April 2012

Sergeant Cindi West King County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer provided the following explanation surrounding an assault that took place on March 31 in White Center:

"The incident was reported to us around 1100pm on the 31st. A person passing by saw a subject on the ground, in the 12400 block of Ambaum Blvd. bleeding from the face and called the police.

The victim is a 58 year old man possibly lives in a small motor home that he parks in the area. Victim “appeared” to be severely intoxicated and could not tell us exactly what happened. All he could say was that he was trying to get in his mobile home that was parked at this location when he was attacked from behind by two unknown males. He could not describe the males at all. He had no race, age, height, or clothing description. He said that after the attack they took his wallet and ran off in an unknown direction.

Victim said that he never lost consciousness during the attack. He also said that there were no weapons used in the attack.

The Healthy Foods Here Program in White Center sponsored by King County Public Health, the City of Seattle and funded by federal stimulus dollars was capped off this week with the award of framed certificates to local produce merchants by the White Center Community Development Association.

Mikel Davila, the new Neighborhood Revitalization Manager for the WCCDA and his associate Sokha Danh took the certificates and a special assembly of helpful items to each of the merchants to thank them for their participation in the program and to assist them in their own efforts.

In the kit were a cutting board, a sample platter (for veggies and fruits, a cleaning cloth, pre-printed pricing cards, a water bottle, toothpicks, a sharpie pen, T-Shirts and a highly durable produce marketing guide printed on a special stock that can actually be wiped off and cleaned. The guide is very visual with pictures indicating how to handle certain kinds of produce, how to display them for maximum appeal and how to improve the business in general.

44 kits were delivered to program participants across King County, 7 providers got kits in White Center.

press release:
The westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct between I-5 and SR 99 were closed Monday through Wednesday nights this week, and now they will also be closed tonight (Thursday), from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. tomorrow morning. This will close direct access to West Seattle via the Spokane Street Viaduct from both northbound and southbound I-5. (Motorists traveling southbound on SR 99 will still be able to access the off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge.)

Southbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should detour by exiting I-5 at S Forest Street, turning right (northbound) onto Sixth Avenue S, then turning left (westbound) at S Lander Street, turning left again (southbound) at First Avenue S, turning right (westbound) at S Hanford Street, turning left (southbound) onto East Marginal Way S, and finally turning right (westbound) onto the lower S Spokane Street roadway and across the swing bridge to West Seattle. Northbound traffic from I-5 wishing to travel to West Seattle should exit the freeway at Sixth Avenue S, and then follow the same detour route outlined above.

Tonight the second-placed lady Beavers will face Seattle Prep in a lacrosse game that will be broadcasted nationally.

The Washington state chapter of US Lacrosse has reached an agreement with Comcast On Demand to broadcast four high school lacrosse games during the 2012 season, including tonight's game.

The one-year agreement, reached with Gametapes LLC, a Seattle-based sports television production company, will provide for the availability of local games on Comcast On Demand within 48 hours of the conclusion of each of the games.

Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the US and Washington state has experienced double-digit annual growth throughout the past decade. With a 34-year local history, 157 individual boys and girls high school teams are available to students attending nearly 200 WIAA schools across eastern and western Washington.

The Ballard game will take place at Seattle Prep at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24. Come on out to support your Beavers!
 

Update 6:00 pm
Accident is now cleared

Original post
A semi truck overturned on Southbound I-5 on Thursday afternoon blocking all mainline lanes. Crews rushed to the scene and Seattle Fire Department rescue personnel extricated the driver. Another vehicle also rolled over and a 10 year old girl was taken to Harborview.The Traffic cam showed that the truck was sideways on the roadway.

Three other vehicles also were involved but the truck driver was quickly extricated.

Spilled fuel triggered a hazardous material response.

Traffic was backed up from the crash about eight miles to the north as of 3:00 pm

The cause of the crash remains unknown.

The game against Nathan Hale on April 3 was a monumental one for Chief Sealth boys varsity soccer coach Ronald Johnson and his team.

In the 15 years Johnson has been at the helm, they had never beaten Nathan Hale – the perennial powerhouse of the Metro League.

That all changed when the Seahawks traveled north and trounced Hale 4-0, yet another feather in an already-feather-laden cap.

The win puts Chief Sealth at 7-0 halfway through the season and makes them the clear leaders of Metro.

Coach Johnson talked with the Herald about the team this year and the components of their success.

“We have been able to turn it around in the last three years and it has just been remarkable,” Johnson said.

Seahawks soccer (both girls and boys) had made major strides in student popularity over the past three seasons, he said, illustrated by the fact that 70 kids tried out for the boys varsity team this year and 60 the year before that.

Those are the kind of numbers traditionally seen at American football tryouts.

Central midfielder Mori Tsuchiya (a junior) and forward Aden Fidow (a senior) have emerged as the team standouts this year.

Ballard High School is hosting its second annual Students versus Staff basketball game tonight.

The game will build on last year’s successful event and include the cheer squad and the best pep band in the city.

This year’s event will feature a double header and the first game of the evening will pit the Seattle Fire Department versus the Seattle Police Department.

But the main event of the evening will be the game that pits BHS Student-Athletes against BHS teachers and staff. The students will try to avenge their loss from last year.

Any donated non-perishable food items will be given to the Ballard Food Bank.

For more details on the students versus staff event, visit http://files.leagueathletics.com/Text/Documents/3675/27798.pdf

By Anne Marije-Rook

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will begin making street improvements for buses in the Ballard area beginning Monday, April 9.  Work will begin on N.W. Market Street at 28th Avenue N.W. and at 11th Avenue N.W.  

Transit Priority Corridor Improvement (TPCI) projects are designed to increase the efficiency of the transit system, helping people move quickly and reliably through Seattle’s busiest corridors.  The N.W. Market Street/N. 45th Street TPCI Project will provide transit enhancements along one of the city’s most heavily traveled areas: Metro Route 44, from N.W. Market Street and 28th Avenue N.W. to N.E. 45th Street and Latona Avenue N.E. 

Crews will make improvements to sidewalks, curb ramps, bus bulbs, pedestrian lighting and other passenger amenities. This work will also involve roadway surface and driveway improvements in some areas. 

Drivers should expect some lane restrictions leading up to and through the work zones, as well as on-street parking and loading restrictions in and around active work areas. There will also be short-term driveway closures while work is completed in some project areas. 

Baseball:

Ballard Baseball hosted Eastlake at the Whitman Baseball field on Wednesday, April 4.

It was a very low scoring game last night and Ballard was the first to score in the third inning, when Rory Graf-Brennen batted in one RBI. Despite getting seven hits on Ballard pitcher Caleb Jaeger, Eastlake was unable to get any runs across the plate. Ballard won 1 to 0.

Caleb Jaeger pitched the entire game, striking out five and allowing no base on balls.

In other baseball news:

Senior Caleb Jaeger was named the Kingco Baseball Pitcher of the Week this week.
"Jeager is off to a hot start this year, giving up only three runs in 15 innings pitched in Kingco games," according to the KingCo Baseball announcement.

Softball:

The Beavers fastpitch team faced Inglemoor on Tuesday, April 3. Inglemoor is the ninth ranked team in the state.

Th Production Shop, a tidy, 4,877 square foot, two-story warehouse north of Olde Burien, is now renting its cavernous space to film crews, foundations, and fun-seekers. Its property owner is Fremont resident Jeff Taylor, 43, who spends more and more time living in the warehouse's upstairs apartment. The high, interior walls sport charming, auto-related neon signs, ad posters, and other memorabilia that evoke the bygone historic Route 66 era. And, Taylor said, The Production Shop is the perfect place to get your kicks. The Highline Schools Foundation's Gold Star Awards BASH was held there March 22.

Taylor explained, "We have a lot of space, 74-feet by 50-feet, with a lot of amenities. Some may believe Burien is out of the way from downtown Seattle, but I can drive here from Fremont in about 20 minutes when there is no traffic.

"My dad (Bill) was an old-car hobbyist, and the 1934 Ford advisor for V8 Times Magazine," Said Jeff. Bill passed away in 2007. "He stared his collection with the '34 (Ford) Roadster. I grew up with that car. He built this place. He hung every piece of drywall himself, and every sign.