more utility - type shoes," Weinstein said.

In March, 1945, an FM-2 Navy Grumman fighter plane took off from the flight deck of the USS Petrof Bay on a strafing mission of the beaches of Okinawa. Fourteen years later, that same plane landed in a park in White Center, where local kids played on it for years.

The Navy had decommissioned that aircraft and donated it to the King County Parks Department in 1959. A gem to be treasured and a good reminder to the sons of the fathers who fought in that war.

PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE

Within a week vandals had ripped the plane apart. It was a mess. But it was rescued quickly. Apparently some engaged citizens helped restore it. Kids were able to enjoy it until 1966 when the US Army came calling.

The brass at Ft Lawton needed the plane for an armed forces pageant promising to return it. Sadly, it never happened.

So what did happen to that plane?

From heroic battles in Okinawa to a storage facility in the King County bone yard at Juanita Beach, the plane sat thru 1969, rusting and deteriorating. It remained in limbo for a few years.

I’m planning a November 18th event to showcase Ballard Writers that will combine timed readings with food, wine, signings and props. More on that later. In preparation, I attended the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) Inside Story event held last week in Ballard--the better to “borrow” ideas for connecting books with readers.

Twice a year the Western Washington SCBWI chapter, an acronym that I can never remember, presents an event for their members in which each author/illustrator has two minutes to give the “inside story” on their latest work. The audience includes many teachers and librarians, in addition to other members, who are always on the lookout for new books to feed their hungry readers.

Heidi Erland is a photographer and got her dog Robley, a Red Merle Australian Shepherd 2 1/2 years ago.
"He was born in Canada in eastern Alberta but his parents are from the U.S." She got the dog from a breeder in Canada named Caitland Aussies, in Hayter, Alberta. "His father was born here in Southworth Washington and his mother was born on the east coast (...) so his pedigree is exactly what I wanted." She did not use the web to find Robley however, she learned about the breeder from a friend.

"Aussies have the single largest breed registry in the world," said Erland.

"I love his happy personality and he's got that in spades."

by Sam Reed
Chief Sealth International High School
Athletic Director/Activity Coordinator

While the term “fall sports” somewhat misrepresents the time and energy that our student-athletes and coaches put into their efforts honing their craft, it’s the term we use when we talk about the collective efforts that our 188 student-athletes and 18 coaches undertake beginning in mid-August of this year.

This season Chief Sealth International High School has been able to enjoy many wins, great crowds and tremendous personal achievements. The Fall Sports Banquet on Thursday, November 10th (6:00-8:30pm in the Galleria) is our opportunity to officially recognize all the above and more.

The heavyweight boxing match is stopped abruptly amid jeers, catcalls and profanity-laden epithets.

It is the eighth round of a 10-round bout and the fans are revved up. They want to see a battle that ends all battles, to see the victor pound his opponent into oblivion -- and finally answer the much-awaited question about who is the best heavyweight boxer in the Pacific Northwest.

PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE

But it was not to be on Saturday night, Nov. 5, before a sell-out crowd of 1,800 fans in the Battle of the Boat 84 main event at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma.

Tacoma fighter Jonte Willis, stunned by an apparent rabbit punch connecting behind his right ear, pulls up lame, shaking his right leg and grimacing from pain. Apparently the Vincent Thompson hook to the head had rung Willis' bell down to his toes.

Willis can't shake it off. He can't put weight on his leg. The fight is called at 2:01 of the eighth round, and the outcome will be decided on judge's cards. Several minutes go by and the impatient crowd is getting restless.

The City of Burien is holding a blood drive on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the city’s multipurpose room on the first floor of the City Hall/Burien Library building, 400 S.W. 152nd St.

Walk-ins are welcome.

The drive will be between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. with a lunch closure from Noon- 1 p.m.

Reserve a time with Janet Stallman at 206-248-5508 or email JanetS@burienwa.gov
Here’s some additional information from the Puget Sound Blood Center:

Did you know that nearly 38,000 transfusions are performed daily in the United States? Volunteer donors are the only source of this precious gift, which can mean life for pre-mature babies, cancer and surgery patients, accident victims and other ill and injured people.

Each day the Puget Sound Blood Center must collect nearly 900 pints of blood to support patients within our community. Donors must be 18 or older (16 or 17 with parental permission), weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good general health. Because blood is separated into and transfused as components, just one donation can help up to three people.

The state Department of Ecology (DOE) has announced that it has approved Tukwila’s shoreline master plan.

Shoreline plans for Des Moines and SeaTac were previously approved, although it took three tries before the Des Moines plan was given state approval.

The DOE is reportedly poised to turn down Burien’s shoreline plan but members of the Burien Marine Property Owners Association are asking the Burien City Council for permission to negotiate with the DOE.

The group is hoping that DOE staffers might make allowances for an expanded home footprint as a tradeoff for some type of mitigation.

The Burien council approved a 20-foot buffer for new development on shorelines but the DOE is insisting on a 50-foot buffer with an additional 15-foot setback.

Here’s the DOE’s press release on their approval of Tukwila’s permit:

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has approved Tukwila's updated shoreline master program, which will significantly improve the protection, use, development, restoration and water quality along the city's 13 miles of shorelines.

Astronauts, Elvis, sky rides, royalty, the Kennedys, religion, topless showgirls, the Canadian tattoo, the Cold War and futurist speculation ‒ the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair had it all and tonight the Ballard Historical Society is giving people a chance to revisit the era.

The Ballard Historical Society is hosting the authors of "The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy" ‒ a new, coffee-table-style book filled with fascinating history, stories and pictures to celebrate the fair’s upcoming 50th anniversary.

Authors Paula Becker and Alan J. Stein will be giving a slide show and talk about the World's Fair at 7 p.m. at the Sunset Hill Community Center, 3003 NW 66th Street.

The presentation is free and open to all.

UPDATE, WED, 9:10 p.m.

"It's good," said Feedback Lounge co-owner, Jeff Gilbert. "It's like the winter version of Lowman Brau. I don't know a lot of beer terminology but I've heard it's got a lot of 'notes'. "

Gilbert's counterpart at Feedback, Matt Johnson, seems to know his beer.

"It's a Belgian brown ale made in the traditional way," Johnson said. "It's got some notes of cinnamon, a little bit of clove, a little coriander. That all comes from the Belgian yeast that Big Al used, so it's dark. But it doesn't blow you out with hoppiness. It's smooth. It's got a little bit sweet on the front, and then dry on the finish, and it just makes you want to drink more."

Donna Sandstrom representing www.Whaletrail.org had a table and posters set up as a tie in to the Whale Tail Ale promotion at Feedback Lounge.