April 2012

A woman waiting for a bus was pulling up her hood, trying to protect herself from the barrage. The windshield of a parked car was obscured in pink. It was the annual snowstorm of falling cherry petals, blowing to the north off of Greenlake and rendering the drive west on NW 65th magical.

I was mostly out of town for the peak of the cherry blossoms; at least the ones on UW campus and that street off Leary that seems to appear just once a year like a Brigadoon. I caught the last of the magnificent tree on the alley near Sunset Hill Green Market and one confused night mistook the magnolia trees in bloom for fresh snowfall. But when the flowering trees are at their peak I feel like I am holding my breath. They are so perfect, so fleeting. It’s a relief to me when the petals start to fly.

The Ballard Jazz Festival will kick off its ninth annual event tonight with a talent-packed line-up.

The musician-run festival was created in 2003 to support the local jazz scene and give it a proper performance arena, without the cost and stipulations of a corporate-run show. In the last years, the event has more than doubled the amount of bands and venues as the festival welcomes jazz-loving old-timers as much as young listeners and high school musicians.

This year the festival will take place April 18 through the 21st with different main events each night. A festival pass can be purchased for $110 or tickets can be bought for each individual show.

April 18 – Brotherhood of the Drum | Conor Byrne Pub | 21+
The calculated and smooth grooves of jazz drums are incomparable. Drum enthusiasts will gladly take note of this special collaboration between Kobie Watkins, Eric Eagle, Todd Bishop, and King Tears Bat Trip. These drummers have performed with the likes of Thomas Campbell, Christopher Icasiano, and others.

April 19 – Guitar Summit | Conor Byrne Pub | 21+

A beloved community tradition returns to Ballard Community Center next week with the 20th Daddy-Daughter Dinner and masquerade ball.

Advertised by Seattle Parks and Recreation as "a festive and gala opportunity for dads to escort their daughters to an elegant evening they’ll remember forever", the Daddy-Daughter Dinner will feature a masquerade ball and attendees are encouraged to dress in their finest and enjoy a pasta bar, dancing, and good times with friends and family.

Because of 2011 budget reductions, Parks was unable to put on the event last year but under the new operations model for community centers, it’s once again possible in 2012.

Daddy-Daughter Dinner will take place Friday, April 17th, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ballard Community Center, 6020 28th Ave. N.W.

Tickets for Daddy and one daughter are $60. Daddy and two daughters, $70; and Daddy and three daughters, $80.

Visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks for more information.

UPDATE: May 17
The 7th Annual Taste of West Seattle, a sampling of the best restaurants in West Seattle was jam packed with people there to taste gourmet offerings, although at times on tiny plates with even tinier forks. "I feel like I'm exercising just eating," said Lora Swift laughing. The event featured more than 50 food purveyors from restaurants to caterers, and more. All proceeds go to support West Seattle Helpline.

SLIDESHOW: CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE MORE

UPDATE: May 16
Tickets are almost sold out for the tastiest, and most flavorful event in West Seattle all year, the Taste of West Seattle, Thursday May 17. Get your tickets here http://tasteofwestseattle.org/4.html . They are $40 online or $45 at the door.

Original Post
The 7th Annual Taste of West Seattle is set for Thursday, May 17th, 2012 and will feature more than 50 West Seattle restaurants. The annual event is in support of the West Seattle Helpline, a nonprofit organization that supports families in Seattle facing emergencies.

VIP tickets are $80 online and receive early entrance at 6:00 pm.

By Kyle Howard

The Tyee Totems took on the Evergreen Wolverines on April 17th for a rematch between the two teams for their second matchup this season. Evergreen came out seeking their revenge after they lost to Tyee 5-1 on March 20th. Evergreen only had 11 available players for this game, meaning they had no substitutes available.

This game would prove to be nearly identical to their first matchup; Evergreen scored first and then from then on it was all Tyee as they scored four unanswered goals beating the Wolverines once again, this time with the score 4-1.

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE MORE

Evergreen scored 17 minutes into the game with a nice shot from Josue Grados 15 yards out, but that would prove to be it for the game. Tyee got things together at the end of the half when Jose Aguniga tied the game at one with just over three minutes left.

A King County Deputy spotted a stolen vehicle in White Center. The suspect refused to stop and took off northbound on 15th Ave S.W. At 15th SW and SW Henderson the deputy collided with a citizen vehicle not involved in the chase, according to KCSO Sgt. Cindi West.

Both the deputy and female civilian suffered minor injuries in the crash. The female driver is being transported to Highline Medical Center for further attention, West said.

The suspect continued northbound and either crashed or bailed from the vehicle. A female passenger in the stolen vehicle is in custody and the driver, described as a Hispanic male, fled the scene and is still on the loose.

Update for April 27
April 27 is the final day of public comming on King County Metro's Route 120 bus line changes.

According to the current plan, 21 stops will be eliminated altogether, nine stops will be moved and two new stops along Delridge Way S.W. will be added.

A full list of these stops can be found at the Metro Transit Route 120 Stop Spacing webpage.

To contact Metro you can either fill out a survey at www.kingcountymetro.gov/metro/haveasay, email haveasay@kingcounty.gov or contact DeAnna Martin, community relations planner, at 206-263-9768.

Seattle Department of Transportation is working through rechannelization plans for Delridge Way S.W. along the 120 route as well, although they will continue to take comments on that process (including a northbound bus only lane and a southbound bike lane) over the next month or so.

In a public meeting on April 24, Metro and SDOT representatives met with Delridge residents to explain their plans and listen to feedback.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is hosting a Masters Track and Field Meet next month as well as an eight-week course to get you in competition shape.

The Meet is for adults 30 and older. It will include the 100M, 200M, 400M, 4 x 400M relays, 5,000M run, pole vault, long jump, shot put and more.

The event was popular last year and attracted more than 150 participants.

Seattle Parks is offering an eight-week Countdown to the Meet training program in which will help improve fitness, form, speed and endurance in once-a-week, one-hour sessions.

Participants can expect a warm-up, pre and post stretching, striding, jogging and running at a level based on fitness level. Trainings are conducted at West Seattle Stadium on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.

The training program costs $49.99 for eight weeks and proceeds from the training sessions support Seattle Parks Youth Track Programs.

The Masters Track and Field Meet will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th Ave. SW.

This week is National Volunteer Week and the Seattle Public Library is celebrating by recognizing the extraordinary services contributed by its dedicated volunteers.

Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. The theme for 2012 is "Celebrating People in Action."

SPL has over 350 volunteers who provide services for patrons, help maintain collections and host special events for the community.

"I believe in giving back to the community, and love to teach and have computer knowledge, so when I saw an announcement for library volunteers, I applied and have been helping out ever since," said Art Kuniyuki, a volunteer at the Library since 2001. "My goal each class is to have students walk away with more knowledge than when they entered the classroom, and in return, I always leave the classroom feeling very energized and proud of what our program is accomplishing in the community."

press release
This week through Thursday, April 19, from 9:00 PM until about 5:00 AM each night Metro bus routes 54, 55, 120 and 125 will be rerouted off the Alaskan Way Viaduct southbound only, to accommodate work being performed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Viaduct bus routes will use alternate streets instead. The only bus stop that will be missed is westbound on Columbia St at 2nd Av when leaving downtown to West Seattle. Heading to West Seattle during the closure, board buses southbound on 3rd Av between Seneca and Spring streets.

Start and end times can change without notice. Visit the WSDOT website for updates.